Book of Common Prayer
78 (Maskil of Asaph.) Give ear, O my people, to my torah; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a mashal; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 Which we have heard and known, and Avoteinu have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their banim, recounting to the dor acharon the tehillot Hashem, and His power, and His nifla’ot (wonderful works) that He hath done.
5 For He established edut in Ya’akov, set torah in Yisroel, which He commanded Avoteinu, that they should make them known to their banim;
6 So that the dor acharon might know them, even the banim which should be born; who should arise and recount them to their banim;
7 That they might put their confidence in Elohim, and not forget the ma’allei El (works of G-d), but keep His mitzvot;
8 And might not be as their Avot, a dor sorer u’moreh (stubborn and rebellious generation); a generation that set not its lev aright, and whose ruach was not faithful to G-d.
9 The Bnei Ephrayim, being armed, and shooting keshet (the bows), turned back in the day of battle.
10 They kept not the Brit Elohim, and refused to walk in His torah;
11 And forgot His works, and His nifla’ot (wonders) that He had shown them.
12 Peleh (marvellous things) did He in the sight of their avot, in Eretz Mitzrayim, in the sadeh (area) of Tzoan.
13 He divided the yam, and caused them to pass through; and He made the mayim to stand like a heap.
14 In the daytime also He led them with an anan, and all the lailah with an ohr of eish.
15 He split the rocks in the midbar, and gave them drink as out of the great tehomot.
16 He brought streams also out of the rock, and caused mayim to run down like rivers.
17 And they sinned yet more against Him by provoking Elyon in the wilderness.
18 And they tested G-d by their lev by demanding ochel for their lust.
19 And they spoke against Elohim; they said, Can G-d spread a shulchan in the midbar?
20 Behold, He struck the Tzur, that the mayim gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can He give lechem also? Can He provide meat for His people?
21 Therefore Hashem heard this, and was in wrath; so an eish was kindled against Ya’akov, and anger also came up against Yisroel;
22 Because they believed not in Elohim, and trusted not in His Yeshuah (salvation);
23 Though He had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the daletei Shomayim (doors of heaven),
24 And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the bread of Shomayim [see Yn 6:31 OJBC].
25 Ish did eat the bread of angels; He sent them lechem to the full.
26 He caused an east wind to blow from Shomayim; and by His oz He brought in the south wind.
27 He rained meat also upon them like aphar, and winged fowls like the chol (sand) of the sea;
28 And He let it fall in the midst of their machaneh, all around their mishkenot (habitations).
29 So they did eat, and were well filled; for He gave them their own ta’avah (evil desire).
30 They were not estranged from their ta’avah. But while their food was yet in their mouths,
31 The Af Elohim (wrath of G-d) came upon them, and slaughtered the stoutest of them, and cut down the bochurim of Yisroel.
32 For all this they sinned still, and believed not in His nifla’ot (wondrous works).
33 Therefore their yamim did He consume in hevel (futility, vanity) and their shanim in terror.
34 When He slaughtered them, then they sought Him; and they returned and inquired diligently after G-d.
35 And they remembered that Elohim was their Tzur, and the El Elyon their Go’el (Redeemer).
36 Nevertheless they did flatter Him with their mouth, and they lied unto Him with their leshon.
37 For their lev was not right with Him, neither were they faithful in His Brit.
38 But He, being full of compassion, made kapporah for their avon and destroyed them not; and He many times turned His anger away, and did not stir up all His wrath.
39 For He remembered that they were but basar; a ruach (wind) that passeth away, and cometh not again.
40 How oft did they provoke Him in the midbar, and grieve Him in the desert!
41 Again and again they turned back and tested G-d, and imposed limits on Kadosh Yisroel.
42 They remembered not His Yad (Hand, Power), nor the yom (day) when He redeemed them from the enemy.
43 How He had wrought His otot in Mitzrayim, and His mofetim in the area of Tzoan.
44 And had turned their rivers into dahm; and their streams, that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them; and tzfarde’a (frogs), which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crop unto the grasshopper, and their produce unto the arbeh (locust).
47 He destroyed their gefen with barad (hail), and their fig trees with frost.
48 He gave up their cattle also to the barad (hail), and their livestock herds to hot thunderbolts.
49 He cast upon them His charon af, evrah (wrath), and za’am (indignation), and tzarah, by sending malachim ra’im among them.
