Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Eternal!
Praise the Eternal, O my soul;
2 I will praise the Eternal for as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God as long as breath fills my lungs and blood flows through my veins.
3 Do not put your trust in the rulers of this world—kings and princes.
Do not expect any rescue from mortal men.
4 As soon as their breath leaves them, they return to the earth;
on that day, all of them perish—their dreams, their plans, and their memories.
5 Blessed are those whose help comes from the God of Jacob,
whose hope is centered in the Eternal their God—
6 Who created the heavens, the earth,
the seas, and all that lives within them;
Who stays true and remains faithful forever;
7 Who works justice for those who are pressed down by the world,
providing food for those who are hungry.
The Eternal frees those who are imprisoned;
8 He makes the blind see.
He lifts up those whose backs are bent in labor;
He cherishes those who do what is right.
9 The Eternal looks after those who journey in a land not their own;
He takes care of the orphan and the widow,
but He frustrates the wicked along their way.
10 The Eternal will reign today, tomorrow, and forever.
People of Zion, your God will rule forever over all generations.
Praise the Eternal!
Psalm 147
1 Praise the Eternal!
It is good to sing praises to our God,
for praise is beautiful and pleasant.
2 The Eternal, Architect of earth, is building Jerusalem,
finding the lost, gathering Israel’s outcasts.
3 He binds their wounds,
heals the sorrows of their hearts.
4 He counts all the stars within His hands,
carefully fixing their number
and giving them names.
5 Our Lord is great. Nothing is impossible with His overwhelming power.
He is loving, compassionate, and wise beyond all measure.
6 The Eternal will lift up the lowly
but throw down the wicked to the earth.
Psalm 147 is a postexilic hymn of praise to God as Creator and Sustainer. It celebrates the rebuilding of the walls and gates that protect Jerusalem. God secures the city, grants peace to the border towns, and controls the elements.
7 Open your mouths with thanks!
Sing praises to the Eternal!
Strum the harp in unending praise to our God
8 Who blankets the heavens with clouds,
sends rain to water the thirsty earth,
and pulls up each blade of grass upon the mountainside.
9 He opens His hands to feed all the animals
and scatters seed to nestlings when they cry.
10 He takes no pleasure in the raw strength of horses;
He finds no joy in the speed of the sprinter.
11 But the Eternal does take pleasure in those who worship Him,
those who invest hope in His unfailing love.
12 O Jerusalem, praise the Eternal!
O Zion, praise your God!
13 For His divine power reinforces your city gates,
blesses your children in the womb.
14 He establishes peace within your borders,
fills your markets with hearty golden wheat.
15 His command ripples across the earth;
His word runs out on swift feet.
16 He blankets the earth in wooly snow,
scattering frost like ashes over the land.
17 He throws down hail like stones falling from a mountain.
Can any withstand His wintry blast?
18 But He dispatches His word, and the thaw begins;
at His command, the spring winds blow, gently stirring the waters back to life.
19 He brings Jacob in on His plan, declaring His word—
His statutes and His teachings to Israel.
20 He has not treated any other nation in such a way;
they live unaware of His commands.
Praise the Eternal!
Psalm 111[a]
1 Praise the Eternal.
I will thank Him with all my heart
in the presence of the right-standing and with the assembly.
2 The works of the Eternal are many and wondrous!
They are examined by all who delight in them.
3 His work is marked with beauty and majesty;
His justice has no end.
4 His wonders are reminders that
the Eternal is gracious and compassionate to all.
5 He provides food to those who revere Him.
He will always remember His covenant.
6 He has shown the mighty strength of His works to His people
by giving the land of foreign nations to them.
7 All His accomplishments are truth and justice;
all His instructions are certain.
8 His precepts will continue year in and year out,
performed by His people with honesty and truth.
9 He has redeemed His people,
guaranteeing His covenant forever.
His name is holy and awe-inspiring.
10 Reverence for the Eternal is the first step toward wisdom.
All those who worship Him have a good understanding.
His praise will echo through eternity!
