Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 146
1 Hallelujah!
Praise Yahweh, my soul!
2 I want to praise Yahweh throughout my life.
I want to make music to praise my Elohim as long as I live.
3 Do not trust influential people,
mortals who cannot help you.
4 When they breathe their last breath, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans come to an end.
5 Blessed are those who receive help from the El of Jacob.
Their hope rests on Yahweh their Elohim,
6 who made heaven, earth,
the sea, and everything in them.
Yahweh remains faithful forever.
7 He brings about justice for those who are oppressed.
He gives food to those who are hungry.
Yahweh sets prisoners free.
8 Yahweh gives sight to blind people.
Yahweh straightens the backs of those who are bent over.
Yahweh loves righteous people.
9 Yahweh protects foreigners.
Yahweh gives relief to orphans and widows.
But he keeps wicked people from reaching their goal.
10 Yahweh rules as king forever.
Zion, your Elohim rules throughout every generation.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 147
1 Hallelujah!
It is good to sing psalms to our Elohim.
It is pleasant to sing his praise beautifully.
2 Yahweh is the builder of Jerusalem.
He is the one who gathers the outcasts of Israel together.
3 He is the Rophe of the brokenhearted.
He is the one who bandages their wounds.
4 He determines the number of stars.
He gives each one a name.
5 Our Adonay is great, and his power is great.
There is no limit to his understanding.
6 Yahweh gives relief to those who are oppressed.
He brings wicked people down to the ground.
7 Sing to Yahweh a song of thanksgiving.
Make music to our Elohim with a lyre.
8 He covers the sky with clouds.
He provides rain for the ground.
He makes grass grow on the mountains.
9 He is the one who gives food to animals
and to young ravens when they call out.
10 He finds no joy in strong horses,
nor is he pleased by brave soldiers.
11 Yahweh is pleased with those who fear him,
with those who wait with hope for his mercy.
12 Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem!
Praise your Elohim, Zion!
13 He makes the bars across your gates strong.
He blesses the children within you.
14 He is the one who brings peace to your borders
and satisfies your hunger with the finest wheat.
15 He is the one who sends his promise throughout the earth.
His word travels with great speed.
16 He is the one who sends snow like wool
and scatters frost like ashes.
17 He is the one who throws his hailstones like breadcrumbs.
Who can withstand his chilling blast?
18 He sends out his word and melts his hailstones.
He makes wind blow and water flow.
19 He speaks his word to Jacob,
his laws and judicial decisions to Israel.
20 He has done nothing like this for any other nation.
The other nations do not know the decisions he has handed down.
Hallelujah!
Psalm 111[a]
1 Hallelujah!
I will give thanks to Yahweh with all my heart
in the company of decent people and in the congregation.
2 Yahweh’s deeds are spectacular.
They should be studied by all who enjoy them.
3 His work is glorious and majestic.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 He has made his miracles unforgettable.
Yahweh is merciful and compassionate.
5 He provides food for those who fear him.
He always remembers his promise.[b]
6 He has revealed the power of his works to his people
by giving them the lands of other nations as an inheritance.
7 His works are done with truth and justice.
All his guiding principles are trustworthy.
8 They last forever and ever.
They are carried out with truth and decency.
9 He has sent salvation to his people.
He has ordered that his promise should continue forever.
His name is holy and terrifying.
10 The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of wisdom.
Good sense is shown by everyone who follows God’s guiding principles.
His praise continues forever.
Psalm 112[c]
1 Hallelujah!
Blessed is the person who fears Yahweh
and is happy to obey his commands.
2 His descendants will grow strong on the earth.
The family of a decent person will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches will be in his home.
His righteousness continues forever.
4 Light will shine in the dark for a decent person.
He is merciful, compassionate, and fair.
5 All goes well for the person who is generous and lends willingly.
He earns an honest living.
6 He will never fail.
A righteous person will always be remembered.
7 He is not afraid of bad news.
His heart remains secure, full of confidence in Yahweh.
8 His heart is steady, and he is not afraid.
In the end he will look triumphantly at his enemies.
9 He gives freely to poor people.
His righteousness continues forever.
His head is raised in honor.
10 The wicked person sees this and becomes angry.
He angrily grits his teeth and disappears.
The hope that wicked people have will vanish.
Psalm 113
1 Hallelujah!
You servants of Yahweh, praise him.
Praise the name of Yahweh.
2 Thank the name of Yahweh now and forever.
3 From where the sun rises to where the sun sets,
the name of Yahweh should be praised.
4 Yahweh is high above all the nations.
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like Yahweh our Elohim?
He is seated on his high throne.
