Book of Common Prayer
A song of David for the day of remembrance.[a]
38 Lord, don’t criticize me when you are angry.
Don’t discipline me in anger.
2 You have hurt me.
You punished me and hurt me deeply.
3 You punished me severely, so my whole body is sore.
I sinned, and now all my bones hurt.
4 My guilt is like a heavy burden.
I am sinking beneath its weight.
5 I did a foolish thing,
and now I have infected sores that stink.
6 I am bent and bowed down.
I am depressed all day long.
7 I am burning with fever,
and my whole body hurts.
8 I hurt so much I cannot feel anything.
My pounding heart makes me scream!
9 My Lord, you heard my groaning.
You can hear my sighs.
10 My heart is pounding.
My strength is gone, and I am going blind.[b]
11 Because of my sickness,
my friends and neighbors will not visit me;
my family will not come near me.
12 My enemies say bad things about me.
They are spreading lies and rumors.
They talk about me all the time.
13 But I am like a deaf man and cannot hear.
I am like someone who cannot speak.
14 I am like those who cannot hear what people are saying about them.
I cannot answer to prove my enemies wrong.
15 Lord, you must defend me.
Lord my God, you must speak for me.
16 That’s why I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies smile at my pain.
Full of pride, they will laugh if I stumble and fall.”
17 I know I am guilty of doing wrong.
I cannot forget my pain.
18 Lord, I told you about the evil I have done.
I am sorry for my sin.
19 But my enemies are alive and healthy,
and they have told many lies.
20 I did nothing but good,
and they paid me back with evil.
I try to do what is right,
but that only makes them turn against me.
21 Lord, don’t leave me.
My God, stay close to me.
22 Come quickly and help me.
My Lord, you are the one who saves me.
Daleth
25 I lie here like a dying man.
Say the word, and I will live again.[a]
26 I told you about my life, and you answered me.
Now, teach me your laws.
27 Help me understand your instructions,
and I will think about your wonderful teachings.[b]
28 I am sad and tired.
Say the word, and make me strong again.
29 Don’t let me live a lie.
Guide me with your teachings.
30 I have chosen to be loyal to you.
I respect your laws.
31 I follow your rules closely, Lord.
Don’t let me be put to shame.
32 I do my best to follow your commands,
because you are the one who gives me the desire.
He
33 Lord, teach me your laws,
and I will always follow them.
34 Help me understand your teachings,
and I will follow them.
Obeying them will be my greatest desire.
35 Help me follow your commands,
because that makes me happy.
36 Give me the desire to follow your rules,
not the desire to get rich.
37 Don’t let me look at worthless things.
Help me live your way.
38 Do what you promised me, your servant,
so that people will respect you.
39 Take away the shame I fear.
Your laws are good.
40 See how much I want to obey your instructions!
Be good to me, and let me live.
Waw
41 Lord, show me your faithful love.
Save me, as you promised.
42 Then I will have an answer for those who make fun of me
for trusting what you say.
43 Let me always say what is true.
I depend on your judgment to be fair.
44 I will follow your teachings forever and ever.
45 So I will live in freedom,
because I do my best to know your instructions.
46 I will discuss your rules with kings,
and no one will embarrass me.
47 What joy your commands give me!
How I love them!
48 Not only do I love your commands, but I also honor them.
I will study your laws.
24 Pharaoh’s daughter moved from the City of David to the palace that Solomon had built for her. Then he built the Millo.
25 Three times each year Solomon offered burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar that he built for the Lord. King Solomon also burned incense before the Lord and supplied what was needed for the Temple.
26 King Solomon also built ships at Ezion Geber. This town is near Elath on the shore of the Red Sea, in the land of Edom. 27 King Hiram had some skilled sailors who knew the sea well. He sent them to serve in Solomon’s navy and work with Solomon’s men. 28 Solomon’s ships went to Ophir and brought back about 16 tons[a] of gold for him.
