Book of Common Prayer
To the director: To the tune “Shoshanim.”[a] A maskil from the Korah family. A love song.
45 Beautiful thoughts fill my mind
as I speak these lines for the king.
These words come from my tongue
as from the pen of a skilled writer.
2 You are more handsome than anyone,
and you say such pleasant things.
So God will always bless you.
3 Put on your sword, mighty warrior,
so impressive in your splendid uniform.
4 Go out in your greatness to win the victory for what is true and right.
Let us see the amazing things you can do with your powerful right arm.[b]
5 Your sharp arrows will go deep into the hearts of your enemies,
who will fall to the ground in front of you.
6 God,[c] your kingdom will last forever.
You use your authority for justice.
7 You love what is right and hate what is wrong.
So God, your God, chose you to be king,
giving you more joy and honor than anyone like you.[d]
8 From your clothes comes the wonderful smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
In palaces decorated with ivory, you enjoy the music of stringed instruments.
9 Here are ladies of honor, daughters of kings.
Your bride[e] stands at your right side, wearing a gown decorated with the finest gold.
10 My lady,[f] listen to me.
Listen carefully and understand me.
Forget your people and your father’s family,
11 so that the king will be pleased with your beauty.
He will be your new husband,[g]
so you must honor him.
12 People from Tyre will bring you gifts.
Their richest people will try to win your friendship.
13 The princess is so beautiful in her gown,
like a pearl set in gold.
14 Clothed in beauty, she is led to the king,
followed by her bridesmaids.
15 Filled with joy and excitement,
they enter into the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will be kings like their ancestors.
You will make them rulers throughout the land.
17 You will be famous for generations.
People will praise you forever and ever.
To the director: A song from the Korah family.
47 Everyone, clap your hands.
Shout with joy to God!
2 The Lord Most High is awesome.
He is the great King over all the earth.
3 He helped us defeat other nations.
He put those people under our control.
4 He chose our land for us.
He chose that wonderful land for Jacob, the one he loved. Selah
5 The Lord God goes up to his throne
at the sound of the trumpet and horn.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 God is the King of the whole world.
Sing songs of praise![a]
8 God sits on his holy throne;
he rules all the nations.
9 The leaders of the nations have come together
with the people of the God of Abraham.
All the rulers of the world belong to God.
He is over them all!
A song of praise from the Korah family.
48 The Lord is great!
He is praised throughout the city of our God, his holy mountain.
2 His city is such a pleasant place.
It brings joy to people from around the world.
Mount Zion is the true mountain of God.[b]
It is the city of the great King.
3 In the palaces of that city,
God is known as the fortress.
4 Once some kings met together
and planned an attack against this city.
They marched toward the city,
5 but when they saw it, they were amazed.
They all panicked and ran away.
6 Fear grabbed them;
they trembled like a woman giving birth.
7 God, with a strong east wind,
you wrecked their big ships.
8 Yes, we heard the stories about your power.
But we also saw it in the city of our God, the city of the Lord All-Powerful.
God makes that city strong forever. Selah
9 God, in your Temple we remember your loving kindness.
10 Your name is known everywhere, God,
and people throughout the earth praise you.
You have shown that you do what is right.
11 Mount Zion is happy,
and the towns of Judah rejoice, because your decisions are fair.
12 Walk around Jerusalem,
and count its towers.
13 Look at the tall walls,
and see the palaces.
Then you can tell the next generation about them.
14 This God is our God forever and ever.
He will lead us from now to the end of time!
23 Omri became king of Israel during Asa’s 31st year as the king of Judah. Omri ruled over Israel for 12 years. Six of those years he ruled from Tirzah. 24 Then Omri bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for about 150 pounds[a] of silver. Omri built a city on that hill. He named the city Samaria after the name of its owner, Shemer.
25 Omri did what the Lord said was wrong. He was worse than all the kings who were before him. 26 He committed all the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had committed when he caused the Israelites to sin. They worshiped worthless idols, and this made the Lord, the God of Israel, very angry.
27 The rest of the story about Omri and the great things he did are written in the book, The History of the Kings of Israel. 28 Omri died and was buried in Samaria. His son Ahab became the new king after him.
Ahab, King of Israel
29 Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel during the 38th year that Asa was king of Judah. Ahab ruled Israel from the town of Samaria for 22 years. 30 He did what the Lord said was wrong. Ahab was worse than all the kings who were before him. 31 It was not enough for Ahab to commit the same sins that Jeroboam, son of Nebat, had done. Ahab also married Jezebel, daughter of King Ethbaal of Sidon. Then Ahab began to serve and worship Baal. 32 He built a temple and an altar in Samaria for worshiping Baal. 33 He also set up a sacred pole.[b] Ahab did more to make the Lord, the God of Israel, angry than all the other kings who were before him.
