Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
By David.
1 Do not be preoccupied with evildoers.
Do not envy those who do wicked things.
2 They will quickly dry up like grass
and wither away like green plants.
3 Trust Yahweh, and do good things.
Live in the land, and practice being faithful.
4 Be happy with Yahweh,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Entrust your ways to Yahweh.
Trust him, and he will act on your behalf.
6 He will make your righteousness shine like a light,
your just cause like the noonday sun.
7 Surrender yourself to Yahweh, and wait patiently for him.
Do not be preoccupied with an evildoer who succeeds in his way
when he carries out his schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and leave rage behind.
Do not be preoccupied.
It only leads to evil.
9 Evildoers will be cut off from their inheritance,
but those who wait with hope for Yahweh will inherit the land.
10 In a little while a wicked person will vanish.
Then you can carefully examine where he was,
but there will be no trace of him.
11 Oppressed people will inherit the land
and will enjoy unlimited peace.
12 The wicked person plots against a righteous one
and grits his teeth at him.
13 Adonay laughs at him
because he has seen that his time is coming.
14 Wicked people pull out their swords and bend their bows
to kill oppressed and needy people,
to slaughter those who are decent.
15 But their own swords will pierce their hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the wealth of many wicked people.
17 The arms of wicked people will be broken,
but Yahweh continues to support righteous people.
18 Yahweh knows the daily struggles of innocent people.
Their inheritance will last forever.
19 They will not be put to shame in trying times.
Even in times of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But wicked people will disappear.
Yahweh’s enemies will vanish like the best part of a meadow.
They will vanish like smoke.
21 A wicked person borrows, but he does not repay.
A righteous person is generous and giving.
22 Those who are blessed by him will inherit the land.
Those who are cursed by him will be cut off.
23 A person’s steps are directed by Yahweh,
and Yahweh delights in his way.
24 When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst
because Yahweh holds on to his hand.
25 I have been young, and now I am old,
but I have never seen a righteous person abandoned
or his descendants begging for food.
26 He is always generous and lends freely.
His descendants are a blessing.
27 Avoid evil, do good, and live forever.
28 Yahweh loves justice,
and he will not abandon his godly ones.
They will be kept safe forever,
but the descendants of wicked people will be cut off.
29 Righteous people will inherit the land
and live there permanently.
30 The mouth of the righteous person reflects on wisdom.
His tongue speaks what is fair.
31 The teachings of his Elohim are in his heart.
His feet do not slip.
32 The wicked person watches the righteous person
and seeks to kill him.
33 But Yahweh will not abandon him to the wicked person’s power
or condemn him when he is brought to trial.
34 Wait with hope for Yahweh, and follow his path,
and he will honor you by giving you the land.
When wicked people are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen a wicked person acting like a tyrant,
spreading himself out like a large cedar tree.
36 But he moved on, and now there is no trace of him.
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
37 Notice the innocent person,
and look at the decent person,
because the peacemaker has a future.
38 But rebels will be completely destroyed.
The future of wicked people will be cut off.
39 The victory for righteous people comes from Yahweh.
He is their fortress in times of trouble.
40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them.
He rescues them from wicked people.
He saves them because they have taken refuge in him.
32 Search the distant past, long before your time. Start from the very day Elohim created people on earth. Search from one end of heaven to the other. Has anything as great as this ever happened before, or has anything like it ever been heard of? 33 Have any other people ever heard Elohim speak from a fire and lived? You did! 34 Or has any god ever tried to come and take one nation away from another for himself? Yahweh your Elohim used his mighty hand and powerful arm to do this for you in Egypt. He did this using plagues, miraculous signs, amazing things, and war. He did his great and awe-inspiring deeds in front of you.
35 You were shown these things so that you would know that Yahweh is Elohim. There is no other god. 36 He let you hear his voice from heaven so that he could instruct you. He showed you his great fire on earth, and you heard him speak from the column of fire. 37 Because he loved your ancestors and chose their descendants, he was with you as he brought you out of Egypt by his great power. 38 He forced nations greater and stronger than you out of your way to bring you into their land and give it to you. This land is your own possession today.
39 Remember today, and never forget that Yahweh is Elohim in heaven above and here on earth. There is no other god. 40 Obey his laws and commands which I’m giving you today. Then things will go well for you and your descendants. You will live for a long time in the land. Yahweh your Elohim is giving you the land for as long as you live.
The Ministry That Comes from Christ Is Greater Than Moses’ Ministry
3 Do we have to show you our qualifications again? Do we, like some people, need letters that recommend us to you or letters from you that recommend us to others? 2 You’re our letter of recommendation written in our hearts that everyone knows and reads. 3 It’s clear that you are Christ’s letter, written as a result of our ministry. You are a letter written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, a letter written not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Christ gives us confidence about you in God’s presence. 5 By ourselves we are not qualified in any way to claim that we can do anything. Rather, God makes us qualified. 6 He has also qualified us to be ministers of a new promise,[a] a spiritual promise, not a written one. Clearly, what was written brings death, but the Spirit brings life.
7 The ministry that brought death was inscribed on stone. Yet, it came with such glory that the people of Israel couldn’t look at Moses’ face. His face was shining with glory, even though that glory was fading. 8 Won’t the ministry that brings the Spirit have even more glory? 9 If the ministry that brings punishment has glory, then the ministry that brings God’s approval has an overwhelming glory. 10 In fact, the ministry that brings punishment lost its glory because of the superior glory of the other ministry. 11 If that former ministry faded away despite its glory, how much more does that ministry which remains continue to be glorious?
12 Since we have confidence in the new promise, we speak very boldly. 13 We are not like Moses. He kept covering his face with a veil. He didn’t want the people of Israel to see the glory fading away. 14 However, their minds became closed. In fact, to this day the same veil is still there when they read the Old Testament. It isn’t removed, because only Christ can remove it. 15 Yet, even today, when they read the books of Moses, a veil covers their minds. 16 But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 This Lord is the Spirit. Wherever the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. 18 As all of us reflect the Lord’s glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Jesus Speaks about Dishonesty
16 Then Yeshua said to his disciples, “A rich man had a business manager. The manager was accused of wasting the rich man’s property. 2 So the rich man called for his manager and said to him, ‘What’s this I hear about you? Let me examine your books. It’s obvious that you can’t manage my property any longer.’
3 “The manager thought, ‘What should I do? My master is taking my job away from me. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg. 4 I know what I’ll do so that people will welcome me into their homes when I’ve lost my job.’
5 “So the manager called for each one of his master’s debtors. He said to the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6 “The debtor replied, ‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil.’
“The manager told him, ‘Take my master’s ledger. Quick! Sit down, and write “four hundred!” ’
7 “Then he asked another debtor, ‘How much do you owe?’
“The debtor replied, ‘A thousand bushels of wheat.’
“The manager told him, ‘Take the ledger, and write “eight hundred!” ’
8 “The master praised the dishonest manager for being so clever. Worldly people are more clever than spiritually-minded people when it comes to dealing with others.”
9 Yeshua continued, “I’m telling you that although wealth is often used in dishonest ways, you should use it to make friends for yourselves. When life is over, you will be welcomed into an eternal home.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.