Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 40
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 I waited patiently for Yahweh.
He turned to me and heard my cry for help.
2 He pulled me out of a horrible pit,
out of the mud and clay.
He set my feet on a rock
and made my steps secure.
3 He placed a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our Elohim.
Many will see this and worship.
They will trust Yahweh.
4 Blessed is the person
who places his confidence in Yahweh
and does not rely on arrogant people
or those who follow lies.
5 You have done many miraculous things, O Yahweh my Elohim.
You have made many wonderful plans for us.
No one compares to you!
I will tell others about your miracles,
which are more than I can count.
6 You were not pleased with sacrifices and offerings.
You have dug out two ears for me.[a]
You did not ask for burnt offerings or sacrifices for sin.
7 Then I said, “I have come!
(It is written about me in the scroll of the book.)
8 I am happy to do your will, O my Elohim.”
Your teachings are deep within me.
9 I will announce the good news of righteousness
among those assembled for worship.
I will not close my lips.
You know that, O Yahweh.
10 I have not buried your righteousness deep in my heart.
I have been outspoken about your faithfulness and your salvation.
I have not hidden your mercy and your truth
from those assembled for worship.
11 Do not withhold your compassion from me, O Yahweh.
May your mercy and your truth always protect me.
12 Countless evils have surrounded me.
My sins have caught up with me so that I can no longer see.
They outnumber the hairs on my head.
I have lost heart.
13 O Yahweh, please rescue me!
Come quickly to help me, O Yahweh![b]
14 Let all those who seek to end my life
be confused and put to shame.
Let those who want my downfall
be turned back and disgraced.
15 Let those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
be stunned by their own shame.
16 Let all who seek you rejoice and be glad because of you.
Let those who love your salvation continually say,
“Yahweh is great!”
17 But I am oppressed and needy.
May Adonay think of me.
You are my help and my savior.
O my Elohim, do not delay!
Psalm 54
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David when people from the city of Ziph told Saul that David was hiding among them.
1 O Elohim, save me by your name,
and defend me with your might.
2 O Elohim, hear my prayer,
and open your ears to the words from my mouth.
3 Strangers have attacked me.
Ruthless people seek my life.
They do not think about Elohim.[a] Selah
4 Elohim is my helper!
Adonay is the provider for my life.
5 My enemies spy on me.
Pay them back with evil.
Destroy them with your truth!
6 I will make a sacrifice to you along with a freewill offering.
I will give thanks to your good name, O Yahweh.
7 Your name rescues me from every trouble.
My eyes will gloat over my enemies.
Psalm 51
For the choir director; a psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David’s adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have pity on me, O Elohim, in keeping with your mercy.
In keeping with your unlimited compassion, wipe out my rebellious acts.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my guilt,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 I admit that I am rebellious.
My sin is always in front of me.
4 I have sinned against you, especially you.
I have done what you consider evil.
So you hand down justice when you speak,
and you are blameless when you judge.
5 Indeed, I was born guilty.
I was a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6 Yet, you desire truth and sincerity.[a]
Deep down inside me you teach me wisdom.
7 Purify me from sin with hyssop,[b] and I will be clean.[c]
Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear sounds of joy and gladness.
Let the bones that you have broken dance.
9 Hide your face from my sins,
and wipe out all that I have done wrong.
10 Create a clean heart in me, O Elohim,
and renew a faithful spirit within me.
11 Do not force me away from your presence,
and do not take Ruach Qodesh from me.
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience.
13 Then I will teach your ways to those who are rebellious,
and sinners will return to you.
14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder,
O Elohim, my savior.
Let my tongue sing joyfully about your righteousness!
15 O Adonay, open my lips,
and my mouth will tell about your praise.
16 You are not happy with any sacrifice.
Otherwise, I would offer one to you.
You are not pleased with burnt offerings.
17 The sacrifice pleasing to Elohim is a broken spirit.
O Elohim, you do not despise a broken and sorrowful heart.
18 Favor Zion with your goodness.
Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit—
with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings.
Young bulls will be offered on your altar.
The King Shows Compassion to Nehemiah
2 In the month of Nisan, in Artaxerxes’ twentieth year as king, after some wine was brought for the king, I picked up the cup of wine and gave it to the king. I had never been sad in his presence before.
