Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
1 To you, O Yahweh, I lift my soul.
2 I trust you, O my Elohim.
Do not let me be put to shame.
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.
3 No one who waits for you will ever be put to shame,
but all who are unfaithful will be put to shame.
4 Make your ways known to me, O Yahweh,
and teach me your paths.
5 Lead me in your truth and teach me
because you are Elohim, my savior.
I wait all day long for you.
6 Remember, O Yahweh, your compassionate and merciful deeds.
They have existed from eternity.
7 Do not remember the sins of my youth or my rebellious ways.
Remember me, O Yahweh, in keeping with your mercy and your goodness.
8 Yahweh is good and decent.
That is why he teaches sinners the way they should live.
9 He leads humble people to do what is right,
and he teaches them his way.
10 Every path of Yahweh is one of mercy and truth
for those who cling to his promise[b] and written instructions.
11 For the sake of your name, O Yahweh,
remove my guilt, because it is great.
12 Who, then, is this person that fears Yahweh?
He is the one whom Yahweh will teach which path to choose.
13 He will enjoy good things in life,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
14 Yahweh advises those who fear him.
He reveals to them the intent of his promise.
15 My eyes are always on Yahweh.
He removes my feet from traps.
16 Turn to me, and have pity on me.
I am lonely and oppressed.
17 Relieve my troubled heart,
and bring me out of my distress.
18 Look at my misery and suffering,
and forgive all my sins.
19 See how my enemies have increased in number,
how they have hated me with vicious hatred!
20 Protect my life, and rescue me!
Do not let me be put to shame.
I have taken refuge in you.
21 Integrity and honesty will protect me because I wait for you.
22 Rescue Israel, O Elohim, from all its troubles!
Psalm 9
For the choir director; according to muth labben;[a] a psalm by David.[b]
1 I will give you thanks, O Yahweh, with all my heart.
I will tell about all the miracles you have done.
2 I will find joy and be glad about you.
I will make music to praise your name, O Elyon.
3 When my enemies retreat, they will stumble and die in your presence.
4 You have defended my just cause:
You sat down on your throne as a fair judge.
5 You condemned nations.
You destroyed wicked people.
You wiped out their names forever and ever.
6 The enemy is finished—in ruins forever.
You have uprooted their cities.
Even the memory of them has faded.
7 Yet, Yahweh is enthroned forever.
He has set up his throne for judgment.
8 He alone judges the world with righteousness.
He judges its people fairly.
9 Yahweh is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust you, O Yahweh,
because you have never deserted those who seek your help.
11 Make music to praise Yahweh, who is enthroned in Zion.
Announce to the nations what he has done.
12 The one who avenges murder has remembered oppressed people.
He has never forgotten their cries.
13 Have pity on me, O Yahweh.
Look at what I suffer because of those who hate me.
You take me away from the gates of death
14 so that I may recite your praises one by one
in the gates of Zion
and find joy in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk into the pit they have made.
Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden to trap others.
16 Yahweh is known by the judgment he has carried out.
The wicked person is trapped
by the work of his own hands. Higgaion Selah
17 Wicked people, all the nations who forget Elohim,
will return to the grave.
18 Needy people will not always be forgotten.
Nor will the hope of oppressed people be lost forever.
19 Arise, O Yahweh.
Do not let mortals gain any power.
Let the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror, O Yahweh.
Let the nations know that they are only mortal. Selah
Psalm 15
A psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, who may stay in your tent?
Who may live on your holy mountain?
2 The one who walks with integrity,
does what is righteous,
and speaks the truth within his heart.
3 The one who does not slander with his tongue,
do evil to a friend,
or bring disgrace on his neighbor.
4 The one who despises those rejected by Yahweh
but honors those who fear Yahweh.
The one who makes a promise and does not break it,
even though he is hurt by it.
5 The one who does not collect interest on a loan
or take a bribe against an innocent person.
Whoever does these things will never be shaken.
5 David was successful wherever Saul sent him. Saul put him in charge of the fighting men. This pleased all the people, including Saul’s officials.
David’s Success Makes Saul Jealous
6 As they arrived, David was returning from a campaign against the Philistines. Women from all of Israel’s cities came to meet King Saul. They sang and danced, accompanied by tambourines, joyful music, and triangles.[a] 7 The women who were celebrating sang,
“Saul has defeated thousands
but David tens of thousands!”
