Book of Common Prayer
Morning Prayer for Justice
Psalm 5
1 For the music director, on the wind instruments, a psalm of David.
2 Hear my words, Adonai,
consider my groaning.
3 Listen to the sound of my cry for help,
my King and my God, for I pray to you.
4 Adonai, in the morning You hear my voice.
In the morning I order my prayer before You and watch expectantly.
5 For You are not a God who rejoices in evil.
No wickedness dwells with you.
6 Braggarts will not stand before your eyes.
You hate all wrongdoers.
7 You destroy those who speak falsehood.
A person of bloodshed and deceit Adonai detests.
8 But because of your great lovingkindness, I will enter Your House.
I will bow toward Your holy Temple, in awe of You.
9 Lead me, Adonai, in Your righteousness, because of my enemies.
Make Your path straight before me.
10 For nothing upright is in their mouth.
Inside them is a ruin—their throat an open grave.
They flatter with their tongue.[a]
11 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own schemes.
Banish them because of their many transgressions—
for they have rebelled against You.
12 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice!
Let them always shout for joy!
You will shelter them and they exult—those who love Your Name.
13 For You bless the righteous, Adonai.
You surround him with favor as a shield.
Prayer for Mercy
Psalm 6
1 For the music director, on the eight-string lyre, a psalm of David.
2 Adonai, do not rebuke me in Your anger!
Do not discipline me in Your wrath.
3 Be gracious to me, Adonai, for I am weak.
Heal me, Adonai—for my bones are shuddering with fear,
4 as is my soul—
and You, Adonai—how long?
5 Turn toward me, Adonai, deliver my soul!
Save me—because of Your mercy.
6 For there is no memory of You in death,
in Sheol who will praise You?
7 I am worn out with my groaning.
Every night I make my bed swim,
drenching my pillow with my tears.
8 My eyes are weakened with grief—
they age because of my enemies.
9 Away from me, all you evildoers!
For Adonai heard the sound of my weeping.
10 Adonai has heard my cry for mercy.
Adonai accepts my prayer:
11 “May all my enemies be ashamed, and stricken with terror.
May they turn back in sudden disgrace.”
Freedom from Terror
Psalm 10
1 Why, Adonai, are You standing far off?
Why hide Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In pride the wicked hotly hunts the poor.
Let them be caught in the plots they have planned.
3 For the wicked one boasts about his soul’s desire.
The greedy one curses, reviling Adonai.
4 The wicked one, with his nose in the air, never seeks Him.
All his thoughts are: “There is no God.”
5 His ways are secure at all times.
He haughtily disregards Your judgments.
He snorts at all his adversaries.
6 He says in his heart: “I’ll never be shaken!
From generation to generation nothing bad will happen.”
7 His mouth is full of cursing, lies and oppression.
On his tongue are trouble and iniquity.[a]
8 He lies in ambush near villages.
In hidden places he slays the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for the helpless.
9 He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless.
He catches the unfortunate one, dragging him away in his net.
10 The victim is crushed, brought down,
and falls into his mighty claws.
11 He says in his heart: “God has forgotten.
He hides His face—He will never see it.”
12 Arise, Adonai! O God, lift up Your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked one revile God?
He says in his heart:
“You will never require anything.”
14 You saw—for You see trouble and grief,
to take it in Your hand.
The victim puts his trust in You—
You are the helper of the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil one!
Call him to account for his wickedness—
until no more is found.
16 Adonai is King forever and ever!
Nations will be wiped off His land.
17 You hear, Adonai, the desire of the meek.
You encourage them and incline Your ear.
18 You vindicate the orphan and oppressed,
so that man, who is earthly, may terrify no more.
Judgment from Heaven
Psalm 11
1 For the music director, a psalm of David.
In Adonai I have taken shelter.
How can you say to my soul:
“Fly like a bird to your mountain?
2 For look, the wicked bend the bow.
They fix their arrow on the bowstring
so they can shoot from the shadows
at those who are upright in heart.
3 If our foundations are destroyed,
what should the righteous do?”
4 Adonai is in His holy Temple.
Adonai’s throne is in heaven.[b]
His eyes are watching.
His eyelids observe the children of men.
5 Adonai examines the righteous.
But the wicked and one loving violence His soul hates.
