Book of Common Prayer
Taste and See
Psalm 34
1 Of David, when he feigned insanity before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
2 I will bless Adonai at all times.
His praise is continually in my mouth.
3 My soul boasts in Adonai.
The humble ones hear of it and rejoice.
4 Magnify Adonai with me
and let us exalt His Name together.
5 I sought Adonai, and He answered me,
and delivered me from all my fears.
6 They who looked to Him were radiant,
and their faces will never be ashamed.
7 This poor man cried, and Adonai heard,
and saved him out of all his troubles.
8 The angel of Adonai encamps around those who fear Him,
and delivers them.
9 Taste and see how good Adonai is.
Blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.
10 Fear Adonai, His kedoshim,
For those who fear Him lack nothing.
11 Young lions may lack, and go hungry,
but those who seek Adonai want for no good thing.
12 Come, children, listen to me:
I will teach you the fear of Adonai.
13 Who is the one who delights in life,
and loves to see good days?
14 Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking treachery.
15 Depart from evil and do good.
Seek shalom and pursue it.[a]
16 The eyes of Adonai are on the righteous,
and His ears are attentive to their cry.
17 The face of Adonai is against evildoers,
to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
18 The righteous cry out and Adonai hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.
19 Adonai is close to the brokenhearted,
and saves those crushed in spirit.
20 Many are the distresses of the righteous,
but Adonai delivers him out of them all.
21 He keeps all his bones—
not one of them is broken.[b]
22 Evil kills the wicked—
those who hate the righteous will be held guilty.
23 Adonai redeems the soul of His servants
—no one who takes refuge in Him will be held guilty.
All Creation Praise the Creator
Psalm 33
1 Sing for joy to Adonai, you righteous.
Praise is fitting for the upright.
2 Praise Adonai with the harp.
Sing praises to Him with a ten string lyre.
3 Sing to Him a new song![a]
Play skillfully amid shouts of joy.
4 For the word of Adonai is upright
and all His work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice.
The earth is full of the love of Adonai.
6 By Adonai’s word were the heavens made,
and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together in a heap.
He lays up deep waters in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear Adonai.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it came to be.
He commanded, and it stood firm.
10 Adonai foils the purpose of the nations.
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.
11 The plan of Adonai stands forever,
the purposes of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is Adonai,
the people He chose for His own inheritance.
13 Adonai looks down from heaven.
He observes all humanity.
14 From His dwelling place He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth—
15 He who fashions the hearts of all,
who discerns all their deeds.
16 No king is saved by his great army,
no warrior is delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a false hope for victory,
nor can its great strength save.
18 Behold, the eyes of Adonai are on those who fear Him,
waiting for His love,
19 to deliver their souls from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for Adonai—
He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in Him,
because we trusted in His holy Name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, Adonai,
be upon us, as we have waited for You.
Parashat Lech Lecha
Abram Obeys the Calling
12 Then Adonai said to Abram,
“Get going out from your land,
and from your relatives,
and from your father’s house,
to the land that I will show you.
2 My heart’s desire is to make you into a great nation, to bless you,
to make your name great so that you may be a blessing.
3 My desire is to bless those who bless you,
but whoever curses you I will curse,[a]
and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.[b]
4 So Abram went, just as Adonai had spoken to him. Also Lot went with him. (Now Abram was 75 years old when he departed from Haran.) 5 Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his nephew, and all their possessions that they had acquired, and the people that they acquired in Haran, and they left to go to the land of Canaan, and they entered the land of Canaan. 6 Abram passed through the land as far as the place of Shechem, as far as Moreh’s big tree. (The Canaanites were in the land then.)[c]
7 Then Adonai appeared to Abram, and said, “I will give this land to your seed.” So there he built an altar to Adonai, who had appeared to him.
The Faithful See from Afar
11 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of realities not seen. 2 For by it the elders received commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen did not come from anything visible.
4 By faith Abel offered God a better sacrifice than Cain. Through faith he was commended as righteous[a] when God approved of his gifts. And through faith he still speaks, although he is dead.
5 By faith Enoch was taken so as not to see death, and he was not found because God took him.[b] For before he was taken, he was commended as pleasing to God. 6 Now without faith it is impossible to please God. For the one who comes to God must believe that He exists and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.
7 By faith Noah, when warned about events not yet seen, in holy fear prepared an ark for the safety of his household. Through faith he condemned the world and became an heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place he was to receive as an inheritance. He went out, not knowing where he was going. 9 By faith he migrated to the land of promise as if it were foreign, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob—fellow heirs of the same promise. 10 For he was waiting for the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
11 By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive[c] when she was barren and past the age, since she considered the One who had made the promise to be faithful. 12 So from one—and him as good as dead—were fathered offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven, and as uncountable as the sand on the seashore.[d]
35 Yeshua said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to Me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in Me will never be thirsty. 36 But I told you that you have seen Me, yet you do not believe. 37 Everyone the Father gives Me will come to Me, and anyone coming to Me I will never reject. 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of the One who sent Me.
39 “Now this is the will of the One who sent Me, that I lose not one of all He has given Me, but raise each one on the last day. 40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who sees the Son and trusts in Him may have eternal life; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
41 Some of the Judeans[a] started to grumble about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They were saying, “Isn’t this Yeshua the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can He now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the desert, yet they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat and not die. 51 I am the living bread, which came down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread, he will live forever. This bread is My flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.