Book of Common Prayer
Book 1
(Psalms 1-41)
1 Great blessings belong to those
who don’t listen to evil advice,
who don’t live like sinners,
and who don’t join those who make fun of God.[a]
2 Instead, they love the Lord’s teachings
and think about them day and night.
3 So they grow strong,
like a tree planted by a stream—
a tree that produces fruit when it should
and has leaves that never fall.
Everything they do is successful.
4 But the wicked are not like that.
They are like chaff that the wind blows away.
5 When the time for judgment comes, the wicked will be found guilty.
Sinners have no place among those who do what is right.[b]
6 The Lord shows his people how to live,
but the wicked have lost their way.
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making such foolish plans?
2 Their kings and leaders join together
to fight against the Lord and his chosen king.[c]
3 They say, “Let’s rebel against them.
Let’s break free from them!”
4 But the one who rules in heaven laughs at them.
The Lord makes fun of them.
5 He speaks to them in anger,
and it fills them with fear.
6 He says, “I have chosen this man to be king,
and he will rule on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 Let me tell you about the Lord’s agreement:
He said to me, “Today I have become your father,[d]
and you are my son.
8 If you ask, I will give you the nations.
Everyone on earth will be yours.
9 You will rule over them with great power.
You will scatter your enemies like broken pieces of pottery!”
10 So, kings and rulers, be smart
and learn this lesson.
11 Serve the Lord with fear and trembling.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son,[e]
or the Lord will be angry and destroy you.
He is almost angry enough to do that now,
but those who go to him for protection will be blessed.
A song of David written during the time he was running from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have so many enemies.
So many people have turned against me.
2 They say to themselves, “God will not rescue him!” Selah
3 But you, Lord, protect me.
You bring me honor;
you give me hope.
4 I will pray to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down to rest and know that I will wake up,
because the Lord covers and protects me.
6 So I will not be afraid of my enemies,
even if thousands of them surround me.
7 Lord, get up![f]
My God, come rescue me!
If you hit my enemies on the cheek,
you will break all their teeth.
8 Lord, the victory[g] is yours!
You are so good to your people. Selah
To the director: With stringed instruments. A song of David.
4 God, you showed that I was innocent.
You gave me relief from all my troubles.
So listen to me now when I call to you for help.
Be kind to me and hear my prayer.
2 Men,[h] how long will you try to dishonor me?
Do you enjoy wasting your time searching for new lies against me? Selah
3 You can be sure that anyone who serves the Lord faithfully is special to him.
The Lord listens when I pray to him.
4 Tremble with fear, and stop sinning.[i]
Think about this when you go to bed, and calm down. Selah
5 Give the right sacrifices to the Lord,
and put your trust in him!
6 Many people say, “I wish I could enjoy the good life.
Lord, give us some of those blessings.”[j]
7 But you have made me happier than they will ever be with all their wine and grain.
8 When I go to bed, I sleep in peace,
because, Lord, you keep me safe.
A song[a] of David that he sang to the Lord about Cush from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I come to you for protection.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
2 If you don’t help me, I will be torn apart like an animal caught by a lion.
I will be carried away with no one to save me.
3 Lord my God, I have done nothing wrong.
4 I have done nothing to hurt a friend[b]
or to help his enemies.
5 If that is not the truth, then punish me.
Let an enemy chase me, catch me, and kill me.
Let him grind me into the dirt and put me in my grave. Selah
6 Lord, get up[c] and show your anger!
My enemy is angry, so stand and fight against him.
Get me the justice that you demand.
7 Gather the nations around you,
and take your place as judge.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, judge me.
Prove that I am right and that I am innocent.
9 Stop those who do evil.
Support those who do good.
God, you are fair.
You know what people are thinking.
10 God helps people who want to do right,
so he will protect me.
11 God is a good judge.
He always condemns evil.
12-13 If the wicked will not change,
then God is ready to punish them.
He has prepared his deadly weapons.
His sword is sharp.
His bow is strung, drawn back,
and ready to shoot its flaming arrow.
14 The minds of the wicked are full of evil;
they are pregnant with wicked plans,
which give birth to lies.
15 They dig a pit to trap others,
but they are the ones who will fall into it.
16 The trouble they cause will come back on them.
They plan harm for others,
but they are the ones who will be hurt.
17 I praise the Lord because he is good.
I praise the name of the Lord Most High.
Daniel Taken to Babylon
1 Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and surrounded it with his army. This happened during the third year that Jehoiakim[a] was king of Judah. 2 The Lord allowed Nebuchadnezzar to defeat Jehoiakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar took all the dishes and other things from God’s Temple and carried them to Babylon.[b] He put those things in the temple of his gods.
