Book of Common Prayer
120 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) I called to Adonai in my distress,
and he answered me.
2 Rescue me, Adonai, from lips that tell lies,
from a tongue full of deceit.
3 What has he in store for you, deceitful tongue?
What more will he do to you?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with red-hot coals from a broom tree.
5 How wretched I am, that I’m an alien in Meshekh,
that I must live among the tents of Keidar!
6 I have had to live far too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am all for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
121 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
4 No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade —
6 the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.
7 Adonai will guard you against all harm;
he will guard your life.
8 Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.
122 (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) I was glad when they said to me,
“The house of Adonai! Let’s go!”
2 Our feet were already standing
at your gates, Yerushalayim.
3 Yerushalayim, built as a city
fostering friendship and unity.
4 The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of Adonai,
as a witness to Isra’el,
to give thanks to the name of Adonai.
5 For there the thrones of justice were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim;
may those who love you prosper.
7 May shalom be within your ramparts,
prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I say,
“Shalom be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of Adonai our God,
I will seek your well-being.
123 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) I raise my eyes to you,
whose throne is in heaven.
2 As a servant looks to the hand of his master,
or a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes turn to Adonai our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Adonai, have mercy;
for we have had our fill of contempt,
4 more than our fill of scorn from the complacent
and contempt from the arrogant.
124 (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) If Adonai hadn’t been for us —
let Isra’el repeat it —
2 If Adonai hadn’t been for us
when people rose to attack us,
3 then, when their anger blazed against us,
they would have swallowed us alive!
4 Then the water would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us.
5 Yes, the raging water
would have swept right over us.
6 Blessed be Adonai, who did not leave us
to be a prey for their teeth!
7 We escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap;
the trap is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
125 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) Those who trust in Adonai
are like Mount Tziyon,
which cannot be moved
but remains forever.
2 Yerushalayim!
Mountains all around it!
Thus Adonai is around his people
henceforth and forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness
will not rule the inheritance of the righteous,
so that the righteous will not themselves
turn their hands to evil.
4 Do good, Adonai, to the good,
to those upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside
to their own crooked ways,
may Adonai turn them away,
along with those who do evil.
Shalom on Isra’el!
126 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes,
we thought we were dreaming.
2 Our mouths were full of laughter,
and our tongues shouted for joy.
Among the nations it was said,
“Adonai has done great things for them!”
3 Adonai did do great things with us;
and we are overjoyed.
4 Return our people from exile, Adonai,
as streams fill vadis in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping
as he carries his sack of seed
will come home with cries of joy
as he carries his sheaves of grain.
127 (0) A song of ascents. By Shlomo:
(1) Unless Adonai builds the house,
its builders work in vain.
Unless Adonai guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 In vain do you get up early
and put off going to bed,
working hard to earn a living;
for he provides for his beloved,
even when they sleep.
3 Children too are a gift from Adonai;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 The children born when one is young.
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 How blessed is the man
who has filled his quiver with them;
he will not have to be embarrassed
when contending with foes at the city gate.
11 Then Nachash the ‘Amoni came up and set up camp to fight Yavesh-Gil‘ad. All the men of Yavesh said to Nachash, “If you will make a treaty with us, we will be your subjects.” 2 Nachash the ‘Amoni replied, “I’ll do it on this condition: that all your right eyes be gouged out and thus bring disgrace on all of Isra’el.” 3 The leaders of Yavesh answered him, “Give us seven days’ grace to send messengers throughout Isra’el’s territory; then, if no one will rescue us, we will surrender to you.”
4 The messengers came to Giv‘ah, where Sha’ul lived, and said these words in the hearing of the people; and all the people cried out and wept. 5 As this was going on, Sha’ul came, following the oxen out of the field. Sha’ul asked, “What’s wrong with the people to make them cry like that?” They told him what the men from Yavesh had said. 6 The Spirit of God fell on Sha’ul when he heard this; blazing furiously with anger, 7 he seized a pair of oxen and cut them in pieces; then he sent them throughout the territory of Isra’el with messengers saying, “Anyone who doesn’t come and follow Sha’ul and Sh’mu’el, this is what will be done to his oxen!” The fear of Adonai fell on the people, and they came out with united hearts. 8 He reviewed them in Bezek; there were 300,000 from the people of Isra’el; the men of Y’hudah numbered 30,000. 9 To the messengers that had come they said, “Tell the men of Yavesh-Gil‘ad, ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you will have been rescued.’” The messengers returned and told the men of Yavesh; they were overjoyed. 10 Then the men of Yavesh said [to Nachash], “Tomorrow we will surrender to you, and you can do with us whatever you like.”
11 The next day Sha’ul divided the people into three companies. Then they entered the camp of the ‘Amoni during the morning watch and kept attacking until the heat of the day, until those who remained were so scattered that no two of them were left together. 12 The people said to Sh’mu’el, “Who are the men who said, ‘Is Sha’ul to rule over us?’ Hand them over to us, so we can put them to death.” 13 But Sha’ul said, “No one will be put to death today, because today Adonai has rescued Isra’el.”
14 Then Sh’mu’el said to the people, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and inaugurate the kingship there. 15 So all the people went to Gilgal; and there in Gilgal, before Adonai, they made Sha’ul king. They presented sacrifices as peace offerings before Adonai there, and there Sha’ul and all the people of Isra’el celebrated with great joy.
8 and Sha’ul gave his approval to his murder.
Starting with that day, there arose intense persecution against the Messianic Community in Yerushalayim; all but the emissaries were scattered throughout the regions of Y’hudah and Shomron. 2 Some godly men buried Stephen and mourned him deeply. 3 But Sha’ul set out to destroy the Messianic Community — entering house after house, he dragged off both men and women and handed them over to be put in prison. 4 However, those who were scattered announced the Good News of the Word wherever they went.
5 Now Philip went down to a city in Shomron and was proclaiming the Messiah to them; 6 and the crowds were paying close attention to what Philip said, as they heard and saw the miraculous signs he was doing. 7 For many people were having unclean spirits driven out of them, shrieking; also many paralytics and crippled persons were being healed; 8 so that there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a man named Shim‘on in the city who for some time had been practicing magic and astonishing the nation of Shomron, claiming to be somebody great. 10 Everyone gave heed to him, from the lowest to the highest, saying, “This man is the power of God called ‘The Great Power’.” 11 They followed him because for a considerable time he had amazed them with his magic.
12 But when they came to believe Philip, as he announced the Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Yeshua the Messiah, they were immersed, both men and women. 13 Moreover, Shim‘on himself came to believe; and after being immersed, he attached himself closely to Philip; and he was amazed as he saw the miraculous signs and great works of power that kept taking place.
63 Meanwhile, the men who were holding Yeshua made fun of him. They beat him, 64 blindfolded him, and kept asking him, “Now, ‘prophesy’! Who hit you that time?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.
66 At daybreak, the people’s council of elders, including both head cohanim and Torah-teachers, met and led him off to their Sanhedrin, 67 where they said, “If you are the Mashiach, tell us.” He answered, “If I tell you, you won’t believe me; 68 and if I ask you, you won’t answer. 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be sitting at the right hand of HaG’vurah,”[a] 70 They all said, “Does this mean, then, that you are the Son of God?” And he answered them, “You say I am.” 71 They said, “Why do we need additional testimony? We have heard it ourselves from his own mouth!”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.