Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 120
A song for going up to worship.
1 When I was in trouble, I cried out to Yahweh,
and he answered me.
2 O Yahweh, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can Yahweh give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
Psalm 121
A song for going up to worship.
1 I look up toward the mountains.
Where can I find help?
2 My help comes from Yahweh,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall.
Your guardian will not fall asleep.
4 Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
5 Yahweh is your guardian.
Yahweh is the shade over your right hand.
6 The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
nor will the moon at night.
7 Yahweh guards you from every evil.
He guards your life.
8 Yahweh guards you as you come and go,
now and forever.
Psalm 122
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of Yahweh.”
2 Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.[a]
4 All of Yah’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
5 The court of justice sits there.
It consists of princes who are David’s descendants.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
9 For the sake of the house of Yahweh our Elohim,
I will seek what is good for you.
Psalm 123
A song for going up to worship.
1 I look up to you,
to the one who sits enthroned in heaven.
2 As servants depend on their masters,
as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we depend on Yahweh our Elohim
until he has pity on us.
3 Have pity on us, O Yahweh.
Have pity on us
because we have suffered more than our share of contempt.
4 We have suffered more than our share of ridicule
from those who are carefree.
We have suffered more than our share of contempt
from those who are arrogant.
Psalm 124
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 “If Yahweh had not been on our side . . .”
(Israel should repeat this.)
2 “If Yahweh had not been on our side when people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger exploded against us.
4 Then the floodwaters would have swept us away.
An overflowing stream would have washed us away.
5 Then raging water would have washed us away.”
6 Thank Yahweh, who did not let them sink their teeth into us.
7 We escaped like a bird caught in a hunter’s trap.
The trap was broken, and we escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
A song for going up to worship.
1 Those who trust Yahweh are like Mount Zion,
which can never be shaken.
It remains firm forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so Yahweh surrounds his people now and forever.
3 A wicked ruler will not be allowed to govern
the land set aside for righteous people.
That is why righteous people do not use their power to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Yahweh, to those who are good,
to those whose motives are decent.
5 But when people become crooked,
Yahweh will lead them away with troublemakers.
Let there be peace in Israel!
Psalm 126
A song for going up to worship.
1 When Yahweh restored the fortunes of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter
and our tongues with joyful songs.
Then the nations said,
“Yahweh has done spectacular things for them.”
3 Yahweh has done spectacular things for us.
We are overjoyed.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Yahweh,
as you restore streams to dry riverbeds in the Negev.
5 Those who cry while they plant
will joyfully sing while they harvest.
6 The person who goes out weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
will come home singing, carrying his bundles of grain.
Psalm 127
A song by Solomon for going up to worship.
1 If Yahweh does not build the house,
it is useless for the builders to work on it.
If Yahweh does not protect a city,
it is useless for the guard to stay alert.
2 It is useless to work hard for the food you eat
by getting up early and going to bed late.
Yahweh gives food to those he loves while they sleep.
3 Children are an inheritance from Yahweh.
They are a reward from him.
4 The children born to a man when he is young
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.
Saul Defeats Ammon
11 King Nahash of Ammon was severely oppressing the tribes of Gad and Reuben. He would poke out everyone’s right eye and allow no one to rescue Israel. There was no one among the Israelites east of the Jordan River whose right eye King Nahash of Ammon had not poked out. However, seven thousand men had escaped from the Ammonites and gone to Jabesh Gilead. About a month later[a] Nahash the Ammonite blockaded Jabesh Gilead. All the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, “Make a treaty with us, and we’ll serve you.”
2 Nahash the Ammonite responded, “I’ll make a treaty with you on this one condition: I’ll poke out everyone’s right eye and bring disgrace on all Israel.”
3 The leaders of Jabesh told him, “Give us seven days so that we can send messengers throughout the territory of Israel. And if there’s no one to save us, we’ll surrender to you.”
4 The messengers came to Saul’s town, Gibeah. When they told the people the news, the people cried loudly. 5 Just then Saul was coming from the field behind some oxen. “Why are these people crying?” Saul asked. So they told him the news about the men of Jabesh. 6 When he heard this news, the Ruach Elohim came over him, and he became very angry. 7 Saul took a pair of oxen, cut them in pieces, and sent them by messengers throughout the territory of Israel with the following message: “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone who doesn’t follow Saul and Samuel into battle.” So the people became terrified by Yahweh, and they came out united behind Saul. 8 When Saul counted them at Bezek, there were 300,000 troops from Israel and 30,000 troops from Judah. 9 They told the messengers who had come, “This is what you are to say to the men of Jabesh Gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun gets hot, you will be rescued.’” When the men of Jabesh received the message, they were overjoyed.
10 They said to Nahash, “Tomorrow we’ll surrender to you, and you may do to us whatever you think is right.”
11 The next day Saul arranged the army in three divisions. They came into the Ammonite camp during the morning hours and continued to defeat the Ammonites until it got hot that day. The survivors were so scattered that no two of them were left together.
12 Then the people asked Samuel, “Who said that Saul shouldn’t rule us? Let us have them, and we’ll kill them.”
13 But Saul said, “No one will be killed today, because today Yahweh saved Israel.”
14 Samuel told the troops, “Come, let’s go to Gilgal and there acknowledge Saul’s kingship.” 15 Then all the troops went to Gilgal, and there in Yahweh’s presence, they confirmed Saul as their king. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings to Yahweh. Saul and all of Israel’s soldiers celebrated.
8 Saul approved of putting Stephen to death.
On that day widespread persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. Most believers, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2 Devout men buried Stephen as they mourned loudly for him.
3 Saul tried to destroy the church. He dragged men and women out of one home after another and threw them into prison.
Some Samaritans Become Believers
4 The believers who were scattered went from place to place, where they spread the word. 5 Philip went to the city of Samaria and told people about the Messiah. 6 The crowds paid close attention to what Philip said. They listened to him and saw the miracles that he performed. 7 Evil spirits screamed as they came out of the many people they had possessed. Many paralyzed and lame people were cured. 8 As a result, that city was extremely happy.
9 A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. 10 Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” 11 They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. 12 However, when Philip spread the Good News about the kingdom of God and the one named Yeshua Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. 13 Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.
The Trial in Front of the Jewish Council(A)
63 The men who were guarding Yeshua made fun of him as they beat him. 64 They blindfolded him and said to him, “Tell us who hit you.” 65 They also insulted him in many other ways.
66 In the morning the council of the people’s leaders, the chief priests and the experts in Moses’ Teachings, gathered together. They brought Yeshua in front of their highest court and asked him, 67 “Tell us, are you the Messiah?”
Yeshua said to them, “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 in the highest position in heaven.”
70 Then all of them said, “So you’re the Son of God?”
Yeshua answered them, “You’re right to say that I am.”
71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We’ve heard him say it ourselves.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.