6 He bends down to look at heaven and earth.
7 He lifts the poor from the dust.
He lifts the needy from a garbage heap.
8 He seats them with influential people,
with the influential leaders of his people.
9 He makes a woman who is in a childless home
a joyful mother.
Hallelujah!
1 These are the words of Amos, one of the sheep farmers from Tekoa. He saw a vision about Israel during the reigns of Judah’s King Uzziah and Israel’s King Jeroboam, son of Joash. This happened two years before the earthquake.
2 He said:
Yahweh roars from Zion,
and his voice thunders from Jerusalem.
The pastures of the shepherds are turning brown,
and the top of Mount Carmel is dried up.
Damascus Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
3 This is what Yahweh says:
Because Damascus has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The Arameans have crushed the people of Gilead
with iron-spiked threshing[a] sledges.
4 I will send a fire on the house of Hazael
and burn down the palaces of Ben Hadad.
5 I will break the bars on the gates of Damascus.
I will cut off those living in Aven Valley
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.
The people of Aram will go into captivity at Kir.
Yahweh has said this.
Ammon Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
13 This is what Yahweh says:
Because Ammon has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The Ammonites enlarged their territory
by ripping open pregnant women in Gilead.
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah
and burn down its palaces
while troops are shouting on the day of battle
and winds are howling on the day of the storm.
15 Their king will go into captivity along with his officials.
Yahweh has said this.
Moab Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
2 This is what Yahweh says:
Because Moab has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The Moabites have cremated Edom’s king.
2 I will send a fire on Moab
and burn down the palaces of Kerioth.
Moab will die during the noise of battle
while troops are shouting and rams’ horns are blowing.
3 I will take their judges away from them.
I will kill all their officials at the same time.
Yahweh has said this.
Judah Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
4 This is what Yahweh says:
Because Judah has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The people of Judah have rejected Yahweh’s Teachings
and haven’t kept his laws.
They have been led astray by false teachings,
the same ones their ancestors followed.
5 I will send a fire on Judah
and burn down the palaces of Jerusalem.
Israel Will Be Judged for Its Crimes
6 This is what Yahweh says:
Because Israel has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime,
I will not change my plans.
The people of Israel sell the righteous for money
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust.
They push the humble out of the way.
Father and son sleep with the same woman.
They dishonor my holy name.
8 Beside every altar, they spread themselves out on clothes
taken as security.
In the temples of their gods, they drink the wine
that they bought with fines.
Be Ready for the Day of the Lord
5 Brothers and sisters, you don’t need anyone to write to you about times and dates. 2 You know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. 3 When people say, “Everything is safe and sound!” destruction will suddenly strike them. It will be as sudden as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They won’t be able to escape. 4 But, brothers and sisters, you don’t live in the dark. That day won’t take you by surprise as a thief would. 5 You belong to the day and the light not to the night and the dark. 6 Therefore, we must not fall asleep like other people, but we must stay awake and be sober. 7 People who sleep, sleep at night; people who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 Since we belong to the day, we must be sober. We must put on faith and love as a breastplate and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 It was not God’s intention that we experience his anger but that we obtain salvation through our Lord Yeshua Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake in this life or asleep in death, we will live together with him. 11 Therefore, encourage each other and strengthen one another as you are doing.
Jesus Teaches His Disciples(A)
5 Some of the disciples were talking about the temple complex. They noted that it was built with fine stones and decorated with beautiful gifts. So Yeshua said, 6 “About these buildings that you see—the time will come when not one of these stones will be left on top of another. Each one will be torn down.”
7 The disciples asked him, “Teacher, when will this happen? What will be the sign when all this will occur?”
8 Yeshua said, “Be careful that you are not deceived. Many will come using my name. They will say, ‘I am he!’ and ‘The time is near.’ Don’t follow them!
9 “When you hear of wars and revolutions, don’t be terrified! These things must happen first, but the end will not come immediately.”
10 Then Yeshua continued, “Nation will fight against nation and kingdom against kingdom. 11 There will be terrible earthquakes, famines, and dreadful diseases in various places. Terrifying sights and miraculous signs will come from the sky.
12 “Before all these things happen, people will arrest and persecute you. They will hand you over to their synagogues and put you into their prisons. They will drag you in front of kings and governors because of my name. 13 It will be your opportunity to testify to them. 14 So make up your minds not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves. 15 I will give you words and wisdom that none of your enemies will be able to oppose or prove wrong.
16 “Even parents, brothers, relatives, and friends will betray you and kill some of you. 17 Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. 18 But not a hair on your head will be lost. 19 By your endurance you will save your life.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.