Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for Protection
For the director of music. A song of David.
140 Lord, rescue me from evil people.
Save me from cruel men.
2 They make evil plans.
They always start fights.
3 They make their tongues sharp as a snake’s.
Their words are like snake poison. Selah
4 Lord, guard me from the power of wicked people.
Save me from cruel men
who plan to trip me up.
5 Proud men have hidden a trap for me.
They have spread out a net beside the road.
They have set traps for me. Selah
6 I said to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Lord, listen to my prayer for help.
7 Lord God, my mighty savior,
you protect me in battle.
8 Lord, do not give the wicked what they want.
Don’t let their plans succeed,
or they will become proud. Selah
9 Those around me have planned trouble.
Now let it come to them.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Throw them into the fire
or into pits from which they cannot escape.
11 Don’t let liars settle in the land.
Let evil quickly hunt down cruel men.
12 I know the Lord will get justice for the poor.
He will defend the needy in court.
13 Good people will praise his name.
Honest people will live in his presence.
A Prayer for Safety
A maskil of David when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out to the Lord.
I pray to the Lord for mercy.
2 I pour out my problems to him.
I tell him my troubles.
3 When I am afraid,
you, Lord, know the way out.
In the path where I walk,
a trap is hidden for me.
4 Look around me and see.
No one cares about me.
I have no place of safety.
No one cares if I live.
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my protection.
You are all I want in this life.”
6 Listen to my cry
because I am helpless.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
They are too strong for me.
7 Free me from my prison.
Then I will praise your name.
Then the good people will surround me
because you have taken care of me.
A Prayer Not to Sin
A song of David.
141 Lord, I call to you. Come quickly.
Listen to me when I call to you.
2 Let my prayer be like incense placed before you.
Let my praise be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, help me control my tongue.
Help me be careful about what I say.
4 Don’t let me want to do evil
or join others in doing wrong.
Don’t let me eat
with those who do evil.
5 If a good man punished me, that would be kind.
If he corrected me,
that would be like having perfumed oil on my head.
I shouldn’t refuse it.
But I pray against those who do evil.
6 Let their leaders be thrown down the cliffs.
Then people will know that I have spoken the truth:
7 “The ground is plowed and broken up.
In the same way, our bones have been scattered at the grave.”
8 Lord God, I look to you for help.
I trust in you. Don’t let me die.
9 Protect me from the traps they set for me
and from the net evil people have spread.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own pits.
And let me pass by safely.
A Prayer Not to Be Killed
A song of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
Come to help me
because you are loyal and good.
2 Don’t judge me, your servant,
because no one alive is right before you.
3 My enemies are chasing me.
They have crushed me to the ground.
They have made me live in darkness
like those who are long dead.
4 I am afraid.
My courage is gone.
5 I remember what happened long ago.
I recall everything you have done.
I think about all you have made.
6 I lift my hands to you in prayer.
As a dry land needs rain, I thirst for you. Selah
7 Lord, answer me quickly.
I am getting weak.
Don’t turn away from me,
or I will be like those who are dead.
8 Tell me in the morning about your love.
I trust you.
Show me what I should do
because my prayers go up to you.
9 Lord, save me from my enemies.
I come to you for safety.
10 Teach me to do what you want,
because you are my God.
Let your good Spirit
lead me on level ground.
11 Lord, let me live
so people will praise you.
In your goodness
save me from my troubles.
12 In your love defeat my enemies.
Destroy all those who trouble me
because I am your servant.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He was king in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Zebidah daughter of Pedaiah. She was from Rumah. 37 Jehoiakim did what the Lord said was wrong, just as his ancestors had done.
24 While Jehoiakim was king, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon attacked the land of Judah. So Jehoiakim became Nebuchadnezzar’s servant for three years. Then Jehoiakim turned against Nebuchadnezzar. And he broke away from his rule. 2 The Lord sent men from Babylon, Aram, Moab and Ammon against Jehoiakim. He sent them to destroy Judah. This happened the way the Lord had said it would through his servants the prophets.
