Book of Common Prayer
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
140 Lord, save me from sinful people.
Keep me safe from those who want to hurt me.
2 They make evil plans in their hearts.
They are always starting fights.
3 Their tongues are as deadly as the tongue of a serpent.
The words from their lips are like the poison of a snake.
4 Lord, keep me safe from the hands of sinful people.
Protect me from those who want to hurt me.
They plan ways to trip me up and make me fall.
5 Proud people have hidden their traps to catch me.
They have spread out their nets.
They have set traps for me along my path.
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Lord, hear my cry for mercy.
7 Lord and King, you save me because you are strong.
You are like a shield that keeps me safe in the day of battle.
8 Lord, don’t give sinners what they want.
Don’t let their plans succeed.
9 Those who are all around me proudly raise their heads.
May the trouble they planned for me happen to them.
10 May burning coals fall on people like that.
May they be thrown into the fire.
May they be thrown into muddy pits and never get out.
11 Don’t let people who lie about me be secure in the land.
May trouble hunt down those who want to hurt me.
12 I know that the Lord makes sure that poor people are treated fairly.
He stands up for those who are in need.
13 I’m sure that those who do right will praise your name.
Those who are honest will live with you.
A prayer of David when he was in the cave. A maskil.
142 I call out to the Lord.
I pray to him for mercy.
2 I pour out my problem to him.
I tell him about my trouble.
3 When I grow weak,
you are watching over my life.
In the path where I walk,
people have hidden a trap to catch me.
4 Look and see that no one is on my right side to help me.
No one is concerned about me.
I have no place of safety.
No one cares whether I live or die.
5 Lord, I cry out to you.
I say, “You are my place of safety.
You are everything I need in this life.”
6 Listen to my cry.
I am in great need.
Save me from those who are chasing me.
They are too strong for me.
7 My troubles are like a prison.
Set me free so I can praise your name.
Then those who do what is right will gather around me
because you have been good to me.
A psalm of David.
141 I call out to you, Lord. Come quickly to help me.
Listen to me when I call out to you.
2 May my prayer come to you like the sweet smell of incense.
When I lift up my hands in prayer, may it be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Lord, guard my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Don’t let my heart be drawn to what is evil.
Don’t let me join with people who do evil.
Don’t let me eat their fancy food.
5 If a godly person hit me, it would be an act of kindness.
If they would correct me, it would be like pouring olive oil on my head.
I wouldn’t say no to it.
I will always pray against the things that sinful people do.
6 When their rulers are thrown down from the rocky cliffs,
those evil people will realize that my words were true.
7 They will say, “As clumps of dirt are left from plowing up the ground,
so our bones will be scattered near an open grave.”
8 But Lord and King, I keep looking to you for help.
I go to you for safety. Don’t let me die.
9 Keep me from the traps of those who do evil.
Save me from the traps they have set for me.
10 Let evil people fall into their own nets.
But let me go safely on my way.
A psalm of David.
143 Lord, hear my prayer.
Listen to my cry for mercy.
You are faithful and right.
Come and help me.
2 Don’t take me to court and judge me,
because in your eyes no living person does what is right.
3 My enemies chase me.
They crush me down to the ground.
They make me live in the darkness
like those who died long ago.
4 So I grow weak.
Deep down inside me, I’m afraid.
5 I remember what happened long ago.
I spend time thinking about all your acts.
I consider what your hands have done.
6 I spread out my hands to you in prayer.
I’m thirsty for you, just as dry ground is thirsty for rain.
7 Lord, answer me quickly.
I’m growing weak.
Don’t turn your face away from me,
or I will be like those who go down into the grave.
8 In the morning let me hear about your faithful love,
because I’ve put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should live,
because I trust you with my life.
9 Lord, save me from my enemies,
because I go to you for safety.
10 Teach me to do what you want,
because you are my God.
May your good Spirit
lead me on a level path.
11 Lord, bring yourself honor by keeping me alive.
Because you do what is right, get me out of trouble.
12 Because your love is faithful, put an end to my enemies.
Destroy all of them, because I serve you.
Jehoiakim King of Judah
36 Jehoiakim was 25 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for 11 years. His mother’s name was Zebidah. She was the daughter of Pedaiah. She was from Rumah. 37 Jehoiakim did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did just as the kings who had ruled before him had done.
