Book of Common Prayer
Zain
49 Remember your promise to me, your servant.
It gives me hope.
50 You comfort me in my suffering,
because your promise gives me new life.
51 People full of pride are always making fun of me,
but I have not stopped following your teachings.
52 I remember the laws you gave us long ago, Lord,
and they bring me comfort.
53 I am overcome with anger when I see wicked people,
who have stopped following your teachings.
54 Your laws are the songs I sing
wherever I am living.
55 Lord, in the night I remembered your name,
and I obeyed your teachings.
56 This happened because I carefully obey your instructions.
Heth
57 Lord, I decided that my duty is to obey your commandments.
58 I beg you with all my heart,
be kind to me, as you promised.
59 I thought very carefully about my life,
and I decided to follow your rules.
60 Without wasting any time,
I hurried back to obey your commands.
61 The wicked tried to trap me,
but I have not forgotten your teachings.
62 In the middle of the night, I get up to thank you
because your laws are so fair.
63 I am a friend to everyone who worships you.
I am a friend to everyone who obeys your instructions.
64 Lord, your faithful love fills the earth.
Teach me your laws.
Teth
65 Lord, you did good things for me, your servant.
You did what you promised to do.
66 Give me the knowledge to make wise decisions.
I trust your commands.
67 Before I suffered, I did many wrong things.
But now I carefully obey everything you say.
68 You are good, and you do good things.
Teach me your laws.
69 People full of pride made up lies about me.
But I keep obeying your instructions with all my heart.
70 Those people are so stupid that they care for nothing,
but I enjoy studying your teachings.
71 Suffering was good for me;
I learned your laws.
72 Your teachings are worth more to me
than a thousand pieces of silver and gold.
To the director: A song from the Korah family.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you people on earth.
2 Everyone, rich and poor, listen to me.
3 I have some very wise words for you.
My thoughts will give you understanding.
4 I listened to these sayings.
And now, with my harp, I will sing and make the hidden meaning clear.
5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
There is no need to fear when evil enemies surround me.
6 They think their wealth will protect them.
They brag about how rich they are.
7 But no one has enough to buy back a life,
and you cannot bribe[a] God.
8 You will never get enough money
to pay for your own life.
9 You will never have enough
to buy the right to live forever
and keep your body out of the grave.
10 Look, the wise die the same as fools and stupid people.[b]
They die and leave their wealth to others.
11 The grave will be their new home forever.
And how much land they owned will not make any difference.
12 People might be wealthy, but they cannot stay here forever.
They will die like the animals.
13 That is what happens to all who trust in themselves
and to anyone who accepts their way of life. Selah
14 They are just like sheep, but the grave will be their pen.
Death will be their shepherd.
When morning comes, the good people will enjoy victory,
as the bodies of the proud slowly rot in the grave,
far away from their fancy houses.
15 But God will pay the price to save me from the grave.
He will take me to be with him. Selah
16 Don’t be afraid of people just because they are rich.
Don’t be afraid of people just because they have big, fancy houses.
17 They will not take anything with them when they die.
They will not take their wealth with them.
18 A wealthy man might tell himself how well he has done in life.
And other people might praise him.
19 But the time will come for him to die and go to his ancestors.
And he will never again see the light of day.
20 Wealthy people don’t seem to understand
that they will die like the animals.
To the director: Use the mahalath.[a] A maskil of David.
53 Only fools think there is no God.
People like that are evil and do terrible things.
They never do what is right.
2 God looks down from heaven to see
if there is anyone who is wise,
anyone who looks to him for help.
3 But everyone has turned away from him.
Everyone has become evil.
No one does anything good.
No, not one person!
4 Those who are evil treat my people like bread to be eaten.
And they never ask for God’s help.
Don’t they understand what they are doing?
5 They will be filled with fear—
a fear like they have never felt before!
People of Israel, you will defeat those who attacked you,
because God has rejected them.
And he will scatter their bones.
6 I wish the one who lives on Mount Zion
would bring victory to Israel!
