Book of Common Prayer
To the director: A song of David.
31 Lord, I come to you for protection.
Don’t let me be disappointed.
You always do what is right, so save me.
2 Listen to me.
Come quickly and save me.
Be my Rock, my place of safety.
Be my fortress and protect me!
3 Yes, you are my Rock and my protection.
For the good of your name, lead me and guide me.
4 Save me from the traps my enemy has set.
You are my place of safety.
5 Lord, you are the God we can trust.
I put my life[a] in your hands.
Save me!
6 I hate those who worship false gods.
I trust only in the Lord.
7 Your kindness makes me so happy.
You have seen my suffering.
You know about the troubles I have.
8 You will not let my enemies take me.
You will free me from their traps.
9 Lord, I have many troubles, so be kind to me.
I have cried until my eyes hurt.
My throat and stomach are aching.
10 Because of my sin, my life is ending in grief;
my years are passing away in sighs of pain.
My life is ending in weakness.
My strength is draining away.
11 My enemies despise me,
and even my neighbors have turned away.
When my friends see me in the street,
they turn the other way.
They are afraid to be around me.
12 People want to forget me like someone already dead,
thrown away like a broken dish.
13 I hear them whispering about me.
They have turned against me and plan to kill me.
14 Lord, I trust in you.
You are my God.
15 My life is in your hands.
Save me from those who are persecuting me.
16 Please welcome and accept your servant.[b]
Be kind to me and save me.
17 Lord, I am praying to you.
Don’t let me be disappointed.
The wicked are the ones who should be disappointed.
Let them go to the grave in silence.
18 Those evil people brag
and tell lies about those who do right.
They are so proud now,
but their lying lips will be silent.
19 Lord, you have hidden away many wonderful things for your followers.
You have done so many good things for those who trust in you.
You have blessed them so that all the world can see.
20 Others make plans to hurt them.
They say such bad things about them.
But you hide your people in your shelter and protect them.
21 Praise the Lord, because he showed me how wonderful his faithful love is
when the city was surrounded by enemies.
22 I was afraid and said, “I am in a place where he cannot see me.”
But I prayed to you, and you heard my loud cries for help.
23 Love the Lord, all of you who are his loyal followers.
The Lord protects those who are loyal to him.
But he punishes those who brag about their own power.
He gives them all the punishment they deserve.
24 Be strong and brave,
all of you who are waiting for the Lord’s help.
A song of David.
35 Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight those who fight me.
2 Pick up your shields, large and small.
Get up and help me!
3 Take a spear and javelin
and fight those who are chasing me.
Tell me, “I will rescue you.”
4 Some people are trying to kill me.
Disappoint them and make them ashamed.
Make them turn and run away.
They are planning to hurt me.
Defeat and embarrass them.
5 Make them like chaff blown by the wind.[a]
Let them be chased by the Lord’s angel.
6 Make their road dark and slippery.
Let the Lord’s angel chase them.
7 I did nothing wrong, but they tried to trap me.
For no reason at all, they dug a pit to catch me.
8 So let them fall into their own traps.
Let them stumble into their own nets.
Let some unknown danger catch them.
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord.
I will be happy when he saves me.
10 With my whole self I will say,
“Lord, there is no one like you.
You protect the poor from those who are stronger.
You save the poor and helpless from those who try to rob them.”
11 There are witnesses[b] trying to harm me.
They ask me questions that I know nothing about.
12 They pay me back evil for the good I have done.
They make me so very sad.
13 When they were sick, I was sad and wore sackcloth.
I went without eating to show my sorrow.
(May my prayers for them not be answered!)
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or a brother.
I bowed low with sadness, crying as I would for my own mother.
15 But when I had troubles, they laughed at me.
They were not really friends.
I was surrounded and attacked
by people I didn’t even know.
16 They made fun of me, using the worst language.
They ground their teeth to show their anger.
17 My Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
Save my life from these people
who are attacking me like lions and trying to destroy me.
18 I will praise you in the great assembly.
I will praise you there among the crowds.
19 Don’t let my lying enemies keep on laughing at me.
They have no reason to hate me.
Surely they will be punished for their secret plans.[c]
20 They have no friendly words for others,
but plan ways to hurt those who want to live in peace.
21 They are telling lies about me.
They say, “Aha! We know what you did!”
22 Lord, surely you can see what is happening.
So don’t keep quiet.
Lord, don’t leave me.
23 Wake up! Get up!
My God and my Lord, fight for me, and bring me justice.
24 Lord my God, judge me with your fairness.
Don’t let those people laugh at me.
25 Don’t let them think, “Aha! We got what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We destroyed him!”
26 Let my enemies be ashamed and embarrassed—
all those who were happy about my troubles.
Proud of themselves, they treated me as worthless.
So let them be covered with shame and disgrace.
27 To those who want the best for me,
I wish them joy and happiness.
May they always say, “Praise the Lord,
who wants what is best for his servant.”
