Book of Common Prayer
33 He changed rivers into a desert.
He stopped springs from flowing.
34 He made the fertile land become salty,
because the people living there did such evil things.
35 He changed the desert into a land with pools of water.
He caused springs to flow from dry ground.
36 He led the hungry to that good land,
and they built a city to live in.
37 They planted seeds in their fields and grapes in their vineyards,
and they had a good harvest.
38 God blessed them with many children
and plenty of animals.
39 But because of disaster and troubles,
their families became small and weak.
40 God shames even great leaders
and makes them wander through empty deserts.
41 But he rescues the poor from their misery.
He makes their families large like flocks of sheep.
42 Good people see this and are happy.
But the wicked see it and don’t know what to say.
43 Whoever is wise will remember these things
and begin to understand the Lord’s faithful love.
A praise song of David.
108 God, I am ready, heart and soul,
to sing songs of praise.
Wake up, my soul!
2 Harps and lyres, wake up,
and let’s wake the dawn!
3 Lord, I will praise you before all people.
I will sing praises about you to every nation.
4 Your faithful love is higher
than the highest clouds in the sky!
5 Rise above the heavens, God.
Let all the world see your glory.
6 Use your great power and help us!
Answer my prayer and save the people you love.
7 God has made this promise in his Temple[a]:
“I will win the war and rejoice in victory!
I will divide this land among my people.
I will give them Shechem.
I will give them Succoth Valley.
8 Gilead and Manasseh will be mine.
Ephraim will be my helmet.
Judah will be my royal scepter.
9 Moab will be the bowl for washing my feet.
Edom will be the slave who carries my sandals.
I will defeat the Philistines and shout in victory!”
10-11 But, God, it seems that you have left us!
You do not go out with our army.
So who will lead me into the strong, protected city?
Who will lead me into battle against Edom?
12 Help us defeat the enemy!
No one on earth can rescue us.
13 Only God can make us strong.
Only God can defeat our enemies!
33 Rejoice in the Lord, good people!
It is only right for good people to praise him.
2 Play the lyre and praise the Lord.
Play the ten-stringed harp for him.
3 Sing a new song[a] to him.
Play it well and sing it loud!
4 The Lord’s word is true,
and he is faithful in everything he does.
5 He loves goodness and justice.
The Lord’s faithful love fills the earth.
6 The Lord spoke the command, and the world was made.
The breath from his mouth created everything in the heavens.
7 He gathered together the water of the sea.
He put the ocean in its place.
8 Everyone on earth should fear and respect the Lord.
All the people in the world should fear him,
9 because when he speaks, things happen.
And if he says, “Stop!”—then it stops.[b]
10 The Lord can ruin every decision the nations make.
He can spoil all their plans.
11 But the Lord’s decisions are good forever.
His plans are good for generation after generation.
12 Great blessings belong to those who have the Lord as their God!
He chose them to be his own special people.
13 The Lord looked down from heaven
and saw all the people.
14 From his high throne he looked down
at all the people living on earth.
15 He created every person’s mind,
and he knows what each one is doing.
16 A king is not saved by the power of his army.
A soldier does not survive by his own great strength.
17 Horses don’t really bring victory in war.
Their strength cannot help you escape.
18 The Lord watches over his followers,
those who wait for him to show his faithful love.
19 He saves them from death.
He gives them strength when they are hungry.
20 So we will wait for the Lord.
He helps us and protects us.
21 He makes us happy.
We trust his holy name.
22 Lord, we worship you,
so show your great love for us.
Ziba Meets David
16 David went a short way over the top of the Mount of Olives and met Ziba, the servant of Mephibosheth. Ziba had two donkeys with saddles on them. The donkeys also carried 200 loaves of bread, 100 bunches of raisins, 100 summer fruits, and a wineskin full of wine. 2 King David said to Ziba, “What are these things for?”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s family to ride on. The bread and the summer fruit are for the servants to eat. And the wine is refreshment for whoever begins to feel weak in the desert.”
3 Then the king asked, “And where is Mephibosheth[a]?”
Ziba answered the king, “Mephibosheth is staying in Jerusalem. He said, ‘Today the Israelites will give my father’s kingdom back to me.’”
4 Then the king said to Ziba, “All right, I now give you everything that belonged to Mephibosheth.”
Ziba said, “I bow to you. I pray I will always be able to please you.”
