Book of Common Prayer
A song of David.
101 I will sing about love and justice.
Lord, I will sing to you.
2 I will be careful to live a pure life.
I will live in my house with complete honesty.
When will you come to me?
3 I will not even look at anything shameful.[a]
I hate all wrongdoing.
I want no part of it!
4 I will not be involved in anything dishonest.
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 I will stop anyone who secretly
says bad things about a neighbor.
I will not allow people to be proud
and think they are better than others.
6 I will look throughout the land for those who can be trusted.
Only such people can live with me.
Only those who live pure lives can be my servants.
7 I will never let a dishonest person live in my house.
I will not let liars stay near me.
8 My goal each day will be to destroy the wicked living in our land.
I will force all who do evil to leave the city of the Lord.
To the director: A praise song of David.
109 God, I praise you!
Hear my prayer and do something!
2 Wicked people are telling lies about me.
They are saying things that are not true.
3 They are saying hateful things about me.
They are attacking me for no reason.
4 I loved them, but they were against me.
So I said a prayer.
5 I did good things to them,
but they are doing bad things to me.
I loved them,
but they hated me.
6 They said, “Choose someone evil to represent him.
Let the one at his side really be his accuser.
7 Let even his prayer be used as evidence against him,
and let the court find him guilty.
8 Let his life be cut short,
and let someone else take over his work.
9 Let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
10 Make his children wander around as beggars,
forced from homes that lie in ruins.
11 Let the people he owes take everything he owns.
Let strangers get everything he worked for.
12 Let no one be kind to him.
Let no one show mercy to his children.
13 May his family come to an end.
May his name be unknown to future generations.
14 May the Lord remember the sins of his father,
and may his mother’s sins never be erased.
15 May the Lord remember their sins forever,
and may he cause people to forget his family completely.
16 He never did anything good.
He never loved anyone.
He made life hard for the poor and the helpless.
17 He loved to curse others,
so let those bad things happen to him.
He never blessed others,
so don’t let good things happen to him.
18 Cursing was a daily part of his life,
like the clothes he wears.
Cursing others became a part of him,
like the water he drinks and the oil he puts on his body.
19 So let curses cover him like the robe he wears
and always surround him like a belt.”
20 My enemies said these evil things against me.
But may those curses be the way the Lord punishes them.
21 My Lord God, treat me in a way that brings honor to your name.
Save me because of your faithful love.
22 I am only a poor, helpless man.
I am so sad; my heart is broken.
23 I feel my life is over, fading like a shadow at day’s end.
I feel like a bug that someone brushed away.
24 My knees are weak from fasting.
I have lost weight and become thin.
25 My enemies insult me.
They look at me and shake their heads.
26 Lord my God, help me!
Show your faithful love and save me!
27 Then they will know that you did it.
They will know that it was your power, Lord, that helped me.
28 They curse me, but you can bless me.
They attacked me, so defeat them.
Then I, your servant, will be happy.
29 Humiliate my enemies!
Let them wear their shame like a coat.
30 I give thanks to the Lord.
I praise him in front of everyone.
Ain
121 I have done what is right and good.
Don’t let me fall into the hands of those who want to hurt me.
122 Promise to be good to me, your servant.
Don’t let those proud people do harm to me.
123 I have worn out my eyes looking for your help,
waiting for you to save me, as you promised.
124 Show your faithful love to me, your servant.
Teach me your laws.
125 I am your servant.
Give me wisdom to understand your rules.
126 Lord, it is time for you to do something.
The people do what is against your teachings.
127 I love your commands more than gold,
more than the purest gold.
128 I carefully obey all your commands.
So I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.
Pe
129 Lord, your rules are wonderful.
That is why I follow them.
130 As people understand your word, it brings light to their lives.
Your word makes even simple people wise.
131 My desire to hear your commands is so strong
that I wait with open mouth, gasping for breath.
132 Look at me, and be kind to me,
just as you always are to those who love your name.
133 Guide me, as you promised.
Don’t let evil rule over me.
134 Save me from those who want to hurt me,
and I will obey your instructions.
135 Accept your servant,
and teach me your laws.
136 I have cried a river of tears
because people don’t obey your teachings.
Tsadhe
137 Lord, you do what is right,
and your decisions are fair.
138 The rules you have given us are right.
We can trust them completely.
139 Something that really upsets me is the thought
that my enemies ignore your commands.
140 I love your word.
Time and again it has been proven true.
141 I am young, and people don’t respect me.
But I have not forgotten your instructions.
142 Your goodness is forever,
and your teachings can be trusted.
143 Even though I have troubles and hard times,
your commands give me joy.
144 Your rules are always right.
Help me understand them so that I can live.
15 Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like for you to stay a while. We want to cook a young goat for you to eat.”
