Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
1 The Eternal reigns, clothed in majesty;
He is dressed in power;
He has surrounded Himself with strength.
He has established the world, and it will never be toppled.
2 Your throne was established from the beginning of the world, O God,
and You are everlasting.
3 The waters have risen, O Eternal One;
the sound of pounding waves is deafening.
The waters have roared with power.
4 More powerful than the thunder of mighty rivers,
more powerful than the mighty waves in the ocean
is the Eternal on high!
5 Your teachings are true;
Your decrees sure.
Sacredness adorns Your house, O Eternal One, forevermore.
Psalm 96
1 Sing a new song to the Eternal;
sing in one voice to the Eternal, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Eternal of all the good things He’s done.
Bless His name;
broadcast the good news of His salvation each and every day.
3 Enlighten the nations to His splendor;
describe His wondrous acts to all people.
4 For the Eternal is great indeed and praiseworthy;
feared and reverenced above all gods, the True God shall be.
5 For all human-made, lifeless gods are worthless idols,
but the Eternal plotted the vast heavens, shaped every last detail.
6 Honor and majesty precede Him;
strength and beauty infuse His holy sanctuary.
One of the great themes of Scripture and Psalms is the kingship of God. While lesser kings come and go, God is the One who ultimately rules and reigns over His people, and by extension over the rest of creation. Psalm 96 and others in the collection are often referred to as “enthronement” psalms because they declare boldly and unequivocally that the Eternal is King. There is evidence to suggest that an annual festival at the beginning of the year provided an opportunity to reaffirm the people’s loyalty to the one True God. Psalm 96 calls for new songs to be composed and sung to God and about God as a witness. The enthronement psalms call the world and all its inhabitants to come and recognize His beauty and majesty.
7 Give all credit to the Eternal, families of the world!
Credit Him with glory, honor, and strength!
8 Credit Him with the glory worthy of His magnificent name;
gather your sacrifice, and present it at His temple.
9 Bow down to the Eternal, adorned in holiness;
lay awestruck before Him, trembling, all people of the earth.
10 Shout out to the nations, “The Eternal reigns!
Yes, indeed, the world is anchored and will not shake loose.
He governs all people with a fair hand.”
11 And so, let the heavens resound in gladness!
Let joy be the earth’s rhythm as the sea and all its creatures roar.
12 Let the fields grow in triumph, a grand jubilee for all that live there.
Let all the trees of the forest dig in and reach high with songs of joy before the Eternal,
13 For the Eternal is on His way:
yes, He is coming to judge the earth.
He will set the world right by His standards,
and by His faithfulness, He will examine the people.
Psalm 34
A song of David as he pretended to be insane to escape from Abimelech.
While there is nothing specific to tie this Davidic psalm to the events in 1 Samuel 21:10–15, the superscription recalls a time when David pretended to be insane to protect himself from the Philistines.
1 I will praise the Eternal in every moment through every situation.
Whenever I speak, my words will always praise Him.
2 Everything within me wants to pay tribute to Him.
Whenever the poor and humble hear of His greatness, they will celebrate too!
3 Come and lift up the Eternal with me;
let’s praise His name together!
4 When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him;
I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded.
He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid.
5 Look to Him and shine,
so shame will never contort your faces.
6 This poor soul cried, and the Eternal heard me.
He rescued me from my troubles.
7 The messenger of the Eternal God surrounds
everyone who walks with Him and is always there to protect and rescue us.
8 Taste of His goodness; see how wonderful the Eternal truly is.
Anyone who puts trust in Him will be blessed and comforted.
9 Revere the Eternal, you His saints,
for those who worship Him will possess everything important in life.
10 Young lions may grow tired and hungry,
but those intent on knowing the Eternal God will have everything they need.
11 Gather around, children, listen to what I’m saying;
I will teach you how to revere the Eternal.
12 If you love life
and want to live a good, long time,
13 Take care with the things you say.
Don’t lie or spread gossip or talk about improper things.
14 Walk away from the evil things of the world,
and always seek peace and pursue it.
15 For the Eternal watches over the righteous,
and His ears are attuned to their prayers. He is always listening.
16 But He will punish evildoers,
and nothing they do will last. They will soon be forgotten.
17 When the upright need help and cry to the Eternal, He hears their cries
and rescues them from all of their troubles.
18 When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close
and revives him in his pain.
19 Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—
they may often seem overwhelmed—
but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them.
20 He will protect all of their bones;
not even one bone will be broken.
21 Evil moves in and ultimately murders the wicked;
the enemies of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Eternal will liberate His servants;
those who seek refuge in Him will never be condemned.
