Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
By David.
1 Do not be preoccupied with evildoers.
Do not envy those who do wicked things.
2 They will quickly dry up like grass
and wither away like green plants.
3 Trust Yahweh, and do good things.
Live in the land, and practice being faithful.
4 Be happy with Yahweh,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Entrust your ways to Yahweh.
Trust him, and he will act on your behalf.
6 He will make your righteousness shine like a light,
your just cause like the noonday sun.
7 Surrender yourself to Yahweh, and wait patiently for him.
Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way
when he carries out his schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and leave rage behind.
Do not be preoccupied.
It only leads to evil.
9 Evildoers will be cut off from their inheritance,
but those who wait with hope for Yahweh will inherit the land.
10 In a little while a wicked person will vanish.
Then you can carefully examine where he was,
but there will be no trace of him.
11 Oppressed people will inherit the land
and will enjoy unlimited peace.
12 The wicked person plots against a righteous one
and grits his teeth at him.
13 Adonay laughs at him
because he has seen that his time is coming.
14 Wicked people pull out their swords and bend their bows
to kill oppressed and needy people,
to slaughter those who are decent.
15 But their own swords will pierce their hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the wealth of many wicked people.
17 The arms of wicked people will be broken,
but Yahweh continues to support righteous people.
18 Yahweh knows the daily struggles of innocent people.
Their inheritance will last forever.
19 They will not be put to shame in trying times.
Even in times of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But wicked people will disappear.
Yahweh’s enemies will vanish like the best part of a meadow.
They will vanish like smoke.
21 A wicked person borrows, but he does not repay.
A righteous person is generous and giving.
22 Those who are blessed by him will inherit the land.
Those who are cursed by him will be cut off.
23 A person’s steps are directed by Yahweh,
and Yahweh delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst
because Yahweh holds on to his hand.
25 I have been young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen a righteous person abandoned
or his descendants begging for food.
26 He is always generous and lends freely.
His descendants are a blessing.
27 Avoid evil, do good, and live forever.
28 Yahweh loves justice,
and he will not abandon his godly ones.
They will be kept safe forever,
but the descendants of wicked people will be cut off.
29 Righteous people will inherit the land
and live there permanently.
30 The mouth of the righteous person reflects on wisdom.
His tongue speaks what is fair.
31 The teachings of his Elohim are in his heart.
His feet do not slip.
32 The wicked person watches the righteous person
and seeks to kill him.
33 But Yahweh will not abandon him to the wicked person’s power
or condemn him when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait with hope for Yahweh, and follow his path,
and he will honor you by giving you the land.
When wicked people are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked person acting like a tyrant,
spreading himself out like a large cedar tree.
36 But he moved on, and now there is no trace of him.
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Notice the innocent person,
and look at the decent person,
because the peacemaker has a future.
38 But rebels will be completely destroyed.
The future of wicked people will be cut off.
39 The victory for righteous people comes from Yahweh.
He is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them.
He rescues them from wicked people.
He saves them because they have taken refuge in him.
The Ten Commandments(A)
20 Then Elohim spoke all these words:
2 “I am Yahweh your Elohim, who brought you out of slavery in Egypt.
3 “Never have any other god. 4 Never make your own carved idols or statues that represent any creature in the sky, on the earth, or in the water. 5 Never worship them or serve them, because I, Yahweh your Elohim, am El Kanna. I punish children for their parents’ sins to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 6 But I show mercy to thousands of generations of those who love me and obey my commandments.
7 “Never use the name of Yahweh your Elohim carelessly. Yahweh will make sure that anyone who carelessly uses his name will be punished.
8 “Remember the day of worship by observing it as a holy day. 9 You have six days to do all your work. 10 The seventh day is the day of worship dedicated to Yahweh your Elohim. You, your sons, your daughters, your male and female slaves, your cattle, and the foreigners living in your city must never do any work on that day. 11 In six days Yahweh made heaven, earth, and the sea, along with everything in them. He didn’t work on the seventh day. That’s why Yahweh blessed the day he stopped his work and set this day apart as holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live for a long time in the land Yahweh your Elohim is giving you.
13 “Never murder.
14 “Never commit adultery.
15 “Never steal.
16 “Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.
17 “Never desire to take your neighbor’s household away from him.
“Never desire to take your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox, his donkey, or anything else that belongs to him.”
The People’s Reaction
18 All the people heard the thunder and saw the lightning. They heard the blast of the ram’s horn and saw the mountain covered with smoke. So they shook with fear and stood at a distance. 19 Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we’ll listen. But don’t let Elohim speak to us, or we’ll die!”
20 Moses answered the people, “Don’t be afraid! Elohim has come only to test you, so that you will be in awe of him and won’t sin.”
21 The people kept their distance while Moses went closer to the dark cloud where Elohim was.
Paul Describes His Work
24 I am happy to suffer for you now. In my body I am completing whatever remains of Christ’s sufferings. I am doing this on behalf of his body, the church. 25 I became a servant of the church when God gave me the work of telling you his entire message. 26 In the past God hid this mystery, but now he has revealed it to his people. 27 God wanted his people throughout the world to know the glorious riches of this mystery—which is Christ living in you, giving you the hope of glory.
28 We spread the message about Christ as we instruct and teach everyone with all the wisdom there is. We want to present everyone as mature Christian people. 29 I work hard and struggle to do this while his mighty power works in me.
2 I want you to know how hard I work for you, for the people of Laodicea, and for people I have never met. 2 Because they are united in love, I work so that they may be encouraged by all the riches that come from a complete understanding of Christ. He is the mystery of God. 3 God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ. 4 I say this so that no one will mislead you with arguments that merely sound good. 5 Although I’m absent from you physically, I’m with you in spirit. I’m happy to see how orderly you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.
6 You received Christ Yeshua the Lord, so continue to live as Christ’s people. 7 Sink your roots in him and build on him. Be strengthened by the faith that you were taught, and overflow with thanksgiving.
The Temptation of Jesus(A)
4 Then the Spirit led Yeshua into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2 Yeshua did not eat anything for 40 days and 40 nights. At the end of that time, he was hungry.
3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become loaves of bread.”
4 Yeshua answered, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks.’”
5 Then the devil took him into the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. 6 He said to Yeshua, “If you are the Son of God, jump! Scripture says, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you. They will carry you in their hands so that you never hit your foot against a rock.’”
7 Yeshua said to him, “Again, Scripture says, ‘Never tempt the Lord your God.’”[a]
8 Once more the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms in the world and their glory. 9 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this if you will bow down and worship me.”
10 Yeshua said to him, “Go away, Satan! Scripture says, ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.’”
11 Then the devil left him, and angels came to take care of him.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.