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.
23 Just then Abigail arrived. When she saw David, she quickly got off her donkey and bowed down with her face to the ground in front of him. 24 Abigail fell at his feet and said, “Sir, please let me talk to you. Listen to what I say. Blame me for what happened. 25 I didn’t see the men you sent. Sir, don’t pay any attention to that worthless man, Nabal. His name means ‘Foolish,’ and that is what he is. 26 The Lord has kept you from killing innocent people. As surely as the Lord lives and you as well, may your enemies and anyone else who wants to harm you be as cursed as Nabal is. 27 Now, I am bringing this gift to you. Please give these things to your men. 28 Please forgive me for doing wrong. I know the Lord will make your family strong because you fight his battles. People will never find anything bad about you as long as you live. 29 If someone chases you to kill you, the Lord your God will save your life. But he will throw away your enemies like a stone from a sling. 30 The Lord promised to do many good things for you, and he will keep his promises. He will make you leader over Israel. 31 So don’t do anything that would make you guilty of killing innocent people. Please don’t fall into that trap. Please remember me when the Lord blesses you.”
32 David answered Abigail, “Praise the Lord, the God of Israel. Praise God for sending you to meet me. 33 God bless you for your good judgment. You kept me from killing innocent people today. 34 As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, if you hadn’t come quickly to meet me, not one man in Nabal’s family would have lived until tomorrow morning. But the Lord prevented me from hurting you.”
35 Then David accepted Abigail’s gifts. He told her, “Go home in peace. I have listened to your request, and I will do what you asked.”
Nabal’s Death
36 Abigail went back to Nabal, who was in the house. He had been eating like a king, and he was drunk and feeling good. So Abigail told Nabal nothing until the next morning. 37 The next morning, Nabal was sober, so his wife told him everything. He had a heart attack and became as stiff as a rock. 38 About ten days later, the Lord gave him a stroke and Nabal died.
39 When David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Praise the Lord! He judged Nabal to be wrong for insulting me and kept me from doing something wrong. The Lord made Nabal pay for what he did.”
Then David sent a message to Abigail and asked her to be his wife. 40 His servants went to Carmel with this message, “David sent us to get you. He wants you to be his wife.”
41 Abigail bowed her face to the ground. She said, “I am willing to be your slave woman, even if it is only to wash the feet of my master’s servants.”
42 Abigail quickly got on a donkey and brought five of her maids with her. They followed David’s messengers. So Abigail became David’s wife. 43 David had also married Ahinoam of Jezreel. Both Ahinoam and Abigail were David’s wives. 44 David was also married to Saul’s daughter Michal, but Saul had taken her away from him and had given her to a man named Palti, son of Laish. Palti was from the town named Gallim.
19 Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and persuaded the people to turn against Paul. So they threw stones at him and dragged him out of the town. They thought they had killed him. 20 But when the followers of Jesus gathered around him, he got up and went back into the town. The next day he and Barnabas left and went to the city of Derbe.
The Return to Antioch in Syria
21 They also told the Good News in the city of Derbe, and many people became followers of Jesus. Then Paul and Barnabas returned to the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch. 22 In those cities they helped the followers grow stronger in their faith and encouraged them to continue trusting God. They told them, “We must suffer many things on our way into God’s kingdom.” 23 They also chose elders for each church and stopped eating for a period of time to pray for them. These elders were men who had put their trust in the Lord Jesus, so Paul and Barnabas put them in his care.
24 Paul and Barnabas went through the country of Pisidia. Then they came to the country of Pamphylia. 25 They told people the message of God in the city of Perga, and then they went down to the city of Attalia. 26 And from there they sailed away to Antioch in Syria. This is the city where the believers had put them into God’s care and sent them to do this work. Now they had finished it.
27 When Paul and Barnabas arrived, they gathered the church together. They told them everything God had used them to do. They said, “God opened a door for the non-Jewish people to believe!” 28 And they stayed there a long time with the Lord’s followers.
Jesus’ Followers See His Power(A)
35 That day, at evening, Jesus said to his followers, “Come with me across the lake.” 36 So they left the crowd behind and went with Jesus in the boat he was already in. There were also other boats that went with them. 37 A very bad wind came up on the lake. The waves were coming over the sides and into the boat, and it was almost full of water. 38 Jesus was inside the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The followers went and woke him. They said, “Teacher, don’t you care about us? We are going to drown!”
39 Jesus stood up and gave a command to the wind and the water. He said, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and the lake became calm.
40 He said to his followers, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 They were very afraid and asked each other, “What kind of man is this? Even the wind and the water obey him!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International