Book of Common Prayer
63 (0) A psalm of David, when he was in the desert of Y’hudah:
2 (1) O God, you are my God;
I will seek you eagerly.
My heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you
in a land parched and exhausted,
where no water can be found.
3 (2) I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and glory;
4 (3) for your grace is better than life.
My lips will worship you.
5 (4) Yes, I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
6 (5) I am as satisfied as with rich food;
my mouth praises you with joy on my lips
7 (6) when I remember you on my bed
and meditate on you in the night watches.
8 (7) For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
9 (8) my heart clings to you;
your right hand supports me.
10 (9) But those who seek to destroy my life —
may they go to the lowest parts of the earth.
11 (10) May they be given over to the power of the sword;
may they become prey for jackals.
12 (11) But the king will rejoice in God.
Everyone who swears by him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be silenced.
98 (0) A psalm:
(1) Sing a new song to Adonai,
because he has done wonders.
His right hand, his holy arm
have won him victory.
2 Adonai has made known his victory;
revealed his vindication in full view of the nations,
3 remembered his grace and faithfulness
to the house of Isra’el.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
4 Shout for joy to Adonai, all the earth!
Break forth, sing for joy, sing praises!
5 Sing praises to Adonai with the lyre,
with the lyre and melodious music!
6 With trumpets and the sound of the shofar,
shout for joy before the king, Adonai!
7 Let the sea roar, and everything in it;
the world, and those living in it.
8 Let the floods clap their hands;
let the mountains sing together for joy
9 before Adonai, for he has come to judge the earth;
he will judge the world rightly and the peoples fairly.
103 (0) By David:
(1) Bless Adonai, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless Adonai, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits!
3 He forgives all your offenses,
he heals all your diseases,
4 he redeems your life from the pit,
he surrounds you with grace and compassion,
5 he contents you with good as long as you live,
so that your youth is renewed like an eagle’s.
6 Adonai brings vindication and justice
to all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moshe,
his mighty deeds to the people of Isra’el.
8 Adonai is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in grace.
9 He will not always accuse,
he will not keep his anger forever.
10 He has not treated us as our sins deserve
or paid us back for our offenses,
11 because his mercy toward those who fear him
is as far above earth as heaven.
12 He has removed our sins from us
as far as the east is from the west.
13 Just as a father has compassion on his children,
Adonai has compassion on those who fear him.
14 For he understands how we are made,
he remembers that we are dust.
15 Yes, a human being’s days are like grass,
he sprouts like a flower in the countryside —
16 but when the wind sweeps over, it’s gone;
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the mercy of Adonai on those who fear him
is from eternity past to eternity future,
and his righteousness extends
to his children’s children,
18 provided they keep his covenant
and remember to follow his precepts.
19 Adonai has established his throne in heaven;
his kingly power rules everything.
20 Bless Adonai, you angels of his,
you mighty warriors who obey his word,
who carry out his orders!
21 Bless Adonai, all his troops,
who serve him and do what he wants!
22 Bless Adonai, all his works,
in every place where he rules!
Bless Adonai, my soul!
1 In the second year of Daryavesh the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the following word of Adonai came through Hagai the prophet to Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el, governor of Y’hudah, and to Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol: 2 “Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: ‘This people is saying that now isn’t the time — the time hasn’t yet arrived for Adonai’s house to be rebuilt.’”
3 Then this word of Adonai came through Hagai the prophet: 4 “So is now the time for you to be living in your own paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Therefore here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says:
‘Think about your life!
6 You sow much but bring in little;
you eat but aren’t satisfied;
you drink but never have enough;
you clothe yourselves, but no one is warm;
and he who works for a living earns wages
that are put in a bag full of holes.’”
7 “Here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: ‘Think about your life! 8 Go up into the hills, get wood, and rebuild the house. I will be pleased with that, and then I will be glorified,’ says Adonai. 9 ‘You looked for much, but it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?’ asks Adonai-Tzva’ot. ‘Because my house lies in ruins, while every one of you runs to take care of his own house. 10 This is why the sky above you has withheld the dew, so that there is none, and the land withholds its yield. 11 In fact, I called for a drought on the land and on the hills, on the grain, the wine and the olive oil, on what the ground brings up, on men, animals and on all that hands produce.’”
