Book of Common Prayer
Book 1
Psalms 1—41
Two Ways to Live
1 Happy is the person who doesn’t listen to the wicked.
He doesn’t go where sinners go.
He doesn’t do what bad people do.
2 He loves the Lord’s teachings.
He thinks about those teachings day and night.
3 He is strong, like a tree planted by a river.
It produces fruit in season.
Its leaves don’t die.
Everything he does will succeed.
4 But wicked people are not like that.
They are like useless chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 So the wicked will not escape God’s punishment.
Sinners will not worship God with good people.
6 This is because the Lord protects good people.
But the wicked will be destroyed.
God’s Chosen King
2 Why are the nations so angry?
Why are the people making useless plans?
2 The kings of the earth prepare to fight.
Their leaders make plans together
against the Lord
and his appointed king.
3 “Let’s break the chains that hold us prisoners.
Let’s throw off the ropes that tie us,” the nations say.
4 But the Lord in heaven laughs.
He makes fun of them.
5 Then the Lord warns them.
He frightens them with his anger.
6 He says, “I have appointed my own king!
He will rule in Jerusalem on my holy mountain.”
7 Now I will tell you what the Lord has declared:
He said to me, “You are my son.
Today I have become your father.
8 If you ask me, I will give you the nations.
All the people on earth will be yours.
9 You will make them obey you by punishing them with an iron rod.
You will break them into pieces like pottery.”
10 So, kings, be wise.
Rulers, learn this lesson.
11 Obey the Lord with great fear.
Be happy, but tremble.
12 Show that you are loyal to his son.
Otherwise you will be destroyed.
He can quickly become angry.
But happy are those who trust him for protection.
A Morning Prayer
David sang this when he ran away from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, I have many enemies!
Many people have turned against me.
2 Many people are talking about me.
They say, “God won’t rescue him.” Selah
3 But, Lord, you are my shield.
You are my wonderful God who gives me courage.
4 I will pray to the Lord.
And he will answer me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I can lie down and go to sleep.
And I will wake up again
because the Lord protects me.
6 Thousands of enemies may surround me.
But I am not afraid.
7 Lord, rise up!
My God, come save me!
You have hit my enemies on the cheek.
You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
8 The Lord can save his people.
Lord, bless your people. Selah
An Evening Prayer
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A song of David.
4 Answer me when I pray to you,
my God who does what is right.
Lift the load that I carry.
Be kind to me and hear my prayer.
2 People, how long will you turn my honor into shame?
You love what is false, and you look for new lies. Selah
3 You know that the Lord has chosen for himself those who are loyal to him.
The Lord listens when I pray to him.
4 When you are angry, do not sin.
Think about these things quietly
as you go to bed. Selah
5 Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord.
And trust the Lord.
6 Many people ask,
“Who will give us anything good?
Lord, be kind to us.”
7 But you have made me very happy.
I am happier than they are,
even with all their grain and wine.
8 I go to bed and sleep in peace.
Lord, only you keep me safe.
A Prayer for Fairness
A shiggaion of David which he sang to the Lord about Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin.
7 Lord my God, I trust in you for protection.
Save me and rescue me
from those who are chasing me.
2 Otherwise, they will tear me apart like a lion.
They will rip me to pieces, and no one can save me.
3 Lord my God, what have I done?
Have my hands done something wrong?
4 Have I done wrong to my friend?
Have I stolen from my enemy?
5 If I have, let my enemy chase me and capture me.
Let him trample me into the dust.
Let him bury me in the ground. Selah
6 Lord, rise up in your anger.
Stand up against my enemies’ anger.
Get up and demand fairness.
7 Gather the nations around you,
and rule them from above.
8 Lord, judge the people.
Lord, defend me.
Prove that I am right.
Show that I have done no wrong, God Most High.
9 God, you do what is right.
You know our thoughts and feelings.
Stop those wicked actions done by evil people.
And help those who do what is right.
10 God Most High protects me like a shield.
He saves those whose hearts are right.
11 God judges by what is right.
And God is always ready to punish the wicked.
12 If they do not change their lives,
God will sharpen his sword.
He will string his bow and take aim.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons.
He has made his flaming arrows.
14 There are people who think up evil.
They plan trouble and tell lies.
15 They dig a hole to trap other people.
But they will fall into it themselves.
16 They themselves will get into trouble.
The violence they cause will hurt only themselves.
17 I praise the Lord because he does what is right.
I sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.