3 The Lord commanded this to happen to the people of Judah. He did it to remove them from his presence. This was because of all the sins Manasseh had done. 4 He had killed many innocent people. He had filled Jerusalem with their blood. And the Lord would not forgive these sins.
5 The other things that happened while Jehoiakim was king and all he did are written down. They are in the book of the history of the kings of Judah. 6 Jehoiakim died, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place.
7 The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again. This was because of the king of Babylon. He had captured all that belonged to the king of Egypt. He took all the land from the brook of Egypt to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin King of Judah
8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. He was king three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan. She was from Jerusalem. 9 Jehoiachin did what the Lord said was wrong, just as his father had done.
10 At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem. They surrounded the city and attacked it. 11 Nebuchadnezzar himself came to the city while his officers were attacking it. 12 Jehoiachin king of Judah surrendered to the king of Babylon. Jehoiachin’s mother, servants, elders and officers also surrendered. Then the king of Babylon made Jehoiachin a prisoner. This was in the eighth year Nebuchadnezzar was king. 13 Nebuchadnezzar took all the treasures from the Temple of the Lord. He also removed the treasures from the palace. He took all the gold objects Solomon king of Israel had made for the Temple. This happened as the Lord had said it would. 14 Nebuchadnezzar took away all the people of Jerusalem. This included all the leaders and all the wealthy people. He also took all the craftsmen and metal workers. There were 10,000 prisoners in all. Only the poorest people in the land were left. 15 Nebuchadnezzar carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. He took the king’s mother and his wives. He also took the officers and leading men of the land. They were taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 The king of Babylon also took all 7,000 soldiers. These men were all strong and able to fight in war. And 1,000 craftsmen and metal workers were taken, too. Nebuchadnezzar took them as prisoners to Babylon. 17 He made Mattaniah king in Jehoiachin’s place. Mattaniah was Jehoiachin’s uncle. He also changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.
The Body of Christ
12 A person’s body is one thing, but it has many parts. Yes, there are many parts to a body, but all those parts make only one body. Christ is like that too. 13 Some of us are Jews, and some of us are Greeks. Some of us are slaves, and some of us are free. But we were all baptized into one body through one Spirit. And we were all made to share in the one Spirit.
14 And a person’s body has more than one part. It has many parts. 15 The foot might say, “I am not a hand. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not stop the foot from being a part of the body. 16 The ear might say, “I am not an eye. So I am not part of the body.” But saying this would not make the ear stop being a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, the body would not be able to hear. If the whole body were an ear, the body would not be able to smell anything. 18-19 If each part of the body were the same part, there would be no body. But truly God put the parts in the body as he wanted them. He made a place for each one of them. 20 And so there are many parts, but only one body.
21 The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the foot, “I don’t need you!” 22 No! Those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are really very important. 23 And the parts of the body that we think are not worth much are the parts that we give the most care to. And we give special care to the parts of the body that we want to hide. 24 The more beautiful parts of our body need no special care. But God put the body together and gave more honor to the parts that need it. 25 God did this so that our body would not be divided. God wanted the different parts to care the same for each other. 26 If one part of the body suffers, then all the other parts suffer with it. Or if one part of our body is honored, then all the other parts share its honor.
Jesus Heals More People
27 When Jesus was leaving there, two blind men followed him. They cried out, “Show kindness to us, Son of David!”
28 Jesus went inside, and the blind men went with him. He asked the men, “Do you believe that I can make you see again?”
They answered, “Yes, Lord.”
29 Then Jesus touched their eyes and said, “You believe that I can make you see again. So this will happen.” 30 Then the men were able to see. But Jesus warned them very strongly, saying, “Don’t tell anyone about this.” 31 But the blind men left and spread the news about Jesus all around that area.
32 When the two men were leaving, some people brought another man to Jesus. This man could not talk because he had a demon in him. 33 Jesus forced the demon to leave the man. Then the man who couldn’t talk was able to speak. The crowd was amazed and said, “We have never seen anything like this in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “The leader of demons is the one that gives him power to force demons out.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.