50 He made a way for His anger; He spared not their nefesh from mavet (death), but gave their beasts over to the dever (plague);
51 And struck all the bechor in Mitzrayim; the reshit (first fruit) of their strength in the ohalim of Cham;
52 But made His own people to go forth like tzon, and guided them in the midbar like an eder (flock).
53 And He led them in safety, so that they had no terror; but the yam overwhelmed their oyevim.
54 And He brought them to His gevul kadosh (His holy border), even to this Har, which His Yamin had purchased.
55 He cast out the Goyim also before them, and divided by measure a nachalah for them, and made the Shivtei Yisroel to dwell in their ohalim.
56 Yet they tested and provoked Elohim Elyon, and were not shomer over His edot;
57 But turned back, and dealt unfaithfully like their avot; they turned like a treacherous keshet.
58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their pesilim.
59 When Elohim heard this, He was in wrath, and greatly abhorred Yisroel;
60 So that He forsook the Mishkan of Shiloh, the Ohel which He placed among adam (men);
61 And delivered His oz (strength) into captivity, and His tiferet into the hand of the enemy.
62 He gave His people over also unto the cherev; and was in wrath with His nachalah.
63 The eish consumed their bochurim; and their betulot had no wedding celebration.
64 Their kohanim fell by the cherev; and their almanot made no lamentation.
65 Then Adonoi awaked as one from sleep, and like a gibbor that shouteth from yayin.
66 And He struck down His enemies behind; He put them to cherpat olam (perpetual reproach).
67 Moreover He rejected the Ohel Yosef, and chose not the Shevet Ephrayim;
68 But chose the Shevet Yehudah, Har Tziyon which He loved.
69 And He built His Mikdash like heavenly heights, like Eretz which He hath established l’olam.
70 He chose Dovid also His Eved, and took him from the mikhle’ot tzon (sheepfolds);
71 From following the nursing ewes He brought him to shepherd Ya’akov His people, and Yisroel His nachalah.
72 So he shepherded them according to the tohm (integrity, guilelessness) of his lev; and led them by the skillfulness of his hands.
5 Now it came to pass on the yom hashelishi, that Ester put on her royal apparel, and stood in the pnimiyus [khatzer] of the Beis HaMelech in front of the Beis HaMelech; and HaMelech sat upon his kisse malkhut (royal throne) in the Beis Hamalkhut, facing the Petach HaBeis (Entrance of HaBeis).
2 And it was so, when HaMelech saw Ester HaMalkah standing in the Khatzer (Court), that she took up chen (favor, grace) in his sight, and HaMelech held out to Ester the sharvit hazahav (golden sceptre) that was in his hand. So Ester drew near, and touched the top of the sharvit (sceptre).
3 Then said HaMelech unto her, What wilt thou, Ester HaMalkah? And what is thy bakash (request)? It shall be given thee even to the chatzi HaMalchut (half of the kingdom).
4 And Ester answered, If it seem tov unto HaMelech, let HaMelech and Haman come today unto the mishteh that I have prepared for him.
5 Then HaMelech said, Cause Haman to make haste, that he may do as Ester hath said. So HaMelech and Haman came to the mishteh that Ester had prepared.
6 And HaMelech said unto Ester at the mishteh hayayin (feast), What is thy she’elah (petition)? And it shall be granted thee. And what is thy bakash (request)? Even to chatzi HaMalchut it shall be granted.
7 Then answered Ester, and said, My she’elah and my bakash is:
8 If I have found chen (favor, grace) in the sight of HaMelech, and if it is tov to HaMelech to grant my she’elah, and to perform my bakash, let HaMelech and Haman come to the mishteh that I shall prepare for them, and I will do makhar (tomorrow) as HaMelech hath said.
9 Then went Haman forth that day sameiach (joyful, happy) and with a tov lev; but when Haman saw Mordechai in the Sha’ar HaMelech, that he stood not up, nor trembled because of him, he was full of chemah (indignation, rage) against Mordechai.
10 Nevertheless Haman restrained himself, and when he came home, he sent and called for his ohavim (friends), and Zeresh his isha.
11 And Haman told them of the kavod of his osher, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein HaMelech had promoted him, and how he had advanced him above the sarim (princes) and avadim of HaMelech.
12 Haman said moreover, Yea, Ester HaMalkah did let no man come in with HaMelech unto the mishteh that she had prepared but myself; and makhar (tomorrow) am I invited unto her also with HaMelech.
13 Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordechai HaYehudi sitting at the Sha’ar HaMelech.
