Book of Common Prayer
72 (0) By Shlomo:
(1) God, give the king your fairness in judgment,
endow this son of kings with your righteousness,
2 so that he can govern your people rightly
and your poor with justice.
3 May mountains and hills provide your people
with peace through righteousness.
4 May he defend the oppressed among the people,
save the needy and crush the oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun endures
and as long as the moon, through all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on mown grass,
like showers watering the land.
7 In his days, let the righteous flourish
and peace abound, till the moon is no more.
8 May his empire stretch from sea to sea,
from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.
9 May desert-dwellers bow before him;
may his enemies lick the dust.
10 The kings of Tarshish and the coasts will pay him tribute;
the kings of Sh’va and S’va will offer gifts.
11 Yes, all kings will prostrate themselves before him;
all nations will serve him.
12 For he will rescue the needy when they cry,
the poor too and those with none to help them.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy;
and the lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence;
their blood will be precious in his view.
15 May [the king] live long!
May they give him gold from the land of Sh’va!
May they pray for him continually;
yes, bless him all day long.
16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land,
all the way to the tops of the mountains.
May its crops rustle like the L’vanon.
May people blossom in the city like the grasses in the fields.
17 May his name endure forever,
his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun.[a]
May people bless themselves in him,
may all nations call him happy.
18 Blessed be Adonai, God,
the God of Isra’el,
who alone works wonders.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.
20 This completes the prayers of David the son of Yishai.
י (Yud)
73 Your hands made and formed me;
give me understanding, so I can learn your mitzvot.
74 Those who fear you rejoice at the sight of me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 I know, Adonai, that your rulings are righteous,
that even when you humble me you are faithful.
76 Let your grace comfort me,
in keeping with your promise to your servant.
77 Show me pity, and I will live,
for your Torah is my delight.
78 Let the proud be ashamed, because they wrong me with lies;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me,
along with those who know your instruction.
80 Let my heart be pure in your laws,
so that I won’t be put to shame.
כ (Kaf)
81 I am dying to know your salvation;
my hope is in your word.
82 My eyes fail from watching for your promise;
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have shriveled like a wineskin in a smoky room;
still, I don’t forget your laws.
84 How long can your servant stay alive?
When will you bring judgment on my persecutors?
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me to fall in;
this is not in keeping with your Torah!
86 All your mitzvot [show your] faithfulness;
they are hounding me with lies; help me!
87 They have nearly ended my life on earth,
but I have not abandoned your precepts.
88 In keeping with your grace, revive me;
and I will observe your spoken instructions.
ל (Lamed)
89 Your word continues forever, Adonai,
firmly fixed in heaven;
90 your faithfulness through all generations;
you established the earth, and it stands.
91 Yes, it stands today, in keeping with your rulings;
for all things are your servants.
92 If your Torah had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my distress.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for with them you have made me alive.
94 I am yours; save me
because I seek your precepts.
95 The wicked hope to destroy me,
but I focus on your instruction.
96 I see the limits of all perfection,
but your mitzvah has no bounds.
30 Then Moshe spoke in the hearing of the whole assembly of Isra’el the words of this song, from beginning to end:
Haftarah Vayelekh: Hoshea (Hosea) 14:2(1)–10(9); Mikhah (Micah) 7:18–20; Yo’el (Joel) 2:15–27
B’rit Hadashah suggested reading for Parashah Vayelekh: Messianic Jews (Hebrews) 13:5–8
Parashah 53: Ha’azinu (Hear) 32:1–52
32 “Hear, oh heavens, as I speak!
Listen, earth, to the words from my mouth!
2 May my teaching fall like rain.
May my speech condense like dew,
like light rain on blades of grass,
or showers on growing plants.
3 “For I will proclaim the name of Adonai.
Come, declare the greatness of our God!
4 The Rock! His work is perfect,
for all his ways are just.
A trustworthy God who does no wrong,
he is righteous and straight.
5 “He is not corrupt; the defect is in his children,
a crooked and perverted generation.
