Book of Common Prayer
Zain
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant.
It gives me hope.
50 You comfort me in my suffering,
because your promise gives me new life.
51 People full of pride are always making fun of me,
but I have not stopped following your teachings.
52 I remember the laws you gave us long ago, Lord,
and they bring me comfort.
53 I am overcome with anger when I see wicked people,
who have stopped following your teachings.
54 Your laws are the songs I sing
wherever I am living.
55 Lord, in the night I remembered your name,
and I obeyed your teachings.
56 This happened because I carefully obey your instructions.
Heth
57 Lord, I decided that my duty is to obey your commandments.
58 I beg you with all my heart,
be kind to me, as you promised.
59 I thought very carefully about my life,
and I decided to follow your rules.
60 Without wasting any time,
I hurried back to obey your commands.
61 The wicked tried to trap me,
but I have not forgotten your teachings.
62 In the middle of the night, I get up to thank you
because your laws are so fair.
63 I am a friend to everyone who worships you.
I am a friend to everyone who obeys your instructions.
64 Lord, your faithful love fills the earth.
Teach me your laws.
Teth
65 Lord, you did good things for me, your servant.
You did what you promised to do.
66 Give me the knowledge to make wise decisions.
I trust your commands.
67 Before I suffered, I did many wrong things.
But now I carefully obey everything you say.
68 You are good, and you do good things.
Teach me your laws.
69 People full of pride made up lies about me.
But I keep obeying your instructions with all my heart.
70 Those people are so stupid that they care for nothing,
but I enjoy studying your teachings.
71 Suffering was good for me;
I learned your laws.
72 Your teachings are worth more to me
than a thousand pieces of silver and gold.
To the director: A song from the Korah family.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you people on earth.
2 Everyone, rich and poor, listen to me.
3 I have some very wise words for you.
My thoughts will give you understanding.
4 I listened to these sayings.
And now, with my harp, I will sing and make the hidden meaning clear.
5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
There is no need to fear when evil enemies surround me.
6 They think their wealth will protect them.
They brag about how rich they are.
7 But no one has enough to buy back a life,
and you cannot bribe[a] God.
8 You will never get enough money
to pay for your own life.
9 You will never have enough
to buy the right to live forever
and keep your body out of the grave.
10 Look, the wise die the same as fools and stupid people.[b]
They die and leave their wealth to others.
11 The grave will be their new home forever.
And how much land they owned will not make any difference.
12 People might be wealthy, but they cannot stay here forever.
They will die like the animals.
13 That is what happens to all who trust in themselves
and to anyone who accepts their way of life. Selah
14 They are just like sheep, but the grave will be their pen.
Death will be their shepherd.
When morning comes, the good people will enjoy victory,
as the bodies of the proud slowly rot in the grave,
far away from their fancy houses.
15 But God will pay the price to save me from the grave.
He will take me to be with him. Selah
16 Don’t be afraid of people just because they are rich.
Don’t be afraid of people just because they have big, fancy houses.
17 They will not take anything with them when they die.
They will not take their wealth with them.
18 A wealthy man might tell himself how well he has done in life.
And other people might praise him.
19 But the time will come for him to die and go to his ancestors.
And he will never again see the light of day.
20 Wealthy people don’t seem to understand
that they will die like the animals.
To the director: Use the mahalath.[a] A maskil of David.
53 Only fools think there is no God.
People like that are evil and do terrible things.
They never do what is right.
2 God looks down from heaven to see
if there is anyone who is wise,
anyone who looks to him for help.
3 But everyone has turned away from him.
Everyone has become evil.
No one does anything good.
No, not one person!
4 Those who are evil treat my people like bread to be eaten.
And they never ask for God’s help.
Don’t they understand what they are doing?
5 They will be filled with fear—
a fear like they have never felt before!
People of Israel, you will defeat those who attacked you,
because God has rejected them.
And he will scatter their bones.
6 I wish the one who lives on Mount Zion
would bring victory to Israel!
When God makes Israel successful again,
the people of Jacob will be very happy;
the people of Israel will be glad.
God Calls His Special Servant
49 Hear me, people by the sea.
Listen to me, you faraway nations.
The Lord called me before I was born.
He called my name while I was still in my mother’s womb.
2 He used me to speak for him.
He used me like a sharp sword,
but he also held me in his hand to protect me.
He used me like a sharp arrow,
but he also kept me safe in his arrow bag.
3 He told me, “Israel, you are my servant.
I will do wonderful things with you.”
4 I said, “I worked hard for nothing.
I wore myself out, but I did nothing useful.
I used all my power,
but I did not really do anything.
So the Lord must decide what to do with me.
He must decide my reward.”
5 The Lord is the one who made me in my mother’s womb,
so that I could be his servant.
He wanted me to lead Jacob and Israel back to him.
The Lord gives me honor.
I get my strength from my God.
6 And now he says, “You are a very important servant to me.
You must bring back to me the tribes of Jacob.
You must bring back the people of Israel who are still alive.
