Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72
By Solomon.
1 O Elohim, give the king your justice
and the king’s son[a] your righteousness
2 so that he may judge your people with righteousness
and your oppressed people with justice.
3 May the mountains bring peace to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
4 May he grant justice to the people who are oppressed.
May he save the children of needy people
and crush their oppressor.
5 May they fear you as long as the sun and moon shine—
throughout every generation.
6 May he be like rain that falls on freshly cut grass,
like showers that water the land.
7 May righteous people blossom in his day.
May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer shines.
8 May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 May the people of the desert kneel in front of him.
May his enemies lick the dust.
10 May the kings from Tarshish and the islands bring presents.
May the kings from Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
11 May all kings worship him.
May all nations serve him.
12 He will rescue the needy person who cries for help
and the oppressed person who has no one’s help.
13 He will have pity on the poor and needy
and will save the lives of the needy.
14 He will rescue them from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight.
15 May he live long.
May the gold from Sheba be given to him.
May the people pray for him continually.
May they praise him all day long.
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land.
May it wave in the breeze on the mountaintops,
its fruit like the treetops of Lebanon.
May those from the city flourish like the grass on the ground.
17 May his name endure forever.
May his name continue as long as the sun shines.
May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.
18 Thank Yahweh Elohim, the Elohim of Israel,
who alone does miracles.
19 Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!
20 The prayers by David, son of Jesse, end here.
73 Your hands created me and made me what I am.
Help me understand so that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you will see me and rejoice,
because my hope is based on your word.
75 I know that your regulations are fair, O Yahweh,
and that you were right to make me suffer.
76 Let your mercy comfort me
as you promised.
77 Let your compassion reach me so that I may live,
because your teachings make me happy.
78 Let arrogant people be put to shame
because they lied about me,
yet I reflect on your guiding principles.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me
so that they can come to know your written instructions.
80 Let my heart be filled with integrity in regard to your laws
so that I will not be put to shame.
81 My soul is weak from waiting for you to save me.
My hope is based on your word.
82 My eyes have become strained from looking for your promise.
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Although I have become like a shriveled and dried out wineskin,
I have not forgotten your laws.
84 What is left of my life?
When will you bring those who persecute me to justice?
85 Arrogant people have dug pits to trap me
in defiance of your teachings.
86 (All your commandments are reliable.)
Those people persecute me with lies. Help me!
87 They almost wiped me off the face of the earth.
But I did not abandon your guiding principles.
88 Give me a new life through your mercy
so that I may obey the written instructions,
which came from your mouth.
89 O Yahweh, your word is established in heaven forever.
90 Your faithfulness endures throughout every generation.
You set the earth in place, and it continues to stand.
91 All things continue to stand today because of your regulations,
since they are all your servants.
92 If your teachings had not made me happy,
then I would have died in my misery.
93 I will never forget your guiding principles,
because you gave me a new life through them.
94 I am yours.
Save me, because I have searched for your guiding principles.
95 The wicked people have waited for me in order to destroy me,
yet I want to understand your written instructions.
96 I have seen a limit to everything else,
but your commandments have no limit.
22 Just then David’s men and Joab were coming home from a raid with a lot of goods. Abner had been dismissed, so he was no longer with David in Hebron. 23 When Joab came back with the whole army, he was told, “Ner’s son Abner came to the king, but David dismissed him, and Abner left peacefully.”
24 Then Joab went to the king and asked, “What have you done? Abner came to see you. Why did you dismiss him and let him get away? 25 Certainly you must know that Ner’s son Abner came to deceive you, to find out about your movements and learn everything you’re doing!”
26 After leaving David, Joab sent messengers after Abner. They brought him back from the cistern of Sirah without David knowing about it. 27 When Abner returned to Hebron, Joab took him aside in the gateway as if to talk to him privately. There he stabbed Abner in the belly. Abner died because he spilled the blood of Joab’s brother Asahel.
28 Later when David heard about it, he said, “As far as Yahweh is concerned, my kingdom and I are forever innocent of spilling the blood of Ner’s son Abner. 29 May the blame fall on the head of Joab and all of his family. May there always be members of Joab’s family who have oozing sores and skin diseases, who can only work a spindle,[a] who die in battle, and who never have any food.” 30 (Joab and his brother Abishai killed Abner because he had killed their brother Asahel in the battle at Gibeon.)
31 David told Joab and all the people with him, “Tear your clothes, put on sackcloth, and mourn for Abner.” King David followed the open casket. 32 They buried Abner in Hebron. The king cried loudly at Abner’s grave, and all the people cried. 33 The king sang a funeral song for Abner:
Should Abner die like a godless fool?
34 Your hands were not tied.
Your feet were not chained.
You fell as one falls in front of wicked men.
And all the people continued to cry for him.
35 That entire day all the people tried to get David to eat some food. But David had taken an oath: “May Elohim strike me dead if I taste any food or anything else before the sun goes down.” 36 Then all the people understood and approved of this, as all the people approved of everything the king did. 37 That day all the people of Israel knew the king wasn’t responsible for killing Ner’s son Abner. 38 The king said to his officers, “Don’t you know that today a leader, a great man, has fallen in Israel? 39 Today I’m weak, though I’m the anointed king. These men, Zeruiah’s sons, are too cruel for me. May Yahweh repay this evildoer as his evil deeds deserve.”
16 One day when we were going to the place of prayer, a female servant met us. She was possessed by an evil spirit that told fortunes. She made a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17 She used to follow Paul and shout, “These men are servants of the Most High God. They’re telling you how you can be saved.” 18 She kept doing this for many days. Paul became annoyed, turned to the evil spirit, and said, “I command you in the name of Yeshua Christ to come out of her!”
As Paul said this, the evil spirit left her. 19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the authorities in the public square. 20 In front of the Roman officials, they said, “These men are stirring up a lot of trouble in our city. They’re Jews, 21 and they’re advocating customs that we can’t accept or practice as Roman citizens.”
22 The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas. Then the officials tore the clothes off Paul and Silas and ordered the guards to beat them with sticks. 23 After they had hit Paul and Silas many times, they threw them in jail and ordered the jailer to keep them under tight security. 24 So the jailer followed these orders and put Paul and Silas into solitary confinement with their feet in leg irons.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48 Yeshua saw that they were in a lot of trouble as they rowed, because they were going against the wind. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. He wanted to pass by them. 49 When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought, “It’s a ghost!” and they began to scream. 50 All of them saw him and were terrified.
Immediately, he said, “Calm down! It’s me. Don’t be afraid!” 51 He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciples were astounded. 52 (They didn’t understand what had happened with the loaves of bread. Instead, their minds were closed.)
53 They crossed the sea, came to shore at Gennesaret, and anchored there.
54 As soon as they stepped out of the boat, the people recognized Yeshua. 55 They ran all over the countryside and began to carry the sick on cots to any place where they heard he was. 56 Whenever he would go into villages, cities, or farms, people would put their sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched his clothes was made well.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.