Book of Common Prayer
Prayer in Affliction
Psalm 102
1 A prayer of the afflicted one, when he is faint and pours out his lament before Adonai:
2 Adonai, hear my prayer,
let my cry come to You.
3 Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress.
Turn Your ear to me—in the day I call,
answer me quickly.
4 For my days vanished like smoke,
and my bones were burned like coals.
5 My heart is stricken and withered like grass,
so that I even forget to eat my bread.
6 Because of the sound of my groaning,
my bones cling to my flesh.
7 I am like a pelican of the desert,
like an owl of the waste places.
8 I lie awake, like a lonely bird on a roof.
9 My enemies taunt me all day.
My deriders use my name to curse.
10 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
and mixed my drink with tears—
11 because of Your indignation and wrath,
for You have picked me up and tossed me aside.
12 My days are like a lengthening shadow,
and I wither away like grass.
13 But You, Adonai, sit enthroned forever.
Your renown is from generation to generation.
14 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to show favor to her,
for the appointed time has come,
15 for her stones are dear to Your servants,
and they cherish her dust.
16 So the nations will fear Adonai’s Name
and all the kings of the earth Your glory.
17 For Adonai has rebuilt Zion.
He has appeared in His glory.
18 He has turned to the prayer of the destitute,
and has not despised their prayer.
19 Let it be written for a generation to come,
that a people to be created may praise Adonai.
20 For He looks down from His holy height,
from heaven Adonai gazes on the earth,
21 to hear the groaning of the prisoner,
to set free those condemned to death,
22 to declare the Name of Adonai in Zion
and His praise in Jerusalem,
23 when the peoples and the kingdoms
assemble to worship Adonai.
24 He brought down my strength in midcourse.
He shortened my days.
25 I say, “My God,
do not take me up in the middle of my days.
Your years endure through all generations!
26 Long ago You founded the earth,
the heavens are the work of Your hands.
27 They will perish, but You will remain.
All of them will wear out like a garment.
Like clothing You change them, so they change.
28 But You are the same,
and Your years will never end.
29 The children of Your servants will live.
Their descendants will be established before You.”
His Chesed and His Wonders
Psalm 107
1 Praise Adonai, for He is good,
for His lovingkindness endures forever.
2 Let the redeemed of Adonai say so—
whom He redeemed from the hand of the foe,
3 whom He gathered out of the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the sea.
4 Some wandered in a desert, a wasteland.
They found no way to an inhabited city.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
their souls ebbed away.
6 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He delivered them out of their troubles.
7 Then He led them by a straight way
to go to a city where they could live.
8 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy
and His wonders for the children of men,
9 for He satisfies the thirsty soul
and fills the hungry soul with goodness.
10 Some sat in darkness and deep gloom,
prisoners in misery and iron chains,
11 for they had defied God’s words,
and spurned the counsel of Elyon.
12 So He humbled their heart with trouble.
They stumbled, and no one was helping.
13 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He delivered them out of their troubles.
14 He brought them out of darkness
and deep gloom, breaking their chains.
15 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy,
and His wonders for the children of men,
16 for He shattered bronze gates,
and broke into pieces iron bars.
17 Some became fools because of their rebellious ways,
and were afflicted due to their iniquities.
18 Their soul abhorred all food,
and they drew near the gates of death.
19 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He delivered them out of their troubles.
20 He sent His word and healed them,
and rescued them from their pits.
21 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy,
and His wonders for the children of men.
22 Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of His works with joyful singing.
23 Some go out to the sea in ships,
doing business on the mighty waters.
24 They saw the works of Adonai,
and His wonders in the deep.
25 For He spoke and raised a stormy wind,
lifting up towering waves.
26 They mounted up to the sky
and plunged down to the depths.
In their peril their souls melted away.
27 They reeled and staggered like a drunk,
and all their skill was bewildered.
28 So they cried out to Adonai in their distress,
and He brought them out of their troubles.
29 He stilled the storm to a whisper—
the waves were hushed.[a]
30 They were glad when it became calm,
and He led them to their desired haven.
31 Let them praise Adonai for His mercy,
and His wonders to the children of men.
32 Let them exalt Him in the congregation of the people,
and praise Him at the assembly of elders.
Israel to be Shamed in Captivity
10 A luxuriant vine is Israel,
who produces fruit for himself.
Like the abundance of his fruit
he has multiplied his altars.
