Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 95
1 Come, let’s sing joyfully to Yahweh.
Let’s shout happily to the rock of our salvation.
2 Let’s come into his presence with a song of thanksgiving.
Let’s shout happily to him with psalms.
3 Yahweh is a great El and a great Melek above all gods.
4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth,
and the mountain peaks are his.
5 The sea is his.
He made it, and his hands formed the dry land.
6 Come, let’s worship and bow down.
Let’s kneel in front of Yahweh, our maker,
7 because he is our Elohim
and we are the people in his care,
the flock that he leads.
If only you would listen to him today!
8 “Do not be stubborn like my people were at Meribah,
like the time at Massah in the desert.
9 Your ancestors challenged me and tested me there,
although they had seen what I had done.
10 For 40 years I was disgusted with those people.
So I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts continue to stray.
They have not learned my ways.’
11 That is why I angrily took this solemn oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest!’”
Psalm 88
A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants; for the choir director; according to mahalath leannoth;[a] a maskil by Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Yahweh Elohim, my savior,
I cry out to you during the day and at night.
2 Let my prayer come into your presence.
Turn your ear to hear my cries.
3 My soul is filled with troubles,
and my life comes closer to the grave.
4 I am numbered with those who go into the pit.
I am like a man without any strength—
5 abandoned with the dead,
like those who have been killed and lie in graves,
like those whom you no longer remember,
who are cut off from your power.
6 You have put me in the bottom of the pit—in deep, dark places.
7 Your rage lies heavily on me.
You make all your waves pound on me. Selah
8 You have taken my friends far away from me.
You made me disgusting to them.
I’m shut in, and I can’t get out.
9 My eyes grow weak because of my suffering.
All day long I call out to you, O Yahweh.
I stretch out my hands to you in prayer.
10 Will you perform miracles for those who are dead?
Will the spirits of the dead rise and give thanks to you? Selah
11 Will anyone tell about your mercy in Sheol
or about your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Will anyone know about your miracles in that dark place
or about your righteousness in the place where forgotten people live?
13 I cry out to you for help, O Yahweh,
and in the morning my prayer will come into your presence.
14 Why do you reject my soul, O Yahweh?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15 Ever since I was young, I have been suffering and near death.
I have endured your terrors, and now I am in despair.[b]
16 Your burning anger has swept over me.
Your terrors have destroyed me.
17 They swirl around me all day long like water.
They surround me on all sides.
18 You have taken my loved ones and friends far away from me.
Darkness is my only friend![c]
Psalm 91
1 Whoever lives under the shelter of Elyon
will remain in the shadow of Shadday.
2 I will say to Yahweh,
“You are my Machseh and my Metsuda, my Elohim in whom I trust.”
3 He is the one who will rescue you from hunters’ traps
and from deadly plagues.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge.
His truth is your shield and armor.
5 You do not need to fear
terrors of the night,
arrows that fly during the day,
6 plagues that roam the dark,
epidemics that strike at noon.
7 They will not come near you,
even though a thousand may fall dead beside you
or ten thousand at your right side.
8 You only have to look with your eyes
to see the punishment of wicked people.
9 You, O Yahweh, are my Machseh!
You have made Elyon your home.
10 No harm will come to you.
No sickness will come near your house.
11 He will put his angels in charge of you
to protect you in all your ways.
12 They will carry you in their hands
so that you never hit your foot against a rock.
13 You will step on lions and cobras.
You will trample young lions and snakes.
14 Because you love me, I will rescue you.
I will protect you because you know my name.
15 When you call to me, I will answer you.
I will be with you when you are in trouble.
I will save you and honor you.
16 I will satisfy you with a long life.
I will show you how I will save you.
Psalm 92
A psalm; a song; for the day of worship.
1 It is good to give thanks to Yahweh,
to make music to praise your name, O Elyon.
2 It is good to announce your mercy in the morning
and your faithfulness in the evening
3 on a ten-stringed instrument and a harp
and with a melody on a lyre.
4 You made me find joy in what you have done, O Yahweh.
I will sing joyfully about the works of your hands.
5 How spectacular are your works, O Yahweh!
How very deep are your thoughts!
6 A stupid person cannot know
and a fool cannot understand
7 that wicked people sprout like grass
and all troublemakers blossom like flowers,
only to be destroyed forever.
8 But you, O Yahweh, are highly honored forever.
9 Now look at your enemies, O Yahweh.
Now look at your enemies.
They disappear, and all troublemakers are scattered.
10 But you make me as strong as a wild bull,
and soothing lotion is poured on me.
11 My eyes gloat over those who spy on me.
My ears hear the cries of evildoers attacking me.
12 Righteous people flourish like palm trees
and grow tall like the cedars in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in Yahweh’s house.
They blossom in Elohim’s courtyards.
14 Even when they are old, they still bear fruit.
They are always healthy and fresh.
15 They make it known that Yahweh is decent.
He is my rock.
He is never unfair.
Jacob [Israel] Meets Pharaoh
47 Joseph went and told Pharaoh, “My father and my brothers have arrived from Canaan with their flocks, herds, and everything they have. Now they are in Goshen.” 2 Since he had taken five of his brothers with him, he presented them to Pharaoh.