24 During Jehoiakim’s rule, Nebuchadnezzar marched into the land and attacked it. He was king of Babylon. He became Jehoiakim’s master for three years. But then Jehoiakim decided he didn’t want to remain under Nebuchadnezzar’s control. 2 The Lord sent robbers against Jehoiakim from Babylon, Aram, Moab and Ammon. He sent them to destroy Judah. That’s what the Lord had said would happen. He had spoken that message through his servants the prophets. 3 These things happened to Judah in keeping with what the Lord had commanded. He brought enemies against his people in order to remove them from his land. He removed them because of all the sins Manasseh had committed. 4 Manasseh had spilled the blood of many people who weren’t guilty of doing anything wrong. In fact, he spilled so much of their blood that he filled Jerusalem with it. So the Lord refused to forgive him.
5 The other events of the rule of Jehoiakim are written down. Everything he did is written in the official records of the kings of Judah. 6 Jehoiakim joined the members of his family who had already died. Jehoiakim’s son Jehoiachin became the next king after him.
7 The king of Egypt didn’t march out from his own country again. That’s because the king of Babylon had taken so much of his territory. It reached from the Wadi of Egypt all the way to the Euphrates River.
Jehoiachin King of Judah
8 Jehoiachin was 18 years old when he became king. He ruled in Jerusalem for three months. His mother’s name was Nehushta. She was the daughter of Elnathan. She was from Jerusalem. 9 Jehoiachin did what was evil in the eyes of the Lord. He did just as his father Jehoiakim had done.
10 At that time the officers of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, marched to Jerusalem. They surrounded it and got ready to attack it. 11 Nebuchadnezzar himself came up to the city. He arrived while his officers were attacking it. 12 Jehoiachin, the king of Judah, handed himself over to Nebuchadnezzar. Jehoiachin’s mother did the same thing. And so did all his attendants, nobles and officials.
The king of Babylon took Jehoiachin away as his prisoner. It was in the eighth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule. 13 Nebuchadnezzar removed the treasures from the Lord’s temple. He also removed the treasures from the royal palace. He cut up the gold objects that Solomon, the king of Israel, had made for the temple. That’s what the Lord had announced would happen. 14 Nebuchadnezzar took all the people of Jerusalem to the land of Babylon as prisoners. That included all the officers and fighting men. It also included all the skilled workers. The total number of prisoners was 10,000. Only the poorest people were left in the land.
15 Nebuchadnezzar took Jehoiachin to Babylon as his prisoner. He also took the king’s mother from Jerusalem to Babylon. And he took Jehoiachin’s wives, his officials and the most important people of the land. 16 The king also forced the whole army of 7,000 soldiers to go away to the land of Babylon. Those men were strong and able to go to war. And the king forced 1,000 skilled workers to go to Babylon. 17 Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiachin’s uncle Mattaniah king in his place. And Nebuchadnezzar changed Mattaniah’s name to Zedekiah.
One Body but Many Parts
12 There is one body, but it has many parts. But all its many parts make up one body. It is the same with Christ. 13 We were all baptized by one Holy Spirit. And so we are formed into one body. It didn’t matter whether we were Jews or Gentiles, slaves or free people. We were all given the same Spirit to drink. 14 So the body is not made up of just one part. It has many parts.
15 Suppose the foot says, “I am not a hand. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. 16 And suppose the ear says, “I am not an eye. So I don’t belong to the body.” By saying this, it cannot stop being part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? 18 God has placed each part in the body just as he wanted it to be. 19 If all the parts were the same, how could there be a body? 20 As it is, there are many parts. But there is only one body.
21 The eye can’t say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” 22 In fact, it is just the opposite. The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are the ones we can’t do without. 23 The parts that we think are less important we treat with special honor. The private parts aren’t shown. But they are treated with special care. 24 The parts that can be shown don’t need special care. But God has put together all the parts of the body. And he has given more honor to the parts that didn’t have any. 25 In that way, the parts of the body will not take sides. All of them will take care of one another. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part shares in its joy.
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him. They called out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”
28 When Jesus went indoors, the blind men came to him. He asked them, “Do you believe that I can do this?”
“Yes, Lord,” they replied.
29 Then he touched their eyes. He said, “It will happen to you just as you believed.” 30 They could now see again. Jesus strongly warned them, “Be sure that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news. They talked about him all over that area.
32 While they were going out, another man was brought to Jesus. A demon controlled him, and he could not speak. 33 When the demon was driven out, the man spoke. The crowd was amazed. They said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.”
34 But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”
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