2 The king asked me, “Why do you look so sad? You aren’t sick, are you? You must be troubled about something.” (I was really afraid).
3 “May the king live forever!” I said to the king. “Why shouldn’t I look sad when the city, the place where my ancestors are buried, is in ruins and its gates are burned down?”
4 “What do you want?” the king asked me.
So I prayed to the Elohim of heaven, 5 and I asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, and you are willing to grant my request, let me go to Judah, to the city where my ancestors are buried, so that I can rebuild it.”
6 Then, while the queen was sitting beside him, the king asked me, “How long will you be gone, and when will you come back?” When I gave him a specific date, he was willing to let me go.
7 I also asked the king, “If it pleases Your Majesty, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River. In the letters tell them to grant me safe conduct until I arrive in Judah. 8 Also, let me have a letter addressed to Asaph, the supervisor of Your Majesty’s forest. In the letter order him to give me wood for the gates of the fortress near the temple, for the city wall, and for the house I’ll move into.” (The king let me have the letters, because Elohim was guiding me.)
Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem
9 I went to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River and gave them the king’s letters. (The king had sent army officers and cavalry to be with me.) 10 But when Sanballat the Horonite and Tobiah the Ammonite servant heard this, they were very upset that someone had come to give the people of Israel so much assistance.
Nehemiah Surveys the Damage to Jerusalem’s Walls
11 I went to Jerusalem and was there for three days. 12 During the night I went out with a few men without telling anyone what my Elohim had inspired me to do for Jerusalem. The only animal I had was the one I was riding. 13 I went through Valley Gate that night toward Snake Fountain and Dung Gate and examined the places where the walls of Jerusalem were broken down and where its gates had been burned. 14 Passing through Fountain Gate, I arrived at King’s Pool, but the animal I was riding couldn’t get through. 15 So I went through the valley that night and examined the wall. Then I turned back, entered Valley Gate, and returned.
16 The officials didn’t know where I had gone or what I had done. I hadn’t yet told the Jews, the priests, the leaders, the other officials, or any of the rest who would be doing the work. 17 Then I told them, “You see the trouble we’re in. Jerusalem is in ruins, and its gates are burned down. Let’s rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be insulted.” 18 Then I told them that my Elohim had been guiding me and what the king had told me.
They replied, “Let’s begin to rebuild.” So they encouraged one another to begin this God-pleasing work.
19 When Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite servant, and Geshem the Arab heard about this, they made fun of us and ridiculed us. They asked, “What are you doing? Are you going to rebel against the king?”
20 “The Elohim of heaven will give us success,” I answered them. “We, his servants, are going to rebuild. You have no property or claim or historic right in Jerusalem.”
12 I watched as the lamb opened the sixth seal. A powerful earthquake struck. The sun turned as black as sackcloth made of hair. The full moon turned as red as blood. 13 The stars fell from the sky to the earth like figs dropping from a fig tree when it is shaken by a strong wind. 14 The sky vanished like a scroll being rolled up. Every mountain and island was moved from its place. 15 Then the kings of the earth, the important people, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and all the slaves and free people hid themselves in caves and among the rocks in the mountains. 16 They said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the lamb, 17 because the frightening day of their anger has come, and who is able to endure it?”
144,000 People Are Sealed
7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth. They were holding back the four winds of the earth to keep them from blowing on the land, the sea, or any tree. 2 I saw another angel coming from the east with the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been allowed to harm the land and sea, 3 “Don’t harm the land, the sea, or the trees until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”
4 I heard how many were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of the people of Israel:
A Story about Weeds in the Wheat
24 Yeshua used another illustration. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. 25 But while people were asleep, his enemy planted weeds in the wheat field and went away. 26 When the wheat came up and formed kernels, weeds appeared.
27 “The owner’s workers came to him and asked, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’
28 “He told them, ‘An enemy did this.’
“His workers asked him, ‘Do you want us to pull out the weeds?’
29 “He replied, ‘No. If you pull out the weeds, you may pull out the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. When the grain is cut, I will tell the workers to gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned. But I’ll have them bring the wheat into my barn.’”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.