6 You foolish people, so lacking in wisdom,
is this how you repay Adonai?
He is your father, who made you his!
It was he who formed and prepared you!
(ii) 7 “Remember how the old days were;
think of the years through all the ages.
Ask your father — he will tell you;
your leaders too — they will inform you.
8 “When ‘Elyon gave each nation its heritage,
when he divided the human race,
he assigned the boundaries of peoples
according to Isra’el’s population;
9 but Adonai’s share was his own people,
Ya‘akov his allotted heritage.
10 “He found his people in desert country,
in a howling, wasted wilderness.
He protected him and cared for him,
guarded him like the pupil of his eye,
11 like an eagle that stirs up her nest,
hovers over her young,
spreads out her wings, takes them
and carries them as she flies.
12 “Adonai alone led his people;
no alien god was with him.
(iii) 13 He made them ride on the heights of the earth.
They ate the produce of the fields.
He had them suck honey from the rocks
and olive oil from the crags,
14 curds from the cows and milk from the sheep,
with lamb fat, rams from Bashan and goats,
with the finest wheat flour;
and you drank sparkling wine from the blood of grapes.
21 To my shame, I must admit that we have been too “weak” to do such things!
But if anyone dares to boast about something — I’m talking like a fool! — I am just as daring. 22 Are they Hebrew-speakers? So am I. Are they of the people of Isra’el? So am I. Are they descendants of Avraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of the Messiah? (I’m talking like a madman!) I’m a better one! I’ve worked much harder, been imprisoned more often, suffered more beatings, been near death over and over. 24 Five times I received “forty lashes less one” from the Jews. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 In my many travels I have been exposed to danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the desert, danger at sea, danger from false brothers. 27 I have toiled and endured hardship, often not had enough sleep, been hungry and thirsty, frequently gone without food, been cold and naked. 28 And besides these external matters, there is the daily pressure of my anxious concern for all the congregations. 29 Who is weak without my sharing his weakness? Who falls into sin without my burning inside?
30 If I must boast, I will boast about things that show how weak I am. 31 God the Father of the Lord Yeshua — blessed be he forever — knows that I am not lying! 32 When I was in Dalmanuta, the governor under King Aretas had the city of Dalmanuta guarded in order to arrest me; 33 but I was lowered in a basket through an opening in the wall and escaped his clutches.
11 While they were listening to this, Yeshua went on to tell a parable, because he was near Yerushalayim, and the people supposed that the Kingdom of God was about to appear at any moment. 12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman went to a country far away to have himself crowned king and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten manim [a maneh is about three months’ wages] and said to them, ‘Do business with this while I’m away.’ 14 But his countrymen hated him, and they sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us.’
15 “However, he returned, having been made king, and sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, to find out what each one had earned in his business dealings. 16 The first one came in and said, ‘Sir, your maneh has earned ten more manim.’ 17 ‘Excellent!’ he said to him. ‘You are a good servant. Because you have been trustworthy in a small matter, I am putting you in charge of ten towns.’ 18 The second one came and said, ‘Sir, your maneh has earned five more manim; 19 and to this one he said, ‘You be in charge of five towns.’
20 “Then another one came and said, ‘Sir, here is your maneh. I kept it hidden in a piece of cloth, 21 because I was afraid of you — you take out what you didn’t put in, and you harvest what you didn’t plant.’ 22 To him the master said, ‘You wicked servant! I will judge you by your own words! So you knew, did you, that I was a severe man, taking out what I didn’t put in and harvesting what I didn’t plant? 23 Then why didn’t you put my money in the bank? Then, when I returned, I would have gotten it back with interest!’ 24 To those standing by, he said, ‘Take the maneh from him and give it to the one with ten manim.’ 25 They said to him, ‘Sir, he already has ten manim!’ 26 But the master answered, ‘I tell you, everyone who has something will be given more; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 27 However, as for these enemies of mine who did not want me to be their king, bring them here and execute them in my presence!’”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.