Book of Common Prayer
By the Rivers of Babylon
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon,
we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
3 For there our captors demanded songs
and our tormentors asked for joy:
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of Adonai in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I cease to remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, Adonai, the children of Edom,
what they said on the day Jerusalem fell:
“Strip her, strip her to her very foundation!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, the devastated one,
happy is the one who repays you
as you have paid us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your little ones
and dashes them upon the rock.
Rescue from Battle
Psalm 144
1 Of David.
Blessed be Adonai my Rock—
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2 He is my lovingkindness, my fortress,
my strong tower, and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues my people under me.
3 Adonai, what is man, that You take note of him?
Or the son of man, that You consider him?[a]
4 Man is like a breath—
his days are like a passing shadow.
5 Adonai, part Your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains, so they smoke.
6 Flash forth lightning and scatter them.
Send out Your arrows and confuse them.
7 Stretch forth Your hands from on high.
Snatch me, deliver me out of deep waters,
out of the hand of foreigners,
8 whose mouth speaks falsehood,
whose right hand is a right hand of deceit.
9 God, I sing a new song to You, on a ten-string harp
I sing praises to You—
10 who gives salvation to kings,
who rescues Your servant David from the evil sword.
11 Snatch me, deliver me
out of the hand of foreigners,
whose mouth speaks falsehood,
whose right hand is a right hand of deceit.
12 Then our sons will be like plants nurtured in their youth,
our daughters like corner pillars carved for the construction of a palace.
13 Our storehouses are full,
supplying every kind of produce.
Our flocks increase by thousands
and ten thousands in our fields.
14 Our oxen bear a heavy load.
There is no breach,
no going into captivity,
no outcry in our streets.
15 Happy are such a people!
Blessed are the people whose God is Adonai!
Adonai Rejoices in His Works!
Psalm 104
1 Bless Adonai, O my soul.
Adonai my God, You are very great!
You are clothed with splendor and majesty—
2 wrapping Yourself in light as a robe,
stretching out heaven like a curtain,
3 laying beams for His upper rooms in waters,
making the clouds His chariot,
walking on the wings of the wind,
4 making His angels spirits,
His servants a flaming fire.
5 He set the earth upon its foundations,
so it should not totter forever and ever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment—
the waters standing above the mountains.
7 At Your rebuke the waters fled.
At the sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The waters go up the mountains,
then down to the valleys—
to the place that You assigned to them.
9 You set a boundary to the waters
that they may not cross over,
so they may not return to cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush into the valleys.
They run between the mountains.
11 They give drink to all the beasts of the field—
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the sky dwell—
they sing among the branches.
13 He waters mountains from His upper rooms.
The earth is full of the fruit of Your labors.
14 He causes grass to spring up for the cattle,
and vegetation for man to cultivate,
to bring forth bread out of the earth,
15 wine that makes man’s heart glad,
oil to make his face shine,
and bread that sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of Adonai are satisfied,
the cedars of Lebanon that He planted,
17 where birds make their nests,
and the stork—her home is the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for wild goats,
the cliffs a refuge for rock badgers.
19 He made the moon for appointed times,
the sun knows its going down.
20 You bring darkness, so it becomes night,
when all the beasts of the forest prowl.
21 The young lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 But when the sun rises, they gather
and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes out to his work,
and to his labor until the evening.
24 Adonai, how countless are Your works!
In wisdom You made them all—
the earth is full of Your creatures.
25 There is the sea, vast and wide,
teeming with gliding things innumerable,
living creatures, both small and large.
26 There, ships go to and fro.
Leviathan—You formed to frolic there.
27 They all look to You to give them
their food at the right time.
28 When You give it to them, they gather it up.
When You open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 But when You hide Your face—they are dismayed.
You take away their breath—they perish,
and return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your Ruach—they are created,
and You renew the face of the earth.
31 May the glory of Adonai endure forever!
May Adonai rejoice in His works!
