Book of Common Prayer
A song of David.
101 I will sing about love and justice.
Lord, I will sing to you.
2 I will be careful to live a pure life.
I will live in my house with complete honesty.
When will you come to me?
3 I will not even look at anything shameful.[a]
I hate all wrongdoing.
I want no part of it!
4 I will not be involved in anything dishonest.
I will have nothing to do with evil.
5 I will stop anyone who secretly
says bad things about a neighbor.
I will not allow people to be proud
and think they are better than others.
6 I will look throughout the land for those who can be trusted.
Only such people can live with me.
Only those who live pure lives can be my servants.
7 I will never let a dishonest person live in my house.
I will not let liars stay near me.
8 My goal each day will be to destroy the wicked living in our land.
I will force all who do evil to leave the city of the Lord.
To the director: A praise song of David.
109 God, I praise you!
Hear my prayer and do something!
2 Wicked people are telling lies about me.
They are saying things that are not true.
3 They are saying hateful things about me.
They are attacking me for no reason.
4 I loved them, but they were against me.
So I said a prayer.
5 I did good things to them,
but they are doing bad things to me.
I loved them,
but they hated me.
6 They said, “Choose someone evil to represent him.
Let the one at his side really be his accuser.
7 Let even his prayer be used as evidence against him,
and let the court find him guilty.
8 Let his life be cut short,
and let someone else take over his work.
9 Let his children become orphans and his wife a widow.
10 Make his children wander around as beggars,
forced from homes that lie in ruins.
11 Let the people he owes take everything he owns.
Let strangers get everything he worked for.
12 Let no one be kind to him.
Let no one show mercy to his children.
13 May his family come to an end.
May his name be unknown to future generations.
14 May the Lord remember the sins of his father,
and may his mother’s sins never be erased.
15 May the Lord remember their sins forever,
and may he cause people to forget his family completely.
16 He never did anything good.
He never loved anyone.
He made life hard for the poor and the helpless.
17 He loved to curse others,
so let those bad things happen to him.
He never blessed others,
so don’t let good things happen to him.
18 Cursing was a daily part of his life,
like the clothes he wears.
Cursing others became a part of him,
like the water he drinks and the oil he puts on his body.
19 So let curses cover him like the robe he wears
and always surround him like a belt.”
20 My enemies said these evil things against me.
But may those curses be the way the Lord punishes them.
21 My Lord God, treat me in a way that brings honor to your name.
Save me because of your faithful love.
22 I am only a poor, helpless man.
I am so sad; my heart is broken.
23 I feel my life is over, fading like a shadow at day’s end.
I feel like a bug that someone brushed away.
24 My knees are weak from fasting.
I have lost weight and become thin.
25 My enemies insult me.
They look at me and shake their heads.
26 Lord my God, help me!
Show your faithful love and save me!
27 Then they will know that you did it.
They will know that it was your power, Lord, that helped me.
28 They curse me, but you can bless me.
They attacked me, so defeat them.
Then I, your servant, will be happy.
29 Humiliate my enemies!
Let them wear their shame like a coat.
30 I give thanks to the Lord.
I praise him in front of everyone.
Ain
121 I have done what is right and good.
Don’t let me fall into the hands of those who want to hurt me.
122 Promise to be good to me, your servant.
Don’t let those proud people do harm to me.
123 I have worn out my eyes looking for your help,
waiting for you to save me, as you promised.
124 Show your faithful love to me, your servant.
Teach me your laws.
125 I am your servant.
Give me wisdom to understand your rules.
126 Lord, it is time for you to do something.
The people do what is against your teachings.
127 I love your commands more than gold,
more than the purest gold.
128 I carefully obey all your commands.
So I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.
Pe
129 Lord, your rules are wonderful.
That is why I follow them.
130 As people understand your word, it brings light to their lives.
Your word makes even simple people wise.
131 My desire to hear your commands is so strong
that I wait with open mouth, gasping for breath.
132 Look at me, and be kind to me,
just as you always are to those who love your name.
133 Guide me, as you promised.
Don’t let evil rule over me.
134 Save me from those who want to hurt me,
and I will obey your instructions.
135 Accept your servant,
and teach me your laws.
136 I have cried a river of tears
because people don’t obey your teachings.
Tsadhe
137 Lord, you do what is right,
and your decisions are fair.
138 The rules you have given us are right.
We can trust them completely.
139 Something that really upsets me is the thought
that my enemies ignore your commands.
140 I love your word.
Time and again it has been proven true.
141 I am young, and people don’t respect me.
But I have not forgotten your instructions.
142 Your goodness is forever,
and your teachings can be trusted.
143 Even though I have troubles and hard times,
your commands give me joy.
144 Your rules are always right.
Help me understand them so that I can live.
