Book of Common Prayer
A Lament of Israelites in Exile
137 By the rivers of Babylon we sat down;
there we wept when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows near by
we hung up our harps.
3 Those who captured us told us to sing;
they told us to entertain them:
“Sing us a song about Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5 May I never be able to play the harp again
if I forget you, Jerusalem!
6 May I never be able to sing again
if I do not remember you,
if I do not think of you as my greatest joy!
7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
the day Jerusalem was captured.
Remember how they kept saying,
“Tear it down to the ground!”
8 (A)Babylon, you will be destroyed.
Happy are those who pay you back
for what you have done to us—
9 who take your babies
and smash them against a rock.
A King Thanks God for Victory[a]
144 Praise the Lord, my protector!
He trains me for battle
and prepares me for war.
2 He is my protector and defender,
my shelter and savior,
in whom I trust for safety.
He subdues the nations under me.
3 (A)Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them;
mere mortals, that you pay attention to us?
4 We are like a puff of wind;
our days are like a passing shadow.
5 O Lord, tear the sky open and come down;
touch the mountains, and they will pour out smoke.
6 Send flashes of lightning and scatter your enemies;
shoot your arrows and send them running.
7 Reach down from above,
pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me;
save me from the power of foreigners,
8 who never tell the truth
and lie even under oath.
9 I will sing you a new song, O God;
I will play the harp and sing to you.
10 You give victory to kings
and rescue your servant David.
11 Save me from my cruel enemies;
rescue me from the power of foreigners,
who never tell the truth
and lie even under oath.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like plants that grow up strong.
May our daughters be like stately columns
which adorn the corners of a palace.
13 May our barns be filled
with crops of every kind.
May the sheep in our fields
bear young by the tens of thousands.
14 May our cattle reproduce plentifully
without miscarriage or loss.
May there be no cries of distress in our streets.
15 Happy is the nation of whom this is true;
happy are the people whose God is the Lord!
In Praise of the Creator
104 Praise the Lord, my soul!
O Lord, my God, how great you are!
You are clothed with majesty and glory;
2 you cover yourself with light.
You have spread out the heavens like a tent
3 and built your home on the waters above.[a]
You use the clouds as your chariot
and ride on the wings of the wind.
4 (A)You use the winds as your messengers
and flashes of lightning as your servants.
5 You have set the earth firmly on its foundations,
and it will never be moved.
6 You placed the ocean over it like a robe,
and the water covered the mountains.
7 When you rebuked the waters, they fled;
they rushed away when they heard your shout of command.
8 They flowed over the mountains and into the valleys,
to the place you had made for them.
9 You set a boundary they can never pass,
to keep them from covering the earth again.
10 You make springs flow in the valleys,
and rivers run between the hills.
11 They provide water for the wild animals;
there the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 In the trees near by,
the birds make their nests and sing.
13 From the sky you send rain on the hills,
and the earth is filled with your blessings.
14 You make grass grow for the cattle
and plants for us to use,
so that we can grow our crops
15 and produce wine to make us happy,
olive oil to make us cheerful,
and bread to give us strength.
16 The cedars of Lebanon get plenty of rain—
the Lord's own trees, which he planted.
17 There the birds build their nests;
the storks nest in the fir trees.
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains,
and the rock badgers hide in the cliffs.
19 You created the moon to mark the months;
the sun knows the time to set.
20 You made the night, and in the darkness
all the wild animals come out.
21 The young lions roar while they hunt,
looking for the food that God provides.
22 When the sun rises, they go back
and lie down in their dens.
23 Then people go out to do their work
and keep working until evening.
24 Lord, you have made so many things!
How wisely you made them all!
The earth is filled with your creatures.
25 There is the ocean, large and wide,
where countless creatures live,
large and small alike.
26 (B)The ships sail on it, and in it plays Leviathan,
that sea monster which you made.[b]
27 All of them depend on you
to give them food when they need it.
