Book of Common Prayer
87 (0) A psalm of the sons of Korach. A song:
(1) On the holy mountains is [the city’s] foundation.
2 Adonai loves the gates of Tziyon
more than all the dwellings in Ya‘akov.
3 Glorious things are said about you,
city of God. (Selah)
4 I count Rahav and Bavel
among those who know me;
Of P’leshet, Tzor and Ethiopia [they will say],
“This one was born there.”
5 But of Tziyon it will be said,
“This one and that was born in it,
for the Most High himself establishes it.”
6 When he registers the peoples, Adonai will record,
“This one was born there.” (Selah)
7 Singers and dancers alike say,
“For me, you are the source of everything.”
Book IV: Psalms 90–106
90 (0) A prayer of Moshe the man of God:
(1) Adonai, you have been our dwelling place
in every generation.
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you had formed the earth and the world,
from eternity past to eternity future
you are God.
3 You bring frail mortals to the point of being crushed,
then say, “People, repent!”
4 For from your viewpoint a thousand years
are merely like yesterday or a night watch.
5 When you sweep them away, they become like sleep;
by morning they are like growing grass,
6 growing and flowering in the morning,
but by evening cut down and dried up.
7 For we are destroyed by your anger,
overwhelmed by your wrath.
8 You have placed our faults before you,
our secret sins in the full light of your presence.
9 All our days ebb away under your wrath;
our years die away like a sigh.
10 The span of our life is seventy years,
or if we are strong, eighty;
yet at best it is toil and sorrow,
over in a moment, and then we are gone.
11 Who grasps the power of your anger and wrath
to the degree that the fear due you should inspire?
12 So teach us to count our days,
so that we will become wise.
13 Return, Adonai! How long must it go on?
Take pity on your servants!
14 Fill us at daybreak with your love,
so that we can sing for joy as long as we live.
15 Let our joy last as long as the time you made us suffer,
for as many years as we experienced trouble.
16 Show your deeds to your servants
and your glory to their children.
17 May the favor of Adonai our God be on us,
prosper for us all the work that we do —
yes, prosper the work that we do.
136 Give thanks to Adonai, for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his grace continues forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his grace continues forever;
4 to him who alone has done great wonders,
for his grace continues forever;
5 to him who skillfully made the heavens,
for his grace continues forever;
6 to him who spread out the earth on the water,
for his grace continues forever;
7 to him who made the great lights,
for his grace continues forever;
8 the sun to rule the day,
for his grace continues forever;
9 the moon and stars to rule the night,
for his grace continues forever;
10 to him who struck down Egypt’s firstborn,
for his grace continues forever;
11 and brought Isra’el out from among them,
for his grace continues forever;
12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,
for his grace continues forever;
13 to him who split apart the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
14 and made Isra’el cross right through it,
for his grace continues forever;
15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Suf,
for his grace continues forever;
16 to him who led his people through the desert,
for his grace continues forever;
17 to him who struck down great kings,
for his grace continues forever;
18 yes, he slaughtered powerful kings,
for his grace continues forever;
19 Sichon king of the Emori,
for his grace continues forever;
20 and ‘Og king of Bashan,
for his grace continues forever;
21 then he gave their land as a heritage,
for his grace continues forever;
22 to be possessed by Isra’el his servant,
for his grace continues forever;
23 who remembers us whenever we are brought low,
for his grace continues forever;
24 and rescues us from our enemies,
for his grace continues forever;
25 who provides food for every living creature,
for his grace continues forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his grace continues forever.
11 When ‘Atalyah the mother of Achazyah saw that her son was dead, she set about destroying the entire royal family. 2 But Y’hosheva the daughter of King Yoram, sister of Achazyah, took Yo’ash the son of Achazyah and stole him away from among the princes who were being slaughtered. She took him and his nurse, sequestered them in a bedroom, and hid them from ‘Atalyah, so that he was not killed. 3 He remained hidden with his nurse in the house of Adonai for six years; during this time ‘Atalyah ruled the land. 4 In the seventh year Y’hoyada summoned the captains of hundred-man platoons, of both the Kari and the guard. He brought them into the house of Adonai, made an agreement with them and had them swear to it in the house of Adonai. Then he showed them the king’s son 5 and gave them this instruction: “Here is what you are to do: of you who come on duty on Shabbat, a third [normally] guards the royal palace, 6 a third is at the Sur Gate and a third is at the gate behind the guards. [The first third] is to continue guarding the palace and serve as a barrier, 7 while the other two groups of you who come on duty on Shabbat will guard the house of Adonai, where the king is. 8 You are to surround the king, each man with his weapons in his hand. Anyone who penetrates the ranks is to be killed. Stay with the king whenever he leaves or enters.”
