Book of Common Prayer
BOOK ONE(A)
True Happiness
1 Happy are those
who reject the advice of evil people,
who do not follow the example of sinners
or join those who have no use for God.
2 Instead, they find joy in obeying the Law of the Lord,
and they study it day and night.
3 (B)They are like trees that grow beside a stream,
that bear fruit at the right time,
and whose leaves do not dry up.
They succeed in everything they do.
4 But evil people are not like this at all;
they are like straw that the wind blows away.
5 Sinners will be condemned by God
and kept apart from God's own people.
6 The righteous are guided and protected by the Lord,
but the evil are on the way to their doom.
God's Chosen King
2 (C)Why do the nations plan rebellion?
Why do people make their useless plots?
2 Their kings revolt,
their rulers plot together against the Lord
and against the king he chose.
3 “Let us free ourselves from their rule,” they say;
“let us throw off their control.”
4 From his throne in heaven the Lord laughs
and mocks their feeble plans.
5 Then he warns them in anger
and terrifies them with his fury.
6 “On Zion,[a] my sacred hill,” he says,
“I have installed my king.”
7 (D)“I will announce,” says the king, “what the Lord has declared.
He said to me: ‘You are my son;
today I have become your father.
8 Ask, and I will give you all the nations;
the whole earth will be yours.
9 (E)You will break them with an iron rod;
you will shatter them in pieces like a clay pot.’”
10 Now listen to this warning, you kings;
learn this lesson, you rulers of the world:
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
tremble 12 and bow down to him;[b]
or else his anger will be quickly aroused,
and you will suddenly die.
Happy are all who go to him for protection.
(F)Morning Prayer for Help[c]
3 I have so many enemies, Lord,
so many who turn against me!
2 They talk about me and say,
“God will not help him.”
3 But you, O Lord, are always my shield from danger;
you give me victory
and restore my courage.
4 I call to the Lord for help,
and from his sacred hill[d] he answers me.
5 I lie down and sleep,
and all night long the Lord protects me.
6 I am not afraid of the thousands of enemies
who surround me on every side.
7 Come, Lord! Save me, my God!
You punish all my enemies
and leave them powerless to harm me.
8 Victory comes from the Lord—
may he bless his people.
Evening Prayer for Help[e]
4 Answer me when I pray,
O God, my defender!
When I was in trouble, you helped me.
Be kind to me now and hear my prayer.
2 How long will you people insult me?
How long will you love what is worthless
and go after what is false?
3 Remember that the Lord has chosen the righteous for his own,
and he hears me when I call to him.
4 (G)Tremble with fear and stop sinning;
think deeply about this,
when you lie in silence on your beds.
5 Offer the right sacrifices to the Lord,
and put your trust in him.
6 There are many who pray:
“Give us more blessings, O Lord.
Look on us with kindness!”
7 But the joy that you have given me
is more than they will ever have
with all their grain and wine.
8 When I lie down, I go to sleep in peace;
you alone, O Lord, keep me perfectly safe.
A Prayer for Justice[a]
7 O Lord, my God, I come to you for protection;
rescue me and save me from all who pursue me,
2 or else like a lion they will carry me off
where no one can save me,
and there they will tear me to pieces.
3-4 O Lord, my God, if I have wronged anyone,
if I have betrayed a friend
or without cause done violence to my enemy[b]—
if I have done any of these things—
5 then let my enemies pursue me and catch me,
let them cut me down and kill me
and leave me lifeless on the ground!
6 Rise in your anger, O Lord!
Stand up against the fury of my enemies;
rouse yourself and help me!
Justice is what you demand,
7 so bring together all the peoples around you,
and rule over them from above.[c]
8 You are the judge of all people.
Judge in my favor, O Lord;
you know that I am innocent.
9 (A)You are a righteous God
and judge our thoughts and desires.
Stop the wickedness of evildoers
and reward those who are good.
10 God is my protector;
he saves those who obey him.
11 God is a righteous judge
and always condemns the wicked.
12 If they do not change their ways,
God will sharpen his sword.
He bends his bow and makes it ready;
13 he takes up his deadly weapons
and aims his burning arrows.
