Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45
For the choir director; according to shoshannim;[a] a maskil by Korah’s descendants; a love song.
1 My heart is overflowing with good news.
I will direct my song to the king.
My tongue is a pen for a skillful writer.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants.
Grace is poured on your lips.
That is why Elohim has blessed you forever.
3 O warrior, strap your sword to your side
with your splendor and majesty.
4 Ride on victoriously in your majesty
for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness.
Let your right hand teach you awe-inspiring things.
5 Your arrows are sharp in the heart of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall beneath you.
6 Your throne, O Elohim, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
7 You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong.
That is why Elohim, your Elohim, has anointed you,
rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.
8 All your robes are fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces the music of stringed instruments delights you.
9 The daughters of kings are among your noble ladies.
The queen takes her place at your right hand
and wears gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, daughter! Look closely!
Turn your ear toward me.
Forget your people, and forget your father’s house.
11 The king longs for your beauty.
He is your Lord.
Worship him.
12 The people of Tyre, the richest people,
want to win your favor with a gift.
13 The daughter of the king is glorious inside the palace.
Her dress is embroidered with gold.
14 Wearing a colorful gown, she is brought to the king.
Her bridesmaids follow her.
They will be brought to you.
15 With joy and delight they are brought in.
They enter the palace of the king.
16 Your sons will take the place of your father.
You will make them princes over the whole earth.
17 I will cause your name to be remembered throughout every generation.
That is why the nations will give thanks to you forever and ever.
Psalm 47
For the choir director; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Clap your hands, all you people.
Shout to Elohim with a loud, joyful song.
2 We must fear Yahweh, Elyon.
He is the great Melek of the whole earth.
3 He brings people under our authority
and puts nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us,
the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. Selah
5 Elohim has gone up with a joyful shout.
Yahweh has gone up with the sound of a ram’s horn.
6 Make music to praise Elohim.
Play music for him!
Make music to praise our Melek.
Play music for him!
7 Elohim is the Melek of the whole earth.
Make your best music for him!
8 Elohim rules the nations.
Elohim sits upon his holy throne.
9 The influential people from the nations gather together
as the people of the Elohim of Abraham.
The rulers of the earth belong to Elohim.
He rules everything.
Psalm 48
A song; a psalm by Korah’s descendants.
1 Yahweh is great.
He should be highly praised.
His holy mountain is in the city of our Elohim.
2 Its beautiful peak is the joy of the whole earth.
Mount Zion is on the northern ridge.
It is the city of the great king.
3 Elohim is in its palaces.
He has proved that he is a stronghold.
4 The kings have gathered.
They marched together.
5 When they saw Mount Zion,
they were astonished.
They were terrified and ran away in fear.
6 Trembling seized them
like the trembling that a woman experiences during labor.
7 With the east wind you smash the ships of Tarshish.
8 The things we had only heard about, we have now seen
in the city of Yahweh Tsebaoth,
in the city of our Elohim.
Elohim makes Zion stand firm forever. Selah
9 Inside your temple we carefully reflect on your mercy, O Elohim.
10 Like your name, O Elohim,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad
and the cities of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments.
12 Walk around Zion.
Go around it.
Count its towers.
13 Examine its embankments.
Walk through its palaces.
Then you can tell the next generation,
14 “This Elohim is our Elohim forever and ever.
He will lead us beyond death.”
Work Resumed on the Temple
5 The prophet Haggai and Zechariah, grandson of Iddo, prophesied to the Jews in Judah and Jerusalem in the name of Israel’s Elah, who was over them. 2 Then Zerubbabel, who was Shealtiel’s son, and Jeshua, who was Jozadak’s son, began to rebuild God’s temple in Jerusalem. Elah’s prophets were with them and supported them.
3 At the same time, Governor Tattenai from the province west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai, and their group went to the Jews and asked them, “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” 4 They also asked the Jews for the names of the men who were working on this building.
5 But the leaders of the Jews were under Elah’s watchful eye. They couldn’t be stopped until Darius received a report and sent a reply to it.
Permission Requested from Darius
6 Here is a copy of the letter Governor Tattenai from the province west of the Euphrates River, Shethar Bozenai and his group (the Persians west of that river) sent to King Darius. 7 They sent him the following report:
To King Darius,
We wish you peace and prosperity in everything you do.
8 Your Majesty should know that we went to the province of Judah, to the temple of the great Elah. The temple is being built with large stones and with wooden beams laid in its walls. The builders are doing an excellent job and making rapid progress. 9 We asked their leaders the following question: “Who gave you permission to rebuild this temple and finish its walls?” 10 For your information, we also asked them for their names so that we would have a record of the men who were their leaders. 11 This was their reply to us:
“We are the servants of the Elah of heaven and earth. We are rebuilding the temple that was originally built many years ago by a great king of Israel. 12 But because our ancestors made the Elah of heaven angry, he handed them over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (a Chaldean). So Nebuchadnezzar destroyed this temple and deported its people to Babylon.
13 “However, in the first year of the reign of King Cyrus of Babylon, Cyrus gave permission for Elah’s temple to be rebuilt. 14 In addition, Cyrus took out of a temple in Babylon the gold and silver utensils that belonged to Elah’s temple. (Nebuchadnezzar had taken them out of Elah’s temple in Jerusalem and brought them into a temple in Babylon.) Cyrus gave them to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he had made governor. 15 Cyrus told him, ‘Take these utensils. Place them in the temple in Jerusalem. Rebuild Elah’s temple on its original site.’ 16 Then Sheshbazzar laid the foundation of Elah’s temple in Jerusalem. The temple has been under construction from that time until now, but it still isn’t finished.”
17 If it pleases Your Majesty, allow someone to search the king’s archives in Babylon to determine whether King Cyrus gave permission for the temple of Elah to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Then please send us Your Majesty’s decision on this matter.
A Vision of God’s Throne in Heaven
4 After these things I saw a door standing open in heaven. I heard the first voice like a trumpet speaking to me. It said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.”
2 Instantly, I came under the Spirit’s power. I saw a throne in heaven, and someone was sitting on it. 3 The one sitting there looked like gray quartz and red quartz. There was a rainbow around the throne which looked like an emerald.
4 Around that throne were 24 other thrones, and on these thrones sat 24 leaders wearing white clothes. They had gold crowns on their heads. 5 Lightning, noise, and thunder came from the throne. Seven flaming torches were burning in front of the throne. These are the seven spirits of God.
6 In front of the throne, there was something like a sea of glass as clear as crystal. In the center near the throne and around the throne were four living creatures covered with eyes in front and in back. 7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second was like a young bull, the third had a face like a human, and the fourth was like a flying eagle. 8 Each of the four living creatures had six wings and were covered with eyes, inside and out. Without stopping day or night they were singing,
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.”
9 Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the one who sits on the throne, to the one who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 leaders bow in front of the one who sits on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever. They place their crowns in front of the throne and say,
11 “Our Lord and God, you deserve to receive glory, honor, and power
because you created everything.
Everything came into existence and was created because of your will.”
A Story about a Farmer(A)
13 That same day Yeshua left the house and sat down by the Sea of Galilee. 2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat. He sat in the boat while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3 Then he used stories as illustrations to tell them many things.
He said, “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4 Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. They withered because their roots weren’t deep enough. 7 Other seeds were planted among thornbushes, and the thornbushes grew up and choked them. 8 But other seeds were planted on good ground and produced grain. They produced one hundred, sixty, or thirty times as much as was planted. 9 Let the person who has ears listen!”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.