Book of Common Prayer
A maskil from Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 I will sing forever about the Lord’s love.
I will sing about his faithfulness forever and ever!
2 I will say, “Your faithful love will last forever.
Your loyalty is like the sky—there is no end to it!”
3 You said, “I made an agreement with my chosen king.
I made this promise to my servant David:
4 ‘There will always be someone from your family to rule.
I will make your kingdom continue forever and ever.’” Selah
5 Lord, the heavens praise you for the amazing things you do.
The assembly of holy ones sings about your loyalty.
6 No one in heaven is equal to the Lord.
None of the “gods” can compare to the Lord.
7 When God’s holy ones—the angels around his throne—meet together,
they fear and respect him;
he is more awesome than all those around him.
8 Lord God All-Powerful, there is no one like you.
You are strong, Lord, and always faithful.
9 You rule the stormy sea.
You can calm its angry waves.
10 You defeated Rahab.
You scattered your enemies with your own powerful arm.
11 Everything in heaven and earth belongs to you.
You made the world and everything in it.
12 You created everything north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing praises to your name.
13 You have the power!
Your power is great!
Victory is yours!
14 Your kingdom is built on truth and justice.
Love and faithfulness are servants before your throne.
15 Lord, your loyal followers are happy.
They live in the light of your kindness.
16 Your name always makes them happy.
They praise your goodness.
17 You are their amazing strength.
Their power comes from you.
18 The king, our protector, belongs to the Lord,
who is the Holy One of Israel.
19 Lord, you once spoke in a vision to your followers:
“I have made a young soldier strong.
From among my people I chose him for an important position.
20 I have found my servant David
and anointed him as king with my special oil.
21 I will support him with my right hand,
and my arm will make him strong.
22 So no enemy will ever control him.
The wicked will never defeat him.
23 I will destroy his enemies before his eyes.
I will defeat those who hate him.
24 I will always love and support him.
I will always make him strong.
25 I will put him in charge of the sea.
He will control the rivers.
26 He will say to me, ‘You are my father.
You are my God, my Rock, my Savior.’
27 And I will make him my firstborn son.
He will be the great king on earth.
28 My love will protect him forever.
My agreement with him will never end.
29 I will make his family continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the skies.
30 If his descendants stop following my law
and stop obeying my commands,
31 if they break my laws
and ignore my commands,
32 I will punish them severely
for their sins and wrongs.
33 But I will never take my love from him.
I will never stop being loyal to him.
34 I will not break my agreement with David.
I will never change what I said.
35 By my holiness, I made a promise to him,
and I would not lie to David.
36 His family will continue forever.
His kingdom will last as long as the sun.
37 Like the moon, it will continue forever.
The sky is a witness to the agreement that can be trusted.” Selah
38 But now, Lord, you have become angry with your chosen king,[a]
and you have left him all alone.
39 You ended the agreement you made with your servant.
You threw the king’s crown into the dirt.
40 You pulled down the walls of his city.
You destroyed all his fortresses.
41 Everyone passing by steals from him.
His neighbors laugh at him.
42 You made all the king’s enemies happy
and let his enemies win the war.
43 You helped them defend themselves.
You did not help your king win the battle.
44 You did not let him win.
You threw his throne to the ground.
45 You cut his life short.
You shamed him. Selah
46 Lord, how long will this continue?
Will you ignore us forever?
Will your anger burn like a fire forever?
47 Remember how short my life is.
You created us to live a short life and then die.
48 Is there anyone alive who will never die?
Will anyone escape the grave? Selah
49 Lord, where is the love you showed in the past?
You promised David that you would be loyal to his family.
50-51 My Lord, please remember how people insulted your servant.
Lord, I had to listen to all the insults from your enemies.
They insulted your chosen king wherever he went.
52 Praise the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen!
Jacob Blesses His Sons
49 Then Jacob called all his sons to him. He said, “My sons, come here to me. I will tell you what will happen in the future.
2 “Children of Jacob, gather around.
Come listen to Israel, your father.
Reuben
3 “Reuben, my first son, you are my strength,
the first proof of my manhood.
You were the most honored
and powerful of all my sons.
4 But your passion was like a flood you couldn’t control.
So you will not remain my most honored son.
You climbed into your father’s bed
and slept with one of his wives.
You brought shame to my bed,
to the bed you lay on.
Simeon and Levi
5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers.
They are violent with their swords.
6 I will not join their secret meetings.
I will not take part in their evil plans.
They have killed people out of anger
and crippled animals for fun.
7 Their anger is so strong that it is a curse.
They are too cruel when they are angry.
They will not get their own land in the land of Jacob.
They will be spread throughout Israel.
Judah
8 “Judah, your brothers will praise you.
You will defeat your enemies.
Your brothers will bow down to you.
9 Judah is like a young lion.
My son, you are like a lion standing over the animal it killed.
Like a lion, Judah lies down to rest,
and no one is brave enough to disturb him.
10 Men from Judah’s family will be kings.
The sign that his family rules
will not leave his family before the real king comes.[a]
Then many people will obey and serve him.
11 He ties his donkeys to the best grapevines.
He washes his clothes in the best wine.
12 His eyes are red from drinking wine.
His teeth are white from drinking milk.[b]
Zebulun
13 “Zebulun will live near the sea.
His seacoast will be a safe place for ships.
His land will continue as far as the city of Sidon.
Issachar
14 “Issachar is like a donkey that has worked too hard.
