Book of Common Prayer
BOOK ONE
(Psalms 1–41)
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the person who does not
follow the advice of wicked people,
take the path of sinners,
or join the company of mockers.
2 Rather, he delights in the teachings of Yahweh
and reflects on his teachings day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted beside streams—
a tree that produces fruit in season
and whose leaves do not wither.
He succeeds in everything he does.[a]
4 Wicked people are not like that.
Instead, they are like husks that the wind blows away.
5 That is why wicked people will not be able to stand in the judgment
and sinners will not be able to stand where righteous people gather.
6 Yahweh knows the way of righteous people,
but the way of wicked people will end.
Psalm 2
1 Why do the nations gather together?
Why do their people devise useless plots?
2 Kings take their stands.
Rulers make plans together
against Yahweh and against his Mashiach[b] by saying,
3 “Let’s break apart their chains
and shake off their ropes.”
4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs.
Adonay makes fun of them.
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger.
In his burning anger he terrifies them by saying,
6 “I have installed my own king on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will announce Yahweh’s decree.
He said to me:
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.
8 Ask me, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance
and the ends of the earth as your own possession.
9 You will break them with an iron scepter.
You will smash them to pieces like pottery.”
10 Now, you kings, act wisely.
Be warned, you rulers of the earth!
11 Serve Yahweh with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, or he will become angry
and you will die on your way
because his anger will burst into flames.
Blessed is everyone who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 3
A psalm by David when he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Yahweh, look how my enemies have increased!
Many are attacking me.
2 Many are saying about me,
“Even with Elohim on his side,
he won’t be victorious.” Selah
3 But you, O Yahweh, are a Magen that surrounds me.
You are my glory.
You hold my head high.
4 I call aloud to Yahweh,
and he answers me from his holy mountain. Selah
5 I lie down and sleep.
I wake up again because Yahweh continues to support me.
6 I am not afraid of the tens of thousands
who have taken positions against me on all sides.
7 Arise, O Yahweh!
Save me, O my Elohim!
You have slapped all my enemies in the face.
You have smashed the teeth of wicked people.
8 Victory belongs to Yahweh!
May your blessing rest on your people. Selah
Psalm 4
For the choir director; with stringed instruments; a psalm by David.
1 Answer me when I call, O Elohim of my righteousness.
You have freed me from my troubles.
Have pity on me, and hear my prayer!
2 You important people,
how long are you going to insult my honor?
How long are you going to love what is empty
and seek what is a lie? Selah
3 Know that Yahweh singles out godly people for himself.
Yahweh hears me when I call to him.
4 Tremble and do not sin.
Think about this on your bed and remain quiet. Selah
5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness
by trusting Yahweh.
6 Many are saying, “Who can show us anything good?”
Let the light of your presence shine on us, O Yahweh.
7 You put more joy in my heart
than when their grain and new wine increase.
8 I fall asleep in peace the moment I lie down
because you alone, O Yahweh, enable me to live securely.
Psalm 7
A shiggaion[a] by David; he sang it to Yahweh about the slanderous words of Cush, a descendant of Benjamin.
1 O Yahweh my Elohim, I have taken refuge in you.
Save me, and rescue me from all who are pursuing me.
2 Like a lion they will tear me to pieces
and drag me off with no one to rescue me.
3 O Yahweh my Elohim,
if I have done this—
if my hands are stained with injustice,
4 if I have paid back my friend with evil
or rescued someone who has no reason to attack me—[b]
5 then let the enemy chase me and catch me.
Let him trample my life into the ground.
Let him lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Arise in anger, O Yahweh.
Stand up against the fury of my attackers.
Wake up, my God.[c]
You have already pronounced judgment.
7 Let an assembly of people gather around you.
Take your seat high above them.
8 Yahweh judges the people of the world.
Judge me, O Yahweh,
according to my righteousness,
according to my integrity.
9 Let the evil within wicked people come to an end,
but make the righteous person secure,
O righteous Elohim who examines thoughts and emotions.
10 My Magen is Elohim above,
who saves those whose motives are decent.
11 Elohim is a fair Shophet,
an El who is angered by injustice every day.
