Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
A song of David.
1 Don’t be worried with evil workers
or envy the gains of people with all-wrong-upside-down ways.
2 Soon enough they will wither like grass,
like green herbs fading in summer’s heat.
3 Believe in the Eternal, and do what is good—
live in the land He provides; roam, and rest in God’s faithfulness.
4 Take great joy in the Eternal!
His gifts are coming, and they are all your heart desires!
5 Commit your path to the Eternal; let Him direct you.
Put your confidence in Him, and He will follow through with you.
6 He will spread out righteousness for you
as a sunrise spreads radiance over the land;
He will deliver justice for you into the light of the high sun.
7 Be still. Be patient. Expect the Eternal to arrive and set things right.
Don’t get upset when you see the worldly ones rising up the ladder.
Don’t be bothered by those who are anchored in wicked ways.
8 So turn from anger. Don’t rage,
and don’t worry—these ways frame the doorway to evil.
9 Besides, those who act from evil motives will be cut off from the land;
but those who wait, hoping in the Eternal, will enjoy its riches.
10 You’ll see . . . the wicked won’t know what hit them;
you’ll blink, and they’ll be gone;
you’ll go out looking for them, but you won’t find them.
11 But the humble-hearted will inherit the land;
they will take pleasure in its peace and enjoy its abundance.
12 How that wicked man devises evil against God’s righteous ones!
He grits his teeth, consumed by hate for the upright.
13 But oh, how the Lord laughs at him!
He knows the wicked man will get his; the day is coming.
14 The wicked unsheathe their swords, pull taut their bows;
the poor and needy are their victims,
and evil is on the prowl to kill those with integrity, God’s beloved.
15 But their swords will bend back to pierce their own hearts—
yes, their bows will snap in two.
16 The righteous are better off with the little God blessed them with
than living under the curse of the wealth of the wicked.
17 Their time is short, their arms will be broken,
but the Eternal will hold His righteous children high.
18 All their days are measured and known by the Eternal;
their inheritance is kept safe forever.
19 When calamity comes, they will escape with their dignity.
When famine invades the nations, they will be fed to their fill.
20 But immoral ones will find their lives cut short;
they’ll vanish as quickly as wildflowers in the fields.
Yes, enemies of the Eternal will vanish
like smoke into the cool night air.
21 Evil people borrow and never repay their debts,
while the good give generously from their hearts.
22 For God’s blessed children will inherit the land,
but those cursed by Him stand to gain nothing.
23 If you are right with God, He strengthens you for the journey;
the Eternal will be pleased with your life.
24 And even though you trip up, you will not fall on your face
because He holds you by the hand.
25 Through my whole life (young and old),
I have never witnessed God forsaking those who do right,
nor have I seen their children begging for crumbs,
26 Because they are always giving and sharing;
truly, their children are a joyful blessing.
27 Walk away from evil. Do good
so you, too, will enjoy never-ending life
28 Because the Eternal cherishes justice
and will not abandon those loyal to Him.
He will guard and care for them forever,
but any child born of evil will be rooted out, cut down, and destroyed.
29 Those leading God-pleasing lives will inherit His land
and settle there forever.
30 Wisdom fills the mouth of the right-living;
justice and truth roll from their tongues.
31 The True God’s law is imprinted upon their hearts,
and they do not stumble.
32 The wicked stalk God’s good ones,
looking to kill them,
33 But the Eternal will never leave them to the dogs of evil,
nor will they be found guilty when the verdict is read.
34 Wait for the Eternal. Keep to His path. Mind His will.
He will come for you, exalt you; you will inherit the land.
Before your very eyes you will see the end of the wicked.
35 I passed by a wicked man with a cold-blooded nature;
I looked, and he seemed as large as a cedar of Lebanon.
36 But then again, I passed that same way and there was nothing left of him.
I went out looking for him, but he was nowhere to be found.
37 Keep your eye on the innocent. Model your life after the blameless.
Everyone who loves peace has a future.