16 The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Even if you keep me from leaving, I will not eat your food. But if you want to prepare something, offer a burnt offering to the Lord.” (Manoah did not understand that the man was really the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah asked the angel of the Lord, “What is your name? We want to know so that we can honor you when what you have said really happens.”
18 The angel of the Lord said, “Why do you ask my name? It is too amazing for you to believe.[a]”
19 Then Manoah sacrificed a young goat on a rock. He offered the goat and a grain offering as a gift to the Lord and to the One Who Does Amazing Things.[b] 20 Manoah and his wife were watching what happened. As the flames went up to the sky from the altar, the angel of the Lord went up to heaven in the fire.
When Manoah and his wife saw that, they bowed down with their faces to the ground. 21 He finally understood that the man was really the angel of the Lord. The angel of the Lord did not appear to Manoah and his wife again. 22 Manoah said to his wife, “We have seen God. Surely we will die because of this.”
23 But his wife said to him, “The Lord does not want to kill us. If he wanted to kill us, he would not have accepted our burnt offering and grain offering. He would not have shown us all these things or told us this.”
24 So the woman had a boy. She named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him.
Seven Men Chosen for a Special Work
6 More and more people were becoming followers of Jesus. But during this same time, the Greek-speaking followers began to complain against the other Jewish followers. They said that their widows were not getting their share of what the followers received every day. 2 The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together.
The apostles said to them, “It would not be right for us to give up our work of teaching God’s word in order to be in charge of getting food to people. 3 So, brothers and sisters, choose seven of your men who have a good reputation. They must be full of wisdom and the Spirit. We will give them this work to do. 4 Then we can use all our time to pray and to teach the word of God.”
5 The whole group liked the idea. So they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man with great faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip,[a] Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus (a man from Antioch who had become a Jew). 6 Then they put these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.[b]
7 The word of God was reaching more and more people. The group of followers in Jerusalem became larger and larger. Even a big group of Jewish priests believed and obeyed.
Some Jews Against Stephen
8 Stephen received a great blessing. God gave him power to do great wonders and miraculous signs among the people. 9 But some of the Jews there were from the synagogue of Free Men, as it was called. The group included Jews from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They started arguing with Stephen. 10 But the Spirit was helping him speak with wisdom. His words were so strong that these Jews could not argue with him.
11 So they told some men to say, “We heard Stephen say bad things against Moses and against God!” 12 By doing this, these Jews upset the people, the older Jewish leaders, and the teachers of the law. They became so angry that they came and grabbed Stephen and took him to a meeting of the high council.
13 The Jews brought some men into the meeting to tell lies about Stephen. These men said, “This man is always saying things against this holy place and against the Law of Moses. 14 We heard him say that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change what Moses told us to do.” 15 Everyone there in the council meeting was staring at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.
Jesus Talks to a Woman in Samaria
4 Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard the report that he was making and baptizing more followers than John. 2 (But really, Jesus himself did not baptize anyone; his followers baptized people for him.) 3 So he left Judea and went back to Galilee. 4 On the way to Galilee, he had to go through the country of Samaria.
5 In Samaria Jesus came to the town called Sychar, which is near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there. Jesus was tired from his long trip, so he sat down beside the well. It was about noon. 7 A Samaritan woman came to the well to get some water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” 8 This happened while his followers were in town buying some food.
9 The woman answered, “I am surprised that you ask me for a drink! You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman!” (Jews have nothing to do with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God can give you. And you don’t know who I am, the one who asked you for a drink. If you knew, you would have asked me, and I would have given you living water.”
11 The woman said, “Sir, where will you get that living water? The well is very deep, and you have nothing to get water with. 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob? He is the one who gave us this well. He drank from it himself, and his sons and all his animals drank from it too.”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. 14 But anyone who drinks the water I give will never be thirsty again. The water I give people will be like a spring flowing inside them. It will bring them eternal life.”
15 The woman said to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water. Then I will never be thirsty again and won’t have to come back here to get more water.”
16 Jesus told her, “Go get your husband and come back.”
17 The woman answered, “But I have no husband.”
Jesus said to her, “You are right to say you have no husband. 18 That’s because, although you have had five husbands, the man you live with now is not your husband. That much was the truth.”
19 The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.[b] 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain. But you Jews say that Jerusalem is the place where people must worship.”
21 Jesus said, “Believe me, woman! The time is coming when you will not have to be in Jerusalem or on this mountain to worship the Father. 22 You Samaritans worship something you don’t understand. We Jews understand what we worship, since salvation comes from the Jews. 23 But the time is coming when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. In fact, that time is now here. And these are the kind of people the Father wants to be his worshipers. 24 God is spirit. So the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah is coming.” (He is the one called Christ.) “When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus said, “He is talking to you now—I am the Messiah.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International