Book of Common Prayer
(By David.)
Trust the Lord
1 Don't be annoyed by anyone
who does wrong,
and don't envy them.
2 They will soon disappear
like grass without rain.
3 Trust the Lord and live right!
The land will be yours,
and you will be safe.
4 Do what the Lord wants,
and he will give you
your heart's desire.
5 Let the Lord lead you
and trust him to help.
6 Then it will be as clear
as the noonday sun
that you were right.
7 Be patient and trust the Lord.
Don't let it bother you
when all goes well for those
who do sinful things.
8 Don't be angry or furious.
Anger can lead to sin.
9 All sinners will disappear,
but if you trust the Lord,
the land will be yours.
10 Sinners will soon disappear,
never to be found,
11 (A) but the poor will take the land
and enjoy a big harvest.
12 Merciless people make plots
against good people
and snarl like animals,
13 but the Lord laughs and knows
their time is coming soon.
14 The wicked kill with swords
and shoot arrows to murder
the poor and the needy
and all who do right.
15 But they will be killed
by their own swords,
and their arrows
will be broken.
16 It is better to live right
and be poor
than to be sinful and rich.
17 The wicked will lose all
of their power,
but the Lord gives strength
to everyone who is good.
18 Those who obey the Lord
are daily in his care,
and what he has given them
will be theirs forever.
19 They won't be in trouble
when times are bad,
and they will have plenty
when food is scarce.
20 Wicked people are enemies
of the Lord
and will vanish like smoke
from a field on fire.
21 An evil person borrows
and never pays back;
a good person is generous
and never stops giving.
22 Everyone the Lord blesses
will receive the land;
everyone the Lord curses
will be destroyed.
23 If you do what the Lord wants,
he will make certain
each step you take is sure.
24 The Lord will hold your hand,
and if you stumble,
you still won't fall.
25 As long as I can remember,
good people have never
been left helpless,
and their children have never
gone begging for food.
26 They gladly give and lend,
and their children
turn out good.
27 If you stop sinning
and start doing right,
you will keep living
and be secure forever.
28 The Lord loves justice,
and he won't ever desert
his faithful people.
He always protects them,
but destroys the children
of the wicked.
29 God's people will own the land
and live here forever.
30 Words of wisdom come
when good people speak
for justice.
31 They remember God's teachings,
and they never take
a wrong step.
32 The wicked try to trap
and kill good people,
33 but the Lord is on their side,
and he will defend them
when they are on trial.
34 Trust the Lord and follow him.
He will give you the land,
and you will see
the wicked destroyed.
35 I have seen brutal people
abuse others and grow strong
like trees in rich soil.[a]
36 Suddenly they disappeared!
I looked, but they were gone
and no longer there.
37 Think of the bright future
waiting for all the families
of honest, innocent,
and peace-loving people.
38 But not a trace will be left
of the wicked
or their families.
39 The Lord protects his people,
and they can come to him
in times of trouble.
40 The Lord helps his people
and saves them from the wicked
because they run to him.
16 My face is red with tears,
and dark shadows
circle my eyes,
17 though I am not violent,
and my prayers are sincere.
18 If I should die,
I beg the earth not to cover
my cry for justice.
19 (A) Even now, God in heaven
is both my witness
and my protector.
20 My friends have rejected me,
but God is the one I beg[a]
21 to show that I am right,
just as a friend should.
22 Because in only a few years,
I will be dead and gone.
Job Complains to God
My Hopes Have Died
17 My hopes have died,
my time is up,
and the grave is ready.
13 I could tell the world below
to prepare me a bed.
14 Then I could greet the grave
as my father
and say to the worms,
“Hello, mother and sisters!”
15 But what kind of hope is that?
16 Will it keep me company
in the world of the dead?
Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen and Sent
13 The church at Antioch had several prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon, also called Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen, who was Herod's[a] close friend, and Saul. 2 While they were worshiping the Lord and going without eating,[b] the Holy Spirit told them, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have chosen them.” 3 Everyone prayed and went without eating for a while longer. Next, they placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul to show that they had been appointed to do this work. Then everyone sent them on their way.
Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus
4 After Barnabas and Saul had been sent by the Holy Spirit, they went to Seleucia. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus. 5 They arrived at Salamis and began to preach God's message in the synagogues. They also had John[c] as a helper.
6 Barnabas and Saul went all the way to the city of Paphos on the other end of the island, where they met a Jewish man named Bar-Jesus. He practiced witchcraft and was a false prophet. 7 He also worked for Sergius Paulus, who was very smart and was the governor of the island. Sergius Paulus wanted to hear God's message, and he sent for Barnabas and Saul. 8 But Bar-Jesus, whose other name was Elymas, was against them. He even tried to keep the governor from having faith in the Lord.
9 Then Saul, better known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil! You are a liar, a crook, and an enemy of everything that is right. When will you stop speaking against the true ways of the Lord? 11 The Lord is going to punish you by making you completely blind for a while.”
Suddenly the man's eyes were covered by a dark mist, and he went around trying to get someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw what had happened, he was amazed at this teaching about the Lord. So he put his faith in the Lord.
Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus walked along, he saw a man who had been blind since birth. 2 Jesus' disciples asked, “Teacher, why was this man born blind? Was it because he or his parents sinned?”
3 “No, it wasn't!” Jesus answered. “But because of his blindness, you will see God work a miracle for him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do what the one who sent me wants me to do. When night comes, no one can work. 5 (A) While I am in the world, I am the light for the world.”
6 After Jesus said this, he spit on the ground. He made some mud and smeared it on the man's eyes. 7 Then he said, “Go wash off the mud in Siloam Pool.” The man went and washed in Siloam, which means “One Who Is Sent.” When he had washed off the mud, he could see.
8 The man's neighbors and the people who had seen him begging wondered if he really could be the same man. 9 Some of them said he was the same beggar, while others said he only looked like him. But he told them, “I am that man.”
10 “Then how can you see?” they asked.
11 He answered, “Someone named Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. He told me to go and wash it off in Siloam Pool. When I did, I could see.”
12 “Where is he now?” they asked.
“I don't know,” he answered.
The Pharisees Try To Find Out What Happened
13-14 The day when Jesus made the mud and healed the man was a Sabbath. So the people took the man to the Pharisees. 15 They asked him how he was able to see, and he answered, “Jesus made some mud and smeared it on my eyes. Then after I washed it off, I could see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This man Jesus doesn't come from God. If he did, he would not break the law of the Sabbath.”
Others asked, “How could someone who is a sinner work such a miracle?”[a]
Since the Pharisees could not agree among themselves, 17 they asked the man, “What do you say about this one who healed your eyes?”
“He is a prophet!” the man told them.
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