28 So, Lord, I will tell people how good you are.
I will praise you all day long.
Rebuilding the Altar
3 So by the seventh month,[a] the Israelites had moved back to their own hometowns. At that time all the people met together in Jerusalem. They were all united as one people. 2 Then Jeshua son of Jozadak and the priests with him, along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and the people with him, built the altar of the God of Israel. They built the altar of the God of Israel so that they could offer sacrifices on it. They built it just as it says in the Law of Moses. Moses was God’s special servant.
3 They were afraid of the other people living near them, but that didn’t stop them. They built the altar on its old foundation and offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord. They offered sacrifices in the morning and in the evening. 4 Then they celebrated the Festival of Shelters just as the Law of Moses said. They offered the right number of burnt offerings for each day of the festival. 5 After that they began offering the continual burnt offerings each day and the offerings for the New Moon and all the other festivals that were commanded by the Lord. The people also began giving any other gifts they wanted to give to the Lord. 6 So on the first day of the seventh month, these Israelites again began offering sacrifices to the Lord. This was done, even though the Lord’s Temple had not been rebuilt.
Rebuilding the Temple
7 Then those who had come back from captivity gave money to the stonecutters and carpenters. They also gave food, wine, and olive oil. They used these things to pay the people of Tyre and Sidon to bring cedar logs from Lebanon. They wanted to bring the logs in ships to the seacoast town of Joppa as they did for the first Temple. King Cyrus of Persia gave permission for them to do this.
8 So in the second month[b] of the second year after they came to the Temple in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and Jeshua son of Jozadak began the work. Their brothers, the priests, Levites, and everyone who came back to Jerusalem from captivity began working with them. They chose Levites who were 20 years old and older to be the leaders in the building of the Lord’s Temple. 9 These were the men who supervised the work of building the Lord’s Temple: Jeshua and his sons, Kadmiel and his sons (the descendants of Judah), the sons of Henadad and their brothers, the Levites. 10 The builders finished laying the foundation for the Lord’s Temple. When the foundation was finished, the priests put on their special clothing. Then they got their trumpets, and the sons of Asaph got their cymbals. They all took their places to praise the Lord. This was done the way King David of Israel had ordered in the past. 11 They sang songs of praise and thanksgiving, taking turns in singing each part.[c] They sang,
“The Lord is good.
His faithful love will last forever.”
Then all the people cheered—they gave a loud shout and praised the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid.
12 But many of the older priests, Levites, and family leaders, who could remember seeing the first Temple, began to cry aloud. They cried while the others there shouted for joy. 13 The sound could be heard far away. All of them made so much noise that no one could tell the difference between the shouts of joy and the crying.
10 Timothy might come to you. Try to make him feel comfortable with you. He is working for the Lord the same as I am. 11 So none of you should refuse to accept Timothy. Help him continue on his trip in peace so that he can come back to me. I am expecting him to come back with the other brothers.
12 Now about our brother Apollos: I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers. He prefers not to come now, but he will come when he has the opportunity.
Paul Ends His Letter
13 Be careful. Hold firmly to your faith. Have courage and be strong. 14 Do everything in love.
15 You know that Stephanas and his family were the first believers in Achaia. They have given themselves to the service of God’s people. I ask you, brothers and sisters, 16 to follow the leading of people like these and others who work hard and serve together with them.
17 I am happy that Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus have come. You are not here, but they have filled your place. 18 They have been a great encouragement to me and to you as well. You should recognize the value of such people.
19 The churches in Asia send you their greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you in the Lord. Also the church that meets in their house sends greetings. 20 All the brothers and sisters here send their greetings. Give each other the special greeting of God’s people.[a]
21 Here’s my greeting in my own handwriting— Paul.
22 If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be separated from God—lost forever!
Come, O Lord![b]
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.
Jesus’ Power Is From God(A)
22 Then some people brought a man to Jesus. This man was blind and could not talk, because he had a demon inside him. Jesus healed the man, and he could talk and see. 23 All the people were amazed at what Jesus did. They said, “Maybe he is the promised Son of David!”
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man uses the power of Satan[a] to force demons out of people. Satan is the ruler of demons.”
25 Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking. So he said to them, “Every kingdom that fights against itself will be destroyed. And every city or family that is divided against itself will not survive. 26 So if Satan forces out his own demons,[b] then he is fighting against himself, and his kingdom will not survive. 27 You say that I use the power of Satan to force out demons. If that is true, then what power do your people use when they force out demons? So your own people will prove that you are wrong. 28 But I use the power of God’s Spirit to force out demons, and this shows that God’s kingdom has come to you. 29 Whoever wants to enter a strong man’s house and steal his things must first tie him up. Then they can steal the things from his house. 30 Whoever is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not work with me is working against me.
31 “So I tell you, people can be forgiven for every sinful thing they do and for every bad thing they say against God. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 You can even speak against the Son of Man and be forgiven. But anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven—not now or in the future.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International