Book of Common Prayer
I Am for Shalom
Psalm 120
1 A Song of Ascents.
In my trouble I cried out to Adonai,
and He answered me.
2 Adonai, deliver my soul from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
3 What can be given to you,
and what more can be done to you, O deceitful tongue?—
4 sharp arrows of the mighty,
with burning coals of a broom tree!
5 Woe to me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
for I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has too long dwelt
with those who hate shalom.
7 I am for shalom and thus I speak,
but they are for war!
He Watches Over You
Psalm 121
1 A Song of Ascents.
I will lift up my eyes to the mountains—
from where does my help come?
2 My help comes from Adonai,
Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip.
Your Keeper will not slumber.
4 Behold, the Keeper of Israel
neither slumbers nor sleeps.
5 Adonai is your Keeper.
Adonai is your shadow at your right hand.
6 The sun will not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 Adonai will protect you from all evil.
He will guard your life.
8 Adonai will watch over your coming and your going
from this time forth and forevermore.
Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem
Psalm 122
1 A Song of Ascents. Of David.
I rejoiced when they said to me,
“Let us go to the House of Adonai.”
2 Our feet are standing in your gates, Jerusalem—
3 Jerusalem, built as a city
joined together.
4 There the tribes go up,
the tribes of Adonai
—as a testimony to Israel—
to praise the Name of Adonai.
5 For there thrones for judgment are set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem—
“May those who love you be at peace!
7 May there be shalom within your walls—
quietness within your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my brothers and friends,
I now say: “Shalom be within you.”
9 For the sake of the House of Adonai our God,
I will seek your good.
Be Gracious to Your Servants
Psalm 123
1 A Song of Ascents.
To You I lift up my eyes—
You enthroned in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of slaves to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress—
so our eyes look to Adonai our God, till He shows us favor.
3 Show us favor, Adonai, show us favor!
For we have endured much contempt.
4 Our soul has had enough
of the scorn of those at ease,
the contempt of the proud.
Had He Not Been on Our Side
Psalm 124
1 A Song of Ascents. Of David.
“Had Adonai not been on our side”
—let Israel now say—
2 “Had Adonai not been on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive,
when their wrath burned against us.
4 Then the waters would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over our soul,
5 then the raging waters
would have swept over our soul.”
6 Blessed be Adonai, who has not given us
as prey for their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped like a bird
out of the snare of the trappers—
the snare is broken, and we escaped!
8 Our help is in the Name of Adonai,
Maker of heaven and earth.
Like the Mountains Around Jerusalem
Psalm 125
1 A Song of Ascents.
Those who trust in Adonai are like Mount Zion—
it cannot be moved, but endures forever.
2 As the mountains are around Jerusalem,
so Adonai is all around His people,
both now and forever.
3 For a scepter of wickedness will not rest
over the land of the righteous—
lest the righteous set their hands to evil.
4 Do good, Adonai, to the good,
and to those upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways,
Adonai will lead them away with evildoers.
Shalom be upon Israel.
Joyful Restoration of Zion
Psalm 126
1 A Song of Ascents.
When Adonai restored the captives of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with a song of joy.
Then they said among the nations,
“Adonai has done great things for them.”
3 Adonai has done great things for us
—we are joyful!
4 Restore us from captivity, Adonai,
like streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with a song of joy.
6 Whoever keeps going out weeping,
carrying his bag of seed,
will surely come back with a song of joy,
carrying his sheaves.
He Gives Sleep to His Children
Psalm 127
1 A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.
Unless Adonai builds the house,
the builders labor in vain.
Unless Adonai watches over the city,
the watchman stands guard in vain.
2 In vain you rise up early and stay up late,
eating the bread of toil—
for He provides for His beloved ones even in their sleep.
3 Behold, children are a heritage of Adonai
—the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
so are the children of one’s youth.
5 Happy is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they speak with their enemies at the gate.
15 She said, “Look, your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Return, along with your sister-in-law!”
Ruth’s Covenant With Naomi
16 Ruth replied,
“Do not plead with me to abandon you,
to turn back from following you.
For where you go, I will go,
and where you stay, I will stay.
Your people will be my people,
and your God my God.
17 Where you die, I will die,
and there I will be buried.
May Adonai deal with me, and worse,
if anything but death comes between me and you!”
18 When she saw that Ruth was determined to go with her, she no longer spoke to Ruth about it.
19 So the two of them went on until they arrived in Bethlehem. As soon as they arrived in Bethlehem the whole city was excited because of them, and the women asked, “Is this Naomi?”
20 “Do not call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara—since Shaddai has made my life bitter. [a] 21 I went away full, but Adonai has brought me back empty. Why should you call me Naomi, since Adonai has testified against me and Shaddai has brought calamity on me?”
22 So Naomi and her daughter-in-law Ruth the Moabitess returned from the region of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.
12 For our reason for boasting is this: the testimony of our conscience, that we behaved in the world, and most especially toward you, with simplicity and godly sincerity—not by human wisdom but by the grace of God. 13 For we write nothing to you other than what you can read and understand—and I hope you will understand in full 14 just as you understood us in part, so that we are your reason for boasting just as you also are ours in the Day of our Lord Yeshua.
Paul’s Change of Plans
15 Because of this confidence, I was planning to come to you first, so that you might have a second benefit— 16 to pass by you on my way to Macedonia and again from Macedonia to come back to you, and to be helped by you on my journey to Judea. 17 So when I was planning to do this, I didn’t do so lightly, did I? Or the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh—so it might be with me “Yes, yes” and “No, no” at the same time? 18 But as God is faithful, our message to you is not both “Yes” and “No.” [a] 19 For Ben-Elohim—Yeshua the Messiah, who was proclaimed among you by us, by myself and Silvanus[b] and Timothy—was not “Yes” and “No.” Rather, in Him it has always been “Yes.” 20 For in Him all the promises of God are “Yes.” Therefore also through Him is the “Amen” by us, to the glory of God. [c] 21 Now it is God who establishes us with you in Messiah. He anointed us, 22 set His seal on us, and gave us the Ruach in our hearts as a pledge.
Called to Be Salt and Light
13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt should lose its flavor, how shall it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they put it on a lampstand so it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men so they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Filling the Law to the Fullest
17 “Do not think that I came to abolish the Torah or the Prophets! I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. 18 Amen, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or serif[a] shall ever pass away from the Torah until all things come to pass. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever keeps and teaches them, this one shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees and Torah scholars, you shall never enter the kingdom of heaven!
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.