Book of Common Prayer

Book I: Psalms 1–41

3 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David, when he fled from Avshalom his son:

15 Sh’mu’el said to Sha’ul, “Adonai sent me to anoint you king over his people, over Isra’el. Now listen to what Adonai has to say. ² Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: ‘I remember what ‘Amalek did to Isra’el, how they fought against Isra’el when they were coming up from Egypt. ³ Now go and attack ‘Amalek, and completely destroy everything they have. Don’t spare them, but kill men and women, children and babies, cows and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

⁷ Then Sha’ul attacked ‘Amalek, starting at Havilah and continuing toward Shur, at the border of Egypt. ⁸ He took Agag the king of ‘Amalek alive; but he completely destroyed the people, putting them to the sword. ⁹ However, Sha’ul and the people spared Agag, along with the best of the sheep and cattle, and even the second best, also the lambs, and everything that was good — they weren’t inclined to destroy these things. But everything that was worthless or weak they completely destroyed.

¹⁰ Then the word of Adonai came to Sh’mu’el: ¹¹ “I regret setting up Sha’ul as king, because he has turned back from following me and hasn’t obeyed my orders.” This made Sh’mu’el very sad, so that he cried to Adonai all night. ¹² Sh’mu’el got up early in the morning to meet Sha’ul; however, Sh’mu’el was told, “Sha’ul came to Karmel to set up a monument for himself there, but now he has left and is on his way down to Gilgal.” ¹³ Sh’mu’el went to Sha’ul; Sha’ul said to him, “May Adonai bless you! I have done what Adonai ordered.” ¹⁴ But Sh’mu’el answered, “If so, why do I hear sheep bleating and cows mooing?” ¹⁵ Sha’ul said, “They brought them from the ‘Amaleki, because the people spared the best of the sheep and cattle to sacrifice to Adonai your God. But we completely destroyed the rest.” ¹⁶ Then Sh’mu’el said to Sha’ul, “Stop! I’m going to tell you what Adonai said to me last night.” He said, “Speak.” ¹⁷ Sh’mu’el then said, “You may be small in your own sight, but you are head of the tribes of Isra’el — Adonai anointed you king over Isra’el! ¹⁸ Now Adonai sent you on a mission and told you, ‘Go and completely destroy ‘Amalek, those sinners; keep making war on them until they have been exterminated. ¹⁹ Why did you seize the spoil instead of paying attention to what Adonai said? From Adonai’s viewpoint, you have done an evil thing.” ²⁰ Sha’ul said to Sh’mu’el, “I did too pay attention to what Adonai said, and I carried out the mission on which Adonai sent me. I brought back Agag the king of ‘Amalek, and I completely destroyed ‘Amalek. ²¹ But the people took some of the spoil, the best of the sheep and cattle set aside for destruction, to sacrifice to Adonai your God in Gilgal.” ²² Sh’mu’el said,

¹⁹ then he ate some food and regained his strength.

Sha’ul spent some days with the talmidim in Dammesek, ²⁰ and immediately he began proclaiming in the synagogues that Yeshua is the Son of God. ²¹ All who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Isn’t he the man who in Yerushalayim was trying to destroy the people who call on this name? In fact, isn’t that why he came here, to arrest them and bring them back to the head cohanim?” ²² But Sha’ul was being filled with more and more power and was creating an uproar among the Jews living in Dammesek with his proofs that Yeshua is the Messiah.

²³ Quite some time later, the non-believing Jews gathered together and made plans to kill him; ²⁴ but their plot became known to Sha’ul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to do away with him; ²⁵ but under cover of night, his talmidim took him and let him down over the city wall, lowering him in a large basket.

²⁶ On reaching Yerushalayim, he tried to join the talmidim; but they were all afraid of him — they didn’t believe he was a talmid. ²⁷ However, Bar-Nabba got hold of him and took him to the emissaries. He told them how Sha’ul had seen the Lord while traveling, that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Dammesek Sha’ul had spoken out boldly in the name of Yeshua. ²⁸ So he remained with them and went all over Yerushalayim continuing to speak out boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ He talked and debated with the Greek-speaking Jews, but they began making attempts to kill him. ³⁰ When the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.

³¹ Then the Messianic community throughout Y’hudah, the Galil and Shomron enjoyed peace and was built up. They lived in the fear of the Lord, with the counsel of the Ruach HaKodesh; and their numbers kept multiplying.

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness covered the whole Land until three o’clock in the afternoon; ⁴⁵ the sun did not shine. Also the parokhet in the Temple was split down the middle. ⁴⁶ Crying out with a loud voice, Yeshua said, “Father! Into your hands I commit my spirit.”^[a] With these words he gave up his spirit.

⁴⁷ When the Roman officer saw what had happened, he began to praise God and said, “Surely this man was innocent!” ⁴⁸ And when all the crowds that had gathered to watch the spectacle saw the things that had occurred, they returned home beating their breasts. ⁴⁹ All his friends, including the women who had accompanied him from the Galil, had been standing at a distance; they saw it all.

⁵⁰ There was a man named Yosef, a member of the Sanhedrin. He was a good man, a tzaddik; ⁵¹ and he had not been in agreement with either the Sanhedrin’s motivation or their action. He came from the town of Ramatayim, a town of the Judeans; and he looked forward to the Kingdom of God. ⁵² This man approached Pilate and asked for Yeshua’s body. ⁵³ He took it down, wrapped it in a linen sheet, and placed it in a tomb cut into the rock, that had never been used.

⁵⁴ It was Preparation Day, and a Shabbat was about to begin. ⁵⁵ The women who had come with Yeshua from the Galil followed; they saw the tomb and how his body was placed in it. ⁵⁶ Then they went back home to prepare spices and ointments.

On Shabbat the women rested, in obedience to the commandment;