Book of Common Prayer
ז Zayin
49 Remember what you have said to me.
You have given me hope.
50 Even when I suffer, I am comforted
because you promised to keep me alive.
51 Proud people make fun of me without mercy.
But I don’t turn away from your law.
52 Lord, I remember the laws you gave long ago.
I find comfort in them.
53 I am very angry
because evil people have turned away from your law.
54 No matter where I live,
I sing about your orders.
55 Lord, during the night I remember who you are.
That’s why I keep your law.
56 I have really done my best
to obey your rules.
ח Heth
57 Lord, you are everything I need.
I have promised to obey your words.
58 I have looked to you with all my heart.
Be kind to me as you have promised.
59 I have thought about the way I live.
And I have decided to follow your covenant laws.
60 I won’t waste any time.
I will be quick to obey your commands.
61 Evil people may tie me up with ropes.
But I won’t forget to obey your law.
62 At midnight I get up to give you thanks
because your decisions are very fair.
63 I’m a friend to everyone who has respect for you.
I’m a friend to everyone who follows your rules.
64 Lord, the earth is filled with your love.
Teach me your orders.
ט Teth
65 Lord, be good to me
as you have promised.
66 Increase my knowledge and give me good sense,
because I trust your commands.
67 Before I went through suffering, I went down the wrong path.
But now I obey your word.
68 You are good, and what you do is good.
Teach me your orders.
69 The lies of proud people have taken away my good name.
But I follow your rules with all my heart.
70 Their unfeeling hearts are hard and stubborn.
But I take delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to suffer.
That’s what helped me to understand your orders.
72 The law you gave is worth more to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.
For the director of music. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all you nations.
Listen, all you who live in this world.
2 Listen, people, whether you are ordinary or important.
Listen, people, whether you are rich or poor.
3 My mouth will speak wise words.
What I think about in my heart will give you understanding.
4 I will pay attention to a proverb.
I will explain my riddle as I play the harp.
5 Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?
They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.
6 They trust in their wealth.
They brag about how rich they are.
7 No one can pay for the life of anyone else.
No one can give God what that would cost.
8 The price for a life is very high.
No payment is ever enough.
9 No one can pay enough to live forever
and not rot in the grave.
10 Everyone can see that even wise people die.
People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away.
All of them leave their wealth to others.
11 Their tombs will remain their houses forever.
Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.
Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.
12 Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.
They are like the animals. They die.
13 That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves.
It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say.
14 They are like sheep and will end up in the grave.
Death will be their shepherd.
But when honest people come to power, a new day will dawn.
The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave.
They will end up far away from their princely houses.
15 But God will save me from the place of the dead.
He will certainly take me to himself.
16 Don’t get too upset when other people become rich.
Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy.
17 They won’t take anything with them when they die.
Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
18 While they lived, they believed they were blessed.
People praised them when things were going well for them.
19 But they will die, like their people of long ago.
They will never again see the light of life.
20 People who have riches but don’t understand
are like the animals. They die.
For the director of music. According to mahalath. A maskil of David.
53 Foolish people say in their hearts,
“There is no God.”
They do all kinds of horrible and evil things.
No one does anything good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on all people.
He wants to see if there are any who understand.
He wants to see if there are any who trust in God.
3 All of them have turned away.
They have all become evil.
No one does anything good,
no one at all.
4 Don’t these people who do evil know anything?
They eat up my people as if they were eating bread.
They never call out to God for help.
5 Just look at them! They are filled with terror
even when there is nothing to be afraid of!
People of Israel, God scattered the bones of those who attacked you.
You put them to shame, because God hated them.
6 How I pray that the God who saves Israel will come out of Zion!
God will bless his people with great success again.
Then let the people of Jacob be filled with joy! Let Israel be glad!
King Darius’s Reply to Tattenai
6 King Darius gave an order. He had a search made in the official records stored among the treasures at Babylon. 2 A book was found in a safe storeroom at Ecbatana in the land of Media. Here is what was written on it.
This is my official reply to your letter.
3 In the first year that Cyrus was king, he gave an order. It concerned God’s temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus said,
Rebuild the temple. Then the Jews can offer sacrifices there. Lay its foundations. The temple must be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide. 4 Its walls must have three layers of large stones. They must also have a layer of beautiful wood. Use money from the royal treasures to pay for everything. 5 The gold and silver objects from the house of God must be returned. Nebuchadnezzar had taken them from the first temple in Jerusalem. And he had brought them to Babylon. Now they must be returned to their places in the temple at Jerusalem. They must be put in the house of God there.
6 Tattenai, you are governor of the land west of the Euphrates River. I want you to stay away from the temple in Jerusalem. I also want you, Shethar-Bozenai, and you other officials of that area to stay away from it. 7 Don’t try to stop the work on the temple of God. Let the governor of the Jews and their elders rebuild the house of their God. Let them build it in the same place where it stood before.
8 Here is what I want you to do for the elders of the Jews. Here is how you must help them to build the house of their God.