14 See how wicked people think up evil;
they plan trouble and practice deception.
15 But in the traps they set for others,
they themselves get caught.
16 So they are punished by their own evil
and are hurt by their own violence.
17 I thank the Lord for his justice;
I sing praises to the Lord, the Most High.
The Scroll Is Read to the Officials
11 Micaiah, the son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, heard Baruch read from the scroll what the Lord had said. 12 Then he went to the royal palace, to the room of the court secretary, where all the officials were in session. Elishama, the court secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Achbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials were there. 13 Micaiah told them everything that he had heard Baruch read to the people. 14 Then the officials sent Jehudi (the son of Nethaniah, grandson of Shelemiah, and great-grandson of Cushi) to tell Baruch to bring the scroll that he had read to the people. Baruch brought them the scroll. 15 “Sit down,” they said, “and read the scroll to us.” So Baruch did. 16 After he had read it, they turned to one another in alarm and said to Baruch, “We must report this to the king.” 17 Then they asked him, “Tell us, now, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it to you?”
18 Baruch answered, “Jeremiah dictated every word of it to me, and I wrote it down in ink on this scroll.”
19 Then they told him, “You and Jeremiah must go and hide. Don't let anyone know where you are.”
The King Burns the Scroll
20 The officials put the scroll in the room of Elishama, the court secretary, and went to the king's court, where they reported everything to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll. He took it from the room of Elishama and read it to the king and all the officials who were standing around him. 22 It was winter and the king was sitting in his winter palace in front of the fire. 23 As soon as Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king cut them off with a small knife and threw them into the fire. He kept doing this until the entire scroll was burned up. 24 But neither the king nor any of his officials who heard all this was afraid or showed any sign of sorrow. 25 Although Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, he paid no attention to them. 26 Then he ordered Prince Jerahmeel, together with Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to arrest me and my secretary Baruch. But the Lord had hidden us.
Love
13 I may be able to speak the languages of human beings and even of angels, but if I have no love, my speech is no more than a noisy gong or a clanging bell. 2 (A)I may have the gift of inspired preaching; I may have all knowledge and understand all secrets; I may have all the faith needed to move mountains—but if I have no love, I am nothing. 3 I may give away everything I have, and even give up my body to be burned[a]—but if I have no love, this does me no good.
4 Love is patient and kind; it is not jealous or conceited or proud; 5 love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable; love does not keep a record of wrongs; 6 love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up; and its faith, hope, and patience never fail.
8 Love is eternal. There are inspired messages, but they are temporary; there are gifts of speaking in strange tongues, but they will cease; there is knowledge, but it will pass. 9 For our gifts of knowledge and of inspired messages are only partial; 10 but when what is perfect comes, then what is partial will disappear.
11 When I was a child, my speech, feelings, and thinking were all those of a child; now that I am an adult, I have no more use for childish ways. 12 What we see now is like a dim image in a mirror; then we shall see face-to-face. What I know now is only partial; then it will be complete—as complete as God's knowledge of me.
13 Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.
The Mission of the Twelve(A)
5 These twelve men were sent out by Jesus with the following instructions: “Do not go to any Gentile territory or any Samaritan towns. 6 Instead, you are to go to the lost sheep of the people of Israel. 7 Go and preach, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is near!’ 8 Heal the sick, bring the dead back to life, heal those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases, and drive out demons. You have received without paying, so give without being paid. 9 Do not carry any gold, silver, or copper money in your pockets; 10 (B)do not carry a beggar's bag for the trip or an extra shirt or shoes or a walking stick. Workers should be given what they need.
11 “When you come to a town or village, go in and look for someone who is willing to welcome you, and stay with him until you leave that place. 12 When you go into a house, say, ‘Peace be with you.’ 13 If the people in that house welcome you, let your greeting of peace remain; but if they do not welcome you, then take back your greeting. 14 (C)And if some home or town will not welcome you or listen to you, then leave that place and shake the dust off your feet. 15 (D)I assure you that on the Judgment Day God will show more mercy to the people of Sodom and Gomorrah than to the people of that town!
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.