Like the goodness of his land,
they made beautiful sacred pillars.
2 Their heart became smooth[a].
Now they will bear their guilt.
He will break down their altars.
He will destroy their sacred pillars.
3 Surely now they will say: “We have no king,
for we have not feared Adonai.
The king—what can he do for us?”
4 They spoke words—
empty oaths to make a covenant.
But judgment springs up as hemlock
in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will quarrel
over the calves of Beth-aven.
Indeed its people will mourn over it,
but its priests will tremble over it.
For its glory will surely depart from it.
6 It also will be carried to Assyria
as tribute to a warring king.
Ephraim will receive shame
and Israel will be put to shame by its own counsel.
7 Samaria is being cut off.
Her king is like a splinter on the surface of the water.
8 The high places of Aven,
the sin of Israel will be destroyed.
Thorns and thistles will come up on their altars.
And they will say to the mountains: “Cover us!”
And to the hills: “Fall on us!”[b]
9 “From the days of Gibeah,
you have sinned, O Israel.
There they took their stand.
Will not war over sons of iniquity
overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When I desire,
I will chasten them,
and peoples will gather against them
when they are yoked to their two sins.
11 Though Ephraim is a trained heifer
that loves to thresh,
I put a yoke
over her fair neck.
I will make Ephraim pull;
Judah will plow;
Jacob will drag a harrow by himself.”
Plow Up Your Ground
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness.[c]
Reap in accord with covenant love.
Break up your unplowed ground.
For it is time to seek Adonai,
until He comes
and showers righteousness on you.
13 You have plowed up wickedness,
you have reaped iniquity.
You have eaten the fruit of delusion,
for you have trusted in your own way,
in the multitude of your mighty men.
14 A tumult will arise among your people.
All your strongholds will be demolished,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel in the day of battle,
when a mother was dashed in pieces with her children.
15 Just so has Bethel done to you
because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel
will be utterly cut off.
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the headquarters, he said to the commander, “Can I say something to you?”
The commander said, “You know Greek? 38 Then you’re not the Egyptian who stirred up a rebellion some time ago—and led four thousand men of the Assassins out into the desert?”
39 Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, let me speak to the people.”
40 When the commander had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people with his hand. When there was a great hush, he spoke to them in Aramaic,[a] saying:
Paul’s Testimony on the Temple Stairs
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense which I now present to you.” 2 When they heard that Paul was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even more quiet. Then he said, 3 “I am a Jewish man, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, trained strictly according to the Torah of our fathers, being zealous for God just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prisons— 5 as the kohen gadol and all the council of elders can testify about me. I also received letters from them to the brothers, and I went to Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem even those who were there in chains—to be punished.
6 “But it happened that as I was traveling and drawing near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly flashed all around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Yeshua ha-Natzrati, whom you are persecuting.’
9 “Now those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
“And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up, and go to Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been appointed to do.’
11 “But since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. 12 Then a certain Ananias—a devout man according to the Torah, well spoken of by all the Jewish people living there— 13 came to me. Standing before me, he said to me, ‘Brother Saul, look up!’ In that very moment, I looked and saw him!
14 “And he said, ‘The God of our fathers handpicked you to know His will—to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. 15 For you will be a witness for Him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why are you waiting? Get up and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on His Name.’
Appointing the Twelve
12 And it was during these days that Yeshua went out to the mountain to pray, and He spent all night in prayer to God. 13 When day came, He called His disciples, choosing from among them twelve whom He also named emissaries— 14 Simon, whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; and Jacob and John; and Philip and Bartholomew; 15 and Matthew and Thomas; Jacob the son of Alphaeus; Simon who was called the Zealot; 16 Judah the son of Jacob; and Judah from Kriot, who became a traitor.
The Sermon on the Plain
17 Then Yeshua came down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of His disciples and a multitude of people, from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 had come to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those disturbed by defiling spirits were being healed. 19 Everyone in the crowd was trying to touch Him, because power flowed from Him and He was healing them all.
20 And looking up at His disciples, He said,
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you shall be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you shall laugh.
22 Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, and revile you,
and spurn your name as evil on account
of the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice in that day and jump for joy! For behold, your reward is great in heaven! For their fathers used to treat the prophets the same way.”[a]
24 But woe to you who are rich,
for you are receiving your comfort in full.
25 Woe to you who are full,
for you shall be hungry.
Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you shall mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for their fathers used to treat the false prophets the same way.”[b]
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.