8 Saul became very angry because he considered this saying to be insulting. “To David they credit tens of thousands,” he said, “but to me they credit only a few thousand. The only thing left for David is my kingdom.” 9 From that day on Saul kept an eye on David.
10 The next day an evil spirit from Elohim seized Saul. He began to prophesy in his house while David strummed a tune on the lyre as he did every day. Now, Saul had a spear in his hand. 11 He raised the spear and thought, “I’ll nail David to the wall.” But David got away from him twice.
12 Saul was afraid of David, because Yahweh was with David but had left Saul. 13 So he kept David away. He made David captain of a regiment. David led the troops out to battle and back again. 14 He was successful in everything he undertook because Yahweh was with him. 15 Saul noticed how very successful he was and became even more afraid of him. 16 Everyone in Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in and out of battle.
27 David and his men went out and struck down 200 Philistines. David brought the foreskins, and they counted them out for the king so that David could become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal as his wife. 28 Saul realized that Yahweh was with David and that his daughter Michal loved David. 29 Then Saul was even more afraid of David, and so Saul became David’s constant enemy.
30 The Philistine generals still went out to fight Israel. But whenever they went out to fight, David was more successful than the rest of Saul’s officers. So David gained a good reputation.
The New Church in Antioch
19 Some of the believers who were scattered by the trouble that broke out following Stephen’s death went as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and the city of Antioch. They spoke God’s word only to Jewish people. 20 But other believers, who were from Cyprus and Cyrene, arrived in Antioch. They started to spread the Good News about the Lord Yeshua to Greeks. 21 The Lord’s power was with his followers, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22 After the news about Antioch reached the church in Jerusalem, Barnabas was sent to Antioch. 23 When he arrived there, he was pleased to see what God had done for them out of kindness.[a] So he encouraged all the people to remain solidly committed to the Lord. 24 Barnabas was a dependable man, and he was full of the Holy Spirit and faith. A large crowd believed in the Lord.
25 Then Barnabas left Antioch to go to the city of Tarsus to look for Saul. 26 After finding Saul, Barnabas brought him back to Antioch. Barnabas and Saul met with the church in Antioch for a whole year and taught a large group of people. The disciples were called Christians for the first time in the city of Antioch.
27 At that time some prophets came from Jerusalem to the city of Antioch. 28 One of them was named Agabus. Through the Spirit Agabus predicted that a severe famine would affect the entire world. This happened while Claudius was emperor. 29 All the disciples in Antioch decided to contribute whatever they could afford to help the believers living in Judea. 30 The disciples did this and sent their contribution with Barnabas and Saul to the leaders in Jerusalem.
Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others(A)
29 After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew. James and John went with them. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. The first thing they did was to tell Yeshua about her. 31 Yeshua went to her, took her hand, and helped her get up. The fever went away, and she prepared a meal for them.
32 In the evening, when the sun had set, people brought to him everyone who was sick and those possessed by demons. 33 The whole city had gathered at his door. 34 He cured many who were sick with various diseases and forced many demons out of people. However, he would not allow the demons to speak. After all, they knew who he was.
Spreading the Good News in Galilee(B)
35 In the morning, long before sunrise, Yeshua went to a place where he could be alone to pray. 36 Simon and his friends searched for him. 37 When they found him, they told him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
38 Yeshua said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the small towns that are nearby. I have to spread the Good News in them also. This is why I have come.”
39 So he went to spread the Good News in the synagogues all over Galilee, and he forced demons out of people.
Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease(C)
40 Then a man with a serious skin disease came to him. The man fell to his knees and begged Yeshua, “If you’re willing, you can make me clean.”[a]
41 Yeshua felt sorry for him, reached out, touched him, and said, “I’m willing. So be clean!”
42 Immediately, his skin disease went away, and he was clean.
43 Yeshua sent him away at once and warned him, 44 “Don’t tell anyone about this! Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifices which Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”
45 When the man left, he began to talk freely. He spread his story so widely that Yeshua could no longer enter any city openly. Instead, he stayed in places where he could be alone. But people still kept coming to him from everywhere.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.