Shimei Curses David
5 As David came to Bahurim, a man from Saul’s family, Shimei son of Gera, came out cursing David again and again.
6 Shimei began throwing stones at David and his officers. Both the people and the soldiers gathered around David to protect him—they were all around him. 7 Shimei cursed David. He said, “Get out, get out, you no-good murderer[b]! 8 The Lord is punishing you because you killed people in Saul’s family. You stole Saul’s place as king. But now the same bad things are happening to you. The Lord has given the kingdom to your son Absalom, because you are a murderer.”
9 Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dying dog curse you, my lord the king? Let me go over and cut off Shimei’s head.”
10 But the king answered, “What can I do, sons of Zeruiah? Yes, Shimei is cursing me, but the Lord told him to curse me. And who can ask him why he did that?” 11 David also said to Abishai and all his servants, “Look, my very own son is trying to kill me, so why shouldn’t this man from the tribe of Benjamin want to do the same? Leave him alone. Let him continue to curse me. The Lord told him to do this. 12 Maybe the Lord will see the wrong things that are happening to me and give me something good for every bad thing that Shimei says today.”
13 So David and his men went on their way down the road. Shimei kept following David. He walked on the other side of the road by the side of the hill. He kept cursing David on his way. Shimei also threw stones and dirt at David.
14 King David and all his people came to the Jordan River. They were tired, so they rested and refreshed themselves there.
15 Meanwhile, Absalom, Ahithophel, and all the Israelites came to Jerusalem. 16 David’s friend, Hushai the Arkite, came to Absalom and told him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 Absalom answered, “Why are you not loyal to your friend David? Why did you not leave Jerusalem with your friend?”
18 Hushai said, “I belong to the one that the Lord chooses. These people and the people of Israel chose you. I will stay with you. 19 In the past, I served your father. So now I will serve you, David’s son.”
Absalom Asks Ahithophel for Advice
20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Please tell us what we should do.”
21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Your father left some of his slave women here to take care of the house. Go and have sexual relations with them. Then all the Israelites will hear how you humiliated your father, and they will be encouraged to give you more support.”
22 Then they put up a tent for Absalom up on the roof of the house. Absalom had sexual relations with his father’s wives[c] so that all the Israelites could see what happened. 23 So in those days Ahithophel’s advice was very important. Both David and Absalom accepted his advice as though it were the word of God.
17 “Later, I came back to Jerusalem. I was praying in the Temple area, and I saw a vision. 18 I saw Jesus, and he said to me, ‘Hurry and leave Jerusalem now! The people here will not accept the truth you tell them about me.’
19 “I said, ‘But, Lord, the people know that I was the one who put the believers in jail and beat them. I went through all the synagogues to find and arrest the people who believe in you. 20 The people also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the coats of the men who were killing him!’
21 “But Jesus said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to the non-Jewish people.’”
22 The people stopped listening when Paul said this last thing. They all shouted, “Get rid of this man! He doesn’t deserve to live.” 23 They kept on shouting, ripping off their clothes and throwing dust into the air.[a] 24 Then the commander told the soldiers to take Paul into the army building and beat him. He wanted to make Paul tell why the people were shouting against him like this. 25 So the soldiers were tying Paul, preparing to beat him. But he said to an army officer there, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen[b] who has not been proven guilty?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and told him about it. The officer said, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The commander came to Paul and said, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?”
He answered, “Yes.”
28 The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.”
29 The men who were preparing to question Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was afraid because he had already put Paul in chains, and he was a Roman citizen.
Jesus Enters Jerusalem Like a King(A)
11 Jesus and his followers were coming closer to Jerusalem. They came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of his followers to do something. 2 He said to them, “Go to the town you can see there. When you enter it, you will find a young donkey that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here to me. 3 If anyone asks you why you are taking the donkey, tell them, ‘The Master needs it. He will send it back soon.’”
4 The followers went into the town. They found a young donkey tied in the street near the door of a house, and they untied it. 5 Some people were standing there and saw this. They asked, “What are you doing? Why are you untying that donkey?” 6 The followers answered the way Jesus told them, and the people let them take the donkey.
7 The followers brought the donkey to Jesus. They put their coats on it, and Jesus sat on it. 8 Many people spread their coats on the road for Jesus. Others cut branches in the fields and spread the branches on the road. 9 Some of them were walking ahead of Jesus. Others were walking behind him. Everyone shouted,
10 “God bless the kingdom of our father David.
That kingdom is coming!
Praise to God in heaven!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the Temple. He looked at everything in the Temple area, but it was already late. So he went to Bethany with the twelve apostles.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International