Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
For the choir director; according to yonath elem rechokim;[a] a miktam by David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
1 Have pity on me, O Elohim, because people are harassing me.
All day long warriors oppress me.
2 All day long my enemies spy on me.
They harass me.
There are so many fighting against me.
3 Even when I am afraid, I still trust you.
4 I praise the word of Elohim.
I trust Elohim.
I am not afraid.
What can mere flesh and blood do to me?
5 All day long my enemies twist my words.
Their every thought is an evil plan against me.
6 They attack, and then they hide.
They watch my every step as they wait to take my life.
7 With the wrong they do, can they escape?
O Elohim, angrily make the nations fall.
8 (You have kept a record of my wanderings.
Put my tears in your bottle.
They are already in your book.)
9 Then my enemies will retreat when I call to you.
This I know: Elohim is on my side.
10 I praise the word of Elohim.
I praise the word of Yahweh.
11 I trust Elohim.
I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
12 I am bound by my vows to you, O Elohim.
I will keep my vows by offering songs of thanksgiving to you.
13 You have rescued me from death.
You have kept my feet from stumbling
so that I could walk in Elohim’s presence, in the light of life.
Psalm 57
For the choir director; al tashcheth;[b] a miktam by David when he fled from Saul into the cave.
1 Have pity on me, O Elohim. Have pity on me,
because my soul takes refuge in you.
I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings
until destructive storms pass by.
2 I call to Elohim Elyon,
to El who does everything for me.
3 He sends his help from heaven and saves me.
He disgraces the one who is harassing me. Selah
Elohim sends his mercy and his truth!
4 My soul is surrounded by lions.
I must lie down with man-eating lions.
Their teeth are spears and arrows.
Their tongues are sharp swords.
5 May you be honored above the heavens, O Elohim.
Let your glory extend over the whole earth.
6 My enemies spread out a net to catch me.
(My soul is bowed down.)[c]
They dug a pit to trap me,
but then they fell into it. Selah
7 My heart is confident, O Elohim.
My heart is confident.
I want to sing and make music.[d]
8 Wake up, my soul![e]
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I want to wake up at dawn.
9 I want to give thanks to you among the people, O Adonay.
I want to make music to praise you among the nations
10 because your mercy is as high as the heavens.
Your truth reaches the skies.
11 May you be honored above the heavens, O Elohim.
Let your glory extend over the whole earth.
Psalm 58
For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David.
1 Do you rulers really give fair verdicts?
Do you judge Adam’s descendants fairly?
2 No, you invent new crimes on earth,
and your hands spread violence.
3 Even inside the womb wicked people are strangers to God.
From their birth liars go astray.
4 They have poisonous venom like snakes.
They are like a deaf cobra that shuts its ears
5 so that it cannot hear the voice of a snake charmer
or of anyone trained to cast spells.
6 O Elohim, knock the teeth out of their mouths.
Break the young lions’ teeth, O Yahweh.
7 Let them disappear like water that drains away.
When they aim their bows, let their arrows miss the target.[f]
8 Let them become like a snail that leaves behind a slimy trail
or like a stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Let God sweep them away
faster than a cooking pot is heated by burning twigs.[g]
10 Righteous people will rejoice when they see God take revenge.
They will wash their feet in the blood of wicked people.
11 Then people will say,
“Righteous people certainly have a reward.
There is an Elohim who judges on earth.”
Psalm 64
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 Hear my voice, O Elohim, when I complain.
Protect my life from a terrifying enemy.
2 Hide me from the secret plots of criminals,
from the mob of troublemakers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords.
They aim bitter words like arrows
4 to shoot at innocent people from their hiding places.
They shoot at them suddenly, without any fear.
5 They encourage one another in their evil plans.
They talk about setting traps and say,
“Who can see them?”
6 They search for the perfect crime and say,
“We have perfected a foolproof scheme!”
Human nature and the human heart are a mystery!
7 But Elohim will shoot them with an arrow.
Suddenly, they will be struck dead.
8 They will trip over their own tongues.
Everyone who sees them will shake his head.
9 Everyone will be afraid and conclude,
“This is an act of Elohim!”
They will learn from what he has done.
10 Righteous people will find joy in Yahweh and take refuge in him.
Everyone whose motives are decent will be able to brag.
Psalm 65
For the choir director; a psalm by David; a song.
1 You are praised with silence in Zion, O Elohim,
and vows made to you must be kept.
2 You are the one who hears prayers.
Everyone will come to you.
3 Various sins overwhelm me.
You are the one who forgives our rebellious acts.