14 Then said Zeresh his isha and all his ohavim (friends) unto him, Let an etz (hanging tree) be made of fifty cubits high, and baboker (in the morning) speak thou unto HaMelech that Mordechai may be hanged thereon [see Lk 23:21 OJBC]; then go thou samei’ach (joyfully) with HaMelech unto the mishteh. And the thing was tov to Haman; and he caused HaEtz to be built.
12 And when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the [disobedient] Yehudim rose up with one accord keneged (against, in opposition to) Rav Sha’ul, and they took him to court,
13 Saying, "This one persuades anashim to worship Hashem in a manner against the Torah."
14 Rav Sha’ul was about to open his mouth when Gallio spoke to the Yehudim, "If this matter concerned some wrong or heinous crime, O Yehudim, I might reasonably put up with you;
15 "But if it is kashes (questions) about a dvar and shemot (names) and your Torah, you will see to it for yourselves. I do not intend to be a shofet (judge) of these things."
16 And he had them ejected from the courtroom.
17 They seized Sosthenes, the Rosh HaKnesset, and were beating him in full view of the Kes HaMishpat (Judgment Seat), and none of these things created a concern for Gallio.
18 But Rav Sha’ul still remained a number of yamim and then took leave of the Achim b’Moshiach, and was sailing away to Syria; and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he cut his hair, for he had taken a neder (vow). [BAMIDBAR 6:2,5,18]
19 Then they arrived in Ephesus, and Rav Sha’ul left them there, but he joined the minyan in the shul and debated with the Yehudim.
20 And when they were asking Rav Sha’ul to stay for a longer time, he did not give his consent.
21 But taking leave of them, he said, “I will return again im yirtzeh Hashem (G-d willing).” Then Rav Sha’ul set sail from Ephesus.
22 And having come down to Caesarea and having gone up and greeted the [Yerushalayim] Kehillah of Moshiach, then Rav Sha’ul went down to Antioch.
23 And having spent some time, he embarked, passing through the area of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the Moshiach’s talmidim.
24 Now a certain man, a Yehudi, arrived in Ephesus, Apollos by name, hailing from Alexandria, a lamdan (a Torah scholar with prodigious knowledge), being tief (deep and profound, erudite, keen) in the Kitvei HaKodesh.
25 This one had been taught the Derech Hashem and was on fire in the Ruach Hakodesh and saying shiurim and drashot accurate and true to Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach. But Rav Apollos was acquainted only with the tevilah of teshuva of Yochanan [see Lk 3:16].
26 And this rabbi began to speak with ometz lev (boldness) in the shul. And having heard him, Priscilla and Aquila took him and more accurately instructed him in the Derech Hashem.
27 When Rav Apollos desired to go to Achaia, the Achim b’Moshiach encouraged him and wrote iggrot to Moshiach’s talmidim there to welcome him. When Rav Apollos arrived, he greatly helped the ones who through the Chen v’Chesed Hashem had come to emunah.
28 For Rav Apollos was publicly and powerfully refuting the [unbelieving] Yehudim, showing through the Kitvei HaKodesh that Yehoshua is the Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach.
15 As the Am [Berit] were filled with expectation, and all were wondering in their levavot (hearts) concerning Yochanan, whether perhaps he might be the Moshiach,
16 Yochanan answered everyone, saying, I give you a tevilah with a mikveh mayim, but Hu HaBah (He Who Comes, i.e., Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach) has more chozek (strength) than me; I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will give you a tevilah with the Ruach Hakodesh and with Eish.
17 The winnowing fork is in his hand to clean out his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his storehouse, but the MOTZ (chaff) he will burn up with an EISH LO TIKHBEH (fire not [ever] extinguished.
18 Therefore, with many other dvarim Yochanan was exhorting them, preaching the Besuras HaGeulah to the Am [Berit].
19 Now Herod the tetrarch, when he was reproved by Yochanan about Herodias, the wife of his brother, and about all reshaim (evil) which he did,
20 Herod added this above all: he locked up Yochanan in the beit hasohar (prison).
21 And it came about while all the Am [Berit] were receiving the tevilah, and when Yehoshua also had been given the tevilah and was davening, Shomayim was opened,
22 And the Ruach Hakodesh descended in demut gashmit as a yonah upon Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach; and then came a bat kol out of Shomayim, saying, ATAH BNI AHUVI ASHER BCHA CHAFATSTI
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