Book of Common Prayer
Protection from the Wicked
Psalm 140
1 For the music director: a psalm of David.
2 Rescue me, Adonai, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent men—
3 who devise evil in their heart—
every day they stir up wars.
4 They sharpen their tongue like a serpent’s
—viper’s venom is under their lips.[a] Selah
5 Keep me safe, Adonai, from the clutches of the wicked.
Protect me from the man of violence who planned to push me off my feet.
6 The proud have hidden a trap and cords for me.
They spread out a net by the path.
They set snares for me. Selah
7 I said to Adonai: “You are my God!”
Hear, Adonai, the sound of my supplications.
8 God my Lord, the strength of my deliverance,
You shield my head in the day of battle.
9 Grant not, Adonai, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their evil plan succeed,
or they will exalt themselves. Selah
10 As for the head of those surrounding me,
may the mischief of their lips overwhelm them.
11 Let burning coals fall upon them.
May they be cast into the fire, into deep pits,
never to rise again.[b]
12 May a slanderer not endure in the land.
May calamity hunt down a violent man.
13 I know Adonai will vindicate the poor,
and secure justice for the needy.
14 Surely, the righteous ones will praise Your name.
The upright will dwell in Your presence.
A Refuge from Trouble
Psalm 142
1 A contemplative poem of David, when he was in the cave, a prayer.
2 I cry aloud with my voice to Adonai.
With my voice I seek favor from Adonai.
3 I pour out my complaint before Him,
before Him I tell my trouble.
4 When my spirit grows faint within me,
You know my path.
In the way where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
5 Look at my right hand and see,
for no one cares about me.
I have no refuge—
no one cares for my soul.
6 I have cried out to You, Adonai.
I said: “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
7 Listen to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
Rescue me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me.
8 Bring my soul out of prison,
so I may praise Your Name.
The righteous will triumph through me,
for You will reward me.
Evening Petition for Protection
Psalm 141
1 A psalm of David.
Adonai, I call to You—come quickly to me!
Hear my voice when I call to You.
2 May my prayer be set before You like incense.
May the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, Adonai, over my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Let not my heart turn to any evil thing,
to practice deeds of wickedness
with men that work iniquity,
nor let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the righteous strike me—it is kindness.
Let him correct me—it is oil on my head
—my head will not refuse it.
Yet still my prayer is against their wickedness.
6 Their judges are thrown down from a cliff.
Then they will hear my words, since they are sweet.
7 As when one plows and breaks open the earth,
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 For my eyes are toward You, God my Lord.
In You I have taken refuge—do not expose my soul.
9 Keep me from the jaws of the trap they have laid for me,
and from the snares of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
Hide Not Your Face from Me
Psalm 143
1 A psalm of David.
Hear my prayer, Adonai,
give ear to my petitions.
In Your faithfulness and Your righteousness,
answer me!
2 Do not bring Your servant into judgment,
for in Your eyes no one living is righteous.
3 For an enemy pursues my soul.
He crushes my life down to the ground.
He makes me dwell in darkness, like those long dead.
4 So my spirit grows faint within me.
My heart is shocked within me.
5 I remember the days of old.
I meditate on all You have done.
I ponder the work of Your hands.
6 I spread forth my hands to You.
My soul longs for You as a parched land. Selah
7 Answer me speedily, Adonai—my spirit fails.
Hide not Your face from me,
lest I become like those who go down into the Pit.
8 Make me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
for in You I trust.
Show me the way I should go,
for to You I lift up my soul.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, Adonai.
I hide myself in You.
10 Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.
Let Your good Ruach lead me on level ground.
11 For Your Name’s sake, Adonai, revive me.
In Your justice bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In Your mercy cut off my enemies
and destroy all who harass my soul,
for I am Your servant.
14 They will raise their voices,
They will sing for joy, of the majesty of Adonai
they shout from the sea.
15 ‘Therefore glorify Adonai in the east,
the Name of Adonai, the God of Israel,
in the isles of the sea.
16 From the ends of the earth we have heard songs:
“Glory to the righteous!”
But I say, “I waste away, I waste away!
Oy to me! Traitors betray!
With treachery traitors betray!”
17 Panic, pit and trap are upon you,
O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass:
whoever flees from the sound of panic
will fall in the pit,
and whoever climbs up out of the pit
will be caught in the trap.
For the windows of heaven are opened
and the foundations of the earth shake.
19 The earth is broken apart,
the earth is split open,
the earth is shaken utterly.
20 The earth reels to and fro like a drunk,
and sways like a hut.
its transgression is so heavy upon it
that it will fall and never rise again.
21 It will come about in that day,
Adonai will punish the host of heaven on high,
and the kings of the earth on the earth.
22 They will be gathered together,
like prisoners in the Pit,
and will be shut up in the prison,
and after many days be punished.
23 Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed,
for Adonai-Tzva’ot will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,
and before His elders, gloriously.
13 Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not be afraid or worry about their threats. [a] 15 Instead sanctify Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, 16 yet with humility and reverence—keeping a clear conscience so that, whatever you are accused of, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Messiah may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good (if it is God’s will) than for doing evil.
18 For Messiah once suffered for sins also—the righteous for the unrighteous[b]—in order to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Ruach. 19 Through the Ruach He also went and preached to the spirits in prison. 20 Long ago they disobeyed while God kept waiting patiently, in the days of Noah as the ark was being built. In that ark a few (that is, eight souls) were brought safely through water. 21 Corresponding to that, immersion now brings you to safety—not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but a pledge to God of a good conscience—through the resurrection of Messiah Yeshua. 22 He has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers subjected to Him.
How to Live in the Last Days
4 Therefore, since Messiah suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same attitude. For the one who has suffered in the flesh is finished with sin. 2 As a result, he lives the rest of his time in the flesh no longer for human desires, but for God’s will. 3 For the time that has passed was sufficient for you to carry out the desire of the pagans—living in indecency, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, wild parties, and lawless idolatries. 4 They are surprised that you do not run with them into the same riot of recklessness, and they vilify you. 5 But they will have to give an account to the One who stands ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this was the reason the Good News was proclaimed even to those now dead, so that though they are judged in the flesh before humans, they might live in the Ruach before God.
Third Prediction: Death and Resurrection
17 Now as Yeshua was going up to Jerusalem, He took the Twelve aside privately; and on the way he told them, 18 “Look, we’re going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the ruling kohanim and Torah scholars. They will condemn Him to death 19 and hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify. Yet on the third day, He will be raised up.”[a]
Leading by Serving
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came with her sons to Yeshua, and she was kneeling down and asking something from Him.
21 “What do you want?” He said to her.
She said to Him, “Declare that these two sons of mine might sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your kingdom.”
22 But Yeshua replied, “You don’t know what you’re asking! Are you able to drink the cup I am about to drink?”
“We are able,” they say to Him.
23 He said to them, “You shall indeed drink My cup. But to sit on My right and left, this isn’t Mine to grant. Rather, it’s for those for whom it has been prepared by My Father.”
24 Now when the ten heard, they became indignant with the two brothers. 25 But Yeshua called them over and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones play the tyrant over them. 26 It shall not be this way among you. But whoever wants to be great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.