4 Blessed is the person you choose
and invite to live with you in your courtyards.
We will be filled with good food from your house,
from your holy temple.
5 You answer us with awe-inspiring acts done in righteousness,
O Elohim, our savior,
the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the most distant sea,
6 the one who set the mountains in place with his strength,
the one who is clothed with power,
7 the one who calms the roar of the seas,
their crashing waves,
and the uproar of the nations.
8 Those who live at the ends of the earth are in awe of your miraculous signs.
The lands of the morning sunrise and evening sunset sing joyfully.
9 You take care of the earth, and you water it.
You make it much richer than it was.
(The river of Elohim is filled with water.)
You provide grain for them.
Indeed, you even prepare the ground.
10 You drench plowed fields with rain
and level their clumps of soil.
You soften them with showers
and bless what grows in them.
11 You crown the year with your goodness,
and richness overflows wherever you are.
12 The pastures in the desert overflow with richness.
The hills are surrounded with joy.
13 The pastures are covered with flocks.
The valleys are carpeted with grain.
All of them shout triumphantly. Indeed, they sing.
Wake Up, Jerusalem
17 Wake up! Wake up!
Stand up, Jerusalem!
You drank from the cup in Yahweh’s hand.
That cup was filled with his anger.
You drank from the bowl, the cup that makes people stagger,
and you drained it!
18 From all the children she gave birth to,
there was no one to guide her.
From all the children she raised,
there was no one to take her by the hand.
19 Twice as many disasters have happened to you.
Who will feel sorry for you?
Violence, destruction, famine, and war have happened to you.
Who will comfort you?
20 Your children have fainted.
They lie sleeping at every street corner.
They are like an antelope caught in a net.
They experience the anger of Yahweh,
the fury of your Elohim.
21 Listen to this, you humble people
who are drunk but not from wine.
22 Yahweh your Elohim defends his people.
This is what your Adonay says:
I’m taking from your hand the cup that makes people stagger,
the bowl, the cup of my fury.
You will never drink from it again.
23 I will put it in the hands of those who made you suffer.
They said to you, “Lie down so that we can walk over you.”
So you made your back like the ground
and like a street for them to cross.
You Are God’s Children
4 Let me explain further. As long as an heir is a child, he is no better off than a slave, even though he owns everything. 2 He is placed under the control of guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. 3 It was the same way with us. When we were children, we were slaves to the principles of this world. 4 But when the right time came, God sent his Son into the world. A woman gave birth to him, and he came under the control of the laws given to Moses. 5 God sent him to pay for the freedom of those who were controlled by these laws so that we would be adopted as his children. 6 Because you are God’s children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into us to call out, “Abba![a] Father!” 7 So you are no longer slaves but God’s children. Since you are God’s children, God has also made you heirs.
8 When you didn’t know God, you were slaves to things which are really not gods at all. 9 But now you know God, or rather, God knows you. So how can you turn back again to the powerless and bankrupt principles of this world? Why do you want to become their slaves all over again? 10 You religiously observe days, months, seasons, and years! 11 I’m afraid for you. Maybe the hard work I spent on you has been wasted.
The Faith of a Greek Woman(A)
24 Yeshua left that place and went to the territory of Tyre. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was staying in a house there. However, it couldn’t be kept a secret.
25 A woman whose little daughter had an evil spirit heard about Yeshua. She went to him and bowed down. 26 The woman happened to be Greek, born in Phoenicia in Syria. She asked him to force the demon out of her daughter.
27 Yeshua said to her, “First, let the children eat all they want. It’s not right to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.”
28 She answered him, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat some of the children’s scraps.”
29 Yeshua said to her, “Because you have said this, go! The demon has left your daughter.”
30 The woman went home and found the little child lying on her bed, and the demon was gone.
Jesus Cures a Deaf Man
31 Yeshua then left the neighborhood of Tyre. He went through Sidon and the territory of the Ten Cities[a] to the Sea of Galilee.
32 Some people brought to him a man who was deaf and who also had a speech defect. They begged Yeshua to lay his hand on him. 33 Yeshua took him away from the crowd to be alone with him. He put his fingers into the man’s ears, and after spitting, he touched the man’s tongue. 34 Then he looked up to heaven, sighed, and said to the man, “Ephphatha!” which means, “Be opened!” 35 At once the man could hear and talk normally.
36 Yeshua ordered the people not to tell anyone. But the more he ordered them, the more they spread the news. 37 Yeshua completely amazed the people. They said, “He has done everything well. He makes the deaf hear and the mute talk.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.