Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in the Law of the Lord
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant;
it has given me hope.
50 Even in my suffering I was comforted
because your promise gave me life.
51 The proud are always scornful of me,
but I have not departed from your law.
52 I remember your judgments of long ago,
and they bring me comfort, O Lord.
53 When I see the wicked breaking your law,
I am filled with anger.
54 During my brief earthly life
I compose songs about your commands.
55 In the night I remember you, Lord,
and I think about your law.
56 I find my happiness
in obeying your commands.
Devotion to the Law of the Lord
57 You are all I want, O Lord;
I promise to obey your laws.
58 I ask you with all my heart
to have mercy on me, as you have promised!
59 I have considered my conduct,
and I promise to follow your instructions.
60 Without delay I hurry
to obey your commands.
61 The wicked have laid a trap for me,
but I do not forget your law.
62 In the middle of the night I wake up
to praise you for your righteous judgments.
63 I am a friend of all who serve you,
of all who obey your laws.
64 Lord, the earth is full of your constant love;
teach me your commandments.
The Value of the Law of the Lord
65 You have kept your promise, Lord,
and you are good to me, your servant.
66 Give me wisdom and knowledge,
because I trust in your commands.
67 Before you punished me, I used to go wrong,
but now I obey your word.
68 How good you are—how kind!
Teach me your commands.
69 The proud have told lies about me,
but with all my heart I obey your instructions.
70 They have no understanding,
but I find pleasure in your law.
71 My punishment was good for me,
because it made me learn your commands.
72 The law that you gave means more to me
than all the money in the world.
The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches[a]
49 Hear this, everyone!
Listen, all people everywhere,
2 great and small alike,
rich and poor together.
3 My thoughts will be clear;
I will speak words of wisdom.
4 I will turn my attention to proverbs
and explain their meaning as I play the harp.
5 I am not afraid in times of danger
when I am surrounded by enemies,
6 by evil people who trust in their riches
and boast of their great wealth.
7 We can never redeem ourselves;
we cannot pay God the price for our lives,
8 because the payment for a human life is too great.
What we could pay would never be enough
9 to keep us from the grave,
to let us live forever.
10 (A)Anyone can see that even the wise die,
as well as the foolish and stupid.
They all leave their riches to their descendants.
11 Their graves[b] are their homes forever;
there they stay for all time,
though they once had lands of their own.
12 Our greatness cannot keep us from death;
we will still die like the animals.
13 See what happens to those who trust in themselves,
the fate of those[c] who are satisfied with their wealth—
14 they are doomed to die like sheep,
and Death will be their shepherd.
The righteous will triumph over them,
as their bodies quickly decay
in the world of the dead far from their homes.[d]
15 But God will rescue me;
he will save me from the power of death.
16 Don't be upset when someone becomes rich,
when his wealth grows even greater;
17 he cannot take it with him when he dies;
his wealth will not go with him to the grave.
18 Even if someone is satisfied with this life
and is praised because he is successful,
19 he will join all his ancestors in death,
where the darkness lasts forever.
20 Our greatness cannot keep us from death;
we will still die like the animals.
Human Wickedness[a](A)
53 (B)Fools say to themselves,
“There is no God.”
They are all corrupt,
and they have done terrible things;
there is no one who does what is right.
2 God looks down from heaven at people
to see if there are any who are wise,
any who worship him.
3 But they have all turned away;
they are all equally bad.
Not one of them does what is right,
not a single one.
4 “Don't they know?” God asks.
“Are these evildoers ignorant?
They live by robbing my people,
and they never pray to me.”
5 But then they will become terrified,
as they have never been before,
for God will scatter the bones of the enemies of his people.
God has rejected them,
and so Israel will totally defeat them.
6 How I pray that victory
will come to Israel from Zion.
How happy the people of Israel will be
when God makes them prosperous again!
Emperor Cyrus' Order Is Rediscovered
6 So Emperor Darius issued orders for a search to be made in the royal records that were kept in Babylon. 2 But it was in the city of Ecbatana in the province of Media that a scroll was found, containing the following record:
3 “In the first year of his reign Emperor Cyrus commanded that the Temple in Jerusalem be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are made and offerings are burned. The Temple is to be ninety feet high and ninety feet wide. 4 The walls are to be built with one layer of wood on top of each three layers of stone. All expenses are to be paid by the royal treasury. 5 Also the gold and silver utensils which King Nebuchadnezzar brought to Babylon from the Temple in Jerusalem are to be returned to their proper place in the Jerusalem Temple.”