9 The captains over hundreds did exactly as Y’hoyada the cohen ordered. Each took his men, those coming on duty on Shabbat and those going off duty on Shabbat, and came to Y’hoyada the cohen. 10 The cohen issued to the captains of hundreds the spears and shields that had been King David’s and were kept in the house of Adonai. 11 The guards then took positions, each man with his weapons in his hand, from the right side of the house to the left side of the house, alongside the altar, alongside [the exterior of] the house and around the king. 12 Then he brought out the king’s son, crowned him, gave him [a copy of] the testimony and thus made him king; they anointed him, clapped their hands and shouted, “Long live the king!”
13 When ‘Atalyah heard the shouting of the guard and the people, she entered the house of Adonai where the people were, 14 looked and saw the king standing there on the platform, in keeping with the rule, with the leaders and trumpeters next to the king. All the people of the land were celebrating and blowing the trumpets. At this ‘Atalyah tore her clothes and cried, “Treason! Treason!” 15 Y’hoyada the cohen ordered the captains of hundreds, the army officers, “Escort her out past the ranks [of guards]; but anyone who follows her, kill with the sword.” For the cohen had said, “She must not be put to death in the house of Adonai.” 16 So they took her by force and led her through the horses’ entry to the royal palace, and there she was put to death.
17 Y’hoyada made a covenant between Adonai, the king and the people, that they would be Adonai’s people, and [a covenant] between the king and the people. 18 Then all the people of the land went to the house of Ba‘al and broke it down; they completely smashed its altars and images and killed Mattan the priest of Ba‘al in front of the altars.
Next, the cohen appointed officers over the house of Adonai. 19 He took the captains of hundreds, the Kari, the guards and all the people of the land; and they brought the king down from the house of Adonai, going by way of the gate of the guards to the royal palace. There he sat on the throne of the kings. 20 All the people of the land celebrated, and at last the city was quiet. That is how they killed ‘Atalyah with the sword at the royal palace.
10 To those who are married I have a command, and it is not from me but from the Lord: a woman is not to separate herself from her husband 11 But if she does separate herself, she is to remain single or be reconciled with her husband. Also, a husband is not to leave his wife.
12 To the rest I say — I, not the Lord: if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she is satisfied to go on living with him, he should not leave her. 13 Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband who is satisfied to go on living with her, she is not to leave him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been set aside for God by the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been set aside for God by the brother — otherwise your children would be “unclean,” but as it is, they are set aside for God. 15 But if the unbelieving spouse separates himself, let him be separated. In circumstances like these, the brother or sister is not enslaved — God has called you to a life of peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him and live it in the condition he was in when God called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the congregations. 18 Was someone already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not try to remove the marks of his circumcision. Was someone uncircumcised when he was called? He shouldn’t undergo b’rit-milah. 19 Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing; what does mean something is keeping God’s commandments. 20 Each person should remain in the condition he was in when he was called.
21 Were you a slave when you were called? Well, don’t let it bother you; although if you can gain your freedom, take advantage of the opportunity. 22 For a person who was a slave when he was called is the Lord’s freedman; likewise, someone who was a free man when he was called is a slave of the Messiah. 23 You were bought at a price, so do not become slaves of other human beings. 24 Brothers, let each one remain with God in the condition in which he was called.
19 “Do not store up for yourselves wealth here on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and burglars break in and steal. 20 Instead, store up for yourselves wealth in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and burglars do not break in or steal. 21 For where your wealth is, there your heart will be also. 22 ‘The eye is the lamp of the body.’ So if you have a ‘good eye’ [that is, if you are generous] your whole body will be full of light; 23 but if you have an ‘evil eye’ [if you are stingy] your whole body will be full of darkness. If, then, the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24 No one can be slave to two masters; for he will either hate the first and love the second, or scorn the second and be loyal to the first. You can’t be a slave to both God and money.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.