Book of Common Prayer
The two paths[a]
1 If someone does not do what wicked people tell him to do,
if he does not join with sinners,
if he does not meet with those who laugh at God,
God has blessed that person!
2 He is happy when he obeys the Law of the Lord.[b]
He thinks about God's Law during the day and at night.
3 He will become like a tree that grows beside streams of water.
It gives its fruit at the right season.
Its leaves do not fall off.
Everything that person does will have a good result.
4 But wicked people are as empty as chaff.
The wind blows them away.[c]
5 So they will not go free when God judges them.
Sinners cannot join with God's people,
the people who are right with God.[d]
6 The Lord takes care of people who respect him.
But wicked people are living in a way that will take them to a bad end.
The Lord's king rules[e]
2 Why are nations making plans to turn against the Lord?
All their plans will fail!
2 Kings and rulers decide to work together,
to fight against the Lord
and the king that he has chosen.
3 They say, ‘We will not accept their authority over us!
We will get free from their power!’[f]
4 The Lord who sits on his throne in heaven laughs at them.
He says that their plans are useless.
5 Then he becomes very angry and he frightens them.
He warns them with strong words and he says,
6 ‘I have put my king on his throne in Zion.[g]
I have put him on my holy mountain.’
7 I will tell you what the Lord has promised to me, his king.
He said to me, ‘You are my son.
Yes, today I have become your father![h]
8 Ask me and see what I will do!
I will give you all the nations on the earth.
They will all belong to you.
9 You will break them with an iron sceptre,
as if they are clay pots.’
10 So, you kings, think carefully!
You who rule the nations of the world, learn this lesson:
11 Respect the Lord and serve him.
Enjoy his rule with fear!
12 Bend down low in front of his son!
If not, the Lord will be angry.
He will quickly become very angry.
You will suddenly die!
But as for those who serve the Lord as their king,
he blesses them and he takes care of them all.
This is a song that David wrote when he ran away from his son, Absalom.[i]
A morning song
3 Lord, every day I have more enemies.
Many people fight against me.
2 They say about me,
‘God will not save him.’
Selah.
3 But Lord, you are like a shield for me.[j]
You are the one who gives me honour.
You lift my head up high.
4 I called aloud to the Lord.
He answered me from his holy mountain.
Selah.
5 I lie down and I sleep.
Then I wake up, because the Lord takes care of me.
6 Even if 10,000 enemies are all around me to attack me,
I will not be afraid of them.
7 Lord, stand up! My God, save me from my enemies!
Hit all my enemies in the face.
Break the teeth of those bad people.
8 Lord, it is you that saves us.
You bless your people.
Selah.
This is a song that David wrote.
Tell the music leader to use stringed instruments.
An evening song
4 God, please answer me when I call aloud for help.
You are the one who shows that I am right.
Help me in my trouble.
Show me that you are kind.
Listen to me when I pray.
2 Tell me this, you people:
How long will you refuse to respect me?
How long will you love stupid ideas?
How long will you agree with lies?
Selah.
3 The Lord is very kind to those who serve him.
He has chosen them to belong to himself.
So he listens when I pray to him.
4 Shake with fear and stop doing wrong things!
Lie on your bed and think quietly about your life.
Selah.
5 Offer the right sacrifices to the Lord.
Continue to trust in him.
6 Many people say, ‘Will anyone do a good thing for us?’
Lord, let your face smile on us.
7 You have made me very happy.
I am happier than anyone who has lots of food and wine.
8 I will lie down and I will sleep in peace.
You, Lord, are the one who takes care of me,
and you keep me safe.
A song with music that David wrote.
He sang this song to the Lord about Benjamin's descendant, Cush.
God always does what is right[a]
7 Lord, my God, I come to you to keep me safe.
Please save me from all those people who want to catch me.
2 If you do not keep me safe,
my enemies will tear me into pieces.
They will attack me like lions do,
and nobody will be able to save me.
3-5 Lord, my God, if I have done a wrong thing,
then let my enemies chase me and catch me.
If I have done a bad thing against a friend,
let my enemies catch me.
If I have helped a friend's enemy to attack him,
let my enemies catch me!
If I am guilty of any of these things,
let my enemies knock me down to the ground.
They should leave me there,
so that I lie as a dead person in the dirt.
Selah.
6 But Lord, now do something!
Wake up and help me!
Show how angry you are against my enemies.
Punish them in the way that you know is right!
7 Bring together the people of all nations,
to stand in front of you.
Rule over them from high above.
8 You, Lord, judge the people of all nations.
Lord, Most High God, say that I am not guilty.
Truly, I am righteous and honest.
9 Stop wicked people from doing evil things.
Keep your own people safe.
You always do what is right,
and you know how we think and feel.
10 The Most High God is like a shield to keep me safe.
He takes care of good, honest people.
11 God is a judge who is fair.
Every day he is angry against wicked people.
12 If they do not change the way that they live,
God will prepare to punish them.
He will make his sword sharp,
and he will put an arrow in his bow.
13 He will prepare his dangerous weapons.
He is ready to shoot his arrows that burn with fire.
14 Look! Wicked people prepare to do evil things!
They want to cause trouble.
Like a pregnant woman,
what starts inside them comes out into the open!
They give birth to lies that deceive people.
15 Wicked people want to hurt people.
They are digging a deep hole for people to fall into.
But they fall into the hole themselves!
16 The ideas that they have to hurt other people
bring trouble on themselves!
They want to be cruel to other people,
but they themselves receive the pain!
17 So I will thank the Lord
because he does what is right.
The Lord is the Most High God,
so I will sing to praise his name!
