Book of Common Prayer
Inheritance of the Kedoshim
Psalm 37
1 Of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be envious of them who do wrong.
2 For like the grass they soon wither
and fade like a green herb.
3 Trust in Adonai and do good.
Dwell in the land, feed on faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in Adonai,
and He will give you the requests of your heart.
5 Commit your way to Adonai.
Trust in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out your vindication as light,
and your cause will shine as noonday.
7 Be still before Adonai and wait patiently for Him.
Do not fret over one prospering in his way,
over one carrying out wicked schemes.
8 Put away anger and turn from wrath.
Do not fret—it only leads to doing evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who wait for Adonai—
they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while,
and the wicked will be no more.
Yes, you will look at his place,
but he will not be there.
11 But the meek will inherit the land,
and delight in abundant shalom.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him—
for He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have unsheathed their sword and have bent their bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose conduct is upright.
15 Their sword will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better a little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
while Adonai upholds the righteous.
18 Adonai knows the days of the blameless—
their inheritance endures forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in an evil time
and in days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 For the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of Adonai will be like the beauty of the fields—
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is a gracious giver.
22 For His blessed ones inherit the land.
But those He curses will be cut off.
23 From Adonai a man’s steps are made firm,
when He delights in his way.
24 Though he stumble,
he will not fall headlong,
for Adonai is holding his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous one forsaken,
nor his children begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends.
So his offspring will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
so you may live forever.
28 For Adonai loves justice
and does not abandon His godly ones.
They will be preserved forever,
but the seed of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The Torah of his God is in his heart.
His steps do not slip.
32 The wicked lies in wait for the righteous,
seeking to slay him.
33 But Adonai will not leave him in his hand,
or let him be condemned when judged.
34 Wait for Adonai and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man
flourishing like a leafy tree in native soil.
36 But once he passed by, he was no more.
Though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Notice the man of integrity and watch the upright—
for the man of shalom has a future.
38 But transgressors will be destroyed altogether.
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 Yet the salvation of the righteous is from Adonai.
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 Adonai helps them and delivers them.
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them—
because they take refuge in Him.
Cyrus Decrees: Rebuild the Temple
1 Now in the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to accomplish the word of Adonai from the mouth of Jeremiah, Adonai stirred up the spirit of King Cyrus of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, announcing in a written edict, saying:
2 “Thus says King Cyrus of Persia: Adonai, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has appointed me to build a House for Him in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Whoever is among you from all His people—may his God be with him—may go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the House of Adonai, the God of Israel—He is the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 As for anyone who remains, wherever they may be living, let the people of those places supply him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the House of God in Jerusalem.”
5 So the patriarchal leaders of Judah and Benjamin, along with the kohanim and the Levites—everyone whose spirit God had stirred up—arose to go up to build the House of Adonai in Jerusalem. 6 All those around them strengthened their hands with vessels of silver, gold, goods, cattle and valuable gifts, besides all that was willingly offered.
7 Then King Cyrus brought out the vessels from the House of Adonai that Nebuchadnezzar had brought from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his gods. 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out by Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out for Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah. 9 And this was the inventory of them:
gold basins—30
silver basins—1,000
silver utensils—29
10 gold bowls—30
other silver bowls—410
other vessels—1,000
11 In all there were 5,400 vessels of gold and silver. Sheshbatzar brought them all along when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Collection for Jerusalem and Final Greetings
16 Now concerning the collection for the kedoshim, as I directed Messiah’s communities in Galatia, you do likewise. 2 On the first day of the week, let each of you set something aside, saving up whatever is gained, so no collections take place when I come. 3 Then whenever I arrive, I will send whomever you approve with letters of introduction to carry your gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it is advisable for me to go also, they will go with me.
5 But I will come to you after I have passed through Macedonia—for I am passing through Macedonia. 6 Perhaps I will stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey—wherever I go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing—for I hope to stay on with you for a while, if the Lord permits. 8 But I will stay on at Ephesus until Shavuot, 9 for a great door has opened wide for me, though many are in opposition.
God’s Chosen Servant Brings Hope
15 Knowing this, Yeshua went away from there. And large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all. 16 And He sternly warned them not to make Him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
18 “Here is My servant whom I chose,
the One I love, in whom My soul takes delight.
I will put My Ruach upon Him,
and He shall proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out,
nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
20 A crushed reed He will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
until He brings forth justice to victory.
21 And in His name the nations shall hope.”[a]
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.