Book of Common Prayer
Torah Is a Tree of Wisdom
Psalm 1
1 Happy is the one who has not walked in the advice of the wicked,
nor stood in the way of sinners,
nor sat in the seat of scoffers.
2 But his delight is in the Torah of Adonai,
and on His Torah he meditates day and night.
3 He will be like a planted tree over streams of water,
producing its fruit during its season.
Its leaf never droops—
but in all he does, he succeeds.
4 The wicked are not so.
For they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand during the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Adonai knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Coronation of Messianic King
Psalm 2
1 Why are the nations in an uproar,
and the peoples mutter vanity?
2 The kings of earth set themselves up[a]
and rulers conspire together[b] against Adonai
and against His Anointed One[c]:
3 “Let’s rip their chains apart,
and throw their ropes off us!”
4 He who sits in heaven laughs!
Adonai mocks them.
5 So He will speak to them in His anger,
and terrify them in His fury:
6 “I have set up My king
upon Zion, My holy mountain.”
7 I will declare the decree of Adonai.
He said to me: “You are My Son—
today I have become Your Father.[d]
8 Ask Me,
and I will give the nations as Your inheritance,
and the far reaches of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall break the nations with an iron scepter.[e]
You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s jar.”[f]
10 So now, O kings, be wise,
take warning, O judges of the earth!
11 Serve Adonai with fear,
and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest He become angry,
and you perish along your way—
since His wrath may flare up suddenly.
Happy is everyone taking refuge in Him!
Magen David
Psalm 3
1 A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
2 Adonai, how many are my foes!
Many are rising up against me!
3 Many are saying to my soul:
“There is no deliverance for him in God.”
Selah
4 But You, Adonai, are a shield around me,
my glory and the lifter of my head.
5 I cry out to Adonai with my voice,
and He answers me from His holy mountain.
Selah
6 I lie down and sleep.
I awake—for Adonai sustains me.
7 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people all around
who have taken their stand against me.
8 Arise, Adonai! Deliver me, my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek.
You shatter the teeth of the wicked.
9 Deliverance belongs to Adonai.[g]
Let Your blessing be on Your people.
Selah
Prayer for Sleep in Shalom
Psalm 4
1 For the music director, on stringed instruments, a psalm of David.
2 Answer me when I call,
God of my righteousness!
You set me free when I am in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.
3 O sons of men, how long will you turn my glory into my shame?
How long will you love worthlessness and pursue falsehood? Selah
4 But know that Adonai has set apart the godly for His own.
Adonai will hear when I call to Him.
5 Tremble, but do not sin![h]
Search your heart while on your bed, and be silent. Selah
6 Offer righteous sacrifices
and put your trust in Adonai.
7 Many are asking, “Who will show us some good?”
May the light of Your face shine upon us, Adonai!
8 You have put joy in my heart—
more joy than when their grain and new wine overflow.
9 I will lie down and sleep in shalom.
For You alone, Adonai, make me live securely.
Adonai Magen
Psalm 7
1 A passionate song of David, which he sang to Adonai concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
2 Adonai my God, in You I have taken refuge.
Save me from each of my persecutors, and deliver me.
3 Otherwise he will rip me apart like a lion,
with no one to rescue me.
4 Adonai my God, if I have done this—
if there is guilt on my hands,
5 if I have paid back evil to anyone at peace with me,
or unjustly attacked my adversary,
6 then let the enemy chase me,
overtake me, and trample me into the ground,
leaving my honor in the dirt! Selah
7 Arise, Adonai, in Your anger,
arise against the fury of my enemies!
Awake for me!
You decreed justice.
8 Let an assembly of peoples gather around You
and return on high, above them.
9 Adonai judges the peoples.
Vindicate me, Adonai,
according to my righteousness and integrity in me.
10 Please, end the evil of the wicked
and sustain the righteous.
A just God examines hearts and minds.
11 My shield is God—
Savior of the upright in heart.
12 God is a righteous judge,
a God who is indignant every day.
13 If He does not relent,
He will sharpen His sword.
He has bent His bow and made it ready.
14 He prepares His own deadly weapons.
He makes His fiery arrows.
15 Look! The one pregnant with trouble conceives mischief
and brings forth deceit.[a]
16 He digs a pit, scrapes it out,
and then falls into the hole he has made.
17 His mischief will turn on his own head.
His violence will boomerang on his crown.
18 I will praise Adonai for His justice.
I sing praise to the Name of Adonai Elyon!
5 Now Adonijah son of Haggith exalted himself, saying: “I’ll be king!” So he prepared for himself chariots, horsemen and 50 men to run before him. 6 His father had not scolded him at any time by asking: “Why have you behaved this way?” He was also a very handsome man; and he was born after Absalom.
7 So he conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the kohen. Following Adonijah, they supported him. 8 But Zadok the kohen, Benaiah son of Jehoiada, Nathan the prophet, Shimei, Rei and David’s mighty men, were not on Adonijah’s side.