Pay all their expenses from the royal treasures. Use the money you collect from the people who live west of the Euphrates. Don’t let the work on the temple stop. 9 Don’t fail to give the priests in Jerusalem what they ask for each day. Give them what they need. Give them young bulls, rams and male lambs. The priests can use them to sacrifice burnt offerings to the God of heaven. Also give them wheat, salt, wine and olive oil. 10 Give them those things so they can offer sacrifices that please the God of heaven. And I want them to pray that things will go well for me and my sons.
11 Don’t change this order. If anyone tries to change it, they must be put to death. A pole must be pulled from their house. The pole must be stuck through their body. Because that person tried to change my royal order, their house must be broken to pieces. 12 God has chosen to put his Name in the temple at Jerusalem. May he wipe out any king or nation that lifts a hand to change this order. May he also wipe out anyone who tries to destroy the temple in Jerusalem.
That’s what I have ordered. I am King Darius. Make sure you carry out my order.
The Temple Is Completed and Set Apart to God
13 The governor Tattenai and Shethar-Bozenai carried out King Darius’s order. And so did their friends. 14 The elders of the Jews continued to build the temple. They enjoyed great success because of the preaching of Haggai and Zechariah, the prophets. Zechariah belonged to the family line of Iddo. The people finished building the temple. That’s what the God of Israel had commanded them to do. Cyrus and Darius had given orders allowing them to do it. Later, Artaxerxes supplied many things that were needed in the temple. Those three men were kings of Persia. 15 So the temple was completed on the third day of the month of Adar. It was in the sixth year that Darius was king.
16 When the house of God was set apart, the people of Israel celebrated with joy. The priests and Levites joined them. So did the rest of those who had returned from the land of Babylon. 17 When the house of God was set apart to him, the people sacrificed 100 bulls. They also sacrificed 200 rams and 400 male lambs. As a sin offering for the whole nation of Israel, the people sacrificed 12 male goats. One goat was sacrificed for each tribe in Israel. 18 The priests were appointed to their groups. And the Levites were appointed to their groups. All of them served God at Jerusalem. They served him in keeping with what is written in the Book of Moses.
The People Celebrate the Passover Feast
19 The people who had returned from the land of Babylon celebrated the Passover Feast. It was on the 14th day of the first month. 20 The priests and Levites had made themselves pure and “clean.” The Levites killed Passover lambs for the people who had returned from Babylon. They also did it for themselves and their relatives, the priests. 21 So the Israelites who had returned ate the Passover lamb. They ate it together with all those who had separated themselves from the practices of their Gentile neighbors. Those practices were “unclean.” The people worshiped the Lord. He is the God of Israel. 22 For seven days they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread with joy. That’s because the Lord had filled them with joy. They were glad because he had changed the mind of the king of Persia. So the king had helped them with the work on the house of the God of Israel.
The Scroll and the Lamb
5 Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. The scroll had writing on both sides. It was sealed with seven seals. 2 I saw a mighty angel calling out in a loud voice. He said, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 3 But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll. No one could even look inside it. 4 I cried and cried. That’s because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not cry! The Lion of the tribe of Judah has won the battle. He is the Root of David. He is able to break the seven seals and open the scroll.”
6 Then I saw a Lamb that looked as if he had been put to death. He stood at the center of the area around the throne. The Lamb was surrounded by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes. The eyes stand for the seven spirits of God, which are sent out into all the earth. 7 The Lamb went and took the scroll. He took it from the right hand of the one sitting on the throne. 8 Then the four living creatures and the 24 elders fell down in front of the Lamb. Each one had a harp. They were holding golden bowls full of incense. They stand for the prayers of God’s people. 9 Here is the new song they sang.
“You are worthy to take the scroll
and break open its seals.
You are worthy because you were put to death.
With your blood you bought people for God.
They come from every tribe, people and nation,
no matter what language they speak.
10 You have made them members of a royal family.
You have made them priests to serve our God.
They will rule on the earth.”
10 The disciples came to him. They asked, “Why do you use stories when you speak to the people?”
11 He replied, “Because you have been given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. It has not been given to outsiders. 12 Everyone who has this kind of knowledge will be given more knowledge. In fact, they will have very much. If anyone doesn’t have this kind of knowledge, even what little they have will be taken away from them. 13 Here is why I use stories when I speak to the people. I say,
“They look, but they don’t really see.
They listen, but they don’t really hear or understand.
14 In them the words of the prophet Isaiah come true. He said,
“ ‘You will hear but never understand.
You will see but never know what you are seeing.
15 The hearts of these people have become stubborn.
They can barely hear with their ears.
They have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes.
They might hear with their ears.
They might understand with their hearts.
They might turn to the Lord, and then he would heal them.’ (Isaiah 6:9,10)
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see. And blessed are your ears because they hear. 17 What I’m about to tell you is true. Many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you see. But they didn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you hear. But they didn’t hear it.
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