Book of Common Prayer
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
131 Lord, I don’t feel proud.
I don’t see myself as better than others.
I am not thinking about doing great things
or reaching impossible goals.
2 No, right now I am calm and quiet,
like a child after nursing,
content in its mother’s arms.[a]
3 Israel, trust in the Lord.
Trust in him now and forever!
A song for going up to the Temple.
132 Lord, remember how David suffered.
2 He made a promise to you, Lord,
an oath to the Mighty God of Jacob.
3 He said, “I will not go into my house
or lie down on my bed.
4 I will not sleep
or let my eyes rest,
5 until I find a home for the Lord,
a tent for the Mighty God of Jacob!”
6 We heard about this in Ephrathah.[b]
We found the Box of the Agreement at Kiriath Jearim.[c]
7 Now, let’s go to the Lord’s house.
Let’s worship at his throne.[d]
8 Lord, get up[e] and go to your resting place;
go with the Box that shows your power.
9 May your priests be clothed in victory
and your loyal followers be filled with joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
don’t reject your chosen king.[f]
11 The Lord made a promise to David, an oath of loyalty to him:
“I will always put one of your descendants on your throne.
12 If your descendants obey my agreement and the laws I teach them,
then the king will always be someone from your family.”
13 The Lord has chosen Zion to be the place for his Temple,
the place he wanted for his home.
14 He said, “This will always be my place of rest.
This is where I want to sit on my throne.
15 I will bless this city with plenty of food.
Even the poor will have enough to eat.
16 I will clothe the priests with salvation,
and my followers will be filled with joy.
17 This is where I will make David’s family strong.
I will never let the lamp of my chosen king stop burning.
18 I will cover his enemies with shame,
and on his head will be a shining crown.”
A song of David for going up to the Temple.
133 Oh, how wonderful, how pleasing it is
when God’s people all come together as one[g]!
2 It is like the sweet-smelling oil that is poured over the high priest’s[h] head,
that runs down his beard flowing over his robes.
3 It is like a gentle rain[i] from Mount Hermon falling on Mount Zion.
It is there that the Lord has promised his blessing of eternal life.
A song for going up to the Temple.
134 Praise the Lord, all his servants
who serve in the Temple at night.
2 Lift your hands toward the Temple,
and praise the Lord.
3 May the Lord, who made heaven and earth,
bless you from Zion.
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise him, you servants of the Lord,
2 you who serve in the Lord’s Temple,
in the courtyard of the Temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Praise his name, because it brings such joy!
4 The Lord chose Jacob to be his own.
Yes, he chose Israel to be his own people.
5 I know the Lord is great!
Our Lord is greater than all the gods!
6 The Lord does whatever he wants,
in heaven and on earth, in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the other side of the earth.
He sends the lightning and the rain,
and he opens the doors to release the winds.
8 He destroyed the firstborn males of the people in Egypt and their animals.
9 He did great wonders and miracles in Egypt.
He used them against Pharaoh and his officials.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings.
11 He defeated Sihon, king of the Amorites,
Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms in Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land to Israel, his people.
13 Lord, your name will be famous forever!
Lord, people will remember you forever and ever.
14 The Lord defends his people;
he is kind to his servants.
15 The gods of other nations are only gold and silver idols
that people have made.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak.
They have eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear.
They have mouths, but no breath.
18 Those who make idols and trust in them
will become just like the idols they have made.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord!
Aaron’s family, praise the Lord!
20 Levi’s family, praise the Lord!
All you who worship the Lord, praise the Lord!
21 The Lord should be praised from Zion,
from Jerusalem, his home.
Praise the Lord!
Joab Scolds David
19 People told Joab what had happened, “Look, the king is crying and mourning for Absalom.” 2 So the joy of victory turned to sadness for everyone. It was a very sad day because the people heard, “The king is mourning for his son.”
3 The people came into the city quietly as if they were the ones who had been defeated in battle. 4 The king had covered his face and was crying loudly, “O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!”
5 Joab came into the king’s palace and said to the king, “You are humiliating every one of your officers! Look, they saved your life today and the lives of your sons and daughters and your wives and slave women. 6 It seems that you love those who hate you, and you hate those who love you! Today you have made it clear to your officers and men that they mean nothing to you. It appears as if you would have been perfectly happy if Absalom had lived and the rest of us had been killed today! 7 Now get up and go encourage your officers. I swear by the Lord, if you don’t go out and do that right now, not one man will be with you tonight. And that will be worse for you than all the trouble you have had since you were a child.”
8 So the king went to the city gate.[a] The news spread that the king was at the gate, so all the people came to see him, except for the Israelites who had run away to their homes.
David Is King Again
9 The tribes of Israel began discussing what to do next. They said, “King David saved us from the Philistines and our other enemies. David left the country because he was running away from Absalom. 10 We anointed Absalom to be the king, but he was killed in battle. So we should bring David back to be the king again.”