He will lie down under his heavy load.
15 He will see his land is pleasant
and that his resting place is good.
But he will agree to carry heavy loads;
he will agree to work as a slave.
Dan
16 “Dan[c] will rule his people
as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan will be like a snake at the side of the road.
He will be like a dangerous snake lying near the path.
That snake bites a horse’s foot,
and the rider falls to the ground.
18 “Lord, I am waiting for your salvation.
Gad
19 “A group of robbers will attack[d] Gad,
but Gad will chase them away.
Asher
20 “Asher’s land will grow much good food.
He will have food fit for a king!
Naphtali
21 “Naphtali is like a deer running free,
and his words are beautiful.
Joseph
22 “Joseph is like a wild donkey,
like a young donkey by a spring,
like colts grazing in a pasture.[e]
23 People attacked him and made life hard for him.
Men with arrows became his enemies.
24 But he won the fight
with his mighty bow and his skillful arms.
He gets power from the Mighty One of Jacob,
from the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel,
25 the God of your father who helps you.
May God All-Powerful bless you
and give you blessings
from the sky above and from the deep below.
May he give you blessings
from breast and womb.
26 My parents had many good things happen to them.
And I, your father, was blessed even more.
Your brothers left you with nothing.
But now I pile all my blessings on you,
as high as a mountain.
Benjamin
27 “Benjamin is like a hungry wolf.
In the morning he kills and eats.
In the evening he shares what is left.”
28 These are the twelve families of Israel. And this is what their father said to them. He gave each son a blessing that was right for him.
14 So, my dear friends, stay away from worshiping idols. 15 You are intelligent people. Judge for yourselves the truth of what I say now. 16 The cup of blessing[a] that we give thanks for is a sharing in the blood sacrifice of Christ, isn’t it? And the bread that we break is a sharing in the body of Christ, isn’t it? 17 There is one loaf of bread, so we who are many are one body, because we all share in that one loaf.
18 And think about what the people of Israel do. When they eat the sacrifices,[b] they are united by sharing what was offered on the altar. 19 So, am I saying that sacrifices to idols are the same as those Jewish sacrifices? No, because an idol is nothing, and the things offered to idols are worth nothing. 20 But I am saying that when food is sacrificed to idols, it is an offering to demons, not to God. And I don’t want you to share anything with demons. 21 You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and then go drink a cup that honors demons. You cannot share a meal at the Lord’s table and then go share a meal that honors demons. 22 Doing that would make the Lord jealous.[c] Do you really want to do that? Do you think we are stronger than he is?
Use Your Freedom for God’s Glory
23 “All things are allowed,” you say. But not all things are good. “All things are allowed.” But some things don’t help anyone. 24 Try to do what is good for others, not just what is good for yourselves.
25 Eat any meat that is sold in the meat market. Don’t ask questions about it to see if it is something you think is wrong to eat. 26 You can eat it, “because the earth and everything in it belong to the Lord.”[d]
27 Someone who is not a believer might invite you to eat with them. If you want to go, then eat anything that is put before you. Don’t ask questions to see if it is something you think is wrong to eat. 28 But if someone tells you, “That food was offered to idols,” then don’t eat it. That’s because some people think it is wrong, and it might cause a problem for the person who told you that. 29 I don’t mean that you think it is wrong. But the other person might think it is wrong. That’s the only reason not to eat it. My own freedom should not be judged by what another person thinks. 30 I eat the meal with thankfulness. So I don’t want to be criticized because of something I thank God for.
31 So if you eat, or if you drink, or if you do anything, do it for the glory of God. 32 Never do anything that might make other people do wrong—Jews, non-Jews, or anyone in God’s church. 33 I do the same thing. I try to please everyone in every way. I am not trying to do what is good for me. I am trying to do what is good for the most people so that they can be saved.
11 Follow my example, just as I follow the example of Christ.
Jesus Helps a Non-Jewish Woman(A)
24 Jesus went from there to the area around Tyre. He did not want the people in that area to know he was there, so he went into a house. But he could not stay hidden. 25 A woman heard that he was there. Her little daughter had an evil spirit inside her. So the woman came to Jesus and bowed down near his feet. 26 She was not a Jew. She was born in Phoenicia, an area in Syria. She begged Jesus to force the demon out of her daughter.
27 Jesus told the woman, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and give it to the dogs. First let the children eat all they want.”
28 She answered, “That is true, Lord. But the dogs under the table can eat the pieces of food that the children don’t eat.”
29 Then he told her, “That is a very good answer. You may go. The demon has left your daughter.”
30 The woman went home and found her daughter lying on the bed. The demon was gone.
Jesus Heals a Deaf Man
31 Then Jesus left the area around Tyre and went through Sidon. On his way to Lake Galilee he went through the area of the Ten Towns. 32 While he was there, some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could not talk clearly. The people begged Jesus to put his hand on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led the man away from the people to be alone with him. He put his fingers in the man’s ears. Then he spit on a finger and put it on the man’s tongue. 34 Jesus looked up to the sky and with a loud sigh he said, “Ephphatha!” (This means “Open!”) 35 As soon as Jesus did this, the man was able to hear. He was able to use his tongue, and he began to speak clearly.
36 Jesus told the people not to tell anyone about this. But the more he told them not to say anything, the more people they told. 37 They were all completely amazed. They said, “Look at what he has done. It’s all good. He makes deaf people able to hear and gives a new voice to people who could not talk.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International