Psalm 112[b]
1 Praise the Eternal!
How blessed are those who revere the Eternal,
who turn from evil and take great pleasure in His commandments.
2 Their children will be a powerful force upon the earth;
this generation that does what is right in God’s eyes will be blessed.
3 His house will be stocked with wealth and riches,
and His love for justice will endure for all time.
4 When life is dark, a light will shine for those who live rightly—
those who are merciful, compassionate, and strive for justice.
5 Good comes to all who are gracious and share freely;
they conduct their affairs with sound judgment.
6 Nothing will ever rattle them;
the just will always be remembered.
7 They will not be afraid when the news is bad
because they have resolved to trust in the Eternal.
8 Their hearts are confident, and they are fearless,
for they expect to see their enemies defeated.
9 They give freely to the poor;
their righteousness endures for all time;[c]
their strength and power is established in honor.
10 The wicked will be infuriated when they see the good man honored!
They will clench their teeth and dissolve to nothing;
and when they go, their wicked desires will follow.
Psalm 113
Psalms 113–118 comprise an important unit called the Hallel, which in Hebrew means “praise.” Composed after the exile, these six psalms are recited together by observant Jews during some of the major holidays on the Jewish calendar. The Gospel writers tell us that Jesus and His disciples sang a song following their last meal together, which was the Passover (Matthew 26:30; Mark 14:26). That may have been the Hallel.
1 Praise the Eternal!
All of you who call yourselves the children of the Eternal, come and praise His name.
Lift Him high to the high place in your hearts.
2 At this moment, and for all the moments yet to come,
may the Eternal’s name ascend in the hearts of His people.
3 At every time and in every place—
from the moment the sun rises to the moment the sun sets—
may the name of the Eternal be high in the hearts of His people.
4 The Eternal is seated high above every nation.
His glory fills the skies.
5 To whom should we compare the Eternal, our God?
No one.
From His seat, high above,
6 He deigns to observe the earth and her thin skies,
stooping even to see her goings on, far beneath His feet.
7 He gathers up the poor from their dirt floors,
pulls the needy from the trash heaps,
8 And places them among heads of state,
seated next to the rulers of His people where they cannot be ignored.
9 Into the home of the childless bride,
He sends children who are, for her, a cause of happiness beyond measure.
Praise the Eternal!
1 These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds in Tekoa, a city in the highlands of Judah. God gave him these visions regarding Israel in the time of Uzziah (who ruled Judah) and Jeroboam (the son of Joash, who ruled Israel) two years before the great earthquake.
2 The Eternal One roars from Zion;
His voice thunders from Jerusalem.
The pastures shrivel and die beneath the shepherds’ feet,
and the crest of Mount Carmel dries to dust as all await His judgment.
3 Eternal One: For three crimes of Damascus,
no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
Because they have threshed the people of Gilead
with threshing-sledges made of iron.
4 I will send down fire on the house of Hazael, the ruler in Damascus,
and burn down the fortresses of Ben-hadad, his son and successor.
5 I will smash the gates of Damascus,
wipe out those who live in the valley of Aven.
I will cut off the hand that holds the scepter in Beth-eden
and force the people of Aram into exile in Kir.
So says the Eternal about Aram, Israel’s constant enemy to the northeast.
13 Here is what the Eternal says about Ammon, just northeast of the Jordan:
Eternal One: For three crimes of the Ammonites,
no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
Because they ripped open the bellies of pregnant women in Gilead
as they made war to expand their territory.
14 So I will send down fire on the wall that protects Rabbah, its only major city,
and burn down all of its fortifications.
With shouts and war cries on the day of battle,
with a whirlwind in the midst of the storm,
15 I will force the king into exile,
along with all the officials who counsel him.
So says the Eternal One.
2 Here is what the Eternal says about Moab, Ammon’s brother nation east of the Jordan:
Eternal One: For three crimes of Moab,
no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
Because they burned to ash the bones of the king of Edom,
believing this would prevent his resurrection.
2 So I will send down fire on Moab and burn down the fortresses of Kerioth,
where the people worship Chemosh.