3 Then King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Ashpenaz, the man in charge of his officials, to bring some of the boys into the palace to train them. He was to include boys from among the Israelites,[c] from important Judean families, and from the royal family of Judah. 4 King Nebuchadnezzar wanted only healthy boys who did not have any bruises, scars, or anything wrong with their bodies. He wanted handsome, smart young men who were able to learn things quickly and easily to serve in his palace. He told Ashpenaz to teach these young men the language and writings of the Chaldeans.
5 King Nebuchadnezzar gave the young men a certain amount of food and wine every day. This was the same kind of food that he ate. He wanted them to be trained for three years. After that they would become servants of the king of Babylon. 6 Among those young men were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah from the tribe of Judah. 7 Ashpenaz gave them Babylonian names. Daniel’s new name was Belteshazzar, Hananiah’s was Shadrach, Mishael’s was Meshach, and Azariah’s was Abednego.
8 Daniel did not want to eat the king’s rich food and wine because it would make him unclean. So he asked Ashpenaz for permission not to make himself unclean in this way.
9 God caused Ashpenaz, the man in charge of the officials, to be kind and loyal to Daniel. 10 But Ashpenaz told Daniel, “I am afraid of my master, the king. He ordered me to give you this food and drink. If you don’t eat this food, you will begin to look weak and sick. You will look worse than other young men your age. The king will see this, and he will become angry with me. He might cut off my head. And it would be your fault.”
11 Then Daniel talked to the guard who had been put in charge of Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah by Ashpenaz. 12 He said, “Please give us this test for ten days: Don’t give us anything but vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then after ten days, compare us with the other young men who eat the king’s food. See for yourself who looks healthier, and then decide how you want to treat us, your servants.”
14 So the guard agreed to test Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah for ten days. 15 After ten days, Daniel and his friends looked healthier than all the young men who ate the king’s food. 16 So the guard continued to take away the king’s special food and wine and to give only vegetables to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.
17 God gave these four young men the wisdom and ability to learn many different kinds of writing and science. Daniel could also understand all kinds of visions and dreams.
18 At the end of the three years of training, Ashpenaz brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king talked to them and found that none of the young men were as good as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So these four young men became the king’s servants. 20 Every time the king asked them about something important, they showed great wisdom and understanding. The king found they were ten times better than all the magicians and wise men in his kingdom. 21 So Daniel served the king until the first year that Cyrus[d] was king.
1 We want to tell you about the Word[a] that gives life—the one who existed before the world began. This is the one we have heard and have seen with our own eyes. We saw what he did, and our hands touched him. 2 Yes, the one who is life was shown to us. We saw him, and so we can tell others about him. We now tell you about him. He is the eternal life that was with God the Father and was shown to us. 3 We are telling you about what we have seen and heard because we want you to have fellowship[b] with us. The fellowship we share together is with God the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. 4 We write these things to you so that you can be full of joy with us.
God Forgives Our Sins
5 We heard the true teaching from God. Now we tell it to you: God is light, and in him there is no darkness. 6 So if we say that we share in life with God, but we continue living in darkness, we are liars, who don’t follow the truth. 7 We should live in the light, where God is. If we live in the light, we have fellowship with each other, and the blood sacrifice of Jesus, God’s Son, washes away every sin and makes us clean.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 But if we confess our sins, God will forgive us. We can trust God to do this. He always does what is right. He will make us clean from all the wrong things we have done. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we are saying that God is a liar and that we don’t accept his true teaching.
Jesus Prays for Himself and His Followers
17 After Jesus said these things, he looked toward heaven and prayed, “Father, the time has come. Give glory to your Son so that the Son can give glory to you. 2 You gave the Son power over all people so that he could give eternal life to all those you have given to him. 3 And this is eternal life: that people can know you, the only true God, and that they can know Jesus Christ, the one you sent. 4 I finished the work you gave me to do. I brought you glory on earth. 5 And now, Father, give me glory with you. Give me the glory I had with you before the world was made.
6 “You gave me some people from the world. I have shown them what you are like. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your teaching. 7 Now they know that everything I have came from you. 8 I told them the words you gave me, and they accepted them. They realized the fact that I came from you and believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them now. I am not praying for the people in the world. But I am praying for these people you gave me, because they are yours. 10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And my glory is seen in them.
11 “Now I am coming to you. I will not stay in the world, but these followers of mine are still in the world. Holy Father, keep them safe by the power of your name—the name you gave me. Then they will be one, just as you and I are one.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International