9 Then Adonijah sacrificed sheep, oxen and fattened cattle by the stone of Zoheleth[a], which is beside En-rogel, and invited all his brothers, the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah, the king’s servants, 10 but he did not invite Nathan the prophet, Benaiah, the mighty men, or Solomon. 11 But Nathan spoke to Bath-sheba, Solomon’s mother, saying: “Haven’t you heard that Adonijah son of Haggith has assumed the kingship—and our lord David doesn’t know it? 12 Now come, please let me give you advice. Save your own life and the life of your son Solomon! 13 Go at once to King David, and say to him: ‘My lord the king, haven’t you sworn to your handmaid, saying: “Surely your son Solomon will become king after me, and he will sit on my throne”? Then why does Adonijah reign?’ 14 Behold, while you are still there talking with the king, I will come in after you and confirm your words.”
15 So Bath-sheba went to the king into the chamber. Now the king was very old, with Abishag the Shunammite serving the king. 16 Bath-sheba bowed and prostrated herself to the king. The king asked, “What troubles you?”
17 She said to him: “My lord, you swore by Adonai your God to your handmaid: ‘Surely, Solomon your son will be king after me, and he will sit on my throne.’ 18 Yet now, behold, Adonijah reigns, though you do not know it—my lord the king. 19 He has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, Abiathar the kohen and Joab the commander of the army, but he has not invited Solomon your servant. 20 As for you, my lord the king, the eyes of all Israel are on you, to tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. 21 Otherwise it will come to pass, when my lord the king sleeps with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon will be considered traitors.”
22 Then behold, while she was still talking with the king, the prophet Nathan came in, 23 and they informed the king, saying: “Behold the prophet Nathan is here.” When he came in before the king, he prostrated himself before the king with his face to the ground.
24 Then Nathan said: “My lord the king, did you say: ‘Adonijah shall be king after me, and he shall sit on my throne?’ 25 For he has gone down today, slain oxen, fattened cattle and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the captains of the army and Abiathar the kohen—and behold, they are eating and drinking with him, and they are saying: ‘Long live King Adonijah!’ 26 But he did not invite me, your servant, Zadok the kohen, Benaiah son of Jehoiada or your servant Solomon. 27 Was this thing done by my lord the king, without letting your servants know who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him?”
28 Then King David answered and said: “Summon Bath-sheba to me.” So she came into the king’s presence, and stood before the king. 29 Then the king swore an oath: “As Adonai lives, who has redeemed my soul out of all distress, 30 as surely as I swore to you by Adonai, the God of Israel, saying that your son Solomon will be king after me and will sit on my throne in my place. Thus I will surely fulfill it this day!”
31 Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the ground and prostrated herself before the king, and said: “Let my lord King David live forever!”
Defense Before King Agrippa
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “It is permitted for you to speak for yourself.”
Then Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2 “Concerning all I am accused of by the Judean leaders, I consider myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that it is before you that I am about to make my defense today— 3 since you are especially knowledgeable about all Jewish customs and issues. Therefore I beg you to listen patiently to me.
4 “Now all the Jewish people have known my manner of life ever since my youth, starting from the beginning in my own nation and also in Jerusalem. 5 They have known about me for a long time—if they were willing to testify—that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.
6 “Yet now I stand here being judged for the hope in the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 It is the promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jewish people, O King! 8 Why is it judged incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 “In fact, I myself thought it was necessary to do many things in opposition to the name of Yeshua ha-Natzrati. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem. Not only did I lock up many of the kedoshim in prisons by the authority I received from the ruling kohanim, but I cast my vote against them when they were being condemned to death. 11 I tried to cause them to blaspheme by punishing them often in the synagogues. In furious rage against them, I persecuted them even in foreign cities.
12 “While journeying to Damascus with the authority and commission of the ruling kohanim, 13 at midday, O King, I saw on the road a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those traveling with me. 14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against goads!’
15 “Then I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“And the Lord said, ‘I am Yeshua—whom you are persecuting. 16 But get up, and stand on your feet.[a] For I have appeared to you for this purpose—to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things you have seen as well as to the things I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will rescue you[b] from your own people, and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, 18 to open their eyes—so they may turn from darkness to light[c] and from the power of satan to God, that they may receive release from sins as well as a place among those who are made holy through trusting in Me.’
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. 20 Rather, I kept declaring—first to those in Damascus, and then Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also the Gentiles—that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds consistent with that repentance.
21 “For this reason some Judeans seized me in the Temple and tried to put me to death. 22 Since I have had God’s help, to this day I have stood here testifying to both small and great. I am saying nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to happen— 23 that the Messiah was to suffer and that, being first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light both to our people and to the nations.[d]”
Birth Pangs Before Deliverance
14 “But when you see ‘the abomination of desolation’[a] standing where it should not be (let the reader understand), then those in Judea must flee to the mountains. 15 The one on the roof must not go down, nor enter to take anything out of his house. 16 And the one in the field must not turn back to get his cloak. 17 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 18 Pray that it will not happen in winter.
19 “For in those days there will be trouble such as has never happened,[b] not since the beginning of the creation which God created until now, and never will. 20 And unless Adonai had cut short those days, no one would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He chose, He cut short the days.
21 “And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here’s the Messiah!’ or, ‘Look, there He is!’ do not believe it. 22 For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up[c] and show signs and wonders to lead astray, if possible, the chosen. 23 So be careful! See, I have told you everything beforehand.”
Messianic Victory
24 “But in those days, after that trouble,
‘the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light,
25 and the stars will be falling from heaven,
and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.’[d]
26 And then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in clouds’[e] with great power and glory. 27 Then He will send out the angels and will gather together His chosen from the four winds, from the end of the earth, to the end of heaven.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.