Moab will be destroyed in an uproar,
with warriors screaming and war horns blaring,
3 And I will destroy their ruler,
along with all the officials who counsel him.
4 Here is what the Eternal says about Judah:
Eternal One: For three crimes of Judah,
no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
Because they have rejected the teachings of the Eternal One
and have not kept His commandments,
But they have walked away to follow the same lying idols
their ancestors pursued.
5 So I will send down fire on Judah
and burn down all the fortresses of Jerusalem.
6 Here, Israel, is what the Eternal says about your past and present behavior:
Eternal One: For three crimes of Israel,
no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
Because they have sold the right-living for silver
and the poor and their property for a pair of sandals.
7 They have trampled the heads of the weak into the dirt
and pushed the oppressed even further down.
A father and his son sleep with the same girl,
trampling My holy name in the process.
8 And the religious lie beside every altar
on garments taken as collateral from their debtors;
And in the house of their pagan god, they drink
wine bought with the fines they have imposed on others.
Many people fear death; perhaps it’s the idea of the unknown that stirs the imagination. Death is the great enemy that stands before believers; but through Jesus’ own death and resurrection, the power of death is broken. Paul uses the gentle image of the faithful being asleep as a new perspective on the finality of death. One minute you close your eyes to this world; the next you are celebrating with Jesus and experiencing the resurrection of the body. Those sleeping will not even miss a moment; it will all happen in the blink of an eye.
5 Now, brothers and sisters, you don’t need further instruction from us or anyone else for that matter regarding how the seasons and times will play out. 2 That’s because you know the truth well enough. The day of the Lord will race onto the scene and surprise us like a thief in the night. 3 People will be going about their business chanting, “All is well! All is at peace!” and in the next moment, ruin and destruction will suddenly seize them as labor pains grip a woman about to give birth; for them there will be no escape. 4 My brothers and sisters, it will be different for you. You do not dwell in the darkness, so that day will not surprise you like a thief. 5 For you are all children of light. You are sons and daughters of the day. We are not created of night, nor are we owned by darkness. 6 So then let’s not give in to sleep or wander around in a stupor as some do, but let’s stay awake and in control. 7 You see, sleepers sleep through the night, and drunkards drink the night away; 8 but since we belong to the day, we should stay sober and in control, covered with a breastplate of faith and love and a helmet of the hope of salvation. 9 For God has not destined us, His chosen, to face His wrath but to be the heirs of salvation through our Lord Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, 10 who died for us. So regardless of whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. 11 So support one another. Keep building each other up as you have been doing.
5 Some people were impressed with the temple’s opulence—the precious stones and expensive decorations—but Jesus countered their observations.
Jesus: 6 Go ahead, look around, and be impressed; but days are coming when one stone will not be left standing on another. Everything here will be demolished.
Crowd: 7 When will this happen, Teacher? What signs will tell us this is about to occur?
Jesus: 8 Be careful. It’s easy to be deceived. Many people will come claiming to have My authority. They’ll shout, “I’m the One!” or “The time is now!” Don’t take a step in their direction. 9 You’ll hear about wars and conflicts, but don’t be frightened at all because these things must surely come, although they don’t signify the immediate coming of the end. 10 You can count on this: nation will attack nation, and kingdom will make war on kingdom. 11 There will be disturbances around the world—from great earthquakes to famines to epidemics. Terrifying things will happen, and there will be shocking signs from heaven. 12 But before any of this happens, they will capture you and persecute you. They’ll send you to synagogues for trial and to prisons for punishment; you’ll stand before kings and government officials for the sake of My name. 13 This will be your opportunity—your opportunity to tell your story. 14 Make up your mind in advance not to plan your strategy for answering their questions, 15 for when the time comes, I will give you the words to say—wise words—which none of your adversaries will be able to answer or argue against. 16 Your own parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will turn on you and turn you in. Some of you will be killed, 17 and all of you will be hated by everyone for the sake of My name.
18 But whatever happens, not a single hair of your heads will be harmed. 19 By enduring all of these things, you will find not loss but gain—not death but authentic life.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.