Book of Common Prayer
Refuge, Sukkah, Shelter
Psalm 31
1 For the music director, a psalm of David.
2 In You, Adonai, have I taken refuge:
Let me never be put to shame.
In Your righteousness, deliver me.
3 Turn Your ear to me, rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me, a stronghold for my deliverance.
4 Since You are my rock and my fortress,
You lead me and guide me for Your Name’s sake.
5 Free me from the net they hid for me,
for You are my refuge.
6 Into Your hand I commit my spirit.[a]
You have redeemed me, Adonai, God of truth.
7 I detest those who continue to watch worthless idols,
but I trust in Adonai.
8 I will be glad and rejoice in Your lovingkindness,
for You saw my affliction.
You knew the troubles of my soul.
9 You did not hand me over to the enemy.
You set my feet in a wide-open place.
10 Be gracious to me, Adonai,
for I am in distress.
My eyes waste away with grief,
my soul and my body as well.
11 For my life is consumed in sorrow
and my years in sighing.
My strength fails because of my anguish
and my bones waste away.
12 Because of all my adversaries
I am the contempt of my neighbors
and a dread to my acquaintances.
Seeing me on the street, they flee from me.
13 I am as forgotten as a dead man.
I have become like a broken vessel.
14 For I have heard the whispering of many.
There is terror on every side
as they conspire against me
and plot to take my life.
15 But I have trusted in You, Adonai.
I said: “You are my God.”
16 My times are in Your hands.
Deliver me from the hands of my foes and from those who pursue me.
17 Make Your face shine on Your servant.
Save me in Your lovingkindness.
18 Adonai, let me not be ashamed,
for I have called upon You.
Let the wicked be ashamed—
let them be silent in Sheol.
19 Let the lying lips be mute.
For they speak arrogantly against the righteous,
with pride and contempt.
20 How great is Your goodness,
which You have stored up for those who fear You,
which You have given to those who take refuge in You,
before the children of men.
21 In the shelter of Your presence
You hide them from people’s plots.
You conceal them in a sukkah
from the strife of tongues.
22 Blessed be Adonai,
for He has shown me His wonderful love
in a besieged city.
23 I said in my alarm,
“I have been cut off from Your sight!”
But You heard the sound of my pleas
when I cried out to You.
24 Love Adonai, all His kedoshim!
Adonai preserves all the faithful,
but the proud He pays back in full.
25 Chazak! Let your heart take courage,[b]
all you who wait for Adonai.
Justice for the Oppressed
Psalm 35
1 A psalm of David.
Adonai, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight those who fight me.
2 Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to my help.
3 Draw out also a spear and battle-axe.
Stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
4 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and disgraced.
May they be turned back and humiliated
—those who plot evil against me.
5 May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of Adonai driving them off.
6 May their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of Adonai pursuing them.
7 For without cause they hid their net for me,
and without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
8 Let ruin come upon him by surprise.
Let the net he hid entangle himself
—into that same pit let him fall.
9 Then my soul will rejoice in Adonai
and delight in His salvation.
10 All my bones will say:
“Adonai, who is like You,
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor and needy from one who robs him?”
11 Violent witnesses rise up.
They question me about things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good—
my soul is forlorn.
13 But as for me, when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth.
I afflicted my soul with fasting,
my prayer kept returning to my heart.
14 I went about mourning as though for my own friend or brother.
I bowed down dressed in black as though for my own mother.
15 But at my stumbling they gathered in glee.
Wretches gathered against me whom I did not know,
tearing at me without ceasing.
16 They mocked profanely, as if at a feast,
they gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 My Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their ravages—
my solitary existence from the lions.
18 I praise You in the great assembly,
acclaiming You among a throng of people.
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies gloat over me without cause,
nor let those who hate me for nothing wink an eye.[a]
20 For they never speak shalom,
but devise deceitful words against the quiet ones in the land.
21 Yes, they open their mouth wide against me, saying:
“Aha! Aha! Our own eyes have seen it!”
22 You have seen it, Adonai—be not silent!
Adonai, be not far from me.
23 Arise, awaken to my defense,
to my cause—my God and my Lord!