But I have something else for you to do that is even more important:
I will make you a light for the other nations.
You will show people all over the world the way to be saved.”
7 The Lord, the Holy Protector of Israel, speaks to his servant.
People hate that servant.
Nations despise him.
He is now a slave to rulers.
The Lord says to him,
“Kings will see you and stand to honor you.
Great leaders will bow down to you.”
This will happen for the Lord. The Holy One of Israel is the one who chose you, and he can be trusted.
The Day of Salvation
8 This is what the Lord says:
“There will be a special time when I show my kindness.
Then I will answer your prayers.
There will be a special day when I will save you.
Then I will help you and protect you.
And you will be the proof of my agreement with the people.
The country is destroyed now,
but you will give the land back to the people who own it.
9 You will tell the prisoners,
‘Come out of your prison!’
You will tell those who are in darkness,
‘Come out of the dark!’
The people will eat along the road,
and they will have food even on empty hills.
10 They will not be hungry or thirsty.
The hot sun and wind will not hurt them.
Their Comforter will lead them.
He will lead them by springs of water.
11 I will make a road for my people.
The mountains will be made flat,
and the low roads will be raised.
12 “Look! People are coming to me from faraway places.
They are coming to me from the north and from the west.
They are coming to me from Aswan in Egypt.”
Paul Shows That Peter Was Wrong
11 When Peter came to Antioch, he did something that was not right. I stood against him, because he was wrong. 12 This is what happened: When Peter first came to Antioch, he ate and associated with the non-Jewish people. But when some Jewish men came from James, Peter separated himself from the non-Jews. He stopped eating with them, because he was afraid of the Jews who believe that all non-Jewish people must be circumcised. 13 So Peter was a hypocrite. The other Jewish believers joined with him, so they were hypocrites too. Even Barnabas was influenced by what these Jewish believers did. 14 They were not following the truth of the Good News. When I saw this, I spoke to Peter in front of everyone. I said, “Peter, you are a Jew, but you don’t live like one. You live like someone who is not a Jew. So why are you trying to force those who are not Jewish to live like Jews?”
15 We are Jews by birth. We were not born “sinners,” as we call those who are not Jews. 16 But we know that no one is made right with God by following the law. It is trusting in[a] Jesus Christ that makes a person right with God. So we have put our faith in Christ Jesus, because we wanted to be made right with God. And we are right with him because we trusted in[b] Christ—not because we followed the law. I can say this because no one can be made right with God by following the law.
17 We Jews came to Christ to be made right with God, so it is clear that we were sinners too. Does this mean that Christ makes us sinners? Of course not. 18 But I would be wrong to begin teaching again those things that I gave up. 19 It was the law itself that caused me to end my life under the law. I died to the law so that I could live for God. I have been nailed to the cross with Christ. 20 So I am not the one living now—it is Christ living in me. I still live in my body, but I live by faith in[c] the Son of God. He is the one who loved me and gave himself to save me. 21 I am not the one destroying the meaning of God’s grace. If following the law is how people are made right with God, then Christ did not have to die.
13 They forced many demons out of people and put olive oil on[a] many who were sick and healed them.
Herod Thinks Jesus Is John the Baptizer(A)
14 King Herod heard about Jesus, because Jesus was now famous. Some people said, “He is John the Baptizer. He must have risen from death, and that is why he can do these miracles.”
15 Other people said, “He is Elijah.”
And others said, “He is a prophet. He is like the prophets who lived long ago.”
16 Herod heard these things about Jesus. He said, “I killed John by cutting off his head. Now he has been raised from death!”
How John the Baptizer Was Killed
17 Herod himself had ordered his soldiers to arrest John and put him in prison. Herod did this to please his wife Herodias. She had been married to Herod’s brother Philip, but then Herod married her. 18 John told Herod, “It is not right for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias hated John. She wanted him dead, but she was not able to persuade Herod to kill him. 20 Herod was afraid to kill John, because he knew that he was a good and holy man. So he protected him. He liked listening to John, although what John said left him with so many questions.
21 Then the right time came for Herodias to cause John’s death. It happened on Herod’s birthday. Herod gave a dinner party for the most important government leaders, the commanders of his army, and the most important people in Galilee. 22 The daughter of Herodias came to the party and danced. When she danced, Herod and the people eating with him were very pleased.
So King Herod said to the girl, “I will give you anything you want.” 23 He promised her, “Anything you ask for I will give to you—even half of my kingdom.”
24 The girl went to her mother and asked, “What should I ask King Herod to give me?”
Her mother answered, “Ask for the head of John the Baptizer.”
25 So right then the girl went back in to the king. She said to him, “Please give me the head of John the Baptizer. Bring it to me now on a plate.”
26 King Herod was very sad, but he didn’t want to break the promise he had made to her in front of his guests. 27 So he sent a soldier to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier went and cut off John’s head in the prison. 28 He brought the head back on a plate and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 John’s followers heard about what happened, so they came and got John’s body and put it in a tomb.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International