11 King David sent a message to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. David said, “Speak to the leaders of Judah and tell them, ‘Why are you the last tribe to bring King David back home? See, all the Israelites are talking about bringing the king back home. 12 You are my brothers, my family, so why are you the last tribe to bring the king back?’ 13 Also tell Amasa, ‘You are part of my family. I swear that I will make you captain of the army in Joab’s place.’”
14 David touched the hearts of the people of Judah, and they all agreed as one. The people of Judah sent a message to the king, saying, “You and all your officers come back!”
15 King David came to the Jordan River. The people of Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and take him across the Jordan River.
Shimei Asks David to Forgive Him
16 Shimei son of Gera, from the tribe of Benjamin, lived in Bahurim. Shimei rushed down to meet King David, with the rest of the people of Judah. 17 About 1000 people from the tribe of Benjamin came with Shimei. Ziba the servant from Saul’s family also came. Ziba brought his 15 sons and 20 servants with him. All these people hurried to the Jordan River to meet King David.
18 The people went across the Jordan River to help bring the king’s family back to Judah. They did whatever the king wanted. While the king was crossing the river, Shimei son of Gera came to meet him. He bowed down to the ground in front of the king. 19 Shimei said to the king, “My lord, don’t think about the wrong things I did. My lord and king, don’t remember the bad things I did when you left Jerusalem. 20 I know that I sinned. That is why today I am the first person from Joseph’s family[b] to come down and meet you, my lord and king.”
21 Abishai son of Zeruiah said, “Let’s kill him for all the bad things he said about the Lord’s chosen king.[c]”
22 David said, “What should I do with you, sons of Zeruiah? Are you trying to cause me trouble? No one will be put to death in Israel today! Today I know that I am king over Israel.”
23 Then the king said to Shimei, “You will not die.” The king made a promise to Shimei that he himself would not kill Shimei.[d]
Some Jews Accuse Paul
24 Five days later Ananias, the high priest, went to the city of Caesarea. He brought with him some of the older Jewish leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They went to Caesarea to make charges against Paul before the governor. 2-3 Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to make his accusations.
Tertullus said, “Most Honorable Felix, our people enjoy much peace because of you, and many wrong things in our country are being made right through your wise help. For this we all continue to be very thankful. 4 But I don’t want to take any more of your time. So I will say only a few words. Please be patient. 5 This man is a troublemaker. He causes trouble with the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a leader of the Nazarene group. 6-8 Also, he was trying to make the Temple unclean, but we stopped him.[a] You can decide if all this is true. Ask him some questions yourself.” 9 The other Jews agreed and said it was all true.
Paul Defends Himself Before Felix
10 The governor made a sign for Paul to speak. So Paul answered, “Governor Felix, I know that you have been a judge over this nation for a long time. So I am happy to defend myself before you. 11 I went to worship in Jerusalem only twelve days ago. You can learn for yourself that this is true. 12 These Jews who are accusing me did not find me arguing with anyone at the Temple or making trouble with the people. And I was not making trouble or arguing in the synagogues or any other place in the city. 13 These men cannot prove the things they are saying against me now.
14 “But I will tell you this: I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which these Jews say is not the right way, and I believe everything that is taught in the Law of Moses and all that is written in the books of the prophets. 15 I have the same hope in God that these Jews have—the hope that all people, good and bad, will be raised from death. 16 This is why I always try to do what I believe is right before God and before everyone.
17-18 “I was away from Jerusalem for many years. I went back there to take money to help my people. I also had some gifts to offer at the Temple. I was doing this when some Jews saw me there. I had finished the cleansing ceremony.[b] I had not made any trouble, and no one was gathering around me. 19 But some Jews from Asia were there. They should be here, standing before you. If I have really done anything wrong, they are the ones who should accuse me. They were there! 20 Ask these men here if they found any wrong in me when I stood before the high council meeting in Jerusalem. 21 I did say one thing when I stood before them and shouted, ‘You are judging me today because I believe that people will rise from death!’”
22 Felix already understood a lot about the Way. He stopped the trial and said, “When commander Lysias comes here, I will decide what to do with you.” 23 Felix told the army officer to keep Paul guarded but to give him some freedom and to let his friends bring whatever he needed.
Which Command Is the Most Important?(A)
28 One of the teachers of the law came to Jesus. He heard Jesus arguing with the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He saw that Jesus gave good answers to their questions. So he asked him, “Which of the commands is the most important?”
29 Jesus answered, “The most important command is this: ‘People of Israel, listen! The Lord our God is the only Lord. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’[a] 31 The second most important command is this: ‘Love your neighbor[b] the same as you love yourself.’[c] These two commands are the most important.”
32 The man answered, “That was a good answer, Teacher. You are right in saying that God is the only Lord and that there is no other God. 33 And you must love God with all your heart, all your mind, and all your strength. And you must love others the same as you love yourself. These commands are more important than all the animals and sacrifices we offer to God.”
34 Jesus saw that the man answered him wisely. So he said to him, “You are close to God’s kingdom.” And after that time, no one was brave enough to ask Jesus any more questions.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International