24 Vindicate me, Adonai my God,
according to Your justice,
and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Don’t let them say in their heart:
“Aha! Just what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say:
“We swallowed him up!”
26 May they be ashamed and humiliated,
those who rejoice over my misery.
May they who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May they shout for joy and be glad,
those who delight in my righteous cause.
May they always say:
“Exalted be Adonai, who delights in His servant’s shalom.”
28 Then my tongue will declare aloud
Your justice and Your praises all day.
Rebuilding the Temple
3 When the seventh month arrived and the sons of Israel were settled in the towns, the people gathered together as one man in Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak, his fellow kohanim, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel, in order to offer burnt offerings on it as written in the Torah of Moses, the man of God. 3 They set up the altar on its fixed resting place despite their fear of the peoples of the lands and they offered burnt offerings on it to Adonai, both the morning and the evening sacrifices. 4 They also kept the Feast of Sukkot as it is written and offered the prescribed number of daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day.
5 After that they presented the regular burnt offerings, the new moon sacrifices and the sacrifices for all the sacred moadim of Adonai, as well as all the freewill offerings brought to Adonai. 6 From the first day of the seventh month, they began to offer burnt offerings to Adonai, though the foundation of the Temple of Adonai had not been laid. 7 So they gave money to the stone-masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and oil to the Sidonians and to the Tyrians to bring cedar trees by sea from Lebanon to Joppa, as authorized by King Cyrus of Persia.
8 In the second month of the second year after they had come to the House of God in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak and the rest of their brothers—the kohanim, the Levites and all who returned from captivity to Jerusalem—began the work. They appointed the Levites from twenty years of age and older to supervise the work on the House of Adonai.
9 Then Jeshua, his sons and his brothers, Kadmiel and his sons, the sons of Judah, stood together to supervise those working in the House of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their brothers, the Levites.
10 When the builders had laid the foundation of the Temple of Adonai, the kohanim, arrayed in their vestments and with clarions, and the Levites sons of Asaph with cymbals, were stationed to praise Adonai as prescribed by King David of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to Adonai,
“For He is good;
For His mercy upon Israel
endures forever.”
Then all the people gave a great shout of praise to Adonai because the foundation of the House of Adonai had been laid. 12 But many of the kohanim, Levites and patriarchal leaders, older men who had seen the former House, wept loudly at the sight of the founding of this House, while many shouted for joy. 13 People could not distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of the people’s weeping. For the people were shouting so loudly that the sound was heard far away.
10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you—for he is doing the Lord’s work, just as I am. 11 No one, then, should treat him with disrespect. But set him on his way in shalom, so that he might come to me; for I am expecting him, along with the brothers.
12 Now about our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to come to you with the brothers and sisters, and he was quite unwilling to come now—but he will come when he has an opportunity.
13 Be on the alert! Stand firm in the faith! Be men of courage! Be strong! [a] 14 Let all that you do be done in love.
15 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters (you know the household of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have devoted themselves in service to the kedoshim), 16 also to submit to people such as these, and to everyone working together and laboring. 17 I rejoice at the coming of Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus, for they made up for your absence. 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. Therefore acknowledge such men.
19 Messiah’s communities in Asia[b] greet you. Aquila and Prisca[c] greet you warmly in the Lord, with the community that meets in their house. 20 All the brothers and sisters greet you. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 This greeting is in my own hand—Paul’s. 22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let him be cursed. Marana, tha! Our Lord, come![d]
23 The grace of the Lord Yeshua be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Messiah Yeshua.
Whose Power Will Rule?
22 Then a demon-plagued man, who was blind and mute, was brought to Yeshua; and He healed him, so that he spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were astounded and saying, “This can’t be Ben-David, can it?”
24 But hearing this, the Pharisees said, “This fellow drives out demons only by beelzebul, the ruler of demons.”
25 Knowing their thoughts, Yeshua said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 If satan drives out satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? For this reason, they will be your judges. 28 But if I drive out demons by the Ruach Elohim, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he will thoroughly plunder his house. 30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
31 “For this reason I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Ruach will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Ruach ha-Kodesh will not be forgiven, neither in this age nor in the one to come.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.