Book of Common Prayer

Book IV: Psalms 90–106

¹⁵ Then Natan returned to his house.

Adonai struck the child that Uriyah’s wife had borne to David, and it became very ill. ¹⁶ David prayed to God on behalf of the child; David fasted, then came and lay all night on the ground. ¹⁷ The court officials got up and stood next to him trying to get him off the ground, but he refused, and he wouldn’t eat food with them. ¹⁸ On the seventh day, the child died. The servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead, because they said, “While the child was still alive, we spoke to him, and he didn’t listen to us; if we tell him now that the child is dead, he may do himself some harm.” ¹⁹ But when David saw his servants whispering to each other, he suspected that the child was dead. David asked his servants, “Is the child dead?” and they answered, “He is dead.”

²⁰ Then David got up off the ground, washed, anointed himself and changed his clothes. He went into the house of Adonai and worshipped; then he went to his own palace; and when he asked for food, they served it to him; and he ate. ²¹ His servants asked him, “What are you doing? You fasted and wept for the child while it was alive; but now that the child is dead, you get up and eat food!” ²² He answered, “While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept; because I thought, ‘Maybe Adonai will show his grace to me and let the child live.’ ²³ But now that he’s dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me.”

²⁴ David comforted his wife Bat-Sheva, came to her and went to bed with her; she gave birth to a son and named him Shlomo. Adonai loved him ²⁵ and sent through Natan the prophet to have him named Y’didyah [loved by God], for Adonai’s sake.

²⁶ Yo’av fought against Rabbah of the people of ‘Amon and took the royal city. ²⁷ Yo’av sent people to David with this message: “I have fought against Rabbah and captured its water supply. ²⁸ Therefore, assemble the rest of the people; lay siege to the city; and capture it. Otherwise, I will capture the city; and it will be named after me!” ²⁹ David assembled all the people, went to Rabbah, fought against it and captured it. ³⁰ He took the crown off Malkam’s head; it weighed sixty-six pounds, with its gold and precious stones; and it was placed on David’s head. He carried off great quantities of spoil from the city. ³¹ In addition, he expelled the people who were in it and set them to work with saws, iron harrows and iron axes, or had them cross over to work in the brick factory. This is what he did to all the cities of the people of ‘Amon. Then David and all the people returned to Yerushalayim.

20 After the furor died down, Sha’ul sent for the talmidim and encouraged them, then took his leave and set out on his way to Macedonia. ² He went through that area, and, after saying much to encourage them, passed on to Greece, ³ where he spent three months. As he was preparing to set sail for Syria, he discovered a plot against him by the unbelieving Jews; so he changed his mind and decided to return by way of Macedonia. ⁴ Sopater from Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; as did Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ⁵ These men went on and waited for us in Troas, ⁶ while we sailed from Philippi after the Days of Matzah. Five days later, we met them in Troas, where we spent a week.

⁷ On Motza’ei-Shabbat, when we were gathered to break bread, Sha’ul addressed them. Since he was going to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight. ⁸ Now there were many oil lamps burning in the upstairs room where we were meeting, ⁹ and there was a young fellow named Eutychus sitting on the window-sill. As Sha’ul’s drash went on and on, Eutychus grew sleepier and sleepier; until finally he went sound asleep and fell from the third story to the ground. When they picked him up, he was dead. ¹⁰ But Sha’ul went down, threw himself onto him, put his arms around him and said, “Don’t be upset, he’s alive!” ¹¹ Then he went back upstairs, broke the bread and ate. He continued talking with them till daylight, then left. ¹² So, greatly relieved, they brought the boy home alive.

¹³ We went on ahead to the ship and set sail for Assos, where we were planning to take Sha’ul aboard — he had arranged this because he wanted to go there by land. ¹⁴ After he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day, we sailed from there and arrived off Chios; the following day, we crossed over to Samos; and the day after that, we reached Miletus. ¹⁶ For Sha’ul had decided to bypass Ephesus on his voyage, in order to avoid losing time in the province of Asia, because he was hurrying to get to Yerushalayim, if possible in time to celebrate Shavu‘ot.

³⁰ After leaving that place, they went on through the Galil. Yeshua didn’t want anyone to know, ³¹ because he was teaching his talmidim. He told them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men who will put him to death; but after he has been killed, three days later he will rise.” ³² But they didn’t understand what he meant, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³ They arrived at K’far-Nachum. When Yeshua was inside the house, he asked them, “What were you discussing as we were traveling?” ³⁴ But they kept quiet; because on the way, they had been arguing with each other about who was the greatest. ³⁵ He sat down, summoned the Twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must make himself last of all and servant of all.” ³⁶ He took a child and stood him among them. Then he put his arms around him and said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the One who sent me.”

³⁸ Yochanan said to him, “Rabbi, we saw a man expelling demons in your name; and because he wasn’t one of us, we told him to stop.” ³⁹ But Yeshua said, “Don’t stop him, because no one who works a miracle in my name will soon after be able to say something bad about me. ⁴⁰ For whoever is not against us is for us. ⁴¹ Indeed, whoever gives you even a cup of water to drink because you come in the name of the Messiah — yes! I tell you that he will certainly not lose his reward.