12 Then Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el and Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, with all the rest of the people, paid attention to what Adonai their God had said and to the words of Hagai the prophet; since Adonai their God had sent him; and the people were filled with fear in the presence of Adonai. 13 Hagai the messenger of Adonai conveyed this message of Adonai to the people: “‘I am with you,’ says Adonai.”
14 Adonai roused the spirit of Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el, governor of Y’hudah, and the spirit of Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, and the spirits of all the rest of the people; so that they came and began to work on the house of Adonai-Tzva’ot their God. 15 This was on the twenty-fourth day of the sixth month of the second year of Daryavesh the king.
2 On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, this word of Adonai came through Hagai the prophet: 2 “Speak now to Z’rubavel the son of Sh’alti’el, governor of Y’hudah, and to Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol, and to the rest of the people; say this to them: 3 ‘“Who among you is left that saw this house in its former glory? And how does it look to you now? It seems like nothing to you, doesn’t it? 4 Nevertheless, Z’rubavel, take courage now,” says Adonai; “and take courage, Y’hoshua the son of Y’hotzadak, the cohen hagadol; and take courage, all you people of the land,” says Adonai; “and get to work! For I am with you,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 5 “This is in keeping with the word that I promised in a covenant with you when you came out of Egypt, and my Spirit remains with you, so don’t be afraid!” 6 For this is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: “It won’t be long before one more time I will shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land; 7 and I will shake all the nations, so that the treasures of all the nations will flow in; and I will fill this house with glory,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 8 “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot. 9 “The glory of this new house will surpass that of the old,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot, “and in this place I will grant shalom,” says Adonai-Tzva’ot.’”
24 Meanwhile, a Jewish man named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker with a thorough knowledge of the Tanakh. 25 This man had been informed about the Way of the Lord, and with great spiritual fervor he spoke and taught accurately the facts about Yeshua, but he knew only the immersion of Yochanan. 26 He began to speak out boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the Way of God in fuller detail. 27 When he made plans to cross over into Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote the talmidim there to welcome him. On arrival, he greatly helped those who through grace had come to trust; 28 for he powerfully and conclusively refuted the unbelieving Jews in public, demonstrating by the Tanakh that Yeshua is the Messiah.
19 While Apollos was in Corinth, Sha’ul completed his travels through the inland country and arrived at Ephesus, where he found a few talmidim. 2 He asked them, “Did you receive the Ruach HaKodesh when you came to trust?” “No,” they said to him, “we have never even heard that there is such a thing as the Ruach HaKodesh.” 3 “In that case,” he said, “into what were you immersed?” “The immersion of Yochanan,” they answered. 4 Sha’ul said, “Yochanan practiced an immersion in connection with turning from sin to God; but he told the people to put their trust in the one who would come after him, that is, in Yeshua.” 5 On hearing this, they were immersed into the name of the Lord Yeshua; 6 and when Sha’ul placed his hands on them, the Ruach HaKodesh came upon them; so that they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 In all, there were about twelve of these men.
25 An expert in Torah stood up to try and trap him by asking, “Rabbi, what should I do to obtain eternal life?” 26 But Yeshua said to him, “What is written in the Torah? How do you read it?” 27 He answered, “You are to love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your understanding; and your neighbor as yourself.”[a] 28 “That’s the right answer,” Yeshua said. “Do this, and you will have life.”
29 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Yeshua, “And who is my ‘neighbor’?” 30 Taking up the question, Yeshua said: “A man was going down from Yerushalayim to Yericho when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him naked and beat him up, then went off, leaving him half dead. 31 By coincidence, a cohen was going down on that road; but when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levi who reached the place and saw him also passed by on the other side.
33 “But a man from Shomron who was traveling came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion. 34 So he went up to him, put oil and wine on his wounds and bandaged them. Then he set him on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day, he took out two days’ wages, gave them to the innkeeper and said, ‘Look after him; and if you spend more than this, I’ll pay you back when I return.’ 36 Of these three, which one seems to you to have become the ‘neighbor’ of the man who fell among robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed mercy toward him.” Yeshua said to him, “You go and do as he did.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.