Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 Blessed is the one who has concern for helpless people.
Yahweh will rescue him in times of trouble.
2 Yahweh will protect him and keep him alive.
He will be blessed in the land.
Do not place him at the mercy of his enemies.
3 Yahweh will support him on his sickbed.
You will restore this person to health when he is ill.
4 I said, “O Yahweh, have pity on me!
Heal my soul because I have sinned against you.”
5 My enemies say terrible things about me:
“When will he die, and when will his family name disappear?”
6 When one of them comes to visit me, he speaks foolishly.
His heart collects gossip.
Then he leaves to tell others.
7 Everyone who hates me whispers about me.
They think evil things about me and say,
8 “A devilish disease has attached itself to him.
He will never leave his sickbed.”
9 Even my closest friend whom I trusted,
the one who ate my bread,
has lifted his heel against me.
10 Have pity on me, O Yahweh!
Raise me up so that I can pay them back
11 and my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me.
When you do this, I know that you are pleased with me.
12 You defend my integrity,
and you set me in your presence forever.
13 Thank Yahweh Elohim of Israel through all eternity!
Amen and amen!
Psalm 52
For the choir director; a maskil; a psalm by David when Doeg (who was from Edom) told Saul that David had come to Ahimelech’s home.
1 Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero?
The mercy of El lasts all day long!
2 Your tongue makes up threats.
It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit.
3 You prefer evil to good.
You prefer lying to speaking the truth. Selah
4 You love every destructive accusation, you deceitful tongue!
5 But El will ruin you forever.
He will grab you and drag you out of your tent.
He will pull your roots out of this world of the living. Selah
6 Righteous people will see this and be struck with fear.
They will laugh at you and say,
7 “Look at this person who refused to make Elohim his fortress!
Instead, he trusted his great wealth
and became strong through his greed.”
8 But I am like a large olive tree in Elohim’s house.
I trust the mercy of Elohim forever and ever.
9 I will give thanks to you forever
for what you have done.
In the presence of your godly people,
I will wait with hope in your good name.
Psalm 44
For the choir director; a maskil by Korah’s descendants.
1 O Elohim,
we have heard it with our own ears.
Our ancestors have told us
about the miracle you performed in their day,
in days long ago.
2 By your power you forced nations out of the land,
but you planted our ancestors there.
You shattered many groups of people,
but you set our ancestors free.[a]
3 It was not with their swords that they took possession of the land.
They did not gain victory with their own strength.
It was your right hand, your arm,
and the light of your presence that did it,
because you were pleased with them.
4 You alone are my Melek, O Elohim.
You won those victories for Jacob.
5 With you we can walk over our enemies.
With your name we can trample those who attack us.
6 I do not rely on my bow,
and my sword will never save me.
7 But you saved us from our enemies.
You put to shame those who hate us.
8 All day long we praise our Elohim.
We give thanks to you forever. Selah
9 But now you have rejected and disgraced us.
You do not even go along with our armies.
10 You make us retreat from the enemy.
Those who hate us rob us at will.
11 You hand us over to be butchered like sheep
and scatter us among the nations.
12 You sell your people for almost nothing,
and at that price you have gained nothing.
13 You made us a disgrace to our neighbors
and an object of ridicule and contempt to those around us.
14 You made our defeat a proverb among the nations
so that people shake their heads at us.
15 All day long my disgrace is in front of me.
Shame covers my face
16 because of the words of those who insult and slander us,
because of the presence of the enemy and the avenger.
17 Although all of this happened to us,
we never forgot you.
We never ignored your promise.[b]
18 Our hearts never turned away.
Our feet never left your path.
19 Yet, you crushed us in a place for jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we forgot the name of our Elohim
or stretched out our hands to pray to another god,
21 wouldn’t Elohim find out,
since he knows the secrets in our hearts?
22 Indeed, we are being killed all day long because of you.
We are thought of as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 Wake up! Why are you sleeping, O Adonay?
Awake! Do not reject us forever!
24 Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our suffering and misery?
25 Our souls are bowing in the dust.
Our bodies cling to the ground.
26 Arise! Help us!
Rescue us because of your mercy!
