Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David.
1 Open your ears to my prayer, O Elohim.
Do not hide from my plea for mercy.
2 Pay attention to me, and answer me.
My thoughts are restless, and I am confused
3 because my enemy shouts at me
and a wicked person persecutes me.
They bring misery crashing down on me,
and they attack me out of anger.
4 My heart is in turmoil.
The terrors of death have seized me.
5 Fear and trembling have overcome me.
Horror has overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “If only I had wings like a dove—
I would fly away and find rest.
7 Indeed, I would run far away.
I would stay in the desert. Selah
8 I would hurry to find shelter
from the raging wind and storm.”
9 Completely confuse their language, O Adonay,
because I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they go around on top of the city walls.
Trouble and misery are everywhere.
11 Destruction is everywhere.
Oppression and fraud never leave the streets.[a]
12 If an enemy had insulted me,
then I could bear it.
If someone who hated me had attacked me,
then I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, my equal,
my best friend,
one I knew so well!
14 We used to talk to each other in complete confidence
and walk into Elohim’s house with the festival crowds.
15 Let death suddenly take wicked people!
Let them go into the grave while they are still alive,
because evil lives in their homes as well as in their hearts.
16 But I call on Elohim,
and Yahweh saves me.
17 Morning, noon, and night I complain and groan,
and he listens to my voice.
18 With his peace, he will rescue my soul
from the war waged against me,
because there are many soldiers fighting against me.
19 El will listen.
The one who has sat enthroned from the beginning
will deal with them. Selah
They never change. They never fear Elohim.
20 My best friend has betrayed his friends.
He has broken his solemn promise.
21 His speech is smoother than butter,
but there is war in his heart.
His words are more soothing than oil,
but they are like swords ready to attack.
22 Turn your burdens over to Yahweh,
and he will take care of you.
He will never let the righteous person stumble.
23 But you, O Elohim, will throw wicked people into the deepest pit.
Bloodthirsty and deceitful people will not live out half their days.
But I will trust you.
Psalm 138
By David.
1 I will give thanks to you with all my heart.
I will make music to praise you in front of the false gods.
2 I will bow toward your holy temple.
I will give thanks to your name because of your mercy and truth.
You have made your name and your promise greater than everything.
3 When I called, you answered me.
You made me bold by strengthening my soul.[a]
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
because they have heard the promises you spoke.
5 They will sing this about the ways of Yahweh:
“Yahweh’s honor is great!”
6 Even though Yahweh is high above, he sees humble people close up,
and he recognizes arrogant people from a distance.
7 Even though I walk into the middle of trouble,
you guard my life against the anger of my enemies.
You stretch out your hand,
and your right hand saves me.
8 Yahweh will do everything for me.
O Yahweh, your mercy endures forever.
Do not let go of what your hands have made.
Psalm 139
For the choir director; a psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, you have examined me, and you know me.
2 You alone know when I sit down and when I get up.
You read my thoughts from far away.
3 You watch me when I travel and when I rest.
You are familiar with all my ways.
4 Even before there is a single word on my tongue,
you know all about it, Yahweh.
5 You are all around me—in front of me and in back of me.
You lay your hand on me.
6 Such knowledge is beyond my grasp.
It is so high I cannot reach it.
7 Where can I go to get away from your Ruach?
Where can I run to get away from you?
8 If I go up to heaven, you are there.
If I make my bed in hell, you are there.
9 If I climb upward on the rays of the morning sun
or land on the most distant shore of the sea where the sun sets,
10 even there your hand would guide me
and your right hand would hold on to me.
11 If I say, “Let the darkness hide me
and let the light around me turn into night,”
12 even the darkness is not too dark for you.
Night is as bright as day.
Darkness and light are the same to you.
13 You alone created my inner being.
You knitted me together inside my mother.
14 I will give thanks to you
because I have been so amazingly and miraculously made.
Your works are miraculous, and my soul is fully aware of this.
15 My bones were not hidden from you
when I was being made in secret,
when I was being skillfully woven in an underground workshop.
16 Your eyes saw me when I was only a fetus.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book
before one of them had taken place.
17 How precious are your thoughts concerning me, O El!
How vast in number they are!
18 If I try to count them,
there would be more of them than there are grains of sand.
When I wake up, I am still with you.
19 I wish that you would kill wicked people, O Eloah,
and that bloodthirsty people would leave me alone.
20 They say wicked things about you.
Your enemies misuse your name.
21 Shouldn’t I hate those who hate you, O Yahweh?
Shouldn’t I be disgusted with those who attack you?
22 I hate them with all my heart.
They have become my enemies.
23 Examine me, O El, and know my mind.
Test me, and know my thoughts.