11 A man named Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the messages from the Lord. Baruch read them from the scroll. 12 Micaiah went down to the royal assistant’s room in the king’s palace. All of the officers were sitting there: Elishama the royal assistant; Delaiah son of Shemaiah; Elnathan son of Acbor; Gemariah son of Shaphan; Zedekiah son of Hananiah; and all the other officers. 13 Micaiah told those officers everything he had heard Baruch read from the scroll.
14 Then the officers sent a man named Jehudi son of Nethaniah to Baruch. (Nethaniah was the son of Shelemiah, who was the son of Cushi.) Jehudi said to Baruch, “Bring the scroll that you read to the people and come with me.”
So Baruch son of Neriah took the scroll and went with Jehudi to the officers. 15 Then the officers said to Baruch, “Sit down and read the scroll to us.”
So Baruch read the scroll to them. 16 When the officers heard all the words, they became afraid. And they looked at one another. They said to Baruch, “We must certainly tell the king about these words.” 17 Then the officers asked Baruch, “Tell us, Baruch, where did you get these words you wrote on the scroll? Did you write down what Jeremiah said to you?”
18 “Yes,” Baruch answered. “Jeremiah spoke, and I wrote down all the words with ink on this scroll.”
19 Then the officers said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don’t tell anyone where you are hiding.”
20 Then the officers put the scroll in the room of Elishama the royal assistant. Then they went to the king in the courtyard and told him all about the scroll. 21 So King Jehoiakim sent Jehudi to get the scroll. Jehudi brought the scroll from the room of Elishama the royal assistant. Then Jehudi read the scroll to the king. And he read it to all the officers who stood around the king. 22 This happened in the ninth month of the year. So King Jehoiakim was sitting in the winter apartment. There was a fire burning in a small firepot in front of him. 23 Jehudi began to read from the scroll. But after he had read three or four columns, the king cut those columns off of the scroll with a pen knife. And he threw them into the firepot. Finally, the whole scroll was burned in the fire. 24 King Jehoiakim and his servants heard the message from the scroll. But they were not frightened! They did not tear their clothes to show their sorrow. 25 Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah tried to talk King Jehoiakim into not burning the scroll. But the king would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king ordered some men to arrest Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet. Those men were Jerahmeel son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel. But the Lord had hidden Baruch and Jeremiah.
13 I may speak in different languages of men or even angels. But if I do not have love, then I am only a noisy bell or a ringing cymbal. 2 I may have the gift of prophecy; I may understand all the secret things of God and all knowledge; and I may have faith so great that I can move mountains. But even with all these things, if I do not have love, then I am nothing. 3 I may give everything I have to feed the poor. And I may even give my body as an offering to be burned.[a] But I gain nothing by doing these things if I do not have love.
4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not become angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices over the truth. 7 Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always continues strong.
8 Love never ends. There are gifts of prophecy, but they will be ended. There are gifts of speaking in different languages, but those gifts will end. There is the gift of knowledge, but it will be ended. 9 These things will end, because this knowledge and these prophecies we have are not complete. 10 But when perfection comes, the things that are not complete will end. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child; I thought like a child; I made plans like a child. When I became a man, I stopped those childish ways. 12 It is the same with us. Now we see as if we are looking into a dark mirror. But at that time, in the future, we shall see clearly. Now I know only a part. But at that time I will know fully, as God has known me. 13 So these three things continue forever: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love.
5 These 12 men he sent out with the following order: “Don’t go to the non-Jewish people. And don’t go into any town where the Samaritans live. 6 But go to the people of Israel. They are like sheep that are lost. 7 When you go, preach this: ‘The kingdom of heaven is coming soon.’ 8 Heal the sick. Give dead people life again. Heal those who have harmful skin diseases. Force demons to leave people. I give you these powers freely. So help other people freely. 9 Don’t carry any money with you—gold or silver or copper. 10 Don’t carry a bag. Take for your trip only the clothes and sandals you are wearing. Don’t take a walking stick. A worker should be given the things he needs.
11 “When you enter a city or town, find some worthy person there and stay in his home until you leave. 12 When you enter that home, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ 13 If the people there welcome you, let your peace stay there. But if they don’t welcome you, take back the peace you wished for them. 14 And if a home or town refuses to welcome you or listen to you, then leave that place. Shake its dust off your feet.[a] 15 I tell you the truth. On the Judgment Day it will be worse for that town than for the towns of Sodom and Gomorrah.[b]
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.