David Spares Saul’s Life
24 [a]When Saul came back from fighting the Philistines, he was told “Now David is in the desert near En Gedi.” 2 Then Saul took 3,000 of the best-trained men from all Israel and went to search for David and his men on the Rocks of the Wild Goats. 3 He came to some sheep pens along the road where there was a cave. Saul went into it to relieve himself while David and his men were sitting further back in the cave.
4 David’s men told him, “Today is the day Yahweh referred to when he said, ‘I’m going to hand your enemy over to you. You will do to him whatever you think is right.’”
David quietly got up and cut off the border of Saul’s robe. 5 But afterward, David’s conscience bothered him because he had cut off the border of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “It would be unthinkable for me to raise my hand against His Majesty, Yahweh’s anointed king, since he is Yahweh’s anointed.” 7 So David stopped[b] his men by saying this to them and didn’t let them attack Saul.
Saul left the cave and went out onto the road. 8 Later, David got up, left the cave, and called to Saul, “Your Majesty!” When Saul looked back, David knelt down with his face touching the ground. 9 David asked Saul, “Why do you listen to rumors that I am trying to harm you? 10 Today you saw how Yahweh handed you over to me in the cave. Although I was told to kill you, I spared you, saying, ‘I will not raise my hand against Your Majesty because you are Yahweh’s anointed.’ 11 My master, look at this! The border of your robe is in my hand! Since I cut off the border of your robe and didn’t kill you, you should know and be able to see I mean no harm or rebellion. I haven’t sinned against you, but you are trying to ambush me in order to take my life. 12 May Yahweh decide between you and me. May Yahweh take revenge on you for what you did to me. However, I will not lay a hand on you. 13 It’s like people used to say long ago, ‘Wickedness comes from wicked people.’ But I will not lay a hand on you. 14 Against whom has the king of Israel come out? Whom are you pursuing? A dead dog? One flea? 15 So Yahweh must be the judge. He will decide between you and me. He will watch and take my side in this matter and set me free from you.”
16 When David finished saying this, Saul asked, “Is that you speaking, my servant David?” and Saul cried loudly. 17 He told David, “You are more righteous than I. You treated me well while I treated you badly. 18 Today you have proved how good you’ve been to me. When Yahweh handed me over to you, you didn’t kill me. 19 When a person finds an enemy, does he send him away unharmed? Yahweh will repay you completely for what you did for me today. 20 Now I know that you certainly will rule as king, and under your guidance the kingdom of Israel will prosper. 21 Swear an oath to Yahweh for me that you will not wipe out my descendants or destroy my name in my father’s family.”
22 So David swore to Saul. Then Saul went home, and David and his men went to their fortified camp.
44 On the next day of worship, almost the whole city gathered to hear the Lord’s word. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they became very jealous. They used insulting language to contradict whatever Paul said.
46 Paul and Barnabas told them boldly, “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject the word and consider yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, we are now going to turn to people of other nations. 47 The Lord gave us the following order:
‘I have made you a light for the nations
so that you would save people all over the world.’”
48 The people who were not Jews were pleased with what they heard and praised the Lord’s word. Everyone who had been prepared for everlasting life believed. 49 The word of the Lord spread throughout the whole region. 50 But Jews stirred up devout women of high social standing and the officials of the city. These people started to persecute Paul and Barnabas and threw them out of their territory.
51 In protest against these people, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet and went to the city of Iconium. 52 Meanwhile, the disciples in Antioch continued to be full of joy and the Holy Spirit.
A Story about a Farmer(A)
4 Yeshua began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. 2 He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things.
While he was teaching them, he said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4 Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. 7 Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. 8 But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.” 9 He added, “Let the person who has ears listen!”
10 When he was alone with his followers and the twelve apostles, they asked him about the stories.
11 Yeshua replied to them, “The mystery about the kingdom of God has been given directly to you. To those on the outside, it is given in stories:
12 ‘They see clearly but don’t perceive.
They hear clearly but don’t understand.
They never return to me
and are never forgiven.’”
13 Yeshua asked them, “Don’t you understand this story? How, then, will you understand any of the stories I use as illustrations?
14 “The farmer plants the word. 15 Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. Whenever they hear the word, Satan comes at once and takes away the word that was planted in them. 16 Other people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. 17 But they don’t develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall from faith. 18 Other people are like seeds planted among thornbushes. They hear the word, 19 but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. 20 Others are like seeds planted on good ground. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.