3 Pharaoh asked the brothers, “What kind of work do you do?”
They answered Pharaoh, “We are shepherds, as were our ancestors. 4 We have come to live in this land for a while. The famine is so severe in Canaan that there’s no pasture for our flocks. So please let us live in Goshen.”
5 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Your father and your brothers have come to you. 6 All of Egypt is available to you. Have your father and your brothers live in the best part of the land. Let them live in Goshen. If they are qualified, put them in charge of my livestock.”
7 Then Joseph brought his father Jacob and had him stand in front of Pharaoh. Jacob blessed Pharaoh. 8 Pharaoh asked him, “How old are you?”
9 Jacob answered Pharaoh, “The length of my stay on earth has been 130 years. The years of my life have been few and difficult, fewer than my ancestors’ years.” 10 Then Jacob blessed Pharaoh and left.
11 As Pharaoh had ordered, Joseph had his father and his brothers live in the best part of Egypt, the region of Rameses. He gave them property there. 12 Joseph also provided his father, his brothers, and all his father’s family with food based on the number of children they had.
Joseph Acquires All the Land in Egypt for Pharaoh
13 The famine was so severe that there was no food anywhere. Neither Egypt nor Canaan were producing crops because of the famine. 14 Joseph collected all the money that could be found in Egypt and in Canaan as payment for the grain people bought. Then he took it to Pharaoh’s palace. 15 When the money in Egypt and Canaan was gone, all the Egyptians came to Joseph. “Give us food,” they said. “Do you want us to die right in front of you? We don’t have any more money!”
16 Joseph replied, “If you don’t have any more money, give me your livestock, and I’ll give you food[a] in exchange.” 17 So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. During that year he supplied them with food in exchange for all their livestock.
18 When that year was over, they came to him the next year. “Sir,” they said to him, “you know that our money is gone, and you have all our livestock. There’s nothing left to bring you except our bodies and our land. 19 Do you want us to die right in front of you? Do you want the land to be ruined? Take us and our land in exchange for food. Then we will be Pharaoh’s slaves and our land will be his property. But give us seed so that we won’t starve to death and the ground won’t become a desert.”
20 Joseph bought all the land in Egypt for Pharaoh. Every Egyptian sold his fields because the famine was so severe. The land became Pharaoh’s. 21 All over Egypt Joseph moved the people to the cities. 22 But he didn’t buy the priests’ land because the priests received an income from Pharaoh, and they lived on that income. That’s why they didn’t sell their land.
23 Joseph said to the people, “Now that I have bought you and your land for Pharaoh, here is seed for you. Plant crops in the land. 24 Every time you harvest, give one-fifth of the produce to Pharaoh. Four-fifths will be yours to use as seed for your fields and as food for your households.”
25 “You have saved our lives,” they said. “Please, sir, we are willing to be Pharaoh’s slaves.”
26 Joseph made a law concerning the land in Egypt which is still in force today: One-fifth of the produce belongs to Pharaoh. Only the land of the priests didn’t belong to Pharaoh.
16 If I spread the Good News, I have nothing to brag about because I have an obligation to do this. How horrible it will be for me if I don’t spread the Good News! 17 If I spread the Good News willingly, I’ll have a reward. But if I spread the Good News unwillingly, I’m only doing what I’ve been entrusted to do.
18 So what is my reward? It is to spread the Good News free of charge. In that way I won’t use the rights that belong to those who spread the Good News.
Paul’s Work as an Apostle
19 Although I’m free from all people, I have made myself a slave for all people to win more of them. 20 I became Jewish for Jewish people. I became subject to the laws in Moses’ Teachings for those who are subject to those laws. I did this to win them even though I’m not subject to Moses’ Teachings. 21 I became like a person who does not have Moses’ Teachings for those who don’t have those teachings. I did this to win them even though I have God’s teachings. I’m really subject to Christ’s teachings. 22 I became like a person weak in faith to win those who are weak in faith. I have become everything to everyone in order to save at least some of them. 23 I do all this for the sake of the Good News in order to share what it offers.
24 Don’t you realize that everyone who runs in a race runs to win, but only one runner gets the prize? Run like them, so that you can win. 25 Everyone who enters an athletic contest goes into strict training. They do it to win a temporary crown, but we do it to win one that will be permanent. 26 So I run—but not without a clear goal ahead of me. So I box—but not as if I were just shadow boxing. 27 Rather, I toughen my body with punches and make it my slave so that I will not be disqualified after I have spread the Good News to others.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48 Yeshua saw that they were in a lot of trouble as they rowed, because they were going against the wind. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. He wanted to pass by them. 49 When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought, “It’s a ghost!” and they began to scream. 50 All of them saw him and were terrified.
Immediately, he said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciples were astounded. 52 (They didn’t understand what had happened with the loaves of bread. Instead, their minds were closed.)
53 They crossed the sea, came to shore at Gennesaret, and anchored there.
54 As soon as they stepped out of the boat, the people recognized Yeshua. 55 They ran all over the countryside and began to carry the sick on cots to any place where they heard he was. 56 Whenever he would go into villages, cities, or farms, people would put their sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.