8 One day, Elisha traveled to Shunem. There was a well-known woman who lived there, and she convinced him to eat something. So whenever he walked by her house, he went in and ate.
Shunammite Woman (to her husband): 9 This man, who comes by here frequently to eat, is a holy man of God. 10 Can we please make a little room for him—just a simple setting: a bed, a lamp, a table, and a chair. That way, whenever he comes here, he can rest in his own room and have his privacy.
11 Elisha went by their house to eat one day, and he went and lay down in the upper room. 12 He spoke to his servant, Gehazi.
Elisha: Tell the Shunammite woman to come here.
So Gehazi called out her name, and she came to him.
Elisha (to Gehazi): 13 Tell her, “You have been fearfully attentive to us. We thank you for all of your care. Now what can I do to repay you? Would you like for me to speak to the king or the military commander on your behalf?”
Shunammite Woman: No, that’s OK. I dwell with my own people.
Elisha (to Gehazi): 14 Is there anything at all that I can do for her?
Gehazi: Actually, her husband is an old man, and she doesn’t have a son.
Elisha: 15 Tell her to come here.
Gehazi called out her name, and she came and stood at the entrance to the room.
Elisha: 16 This time next year, when spring is full of new life, you will hold a son of your own in your arms.
Shunammite Woman: That’s impossible, my lord! You are a man of great integrity, a man of God, so please do not deceive me, your servant.
17 But that time next year, the Shunammite woman did conceive and deliver a son, just as Elisha said she would. 18 When the child was older, he walked out to his father, who was harvesting the fields with the reapers.
Son (to his father): 19 My head hurts! My head hurts!
Father (to his servant): Take the child inside to his mother.
20 The servant brought the child inside to his mother; and about noon, while the boy was sitting in his mother’s lap, he died. 21 She took his lifeless body and laid him down on Elisha’s bed. She then closed the door and went away.
Shunammite Woman (to her husband): 22 I beg you to send me a servant and a donkey so that I can go find Elisha, the man of God. As soon as I do, I will come back here.
Father: 23 Why is it that you are so anxious to find him today? Today is not a holy day—a new moon or a Sabbath.
Shunammite Woman: Don’t worry; all will be well.
24 She prepared the donkey and gave instructions to her servant.
Shunammite Woman: Go quickly! Don’t slow down unless I tell you to.
25 She rode quickly toward the man of God who was staying about a day away on Mount Carmel. As she approached, Elisha saw her at a distance.
Elisha (to Gehazi): Look! It’s the Shunammite woman. 26 Go quickly to see what she wants. Ask her, “Is everything fine? Is your husband well? Is your son well?”
Shunammite Woman: Everything is fine.
27 When she approached the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground and hugged his feet. Gehazi approached to pull her away, but the man of God stopped him.
Elisha: Leave her be. Her very soul is distressed, but the Eternal has kept her troubles hidden from me.
Shunammite Woman: 28 Was it I who asked for a son? I told you not to mislead me!
Elisha (to Gehazi): 29 Prepare yourself, and carry my staff to where the boy is now. Do not acknowledge any blessing to anyone on your way there. If someone speaks a blessing to you, do not respond. When you get there, lay my staff on the boy’s face.
Shunammite Woman (to Elisha): 30 As certain as the life of the Eternal and your own life, I will not leave without you.
Elisha then stood up and followed her to her house. 31 Gehazi went ahead of them and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but nothing happened. The boy did not move or make a sound. Gehazi went back to Elisha and reported this to him: “The boy did not wake up.”
32 Elisha arrived at the house and saw the lifeless body of the boy lying on Elisha’s bed. 33 He went into the room, closed the door behind both of them, and prayed to the Eternal. 34 Elisha approached the boy and lay down, placing his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, and his hands on the boy’s hands. He covered the boy with his own body, and warmth returned to the boy’s body. 35 Elisha turned around and paced back and forth in the house, then he went back into the room and covered the boy’s body with his own body. The boy sneezed seven times, and then he opened his eyes.
Elisha (to Gehazi): 36 Tell the Shunammite woman to come here.
Gehazi told the Shunammite woman to go inside the room, and she did.
Elisha: Lift up your son, for he is alive.
37 She fell to the floor before Elisha’s feet, bowing to the ground, and she wept with happiness. She picked up her son and left the room with him.
10 Meanwhile, in Damascus a disciple named Ananias had a vision in which the Lord Jesus spoke to him.
The Lord: Ananias.
Ananias: Here I am, Lord.
