Book of Common Prayer
97 Oh, how I love them. I think about them all day long. 98 They make me wiser than my enemies because they are my constant guide. 99 Yes, wiser than my teachers, for I am ever thinking of your rules. 100 They make me even wiser than the aged.
101 I have refused to walk the paths of evil, for I will remain obedient to your Word. 102-103 No, I haven’t turned away from what you taught me; your words are sweeter than honey. 104 And since only your rules can give me wisdom and understanding, no wonder I hate every false teaching.
105 Your words are a flashlight to light the path ahead of me and keep me from stumbling. 106 I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again and again: I will obey these wonderful laws of yours.
107 I am close to death at the hands of my enemies; oh, give me back my life again, just as you promised me. 108 Accept my grateful thanks and teach me your desires. 109 My life hangs in the balance, but I will not give up obedience to your laws. 110 The wicked have set their traps for me along your path, but I will not turn aside. 111 Your laws are my joyous treasure forever. 112 I am determined to obey you until I die.
113 I hate those who are undecided whether or not to obey you; but my choice is clear—I love your law. 114 You are my refuge and my shield, and your promises are my only source of hope. 115 Begone, you evil-minded men! Don’t try to stop me from obeying God’s commands. 116 Lord, you promised to let me live! Never let it be said that God failed me. 117 Hold me safe above the heads of all my enemies; then I can continue to obey your laws.
118 But you have rejected all who reject your laws. They are only fooling themselves. 119 The wicked are the scum you skim off and throw away; no wonder I love to obey your laws! 120 I tremble in fear of you; I fear your punishments.
81 The Lord makes us strong! Sing praises! Sing to Israel’s God!
2 Sing, accompanied by drums; pluck the sweet lyre and harp. 3 Sound the trumpet! Come to the joyous celebrations at full moon, new moon, and all the other holidays. 4 For God has given us these times of joy; they are scheduled in the laws of Israel. 5 He gave them as reminders of his war against Egypt where we were slaves on foreign soil.
I heard an unknown voice that said, 6 “Now I will relieve your shoulder of its burden; I will free your hands from their heavy tasks.” 7 He said, “You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered from Mount Sinai[a] where the thunder hides. I tested your faith at Meribah, when you complained there was no water. 8 Listen to me, O my people, while I give you stern warnings. O Israel, if you will only listen! 9 You must never worship any other god, nor ever have an idol in your home.[b] 10 For it was I, Jehovah your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt. Only test me![c] Open your mouth wide and see if I won’t fill it. You will receive every blessing you can use!
11 “But no, my people won’t listen. Israel doesn’t want me around. 12 So I am letting them go their blind and stubborn way, living according to their own desires.
13 “But oh, that my people would listen to me! Oh, that Israel would follow me, walking in my paths! 14 How quickly then I would subdue her enemies! How soon my hands would be upon her foes! 15 Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him; their desolation would last forever. 16 But he would feed you with the choicest foods. He would satisfy you with honey for the taking.”[d]
82 God stands up to open heaven’s court. He pronounces judgment on the judges.[e] 2 How long will you judges refuse to listen to the evidence? How long will you shower special favors on the wicked? 3 Give fair judgment to the poor man, the afflicted, the fatherless, the destitute. 4 Rescue the poor and helpless from the grasp of evil men. 5 But you are so foolish and so ignorant! Because you are in darkness, all the foundations of society[f] are shaken to the core. 6 I have called you all “gods” and “sons of the Most High.” 7 But in death you are mere men. You will fall as any prince—for all must die.
8 Stand up, O God, and judge the earth. For all of it belongs to you. All nations are in your hands.
16 The news soon reached Pharaoh—“Joseph’s brothers have come”; and Pharaoh was very happy to hear it, as were his officials.