32 He looks at the earth, and it trembles.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to Adonai as long as I live!
I will sing praise to my God yet again!
34 Let my meditation be sweet to Him.
I—I will rejoice in Adonai.
35 Let sinners vanish from the earth
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless Adonai, O my soul. Halleluyah!
23 Now these are the last words of David,
the utterance of David son of Jesse,
the utterance of the man raised on high,
the anointed of the God of Jacob
and the sweet singer of Israel:
2 “The Ruach Adonai has spoken through me
and His word is on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel has said,
the Rock of Israel has spoken to me,
‘He who rules over men righteously,
he who rules in the fear of God—
4 he is like the light of the morning when the sun rises,
a cloudless morning of glistening
as grass springs from the earth.’
5 Is it not true that my house is with God?
For He made an everlasting covenant with me,
ordered and secured in all things.
Will He not make all my salvation and every desire come to fruition?
6 But the worthless, all of them will be thrust aside like thorns,
for they cannot be picked up by hand.
7 But the man who touches them
must be armed with iron and the shaft of a spear.
They must be completely burned up with fire on the spot.”
13 Once the three of the thirty chiefs went down and came to David at the cave of Adullam during the harvest, while a troop of Philistines was camping in the Valley of Rephaim. 14 David was then in the stronghold, while the garrison of the Philistines was in Bethlehem. 15 David said longingly, ‘ “Who would get me water to drink from the well which is by the gate in Bethlehem?” ’ 16 So the three mighty men broke through the Philistine lines, drew water from the well of Bethlehem by the gate, took it and brought it to David. However, he would not drink it but poured it out to Adonai 17 and he said, “‘Far be it from me, Adonai, that I should do this—the blood of the men who went in jeopardy of their lives?’” So he would not drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
Festus Seeks Agrippa’s Counsel
13 Now after several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. 14 While they were staying there several days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man left behind as a prisoner by Felix. 15 When I was in Jerusalem, the ruling kohanim and elders of the Judeans brought charges against him, asking for a judgment against him. 16 I answered them that it is not Roman practice to turn over anyone before the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense concerning the charges. 17 So when they came together here, I did not delay, but on the next day sat on the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought in. 18 When the accusers stood up, they were not bringing a charge of what crimes I suspected. 19 Instead, they had certain issues with him about their own religion and about a certain Yeshua, who had died, whom Paul claimed to be alive.
20 “Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem to be tried there in regard to them. 21 But when Paul appealed to be held in custody for the decision of His Majesty the Emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”
23 So on the next day, Agrippa and Bernice came with great pageantry. They entered the audience hall with the commanders and the most prominent men of the city. Then at the order of Festus, Paul was brought in.
24 Festus said, “King Agrippa and all present with us, you see this man about whom the whole Judean population petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting out that he ought not live any longer. 25 But I found that he had done nothing deserving of death; and when he himself appealed to His Majesty the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 Yet I have nothing specific to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you—and especially before you, King Agrippa—so that after the investigation has taken place, I might have something to write. 27 For it seems illogical to me when sending a prisoner, not to report also the charges against him.”
Signs of the End
13 As Yeshua was going out of the Temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, look! What stones and what buildings!”
2 Yeshua said to him, “You see these great buildings? Not one stone here will be left upon another. Every one will be torn down!”
3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, Jacob, John, and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? What will be the sign that all these things are about to be accomplished?”
5 Yeshua began to tell them, “Watch out that no one leads you astray! 6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and they will lead many astray. 7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed, for this must happen but it is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. These things are only the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Watch out for yourselves! They will hand you over to the courts, and you will be beaten in the synagogues. You will stand before governors and kings because of Me, as a witness to them. 10 The Good News must first be proclaimed to all the nations. 11 When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Say whatever is given to you in that hour, for it is not you who speaks but the Ruach ha-Kodesh. 12 Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child. And children will rise up against parents and have them put to death. 13 And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.