The Lord: 11 Get up and go to Straight Boulevard. Go to the house of Judas, and inquire about a man from Tarsus, Saul by name. He is praying to Me at this very instant. 12 He has had a vision—a vision of a man by your name who will come, lay hands on him, and heal his eyesight.
Ananias: 13 Lord, I know whom You’re talking about. I’ve heard rumors about this fellow. He’s an evil man and has caused great harm for Your special people in Jerusalem. 14 I’ve heard that he has been authorized by the religious authorities to come here and chain everyone who associates with Your name.
The Lord: 15 Yes, but you must go! I have chosen him to be My instrument to bring My name far and wide—to outsiders, to kings, and to the people of Israel as well. 16 I have much to show him, including how much he must suffer for My name.
17 So Ananias went and entered the house where Saul was staying. He laid his hands on Saul and called to him.
Ananias: Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, sent me so you can regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
18 At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see. So he got up, received the ceremonial washing of baptism[a] identifying him as a disciple, 19 ate some food (remember, he had not eaten for three days), and regained his strength. He spent a lot of time with the disciples in Damascus over the next several days. 20 Then he went into the very synagogues he had intended to purge, proclaiming,
Saul: Jesus is God’s Son!
21 Obviously this amazed everybody, and the buzz spread.
The People: Isn’t he the man who caused so much trouble in Jerusalem for everyone identified with Jesus? Didn’t he come here to arrest followers of Jesus and bring them in chains to the religious authorities? Now he’s switched sides and is preaching Jesus?
22 As time passed, Saul’s confidence grew stronger and stronger, so much so that he debated with the Jews of Damascus and made an irrefutable case that Jesus is, in fact, God’s Anointed, the Liberating King.
23 They didn’t like being confounded like this; so after several days, the Jews plotted to assassinate Saul. 24 But he learned of the plot. He knew they were keeping the city gates under constant surveillance, so they could follow and kill him when he left. 25 To save Saul, the disciples came up with a plan of their own. During the night, they put Saul in a basket and lowered him by ropes from an opening in the wall of the city rather than passing through the gates. Their plan worked, 26 and he returned to Jerusalem.
He tried to join the disciples there, but they didn’t think he was sincere.
27 Only one person accepted Saul as a genuine disciple, Barnabas, who became Saul’s advocate to the apostles. He told the whole story of what happened in Damascus, from Saul’s vision and message from the Lord to his transformation into a confident proclaimer of the name of Jesus. 28 Finally they accepted Saul and gave him access to their community, and he continued to speak confidently in the name of the Lord. 29 He dialogued—and argued—with a group of Greek-speaking Jews. That didn’t go well either, because soon they were plotting to kill him also. 30 His fellow believers helped him escape by bringing him to Caesarea and sending him to his hometown, Tarsus.
31 And so the church enjoyed a period of peace and growth throughout the regions of Judea, Galilee, and Samaria. The disciples lived in deep reverence for the Lord, they experienced the strong comfort of the Holy Spirit, and their numbers increased.
7 In fulfillment of those words, crowds streamed out from the villages and towns to be baptized[a] by John at the Jordan.
John the Baptist: You bunch of venomous snakes! Who told you that you could escape God’s coming wrath? 8 Don’t just talk of turning to God; you’d better bear the authentic fruit of a changed life. Don’t take pride in your religious heritage, saying, “We have Abraham for our father!” Listen—God could turn these rocks into children of Abraham!
9 God wants you to bear fruit! If you don’t produce good fruit, then you’ll be chopped down like a fruitless tree and made into firewood. God’s ax is taking aim and ready to swing!
People: 10 What shall we do to perform works from changed lives?
John the Baptist: 11 The person who has two shirts must share with the person who has none. And the person with food must share with the one in need.
12 Some tax collectors were among those in the crowd seeking baptism.[b]
Tax Collectors: Teacher, what kind of fruit is God looking for from us?
John the Baptist: 13 Stop overcharging people. Only collect what you must turn over to the Romans.
Soldiers: 14 What about us? What should we do to show true change?
John the Baptist: Don’t extort money from people by throwing around your power or making false accusations, and be content with your pay.
15 John’s bold message seized public attention, and many began wondering if John might himself be the Anointed One promised by God.
John the Baptist: 16 I baptize[c] you with water, but One is coming—One far more powerful than I, One whose sandals I am not worthy to untie—who will baptize[d] you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 17 He is coming like a farmer at harvesttime, tools in hand to separate the wheat from the chaff. He will burn the chaff with unquenchable fire, and He will gather the genuine wheat into His barn.
18 He preached with many other provocative figures of speech and so conveyed God’s message to the people—the time had come to rethink everything.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.