Emperor Darius Orders the Work to Continue
6 Then Emperor Darius sent the following reply:
“To Tattenai, governor of West-of-Euphrates, Shethar Bozenai, and your fellow officials in West-of-Euphrates.
“Stay away from the Temple 7 and do not interfere with its construction. Let the governor of Judah and the Jewish leaders rebuild the Temple of God where it stood before. 8 I hereby command you to help them rebuild it. Their expenses are to be paid promptly out of the royal funds received from taxes in West-of-Euphrates, so that the work is not interrupted. 9 Day by day, without fail, you are to give the priests in Jerusalem whatever they tell you they need: young bulls, sheep, or lambs to be burned as offerings to the God of Heaven, or wheat, salt, wine, or olive oil. 10 This is to be done so that they can offer sacrifices that are acceptable to the God of Heaven and pray for his blessing on me and my sons. 11 I further command that if any disobey this order, a wooden beam is to be torn out of their houses, sharpened on one end, and then driven through their bodies. And their houses are to be made a rubbish heap.
12 May the God who chose Jerusalem as the place where he is to be worshiped overthrow any king or nation that defies this command and tries to destroy the Temple there. I, Darius, have commanded. My command is to be fully obeyed.”
The Temple Is Dedicated
13 Then Governor Tattenai, Shethar Bozenai, and their fellow officials did exactly as the emperor had commanded. 14 (A)The Jewish leaders made good progress with the building of the Temple, encouraged by the prophets Haggai and Zechariah. They completed the Temple as they had been commanded by the God of Israel and by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes, emperors of Persia. 15 They finished the Temple on the third day of the month Adar in the sixth year of the reign of Emperor Darius. 16 Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and all the others who had returned from exile—joyfully dedicated the Temple. 17 For the dedication they offered 100 bulls, 200 sheep, and 400 lambs as sacrifices, and 12 goats as offerings for sin, one for each tribe of Israel. 18 They also organized the priests and the Levites for the Temple services in Jerusalem, according to the instructions contained in the book of Moses.
The Passover
19 (B)The people who had returned from exile celebrated Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month of the following year. 20 All the priests and the Levites had purified themselves and were ritually clean. The Levites killed the animals for the Passover sacrifices for all the people who had returned, for the priests, and for themselves. 21 The sacrifices were eaten by all the Israelites who had returned from exile and by all those who had given up the pagan ways of the other people who were living in the land and who had come to worship the Lord God of Israel. 22 For seven days they joyfully celebrated the Festival of Unleavened Bread. They were full of joy because the Lord had made the emperor of Assyria[a] favorable to them, so that he supported them in their work of rebuilding the Temple of the God of Israel.
The Scroll and the Lamb
5 (A)I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one who sits on the throne; it was covered with writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel, who announced in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But there was no one in heaven or on earth or in the world below[a] who could open the scroll and look inside it. 4 I cried bitterly because no one could be found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside it. 5 (B)Then one of the elders said to me, “Don't cry. Look! The Lion from Judah's tribe, the great descendant of David, has won the victory, and he can break the seven seals and open the scroll.”
6 (C)Then I saw a Lamb standing in the center of the throne, surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb appeared to have been killed. It had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that have been sent through the whole earth. 7 The Lamb went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who sits on the throne. 8 (D)As he did so, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each had a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of God's people. 9 (E)They sang a new song:
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and to break open its seals.
For you were killed, and by your sacrificial death you bought for God
people from every tribe, language, nation, and race.
10 (F)You have made them a kingdom of priests to serve our God,
and they shall rule on earth.”
The Purpose of the Parables(A)
10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 (B)For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has. 13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. 14 (C)So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:
‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;
they will look and look, but not see,
15 because their minds are dull,
and they have stopped up their ears
and have closed their eyes.
Otherwise, their eyes would see,
their ears would hear,
their minds would understand,
and they would turn to me, says God,
and I would heal them.’
16 (D)“As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. 17 I assure you that many prophets and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.