28 You give it to them, and they eat it;
you provide food, and they are satisfied.
29 When you turn away, they are afraid;
when you take away your breath, they die
and go back to the dust from which they came.
30 But when you give them breath,[c] they are created;
you give new life to the earth.
31 May the glory of the Lord last forever!
May the Lord be happy with what he has made!
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles;
he touches the mountains, and they pour out smoke.
33 I will sing to the Lord all my life;
as long as I live I will sing praises to my God.
34 May he be pleased with my song,
for my gladness comes from him.
35 May sinners be destroyed from the earth;
may the wicked be no more.
Praise the Lord, my soul!
Praise the Lord!
22 (A)“The Lord created me first of all,
the first of his works, long ago.
23 I was made in the very beginning,
at the first, before the world began.
24 I was born before the oceans,
when there were no springs of water.
25 I was born before the mountains,
before the hills were set in place,
26 before God made the earth and its fields
or even the first handful of soil.
27 (B)I was there when he set the sky in place,
when he stretched the horizon across the ocean,
28 when he placed the clouds in the sky,
when he opened the springs of the ocean
29 and ordered the waters of the sea
to rise no further than he said.
I was there when he laid the earth's foundations.
30 I was beside him like an architect,[a]
I was his daily source of joy,
always happy in his presence—
31 happy with the world
and pleased with the human race.
32 (C)“Now, young people, listen to me.
Do as I say, and you will be happy.
33 Listen to what you are taught.
Be wise; do not neglect it.
34 Those who listen to me will be happy—
those who stay at my door every day,
waiting at the entrance to my home.
35 Those who find me find life,
and the Lord will be pleased with them.
36 Those who do not find me hurt themselves;
anyone who hates me loves death.”
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God's will, sent to proclaim the promised life which we have in union with Christ Jesus—
2 (A)To Timothy, my dear son:
May God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord give you grace, mercy, and peace.
Thanksgiving and Encouragement
3 I give thanks to God, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as my ancestors did. I thank him as I remember you always in my prayers night and day. 4 I remember your tears, and I want to see you very much, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 (B)I remember the sincere faith you have, the kind of faith that your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice also had. I am sure that you have it also. 6 For this reason I remind you to keep alive the gift that God gave you when I laid my hands on you. 7 For the Spirit that God has given us does not make us timid; instead, his Spirit fills us with power, love, and self-control.
8 Do not be ashamed, then, of witnessing for our Lord; neither be ashamed of me, a prisoner for Christ's sake. Instead, take your part in suffering for the Good News, as God gives you the strength for it. 9 He saved us and called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace by means of Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10 but now it has been revealed to us through the coming of our Savior, Christ Jesus. He has ended the power of death and through the gospel has revealed immortal life.
11 (C)God has appointed me as an apostle and teacher to proclaim the Good News, 12 and it is for this reason that I suffer these things. But I am still full of confidence, because I know whom I have trusted, and I am sure that he is able to keep safe until that Day what he has entrusted to me.[a] 13 Hold firmly to the true words that I taught you, as the example for you to follow, and remain in the faith and love that are ours in union with Christ Jesus. 14 Through the power of the Holy Spirit, who lives in us, keep the good things that have been entrusted to you.
Some Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Some Greeks were among those who had gone to Jerusalem to worship during the festival. 21 They went to Philip (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) and said, “Sir, we want to see Jesus.”
22 Philip went and told Andrew, and the two of them went and told Jesus. 23 Jesus answered them, “The hour has now come for the Son of Man to receive great glory. 24 I am telling you the truth: a grain of wheat remains no more than a single grain unless it is dropped into the ground and dies. If it does die, then it produces many grains. 25 (A)Those who love their own life will lose it; those who hate their own life in this world will keep it for life eternal. 26 Whoever wants to serve me must follow me, so that my servant will be with me where I am. And my Father will honor anyone who serves me.
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.