Book of Common Prayer
A Powerful King for the Poor
Psalm 72
1 Of Solomon.
Give the king Your judgments, O God,
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 May he judge Your people with righteousness,
and Your poor ones with justice.
3 Let the mountains bring shalom to the people,
and the hills righteousness.
4 May he vindicate the poor of the people,
save the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5 Let them fear You while the sun endures,
and while the moon lasts, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the ground.
7 Let the righteous flourish in his days.
Let shalom abound till the moon is no more.
8 May he have dominion from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let desert dwellers bow before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10 May kings of Tarshish and the islands bring tribute,
kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
11 So let all kings bow down before him,
and all nations serve him.
12 For he rescues the needy crying for help,
also the poor and the one with no helper.
13 He will take pity on the poor and needy,
and the souls of the needy he will save.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their soul,
for precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May he pray for him continually,
and bless him all day.
16 Let there be abundance of grain in the land.
Let it sway on the top of the hills,
let its fruit be like Lebanon,
and let people of the city flourish like grass of the field.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name increase before the sun,
and may all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.
18 Blessed be Adonai Elohim, God of Israel,
who alone does wonders.
19 Blessed be His glorious Name forever.
May all the earth be filled with His glory!
Amen and Amen!
20 The prayers of David son of Jesse are complete.
The Beginning of Wisdom
Psalm 111
1 Halleluyah! I praise Adonai with all my heart
in the company and congregation of the upright.
2 Great are the works of Adonai—
searched out by all who delight in them.
3 Glorious and majestic is His work,
and His righteousness endures forever.
4 He made His wonders memorable.
Adonai is gracious and full of compassion.
5 He gives food to those who fear Him.
He remembers His covenant forever.
6 He shows His people His powerful deeds,
giving them the heritage of the nations.
7 The works of His hands are truth and justice.
All His precepts are trustworthy—
8 they are upheld forever and ever,
made in truth and uprightness.
9 He has sent redemption to His people.
He has ordained His covenant forever.
Holy and awesome is His Name.
10 The fear of Adonai is the beginning of wisdom.
All who follow His precepts have good understanding.
His praise endures forever!
From the Rising of the Sun
Psalm 113
1 Halleluyah! Praise, O servants of Adonai,
praise the Name of Adonai.
2 Blessed be the Name of Adonai
from now and forever.
3 From the rising of the sun to its going down
the Name of Adonai is to be praised.
4 Adonai is high above all nations,
His glory is above the heavens.
5 Who is like Adonai our God,
enthroned on high,
6 who brings Himself down to look
upon heaven and upon earth?
7 He raises the poor from the dust,
lifts up the needy out of the dunghill,
8 to seat him with princes,
with the princes of His people.
9 He settles the barren woman in her home
as a joyful mother of children.
Halleluyah!
9 To whom will He teach knowledge?
To whom will He explain the message?
Those just weaned from milk?
Those just taken from the breast?
10 For it must be ‘precept upon precept,
precept upon precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.’
11 For through stammering lips and a foreign tongue
He will speak to this people,
12 To whom He said,
“Here is rest, give rest to the weary,
here is repose”—but they would not listen.
13 So the word of Adonai is to them
‘precept on precept, precept on precept,
line upon line, line upon line,
here a little, there a little.’
So they walk, and fall backward,
and are broken, trapped, and captured.
14 Therefore hear the word of Adonai, you scoffers,
who rule this people who are in Jerusalem:
15 “Because you have said,
‘We cut a covenant with death,
we made a pact with Sheol,
so when the overflowing scourge passes through,
it won’t come for us,
for we have made lies our refuge,
and hid ourselves in falsehood’—
16 Therefore thus says Adonai Elohim:
‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
a tested stone,
a costly cornerstone,[a] a firm foundation—
whoever trusts will not flee in haste.[b]
17 But I will make justice the measuring line
and righteousness the plumb line.
Hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,
and water will overflow the hiding place.
18 Your covenant with death is annulled,
and your pact with Sheol will not stand.
An overflowing scourge will pass through
and you will be its trampling place.
19 As often as it passes through, it will seize you—
morning by morning, by day and by night passing through.
It will be sheer terror
to understand the message.’”
20 For too short is the bed to stretch on,
too narrow the blanket to wrap up in.
21 For Adonai will rise up as at Mount Perazim,
He will quake with awe as at the valley of Gibeon,
to do His deed, His strange deed,
and to work His work, His extraordinary work.
22 So now, stop your scoffing,
lest your shackles be strengthened!
For I have heard from Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot
of destruction determined upon the whole land.
The New Jerusalem
9 Then came one of the seven angels holding the seven bowls full of the seven final plagues, and he spoke with me, saying, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
10 Then he carried me away in the Ruach to a great and high mountain,[a] and he showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God—her radiance like a most precious stone, like a jasper, sparkling like crystal. 12 She had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and above the gates twelve angels. On the gates were inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of Bnei-Yisrael— 13 three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. [b] 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them the twelve names of the twelve emissaries of the Lamb.
15 The angel speaking with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls. [c] 16 The city is laid out as a square—its length the same as its width. He measured the city with the rod—12,000 stadia.[d] Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall—144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18 The material of the city’s wall was jasper, while the city was pure gold, clear as glass. 19 The foundations of the city wall were decorated with every kind of precious stone—the first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, carnelian; the seventh, yellow topaz; the eighth; beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls—each of the gates was from a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, transparent as glass.
Prophecy of Birth to the Virgin
26 Then in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by Adonai into a town in the Galilee named Natzeret 27 and to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Miriam. 28 And coming to her, the angel said, “Shalom, favored one! Adonai is with you.[a]” 29 But at the message, she was perplexed and kept wondering what kind of greeting this might be. 30 The angel spoke to her, “Do not be afraid, Miriam, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and you shall call His name Yeshua. [b] 32 He will be great and will be called Ben-Elyon. Adonai Elohim will give Him the throne of David,[c] His father. 33 He shall reign over the house of Jacob for all eternity, and His kingdom will be without end.”[d]
34 Miriam said to the angel, “How can this be, since I am not intimate with a man?”[e]
35 And responding, the angel said to her, “The Ruach ha-Kodesh will come upon you, and the power of Elyon will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One being born will be called Ben-Elohim. 36 Behold, even your relative Elizabeth has conceived a son in her old age; and the one who was called barren is six months pregnant. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”[f]
38 So Miriam said, “Behold, the servant of Adonai. Let it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel left her.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.