6 On the wicked He will rain down fire, brimstone
and scorching wind as the portion of their cup!
7 For Adonai is righteous—He loves justice.
The upright will see His face.
3 But the serpent was shrewder than any animal of the field that Adonai Elohim made. So it said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from all the trees of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “Of the fruit of the trees, we may eat. 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat of it and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You most assuredly won’t die! 5 For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 Now the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a thing of lust for the eyes, and that the tree was desirable for imparting wisdom. So she took of its fruit and she ate. She also gave to her husband who was with her and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made for themselves loin-coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of Adonai Elohim going to and fro in the garden in the wind of the day. So the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Adonai Elohim in the midst of the Tree of the garden.
9 Then Adonai Elohim called to the man and He said to him, “Where are you?”
10 Then he said, “Your sound—I heard it in the garden and I was afraid. Because I am naked, I hid myself.”
11 Then He said, “Who told you that you are naked? Have you eaten from the Tree from which I commanded you not to eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me—she gave me of the Tree, and I ate.”
13 Adonai Elohim said to the woman, “What did you do?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.”
14 Adonai Elohim said to the serpent, “Because you did this,
Cursed are you above all the livestock
and above every animal of the field.
On your belly will you go,
and dust will you eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put animosity
between you and the woman—
between your seed and her seed.
He will crush your head,
and you will crush his heel.[a]
16 To the woman He said,
“I will greatly increase your pain from conception to labor.
In pain will you give birth to children.
Your desire will be toward your husband,
yet he must rule over you.”
17 Then to the man He said, “Because you listened to your wife’s voice and ate of the tree which I commanded you, saying, ‘You must not eat of it’:
Cursed is the ground because of you—
with pain will you eat of it all the days of your life.
18 Thorns and thistles will sprout for you.
You will eat the plants of the field,
19 By the sweat of your brow will you eat food,
until you return to the ground,
since from it were you taken.
For you are dust,
and to dust will you return.”
20 Now Adam named his wife Eve because she was the mother of all the living. 21 Adonai Elohim made Adam and his wife tunics of skin and He clothed them. 22 Then Adonai Elohim said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. So now, in case he stretches out his hand and takes also from the Tree of Life and eats and lives forever,” 23 Adonai Elohim sent him away from the Garden of Eden, to work the ground from which he had been taken. 24 And He expelled the man; and at the east of the Garden of Eden He had cheruvim dwell along, with the whirling sword of flame, to guard the way to the Tree of Life.
Warning Not to Drift Away
2 For this reason it is necessary for us to pay especially close attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved to be firm, and every violation and disobedience received a just payback, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? It was first spoken through the Lord and confirmed to us by those who heard. 4 At the same time, God was testifying by signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, according to His will.
Yeshua Greater than Angels
5 For it is not to angels that God has subjected the olam ha-ba—about which we speak. 6 But somewhere someone has testified, saying,
“What is man, that You are mindful of him,
or the son of man, that You care for him?
7 For a little while, You made him
lower than the angels.
You crowned him with glory and honor.
8 You put all things in subjection
underneath his feet.”[a]
For when He put all things in subjection to him, He left nothing outside his control. But for now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. 9 But we see One who was made for a little while lower than the angels—namely, Yeshua. He is now crowned with glory and honor, because of the death He suffered so that, by the grace of God, He might taste death for everyone.
10 For it was fitting for God—for whom and through whom all things exist—in leading many sons to glory, to perfect through sufferings the initiator of their salvation.
John’s Witness to Israel’s Leaders
19 This is John’s testimony, when the Judean leaders sent kohanim and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?”
20 He openly admitted and did not deny; he admitted, “I am not the Messiah.”
21 “What then? Are you Elijah?” they asked him.
“I am not,” said John.
“Are you the Prophet?”
“No,” he answered.
22 So they said to him, “Who are you? Give us an answer for those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?”
23 He said, “I am ‘the voice of one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of Adonai,”’[a] as the prophet Isaiah said.”
24 Now those sent were from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, “If you’re not the Messiah, Elijah, or the Prophet, why then are you immersing?”
26 “I immerse in water,” John answered. “Among you stands One you do not know, 27 coming after me, whose sandals I’m not worthy to untie.” 28 These things happened in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was immersing.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.