Sanballat Ridicules the Jews
4 [a]When Sanballat heard we were rebuilding the wall, he became enraged and made fun of the Jews. 2 In front of his allies and the army from Samaria, he said, “What do these miserable Jews think they’re doing? Can they rebuild it by themselves? Are they going to offer sacrifices? Can they finish it in a day? Will they get the stones out of the rubbish heaps, burned as these stones are, and give them new strength?”
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was beside Sanballat, said, “Even a fox would make their stone wall collapse if it walked on top of what they’re building!”
Nehemiah Overcomes Opposition from Sanballat
4 Nehemiah prayed, “Our Elohim, hear us. We are despised. Turn their insults back on them, and let them be robbed in the land where they are prisoners. 5 Don’t ignore their guilt, and don’t let their sins disappear from your records. They have insulted you in front of these builders.”
6 So we rebuilt the wall, which was rebuilt to about half its original height. The people worked with determination.
7 When Sanballat, Tobiah, the Arabs, the Ammonites, and the people from Ashdod heard that the repair work on the walls of Jerusalem was making progress and that the gaps were being filled in, they became furious. 8 All of them plotted to attack Jerusalem to create confusion. 9 But we prayed to our Elohim and set guards to protect us day and night.
10 Then the people of Judah said, “The work crews are worn out, and there is too much rubble. We can’t continue to rebuild the wall.”
11 Our enemies said, “Before they know what is happening or see a thing, we will be right in the middle of them. We’ll kill them and bring the work to an end.”
12 Jews who were living near our enemies warned us ten times that our enemies would attack us from every direction.[b]
13 That is why I positioned people by their families behind the wall where it was lowest and most exposed. The people were armed with swords, spears, and bows. 14 I looked them over and proceeded to tell the nobles, the leaders, and the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of our enemies. Remember how great and awe-inspiring Adonay is. Fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes.”
15 When our enemies heard that we knew about their plots and that Elohim had prevented their plans from being successful, we all went back to the work on the wall. Each person performed his own job. 16 From that day on, half of my men worked on the wall, and the other half were wearing body armor and holding spears, shields, and bows. The leaders stood behind all the Judeans 17 who were rebuilding the wall. The workers who were carrying loads did the work with one hand and held their weapons with the other, 18 and each builder had his sword fastened to his side. The man who was supposed to sound the trumpet alarm was with me. 19 I told the nobles, the leaders, and the rest of the people, “So much work has to be done in different places that we are widely separated from one another on the wall. 20 When you hear the trumpet, assemble around me. Our Elohim will fight for us!”
21 So we continued to work. Half of us held spears from early dawn until the stars came out. 22 At that time I told the people, “Every man and his servant should stay overnight in Jerusalem so that we can set a guard at night and work during the day.” 23 My brothers, my servants, and the guards assigned to me never changed their clothes. Neither did I. We each kept our weapons at hand.
4 I heard how many were sealed: 144,000. Those who were sealed were from every tribe of the people of Israel:
5 12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,
12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,
12,000 from the tribe of Gad,
6 12,000 from the tribe of Asher,
12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,
12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,
7 12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,
12,000 from the tribe of Levi,
12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,
8 12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,
12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,
12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed.
God’s People around His Throne in Heaven
9 After these things I saw a large crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language. No one was able to count how many people there were. They were standing in front of the throne and the lamb. They were wearing white robes, holding palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out in a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the lamb!”
11 All the angels stood around the throne with the leaders and the four living creatures. They bowed in front of the throne with their faces touching the ground, worshiped God, 12 and said,
“Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power, and strength
be to our God forever and ever! Amen!”
13 One of the leaders asked me, “Who are these people wearing white robes, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered him, “Sir, you know.”
Then he told me,
“These are the people who are coming out of the terrible suffering.
They have washed their robes
and made them white in the blood of the lamb.
15 That is why they are in front of the throne of God.
They serve him day and night in his temple.
The one who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.
16 They will never be hungry or thirsty again.
Neither the sun nor any burning heat will ever overcome them.
17 The lamb in the center near the throne will be their shepherd.
He will lead them to springs filled with the water of life,
and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
Stories about a Mustard Seed and Yeast(A)
31 Yeshua used another illustration. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone planted in a field. 32 It’s one of the smallest seeds. However, when it has grown, it is taller than the garden plants. It becomes a tree that is large enough for birds to nest in its branches.”
33 He used another illustration. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until the yeast worked its way through all the dough.”
34 Yeshua used illustrations to tell the crowds all these things. He did not tell them anything without illustrating it with a story. 35 So what the prophet had said came true:
“I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will tell what has been hidden since the world was made.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.