Book of Common Prayer
Betrayal by a Friend
Psalm 55
1 For the music director, on stringed instruments, a contemplative song of David.
2 Give ear, O God, to my prayer
and do not ignore my plea for help.
3 Listen to me and answer me.
I am restless in my complaint and moan—
4 because of the voice of the enemy,
because of the pressure of the wicked.
For they thrust trouble on me,
and in anger bear a grudge against me.
5 My heart shudders within me
and the terrors of death sweep over me.
6 Fear and trembling come upon me
and horror has overwhelmed me.
7 So I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and find rest.
8 Surely I would flee far away.
I would stay in the wilderness. Selah
9 I would hurry to my shelter
from the rushing wind of the storm.”
10 Lord, confuse and confound their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
11 Day and night they make the rounds on her walls.
Iniquity and mischief are within her.
12 Ruins are in her midst.
Oppression and deceit never leave her square.
13 For if it were an enemy taunting me,
I could endure it.
If my foe was exalting himself over me,
I could hide from him.
14 But it is you, a man like me—
my companion and my close friend!
15 Together we enjoyed great fellowship.
We used to walk with the throng in the House of God.
16 Let desolation come upon them,
let them go down alive into Sheol—
for evil is in their dwelling, among them.
17 As for me, I will call on God,
and Adonai will save me.
18 Evening, morning and noon, I complain and moan,
then He hears my voice.
19 He will redeem my soul in shalom from the battle against me.
For many are striving with me.
20 God will hear and humble them
—yes, the One enthroned of old. Selah
Nothing changes—they do not fear God.
21 My companion put forth his hands against those at peace with him,
as he violates his covenant.
22 Smoother than butter was his speech,
yet war was in his heart.
His words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords.
23 Cast your burden on Adonai, and He will sustain you.[a]
He will never let the righteous be shaken.
24 But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction.
Bloodthirsty, deceitful men will not live out half their days.
But I—I will trust in You.
Your Right Hand Delivers Me
Psalm 138
1 Of David.
I praise You with all my heart.
In the presence of the mighty I will sing praises to You.
2 I bow down toward Your holy Temple
and praise Your Name for Your love and Your faithfulness.
For You—magnified above all Your Name and Your word.
3 On the day I called, You answered me.
You made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth will praise You, Adonai,
when they hear Your mouth’s speech.
5 So they will sing of the ways of Adonai,
for great is the glory of Adonai.
6 For though Adonai is exalted,
yet He looks upon the lowly,
but the haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I walk amid trouble,
You revive me.
You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand delivers me.
8 Adonai will fulfill His purpose for me.
Your lovingkindness, Adonai, endures forever.
Do not abandon the work of Your hands.
How Precious Your Thoughts!
Psalm 139
1 For the music director: a psalm of David.
Adonai, You searched me and know me.
2 Whenever I sit down or stand up, You know it.
You discern my thinking from afar.
3 You observe my journeying and my resting
and You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, Adonai, You know all about it.
5 You hemmed me in behind and before,
and laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from Your Ruach?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I go up to heaven, You are there,
and if I make my bed in Sheol,
look, You are there too.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn
and settle on the other side of the sea,
10 even there Your hand will lead me,
and Your right hand will lay hold of me.
11 If I say: “Surely darkness covers me,
night keeps light at a distance from me,”
12 even darkness is not dark for You,
and night is as bright as day—
darkness and light are alike.
13 For You have created my conscience.
You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise You, for I am awesomely, wonderfully made!
Wonderful are Your works—
and my soul knows that very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from You
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was unformed,
and in Your book were written the days that were formed—
when not one of them had come to be.
17 How precious are Your thoughts, O God!
How great is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand!
When I awake, I am still with You.
19 If only You would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, you bloody men!
20 For they speak about You with wicked intent.
Your enemies reproach You in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate You, Adonai?
Do I not loathe those who rise against You?
22 I hate them with total hatred—
I consider them my enemies.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart.
Examine me, and know my anxious thoughts,
2 the great trials that your eyes saw, those great signs and wonders. 3 But to this day Adonai has not given you a heart to know, or eyes to see, or ears to hear. [a] 4 I led you 40 years in the wilderness—your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet. 5 Bread you have not eaten and wine and strong drink you have not drunk—in order that you may know that I am Adonai your God.
6 “When you came to this place, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of the Bashan came out against us to battle, but we struck them down. 7 We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. 8 So keep the words of this covenant and do them, so that you may prosper in all that you do.
Parashat Nitzavim
You Are Standing Before the Lord
9 “You are standing today, all of you, before Adonai your God—the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officials, all the men of Israel, 10 your children, your wives, and the outsider within your camp (from your woodchopper to your water carrier). 11 Each of you is to cross over into the covenant of Adonai your God that He is cutting with you today, and into His oath.
12 “This is in order to confirm you today as His people. So He will be your God, just as He promised you and just as He swore to your fathers—to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. 13 Not with you alone am I cutting this covenant and this oath, 14 but with whomever is standing here with us today before Adonai our God and with whomever is not here with us today.
15 “Indeed you know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt and how we crossed through the nations that we passed through.
9 Now about this service to the kedoshim, it is indeed unnecessary for me to write to you— 2 for I know your eagerness. I boast about it to the Macedonians, that Achaia has been preparing for a year already; and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not be in vain in this case, so that you may be prepared, just as I kept saying. 4 Otherwise, if any Macedonians were to come and find you unprepared, we—not to mention you—would be put to shame in this undertaking. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on to you and arrange ahead of time your generous gift that had been promised beforehand, so that it would be ready as a gift and not as an extortion.
Sowing and Reaping Generosity
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. [a] 7 Let each one give as he has decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion—for God loves a cheerful giver. [b] 8 And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that by always having enough of everything, you may overflow in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He scattered widely, He gave to the poor;
His righteousness endures forever.”[c]
10 Now the One who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. [d] 11 You will be enriched in everything for all generosity, which through us brings about thanksgiving to God. 12 For this service of giving is not only supplying the needs of the kedoshim, but is also overflowing with many thanksgivings to God. 13 Because of the evidence of this service, they praise God for the obedience of your affirmation of the Good News of Messiah and for the generosity of your contribution to them and to everyone. 14 And in their prayer for you, they long for you because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!
15 Now they were bringing even their babies to Yeshua, so He might touch them. But when the disciples saw this, they began rebuking them. 16 But Yeshua called for them, saying, “Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 17 Amen, I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
18 And a religious leader inquired of Yeshua, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
19 “Why are you calling Me good?” Yeshua said to him. “No one is good except One—that is God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’”[a]
21 The man said, “All these I have kept since my youth.”
22 When Yeshua heard this, He said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all, as much as you have, and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.” 23 But upon hearing these things, he became deeply distressed, for he was very rich.
24 Gazing at him, Yeshua said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter into the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 Then those who heard said, “Then who can be saved?”
27 But Yeshua said, “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”[b]
28 Then Peter said, “Look, we’ve left everything of our own to follow You.”
29 And Yeshua said to them, “Amen, I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not receive many times as much in this age; and in the olam ha-ba, eternal life.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.