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
21 The king said to Joab, “Look, I will do what I promised. Now please bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Joab bowed with his face on the ground. He blessed King David, and said, “Today I know that you are pleased with me. I know because you have done what I asked.”
23 Then Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 But King David said, “Absalom must go back to his own house. He cannot come to see me.” So Absalom went back to his own house, but he could not go to see the king.
25 People really bragged about how good-looking Absalom was. No man in Israel was as handsome as Absalom. Every part of his body was perfect—from his head to his feet. 26 At the end of every year, Absalom cut the hair from his head and weighed it. The hair weighed about five pounds.[a] 27 Absalom had three sons and one daughter. Her name was Tamar, and she was a beautiful woman.
Absalom Forces Joab to Come See Him
28 Absalom lived in Jerusalem for two full years without being allowed to visit King David. 29 Absalom sent a message to Joab, asking for permission to see the king, but Joab refused to come see him. So Absalom sent a second message to Joab. Again, Joab refused to come see him.
30 Then Absalom said to his servants, “Look, Joab’s field is next to my field. He has barley growing in that field. Go burn the barley.”
So Absalom’s servants went and started a fire in Joab’s field. 31 Joab got up and came to Absalom’s house. He said to him, “Why did your servants burn my field?”
32 Absalom said to Joab, “I sent a message to you. I asked you to come here. I wanted to send you to the king to ask him why he asked me to come home from Geshur. I cannot see him, so it would have been better for me to stay in Geshur. Now let me see the king. If I have sinned, he can kill me!”
Absalom Visits King David
33 Then Joab came to the king and told him what Absalom said. The king called for Absalom. Absalom came to the king and bowed low on the ground before the king. The king kissed him.
15 After this, we got ready and left for Jerusalem. 16 Some of the followers of Jesus from Caesarea went with us. These followers took us to the home of Mnason, a man from Cyprus, who was one of the first people to be a follower of Jesus. They took us to his home so that we could stay with him.
Paul Visits James
17 The brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were very happy to see us. 18 The next day Paul went with us to visit James, and all the elders were there. 19 After greeting them, Paul told them point by point all that God had used him to do among the non-Jewish people.
20 When the leaders heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul, “Brother, you can see that thousands of Jews have become believers, but they think it is very important to obey the Law of Moses. 21 They have been told that you teach the Jews who live in non-Jewish regions to stop following the Law of Moses. They have heard that you tell them not to circumcise their sons or follow our other customs.
22 “What should we do? The Jewish believers here will learn that you have come. 23 So we will tell you what to do: Four of our men have made a vow[a] to God. 24 Take these men with you and share in their cleansing ceremony.[b] Pay their expenses so that they can shave their heads.[c] This will prove to everyone that the things they have heard about you are not true. They will see that you obey the Law of Moses in your own life.
25 “In regard to the non-Jewish believers, we have already sent a letter to them saying what we think they should do:
‘Don’t eat food that has been given to idols.
Don’t eat meat from animals that have been strangled or any meat that still has the blood in it.
Don’t be involved in sexual sin.’”
Paul Is Arrested
26 So Paul took the four men with him. The next day he shared in their cleansing ceremony. Then he went to the Temple area and announced the time when the days of the cleansing ceremony would be finished. On the last day an offering would be given for each of the men.
A Rich Man Refuses to Follow Jesus(A)
17 Jesus started to leave, but a man ran to him and bowed down on his knees before him. The man asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to get the life that never ends?”
18 Jesus answered, “Why do you call me good? Only God is good. 19 And you know his commands: ‘You must not murder anyone, you must not commit adultery, you must not steal, you must not lie, you must not cheat, you must respect your father and mother ….’[a]”
20 The man said, “Teacher, I have obeyed all these commands since I was a boy.”
21 Jesus looked at the man in a way that showed how much he cared for him. He said, “There is still one thing you need to do. Go and sell everything you have. Give the money to those who are poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and follow me.”
22 The man was upset when Jesus told him to give away his money. He didn’t want to do this, because he was very rich. So he went away sad.
23 Then Jesus looked at his followers and said to them, “It will be very hard for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom!”
24 The followers were amazed at what Jesus said. But he said again, “My children, it is very hard[b] to enter God’s kingdom! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom!”
26 The followers were even more amazed and said to each other, “Then who can be saved?”
27 Jesus looked at them and said, “That is something people cannot do, but God can. He can do anything.”
28 Peter said to Jesus, “We left everything to follow you!”
29 Jesus said, “I can promise that everyone who has left their home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or farm for me and for the Good News about me 30 will get a hundred times more than they left. Here in this world they will get more homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and farms. And with these things they will have persecutions. But in the world that is coming they will also get the reward of eternal life. 31 Many people who have the highest place now will have the lowest place in the future. And the people who have the lowest place now will have the highest place then.”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International