12 If a person does not change, Elohim sharpens his sword.
By bending his bow, he makes it ready to shoot.
13 He prepares his deadly weapons
and turns them into flaming arrows.
14 See how that person conceives evil,
is pregnant with harm,
and gives birth to lies.
15 He digs a pit and shovels it out.
Then he falls into the hole that he made for others.
16 His mischief lands back on his own head.
His violence comes down on top of him.
17 I will give thanks to Yahweh for his righteousness.
I will make music to praise the name of Yahweh Elyon.
God Gives Strength to Those Who Depend on Him
12 Who has measured the water of the sea[a] with the palm of his hand
or measured the sky with the length of his hand?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a bushel basket
or weighed the mountains on a scale and the hills on a balance?
13 Who has directed the Ruach Yahweh
or instructed him as his adviser?
14 Whom did he consult?
Who gave him understanding?
Who taught him the right way?
Who taught him knowledge?
Who informed him about the way to understanding?
15 The nations are like a drop in a bucket
and are considered to be like dust on a scale.
The weight of the islands is like fine dust.
16 All the trees in Lebanon are not enough to burn an offering.
Its wild animals are not enough for a single burnt offering.
17 All the nations amount to nothing in his presence.
He considers them less than nothing and worthless.
18 To whom, then, can you compare El?
To what statue can you compare him?
19 Craftsmen make idols.
Goldsmiths cover them with gold.
Silversmiths make silver chains for them.
20 The poorest people choose wood that will not rot
and search out skillful craftsmen
to set up idols that will not fall over.
21 Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
Haven’t you been told from the beginning?
Don’t you understand the foundations of the earth?
22 God is enthroned above the earth,
and those who live on it are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the sky like a canopy
and spreads it out like a tent to live in.
23 He makes rulers unimportant
and makes earthly judges worth nothing.
Greeting
1 From Paul, an apostle of Christ Yeshua by God’s will.
To God’s holy and faithful people who are united with Christ in the city of Ephesus.[a]
2 Good will[b] and peace from God our Father and the Lord Yeshua Christ are yours!
God Chose Us Through Christ
3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Yeshua Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. 4 Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. 5 Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Yeshua Christ. He freely chose to do this 6 so that the kindness[c] he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.
7 Through the blood of his Son, we are set free from our sins. God forgives our failures because of his overflowing kindness. 8 He poured out his kindness by giving us every kind of wisdom and insight 9 when he revealed the mystery of his plan to us. He had decided to do this through Christ. 10 He planned to bring all of history to its goal in Christ. Then Christ would be the head of everything in heaven and on earth. 11 God also decided ahead of time to choose us through Christ according to his plan, which makes everything work the way he intends. 12 He planned all of this so that we who had already focused our hope on Christ would praise him and give him glory.
13 You heard and believed the message of truth, the Good News that he has saved you. In him you were sealed with the Holy Spirit whom he promised. 14 This Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive our inheritance. We have this guarantee until we are set free to belong to him. God receives praise and glory for this.
John Prepares the Way(A)
1 This is the beginning of the Good News about Yeshua Christ, the Son of God.
2 The prophet Isaiah wrote,
“I am sending my messenger ahead of you
to prepare the way for you.”
3 “A voice cries out in the desert:
‘Prepare the way for the Lord!
Make his paths straight!’”
4 John the Baptizer was in the desert telling people about a baptism of repentance[a] for the forgiveness of sins. 5 All Judea and all the people of Jerusalem went to him. As they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River.
6 John was dressed in clothes made from camel’s hair. He wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.
7 He announced, “The one who comes after me is more powerful than I. I am not worthy to bend down and untie his sandal straps. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
John Baptizes Jesus(B)
9 At that time Yeshua came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10 As Yeshua came out of the water, he saw heaven split open and the Spirit coming down to him as a dove. 11 A voice from heaven said, “You are my Son, whom I love. I am pleased with you.”
Satan Tempts Jesus(C)
12 At once the Spirit brought him into the desert, 13 where he was tempted by Satan for 40 days. He was there with the wild animals, and the angels took care of him.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.