When God makes Israel successful again,
the people of Jacob will be very happy;
the people of Israel will be glad.
Reading the Blessings and Curses
30 Then Joshua built an altar for the Lord, the God of Israel. He built the altar on Mount Ebal. 31 The Lord’s servant Moses told the Israelites how to build altars. So Joshua built the altar the way it was explained in the Book of the Law[a] of Moses. The altar was made from stones that were not cut. No tool had ever been used on those stones. They offered burnt offerings to the Lord on that altar. They also gave fellowship offerings.
32 There Joshua copied onto the stones the law Moses had written down. This was for all the people of Israel to see. 33 The elders, officers, judges, and all the Israelites were standing around the Box of the Lord’s Agreement. They were standing in front of the priests, the Levites who carried the Holy Box. The Israelites and the other people with them were all standing there. Half of the people stood in front of Mount Ebal and the other half of the people stood in front of Mount Gerizim. The Lord’s servant Moses had told the people to do this. He told them to do this to be blessed.
34 Then Joshua read all the words from the law. He read the blessings and the curses. He read everything the way it was written in the Book of the Law. 35 All the Israelites were gathered together there. All the women and children and all the foreigners who lived with the Israelites were there. And Joshua read every command that Moses had given.
Don’t Cause Others to Sin
13 So we should stop judging each other. Let’s decide not to do anything that will cause a problem for a brother or sister or hurt their faith. 14 I know that there is no food that is wrong to eat. The Lord Jesus is the one who convinced me of that. But if someone believes that something is wrong, then it is wrong for that person.
15 If you hurt the faith of your brother or sister because of something you eat, you are not really following the way of love. Don’t destroy anyone’s faith by eating something they think is wrong. Christ died for them. 16 Don’t allow what is good for you to become something they say is evil. 17 In God’s kingdom, what we eat and drink is not important. Here is what is important: a right way of life, peace, and joy—all from the Holy Spirit. 18 Whoever serves Christ by living this way is pleasing God, and they will be accepted by others.
19 So let’s try as hard as we can to do what will bring peace. Let’s do whatever will help each other grow stronger in faith. 20 Don’t let the eating of food destroy the work of God. All food is right to eat, but it is wrong for anyone to eat something that hurts the faith of another person. 21 It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that hurts the faith of your brother or sister.
22 You should keep your beliefs about these things a secret between yourself and God. It is a blessing to be able to do what you think is right without feeling guilty. 23 But anyone who eats something without being sure it is right is doing wrong. That is because they did not believe it was right. And if you do anything that you believe is not right, it is sin.
Jesus Before the Jewish Leaders(A)
57 The men who arrested Jesus led him to the house of Caiaphas the high priest. The teachers of the law and the older Jewish leaders were gathered there. 58 Peter followed Jesus but stayed back at a distance. He followed him to the yard of the high priest’s house. Peter went in and sat with the guards. He wanted to see what would happen to Jesus.
59 The leading priests and the high council tried to find something against Jesus so that they could kill him. They tried to find people to lie and say that Jesus had done wrong. 60 Many people came and told lies about him. But the council could find no real reason to kill him. Then two people came 61 and said, “This man[a] said, ‘I can destroy the Temple of God and build it again in three days.’”
62 Then the high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Don’t you have anything to say about these charges against you? Are they telling the truth?” 63 But Jesus said nothing.
Again the high priest said to Jesus, “You are now under oath. I command you by the power of the living God to tell us the truth. Tell us, are you the Messiah, the Son of God?”
64 Jesus answered, “Yes, that’s right. But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right side of God. And you will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven.”
65 When the high priest heard this, he tore his clothes in anger. He said, “This man has said things that insult God! We don’t need any more witnesses. You all heard his insulting words. 66 What do you think?”
The Jewish leaders answered, “He is guilty, and he must die.”
67 Then some there spit in Jesus’ face, and they hit him with their fists. Others slapped him. 68 They said, “Show us that you are a prophet,[b] Messiah! Tell us who hit you!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International