38 But sinners will be doomed.
The forecast for the wicked: utter destruction.
There will be none left, not one child of darkness.
39 The Eternal saves His faithful;
He lends His strength in hard times;
40 The Eternal comes and frees them—
frees them from evildoers and saves them for eternity—
simply because they seek shelter in Him.
30 No one is wise enough or smart enough,
and no plan is good enough to stand up to the Eternal.
31 No matter how well you arm for battle,
victory is determined by Him.
We do not like or want to believe it, but there are limits to what humans can accomplish. Whatever wisdom and knowledge we think we possess is nothing compared to God’s. Whatever plans we make will come to nothing unless they line up with God’s plans and purposes for us.
22 A good reputation is preferable to riches,
and the approval of others is better than precious silver or gold.
2 Rich and poor have something in common:
both are created by the Eternal.
3 Prudent people see trouble coming and hide,
but the naive walk right into it and take a beating.
4 A humble person who fears the Eternal
can expect to receive wealth, honor, and life.
5 Thorny branches and traps lie ahead for those who follow perverse paths;
those who want to preserve themselves will steer clear of them.
6 Teach a child how to follow the right way;
even when he is old, he will stay on course.
4 But even so, the Spirit very clearly tells us that in the last times some will abandon the true faith because of their devotion to spirits sent to deceive and sabotage, and mistakenly they will end up following the doctrine of demons. 2 They will be carried away through the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences have been branded with a red-hot iron, 3 saying, “Don’t marry. Don’t eat such-and-such foods.” But God created all these to be received with gratitude by people who hold fast to the faith and really comprehend the truth. 4 For everything God made is good. That means nothing should be rejected as long as it’s received with a grateful heart, 5 for by God’s word and prayer, it is made holy.
Paul turns from moral character to solid doctrine. People were believing strange doctrines and passing rumors. Timothy is expected to confront legalism and immorality with truth and right thinking.
6 Place these truths before the brothers and sisters. If you do, you will be a good servant of Jesus the Anointed, raised and fed on words of true belief, trained in the good instruction you have so clearly followed. 7 Reject worldly fables. Refuse old wives’ tales. Instead, train yourself toward godliness. 8 Although training your body has certain payoffs, godliness benefits all things—holding promise for life here and now and promise for the life that is coming. 9 This statement is worthy of trust and our full acceptance. 10 This is what we work so hard for! This is why we are constantly struggling: because we have an assured hope fixed upon a living God who is the Savior of all humankind—especially all of us who believe.
11 So go out and insist on these things. Teach them. 12 Don’t let anyone belittle you because you are young. Instead, show the faithful, young and old, an example of how to live: set the standard for how to talk, act, love, and be faithful and pure. 13 Until I get there, make sure to devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching. 14 Don’t neglect the gift that was given to you through the prophecy spoken when the company of the elders laid their hands on you. 15 Cultivate all these practices; live by them so that all will see how you are advancing and growing. 16 Take care of yourself, concentrate on your teaching, and stick with these things. If you do, then you will be effective in bringing salvation to yourself and all who hear you.
Our Father in heaven plants many seeds in order to ensure that some seeds bear fruit. The final harvest, however, is worth any amount of hard work.
24 Jesus told them another parable.
Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like this: Once there was a farmer who sowed good seeds in his field. 25 While the farmer’s workers were sleeping, his enemy crept into the field and sowed weeds among all the wheat seeds. Then he snuck away again. 26 Eventually the crops grew—wheat, but also weeds. 27 So the farmer’s workers said to him, “Sir, why didn’t you sow good seeds in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”
28 “My enemy must have done this,” replied the farmer.
“Should we go pull up all the weeds?” asked his workers.
29 “No,” said the farmer. “It’s too risky. As you pull up the weeds, you would probably pull up some wheat as well. 30 We’ll let them both grow until harvesttime. I will tell the harvesters to collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, and only then to harvest the wheat and bring it to my barn.”
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.