Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 Blessed is the one who has concern for helpless people.
Yahweh will rescue him in times of trouble.
2 Yahweh will protect him and keep him alive.
He will be blessed in the land.
Do not place him at the mercy of his enemies.
3 Yahweh will support him on his sickbed.
You will restore this person to health when he is ill.
4 I said, “O Yahweh, have pity on me!
Heal my soul because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies say terrible things about me:
“When will he die, and when will his family name disappear?”
6 When one of them comes to visit me, he speaks foolishly.
His heart collects gossip.
Then he leaves to tell others.
7 Everyone who hates me whispers about me.
They think evil things about me and say,
8 “A devilish disease has attached itself to him.
He will never leave his sickbed.”
9 Even my closest friend whom I trusted,
the one who ate my bread,
has lifted his heel against me.
10 Have pity on me, O Yahweh!
Raise me up so that I can pay them back
11 and my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me.
When you do this, I know that you are pleased with me.
12 You defend my integrity,
and you set me in your presence forever.
13 Thank Yahweh Elohim of Israel through all eternity!
Amen and amen!
Psalm 52
For the choir director; a maskil; a psalm by David when Doeg (who was from Edom) told Saul that David had come to Ahimelech’s home.
1 Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero?
The mercy of El lasts all day long!
2 Your tongue makes up threats.
It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit.
3 You prefer evil to good.
You prefer lying to speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love every destructive accusation, you deceitful tongue!
5 But El will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and drag you out of your tent.
He will pull your roots out of this world of the living. Selah
6 Righteous people will see this and be struck with fear.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look at this person who refused to make Elohim his fortress!
Instead, he trusted his great wealth
and became strong through his greed.”
8 But I am like a large olive tree in Elohim’s house.
I trust the mercy of Elohim forever and ever.
9 I will give thanks to you forever
for what you have done.
In the presence of your godly people,
I will wait with hope in your good name.
Psalm 44
For the choir director; a maskil by Korah’s descendants.
1 O Elohim,
we have heard it with our own ears.
Our ancestors have told us
about the miracle you performed in their day,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you forced nations out of the land,
but you planted our ancestors there.
You shattered many groups of people,
but you set our ancestors free.[a]
3 It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land.
They did not gain victory with their own strength.
It was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your presence that did it,
because you were pleased with them.
4 You alone are my Melek, O Elohim.
You won those victories for Jacob.
5 With you we can walk over our enemies.
With your name we can trample those who attack us.
6 I do not rely on my bow,
and my sword will never save me.
7 But you saved us from our enemies.
You put to shame those who hate us.
8 All day long we praise our Elohim.
We give thanks to you forever. Selah
9 But now you have rejected and disgraced us.
You do not even go along with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the enemy.
Those who hate us rob us at will.
11 You hand us over to be butchered like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
12 You sell your people for almost nothing,
and at that price you have gained nothing.
13 You made us a disgrace to our neighbors
and an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.
14 You made our defeat a proverb among the nations
so that people shake their heads at us.
15 All day long my disgrace is in front of me.
Shame covers my face
16 because of the words of those who insult and slander us,
because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17 Although all of this happened to us,
we never forgot you.
We never ignored your promise.[b]
18 Our hearts never turned away.
Our feet never left your path.
19 Yet, you crushed us in a place for jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we forgot the name of our Elohim
or stretched out our hands to pray to another god,
21 wouldn’t Elohim find out,
since he knows the secrets in our hearts?
22 Indeed, we are being killed all day long because of you.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, O Adonay?
Awake! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our suffering and misery?
25 Our souls are bowing in the dust.
Our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise! Help us!
Rescue us because of your mercy!
The Lord Will Comfort Zion
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat) in Darius’ second year as king, Yahweh spoke his word to the prophet Zechariah, who was the son of Berechiah and the grandson of Iddo.
8 During that night I saw a man riding on a red horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, chestnut, and white horses.
9 “What do these horses mean, sir?” I asked.
The angel who was speaking with me answered, “I will show you what they mean.”
10 The man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They’re the horses Yahweh has sent to patrol the earth.” 11 Then they reported to the Messenger of Yahweh standing among the myrtle trees, “We have patrolled the earth. The whole world is at rest and in peace.”
12 Then the Messenger of Yahweh said, “Yahweh Tseboath, how much longer until you show compassion to Jerusalem and the cities of Judah? You’ve been angry with them for 70 years.” 13 Yahweh responded to the angel who was speaking with me, using kind and comforting words.
14 The angel who was speaking with me said, “Announce: This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says: I’m very jealous about Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I’m very angry with the nations who think they are at ease. I was only a little angry, but they made things worse. 16 This is what Yahweh says: I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion. My house will be rebuilt in it, declares Yahweh Tsebaoth. A measuring line will be used to rebuild Jerusalem.
17 “Announce again: This is what Yahweh Tsebaoth says: My cities will overflow with prosperity once more. Yahweh will again comfort Zion and will again choose Jerusalem.”[a]
4 From John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Good will[a] and peace to you from the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming, from the seven spirits who are in front of his throne, 5 and from Yeshua Christ, the witness, the trustworthy one, the first to come back to life, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Glory and power forever and ever[b] belong to the one who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and has made us a kingdom, priests for God his Father. Amen.
7 Look! He is coming in the clouds.
Every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
Every tribe on earth will mourn because of him.
This is true. Amen.
8 “I am the A and the Z,”[c] says the Lord God, the one who is, the one who was, and the one who is coming, the Almighty.
9 I am John, your brother. I share your suffering, ruling, and endurance because of Yeshua. I was exiled on the island of Patmos because of God’s word and the testimony about Yeshua. 10 I came under the Spirit’s power on the Lord’s day. I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
12 I turned toward the voice which was talking to me, and when I turned, I saw seven gold lamp stands. 13 There was someone like the Son of Man among the lamp stands. He was wearing a robe that reached his feet. He wore a gold belt around his waist. 14 His head and his hair were white like wool—like snow. His eyes were like flames of fire. 15 His feet were like glowing bronze refined in a furnace. His voice was like the sound of raging waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword. His face was like the sun when it shines in all its brightness.
17 When I saw him, I fell down at his feet like a dead man. Then he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 the living one. I was dead, but now I am alive forever. I have the keys of death and hell. 19 Therefore, write down what you have seen, what is, and what is going to happen after these things. 20 The hidden meaning of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands are the seven churches.
43 “When an evil spirit comes out of a person, it goes through dry places looking for a place to rest. But it doesn’t find any. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll go back to the home I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean, and in order. 45 Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself. They enter and take up permanent residence there. In the end the condition of that person is worse than it was before. That is what will happen to the evil people of this day.”
The True Family of Jesus(A)
46 While Yeshua was still talking to the crowds, his mother and brothers were standing outside. They wanted to talk to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside. They want to talk to you.”
48 He replied to the man speaking to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing with his hand at his disciples, he said, “Look, here are my mother and my brothers. 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother and sister and mother.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.