The Queen of Sheba Visits Solomon
10 The queen of Sheba heard about Solomon, so she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She traveled to Jerusalem with a very large group of servants. There were many camels carrying spices, jewels, and a lot of gold. She met Solomon and asked him all the questions that she could think of. 3 Solomon answered all the questions. None of her questions was too hard for him to explain. 4 The queen of Sheba saw that Solomon was very wise. She also saw the beautiful palace he had built. 5 She saw the food at the king’s table. She saw his officials meeting together. She saw the servants in the palace and the good clothes they wore. She saw his parties and the sacrifices that he offered in the Lord’s Temple. She was so amazed, she could hardly breathe!
6 Then she said to King Solomon, “The stories I heard in my country about your great works and your wisdom are true. 7 I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes. Now I see that it is even greater than what I heard. Your wealth and wisdom are much greater than people told me. 8 Your wives[b] and officers are very fortunate, because they serve you and hear your wisdom every day. 9 Praise the Lord your God! He was pleased to make you king of Israel. Because of the Lord’s unending love for Israel, he has made you king to rule with justice and fairness.”
10 Then the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon 4 1/2 tons[c] of gold, a huge amount of spices, and precious stones. She gave him more spices than anyone has ever brought into Israel.
11 Hiram’s ships brought gold from Ophir. They also brought jewels and a special kind of wood.[d] 12 Solomon used this special wood to build supports in the Temple and the palace as well as harps and lyres for the singers. That was the last time such a large shipment of that kind of wood was brought to Israel. There hasn’t been any seen around here since then.[e]
13 King Solomon gave the queen of Sheba everything she asked for. He gave her more than she brought to give him. Then the queen of Sheba and her servants left and went back to their own country.
Controlling the Things We Say
3 My brothers and sisters, not many of you should be teachers. I say this because, as you know, we who teach will be judged more strictly than others.
2 We all make many mistakes. A person who never said anything wrong would be perfect. Someone like that would be able to control their whole body too. 3 We put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us. With these bits we can control their whole body. 4 It is the same with ships. A ship is very big, and it is pushed by strong winds. But a very small rudder controls that big ship. And the one who controls the rudder decides where the ship will go. It goes where he wants it to go. 5 It is the same with our tongue. It is a small part of the body, but it can boast about doing great things.
A big forest fire can be started with only a little flame. 6 The tongue is like a fire. It is a world of evil among the parts of our body. It spreads its evil through our whole body and starts a fire that influences all of life. It gets this fire from hell.
7 Humans have control over every kind of wild animal, bird, reptile, and fish, and they have controlled all these things. 8 But no one can control the tongue. It is wild and evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We use our tongues to praise our Lord and Father, but then we curse people who were created in God’s likeness. 10 These praises and curses come from the same mouth. My brothers and sisters, this should not happen. 11 Do good water and bad water flow from the same spring? Of course not. 12 My brothers and sisters, can a fig tree make olives? Or can a grapevine make figs? No, and a well full of salty water cannot give good water.
Governor Pilate Questions Jesus(A)
15 Very early in the morning, the leading priests, the older Jewish leaders, the teachers of the law, and the whole high council decided what to do with Jesus. They tied him, led him away, and handed him over to Governor Pilate.
2 Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus answered, “Yes, that is right.”
3 The leading priests accused Jesus of many things. 4 So Pilate asked Jesus another question. He said, “You can see that these people are accusing you of many things. Why don’t you answer?”
5 But Jesus still did not answer, and this really surprised Pilate.
Pilate Tries but Fails to Free Jesus(B)
6 Every year at the Passover time the governor would free one prisoner—whichever one the people wanted. 7 There was a man in prison at that time named Barabbas. He and the rebels with him had been put in prison for committing murder during a riot.
8 The people came to Pilate and asked him to free a prisoner as he always did. 9 Pilate asked them, “Do you want me to free the king of the Jews?” 10 Pilate knew that the leading priests had handed Jesus over to him because they were jealous of him. 11 But the leading priests persuaded the people to ask Pilate to free Barabbas, not Jesus.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International