Israel's enemies take Daniel and his friends to Babylon
1 King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem with his army. He put his soldiers around the city to attack it. This happened when Jehoiakim had been king of Judah for nearly three years. 2 The Lord God gave Nebuchadnezzar power over King Jehoiakim. Nebuchadnezzar took away some special things that belonged in God's temple in Jerusalem. He took those things back to Babylon. He put them among the valuable things in the temple of his own god.
3 Nebuchadnezzar had an officer who was called Ashpenaz. Ashpenaz had authority over the king's other officers. One day, Nebuchadnezzar said to Ashpenaz, ‘Bring some of the Israelite men to me. Choose some men from the king of Judah's family, and choose some men from the other important Israelite families.’ 4 Nebuchadnezzar wanted young men who were strong and handsome. They must be clever so that they could learn and understand things quickly. They must be good enough to become King Nebuchadnezzar's servants. They would learn the language of Babylon, and they would read its books.
5 Every day, King Nebuchadnezzar sent special food for these men to eat. It was the same food and wine that he had for himself. His officers would teach the young men for three years. After that, the young men would be ready to serve the king.
6 Some of the young men from Judah that Ashpenaz chose were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 7 The king's officer gave new names to them. Daniel was called Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach. Azariah was called Abednego.
Daniel refuses to eat the king's food
8 But Daniel decided that God did not want him to eat the king's food and wine. He knew that it might be against God's rules. So he asked the king's special officer that he might not have to eat the king's food. 9 God had already caused the officer to like Daniel and to be kind to him. 10 But the officer said to Daniel, ‘I am afraid of the king, who is my master. He has chosen the food that he wants you to eat. If you eat different food, you might become weaker than the other young men. If the king sees that, he might kill me!’
11 The officer had chosen a guard to watch Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So Daniel spoke to this man. 12 He said, ‘Please sir, watch us for ten days. Give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 After ten days, see what our faces and our bodies look like. Also see what the other young men who eat the king's food look like. When you look at them and you look at us, you can decide what to do with us.’
14 The guard agreed to what they said. He watched them for ten days. 15 After ten days, their faces seemed more handsome than the young men who ate the king's food. Their bodies also seemed to be fatter. 16 So the guard no longer gave them the king's food and wine to eat. He gave vegetables and water to them instead.
God makes Daniel and his friends wise
17 God helped these four young men to become clever and wise. While they studied, he helped them to learn from many different books. They could understand many things. Daniel could also understand the meaning of all kinds of dreams.
18 King Nebuchadnezzar had said that the young men must study for three years. After that time finished, the king's officer took them to the king. 19 The king spoke with all the young men. He discovered that there was nobody else like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. So they became the king's servants.[a] 20 Whenever the king needed help to understand something important, these men showed how wise they were. They knew ten times more than any of the king's other wise men. Those men used magic or they studied the stars to know what would happen in the future. They came from all the different countries that Nebuchadnezzar ruled.
21 And Daniel lived in Babylon until the year when Cyrus became king.
Jesus is God's message to people
1 We have an important message to tell you. We want to tell you about the person who was already there before the beginning of the world. We have heard him speak. We have seen him with our own eyes. We watched him and we touched him. He is the Word that gives us life with God.[a]
2 He showed himself clearly when he lived on this earth. From long ago he was together with God the Father, and he lives for ever. We saw him and we are telling you what is true. He is the one who has shown himself to us. 3 We also want you to share this new life with us. We share this life with God the Father and Jesus Christ his Son. That is why we are telling you about everything that we have seen and heard. 4 We are writing to you so that together we all may be completely happy.
God is light
5 We are telling you the good news that Jesus Christ told to us. This is the message: God is completely good and clean. He is like light. There is nothing dark about him. 6 Do you say that you share in the life that God gives? If you say that, but if you still live in the dark, you are telling a lie. You are not living in God's true way. 7 But when we live in a right way, it is like living in the light. God is always in the light. So, if we live in the light, we share together in the life which God gives. And when Jesus, the Son of God, died on the cross, he saved us from all our sins. The blood of his sacrifice makes us clean.
8 If we say that we never do any wrong thing, we are deceiving ourselves. Even though we may think it is true, it is a lie. 9 Instead, we should agree that we have done wrong things and tell that to God. Then God will forgive us for our sins. He always does what he has promised to do. He always does what is right. He will forgive us and he will make us clean again, whatever bad things we may have done. 10 God says that all people have done wrong things. So, if we say that we have not done any wrong thing, we are saying that God tells lies. It shows that we have not accepted his message at all.
Jesus prays for himself
17 After Jesus said this, he looked up to heaven. He said, ‘Father, the time has now arrived. Show everyone how great your Son is. So then I, the Son, can show how great you are. 2 You gave me authority over all people. You did this so that I could give people life for ever. Those are the people that you gave to me. 3 What does it mean for people to live with you for ever? It means that they know you, the one who is the only true God. They also know me, Jesus Christ, the one that you have sent. 4 I have shown people here on the earth how great you are. In that way, I have finished the work that you gave to me to do. 5 So, Father, now that I return to you, show people how great I am. Before the world began, I had great glory with you. Show again that I am great like that.’
Jesus prays for his disciples
6 ‘You gave some people to me who were from this world.[a] I have shown them who you are. They were yours and you gave them to me. They have obeyed your message. 7 Everything that I have comes from you. Now they know that you gave me everything. 8 I gave to them the message that you gave to me. They accepted that message. They know certainly that I came from you. They believe that you sent me.
9 I pray for them. I am not praying for the people who belong to this world. No, I am praying for those people that you have given to me. I am praying for them because they are yours. 10 Everything that I have is yours. And everything that you have is mine. These people have shown how great I am. 11 I will not remain in the world any longer. I will return to you now. But they will still be here in the world. Holy Father, please keep them safe in your name. That is the powerful name that you gave to me. Then they can be united in the same way that you and I are united.
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