17 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers to load their pack animals and return quickly to their homes in Canaan, 18 and to bring your father and all of your families and come here to Egypt to live. Tell them, ‘Pharaoh will assign to you the very best territory in the land of Egypt. You shall live off the fat of the land!’ 19 And tell your brothers to take wagons from Egypt to carry their wives and little ones, and to bring your father here. 20 Don’t worry about your property, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.”
21 So Joseph gave them wagons, as Pharaoh had commanded, and provisions for the journey, 22 and he gave each of them new clothes—but to Benjamin he gave five changes of clothes and three hundred pieces of silver! 23 He sent his father ten donkey-loads of the good things of Egypt, and ten donkeys loaded with grain and all kinds of other food, to eat on his journey. 24 So he sent his brothers off.
“Don’t quarrel along the way!” was his parting shot! 25 And leaving, they returned to the land of Canaan, to Jacob their father.
26 “Joseph is alive,” they shouted to him. “And he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” But Jacob’s heart was like a stone; he couldn’t take it in. 27 But when they had given him Joseph’s messages, and when he saw the wagons filled with food that Joseph had sent him, his spirit revived.
28 And he said, “It must be true! Joseph my son is alive! I will go and see him before I die.”
8 Next is your question about eating food that has been sacrificed to idols. On this question everyone feels that only his answer is the right one! But although being a “know-it-all” makes us feel important, what is really needed to build the church is love. 2 If anyone thinks he knows all the answers, he is just showing his ignorance. 3 But the person who truly loves God is the one who is open to God’s knowledge.
4 So now, what about it? Should we eat meat that has been sacrificed to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god, and that there is only one God, and no other. 5 According to some people, there are a great many gods, both in heaven and on earth. 6 But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created all things[a] and made us to be his own; and one Lord Jesus Christ, who made everything and gives us life.
7 However, some Christians don’t realize this. All their lives they have been used to thinking of idols as alive, and have believed that food offered to the idols is really being offered to actual gods. So when they eat such food it bothers them and hurts their tender consciences. 8 Just remember that God doesn’t care whether we eat it or not. We are no worse off if we don’t eat it, and no better off if we do. 9 But be careful not to use your freedom to eat it, lest you cause some Christian brother to sin whose conscience[b] is weaker than yours.
10 You see, this is what may happen: Someone who thinks it is wrong to eat this food will see you eating at a temple restaurant, for you know there is no harm in it. Then he will become bold enough to do it too, although all the time he still feels it is wrong. 11 So because you “know it is all right to do it,” you will be responsible for causing great spiritual damage to a brother with a tender conscience for whom Christ died. 12 And it is a sin against Christ to sin against your brother by encouraging him to do something he thinks is wrong. 13 So if eating meat offered to idols is going to make my brother sin, I’ll not eat any of it as long as I live because I don’t want to do this to him.
13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.
14 King Herod soon heard about Jesus, for his miracles were talked about everywhere. The king thought Jesus was John the Baptist come back to life again. So the people were saying, “No wonder he can do such miracles.” 15 Others thought Jesus was Elijah the ancient prophet, now returned to life again; still others claimed he was a new prophet like the great ones of the past.
16 “No,” Herod said, “it is John, the man I beheaded. He has come back from the dead.”
17-18 For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John because he kept saying it was wrong for the king to marry Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 19 Herodias wanted John killed in revenge, but without Herod’s approval she was powerless. 20 And Herod respected John, knowing that he was a good and holy man, and so he kept him under his protection. Herod was disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so he liked to listen to him.
21 Herodias’s chance finally came. It was Herod’s birthday and he gave a stag party for his palace aides, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. 22-23 Then Herodias’s daughter came in and danced before them and greatly pleased them all.
“Ask me for anything you like,” the king vowed, “even half of my kingdom, and I will give it to you!”
24 She went out and consulted her mother, who told her, “Ask for John the Baptist’s head!”
25 So she hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist—right now—on a tray!”
26 Then the king was sorry, but he was embarrassed to break his oath in front of his guests. 27 So he sent one of his bodyguards to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier killed John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl and she took it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came for his body and buried it in a tomb.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.