34 During Ahab’s time, Hiel from Bethel rebuilt the town of Jericho. When Hiel started work on the city, his oldest son Abiram died. And when Hiel built the gates of the city, his youngest son Segub died. This happened just as the Lord said it would happen when he spoke through Joshua son of Nun.[c]
Paul’s Troubles Help the Lord’s Work
12 Brothers and sisters, I want you to know that all that has happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. 13 All the Roman guards and all the others here know that I am in prison for serving Christ. 14 My being in prison has caused most of the believers to put their trust in the Lord and to show more courage in telling people God’s message.
15 Some people are telling the message about Christ because they are jealous and bitter. Others do it because they want to help. 16 They are doing it out of love. They know that God gave me the work of defending the Good News. 17 But those others tell about Christ because of their selfish ambition. Their reason for doing it is wrong. They only do it because they think it will make trouble for me in prison. 18 But that doesn’t matter. What is important is that they are telling people about Christ, whether they are sincere or not. So I am glad they are doing it.
I will continue to be glad, 19 because I know that your prayers and the help the Spirit of Jesus Christ gives me will cause this trouble to result in my freedom.[a] 20 I am full of hope and feel sure I will not have any reason to be ashamed. I am certain I will continue to have the same boldness to speak freely that I always have. I will let God use my life to bring more honor to Christ. It doesn’t matter whether I live or die. 21 To me, the only important thing about living is Christ. And even death would be for my benefit.[b] 22 If I continue living here on earth, I will be able to work for the Lord. But what would I choose—to live or to die? I don’t know. 23 It would be a hard choice. Sometimes I want to leave this life and be with Christ. That would be much better for me; 24 however, you people need me here alive. 25 I am sure of this, so I know that I will stay here and be with you to help you grow and have joy in your faith. 26 When I am there with you again, you will be bursting with pride over what Christ Jesus did to help me.
27 Just be sure you live as God’s people in a way that honors the Good News of Christ. Then if I come and visit you or if I am away from you, I will hear good things about you. I will know that you stand together with the same purpose and that you work together like a team to help others believe the Good News. 28 And you will not be afraid of those who are against you. All of this is proof from God that you are being saved and that your enemies will be lost. 29 God has blessed you in ways that serve Christ. He allowed you to believe in Christ. But that is not all. He has also given you the honor of suffering for Christ. Both of these bring glory to Christ. 30 You saw the difficulties I had to face, and you hear that I am still having troubles. Now you must face them too.
News That Jesus Has Risen From Death(A)
16 The next day after the Sabbath day, Mary Magdalene, Salome, and Mary the mother of James bought some sweet-smelling spices to put on Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on that day, the first day of the week, the women were going to the tomb. It was very early after sunrise. 3 The women said to each other, “There is a large stone covering the entrance of the tomb. Who will move the stone for us?”
4 Then the women looked and saw that the stone was moved. The stone was very large, but it was moved away from the entrance. 5 The women walked into the tomb and saw a young man there wearing a white robe. He was sitting on the right side of the tomb. The women were afraid.
6 But the man said, “Don’t be afraid. You are looking for Jesus from Nazareth, the one who was killed on a cross. He has risen from death! He is not here. Look, here is the place they put him when he was dead. 7 Now go and tell his followers. And be sure to tell Peter. Tell them, ‘Jesus is going into Galilee and will be there before you come. You will see him there, as he told you before.’”
8 The women were very afraid and confused. They left the tomb and ran away. They did not tell about what happened, because they were afraid.[a]
Some Followers See Jesus(B)
9 Jesus rose from death early on the first day of the week. He appeared first to Mary Magdalene. One time in the past Jesus had forced seven demons out of Mary. 10 After Mary saw Jesus, she went and told his followers. They were very sad and were crying. 11 But Mary told them that Jesus was alive. She said that she had seen Jesus, but they did not believe her.
12 Later, Jesus appeared to two followers while they were walking in the country. But Jesus did not look the same as before he was killed. 13 These followers went back to the other followers and told them what happened. Again, the followers did not believe them.
Jesus Talks to His Followers(C)
14 Later, Jesus appeared to the eleven followers while they were eating. He criticized them because they had so little faith. They were stubborn and refused to believe the people who said Jesus had risen from death.
15 He said to them, “Go everywhere in the world. Tell the Good News to everyone. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved. But those who do not believe will be judged guilty. 17 And the people who believe will be able to do these things as proof: They will use my name to force demons out of people. They will speak in languages they never learned. 18 If they pick up snakes or drink any poison, they will not be hurt. They will lay their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”
Jesus Goes Back to Heaven(D)
19 After the Lord Jesus said these things to his followers, he was carried up into heaven. There, Jesus sat at the right side of God. 20 The followers went everywhere in the world telling people the Good News, and the Lord helped them. By giving them power to do miracles the Lord proved that their message was true.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International