Book of Common Prayer
Inheritance of the Kedoshim
Psalm 37
1 Of David.
Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be envious of them who do wrong.
2 For like the grass they soon wither
and fade like a green herb.
3 Trust in Adonai and do good.
Dwell in the land, feed on faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in Adonai,
and He will give you the requests of your heart.
5 Commit your way to Adonai.
Trust in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring out your vindication as light,
and your cause will shine as noonday.
7 Be still before Adonai and wait patiently for Him.
Do not fret over one prospering in his way,
over one carrying out wicked schemes.
8 Put away anger and turn from wrath.
Do not fret—it only leads to doing evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who wait for Adonai—
they will inherit the land.
10 Yet a little while,
and the wicked will be no more.
Yes, you will look at his place,
but he will not be there.
11 But the meek will inherit the land,
and delight in abundant shalom.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him—
for He sees his day is coming.
14 The wicked have unsheathed their sword and have bent their bow
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose conduct is upright.
15 Their sword will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better a little that the righteous have
than the wealth of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
while Adonai upholds the righteous.
18 Adonai knows the days of the blameless—
their inheritance endures forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in an evil time
and in days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 For the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of Adonai will be like the beauty of the fields—
they will vanish—vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is a gracious giver.
22 For His blessed ones inherit the land.
But those He curses will be cut off.
23 From Adonai a man’s steps are made firm,
when He delights in his way.
24 Though he stumble,
he will not fall headlong,
for Adonai is holding his hand.
25 I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous one forsaken,
nor his children begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends.
So his offspring will be a blessing.
27 Turn from evil and do good,
so you may live forever.
28 For Adonai loves justice
and does not abandon His godly ones.
They will be preserved forever,
but the seed of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The Torah of his God is in his heart.
His steps do not slip.
32 The wicked lies in wait for the righteous,
seeking to slay him.
33 But Adonai will not leave him in his hand,
or let him be condemned when judged.
34 Wait for Adonai and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man
flourishing like a leafy tree in native soil.
36 But once he passed by, he was no more.
Though I looked for him, he could not be found.
37 Notice the man of integrity and watch the upright—
for the man of shalom has a future.
38 But transgressors will be destroyed altogether.
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 Yet the salvation of the righteous is from Adonai.
He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
40 Adonai helps them and delivers them.
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them—
because they take refuge in Him.
5 I am Adonai—there is no other.
Besides Me there is no God.
I will strengthen you,
though you have not known Me,
6 so they may know,
from the rising to the setting of the sun,
that there is no one besides Me.
I am Adonai—there is no other.
7 I form light and create darkness.
I make shalom and create calamity.
I, Adonai, do all these things.
8 “Rain down, O heavens, from above,
and let the clouds pour down justice.
Let the earth open up,
let salvation sprout,
and righteousness spring up with it.
I, Adonai, have created it.”
9 Oy, to one who quarrels with his Maker,
like a pot among the pots of the earth!
Shall the clay say to the potter,
“What have you made?”
Or does your work say,
“It has no handles”?[a]
10 Oy, to him who says to his father,
“What have you begotten?”
Or to a woman,
“What have you born?”
11 Thus says Adonai,
the Holy One of Israel and its Maker,
“Ask Me about the things to come
upon My children.
Then you will commit to Me the work of My hands.
12 I made the earth and created man on it.
My hands stretched out the heavens
and I commanded all their host.
13 “I stirred Cyrus up in righteousness
and I will level all his roads.
He will build My city
and set My exiles free,
with no price or bribe,”
says Adonai-Tzva’ot.
14 Thus says Adonai:
“Egypt’s toil, Ethiopia’s merchandise, and the tall Sabeans
will come over to you and be yours.
They will walk behind you in chains.
They will bow down to you, and pray,
saying, ‘Surely God is with you!’
There is none else—no other God!”
Mystery of Creation
15 Truly You are a God who hides Himself,
O God of Israel, Savior!
16 All of them will be ashamed, disgraced—
idol-makers go in dishonor together.
17 Israel has been saved by Adonai
with an everlasting salvation.
You will not be put to shame
or disgraced, for ever and ever.
15 So pay close attention to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise. 16 Make the most of your time because the days are evil. 17 For this reason do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. 18 And do not get drunk on wine, for that is recklessness.[a] Instead, be filled with the Ruach, 19 speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music in your heart to the Lord— 20 always giving thanks for everything to God the Father, in the name of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah.
Orderly Relationships: Marriage
21 Also submit yourselves to one another out of reverence for Messiah— 22 wives to your own husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as Messiah also is head of His community—Himself the Savior of the body. 24 But as Messiah’s community is submitted to Messiah, so also the wives to their husbands in everything.
25 Husbands, love your wives just as Messiah also loved His community and gave Himself up for her 26 to make her holy, having cleansed her by immersion[b] in the word. 27 Messiah did this so that He might present to Himself His glorious community—not having stain or wrinkle or any such thing, but in order that she might be holy and blameless. 28 In the same way, husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it—just as Messiah also does His community, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” [c] 32 This mystery is great—but I am talking about Messiah and His community. 33 In any case, let each of you love his own wife as himself, and let the wife respect her husband.
Reaping What You Sow
21 He also was saying to them, “Is a lamp put under a basket or a bed? No, shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything kept secret except that it would come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He continued, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be added to you. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
What Is the Kingdom of God Like?
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like when a man spreads seed on the soil 27 and falls asleep at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He himself doesn’t know how. 28 Automatically, the earth brings forth a crop—first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ready, at once he sends in the sickle, for the harvest has come.”
30 Yeshua also said, “How should we picture the kingdom of God? Or by what story shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed when it’s planted in the ground. Though the smallest of all seeds in the earth, 32 yet when planted it grows up and becomes the largest of all the herbs. It puts forth big branches, so the birds of the air can nest in its shade.”[a]
33 With many such parables He used to tell them the word, as much as they were able to hear. 34 But apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them. Yet when they were alone, to His own disciples He would explain everything.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.