Book of Common Prayer
Learn Torah Letter by Letter
Psalm 119
ALEPH א
1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the Torah of Adonai.
2 Happy are those who keep His testimonies,
who seek Him with a whole heart,
3 who also do no injustice, but walk in His ways.
4 You have commanded that Your precepts
be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast
to observe Your decrees!
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
when I consider all Your mitzvot.
7 I will praise You with an upright heart
as I learn Your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe Your statutes.
Never abandon me utterly!
BET ב
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to Your word.
10 With my whole heart have I sought You
—let me not stray from Your mitzvot.
11 I have treasured Your word in my heart,
so I might not sin against You.
12 Blessed are You, Adonai.
Teach me Your statutes.
13 With my lips I rehearse
all the rulings of Your mouth.
14 I rejoice in the way of Your testimonies
above all wealth.
15 I will meditate on Your precepts,
and regard Your ways.
16 I will delight in Your decrees.
I will never forget Your word.
GIMEL ג
17 Do good to Your servant
that I may live and keep Your word.
18 Open my eyes, so I may behold
wonders from Your Torah.
19 I am a temporary dweller on earth—
do not hide Your mitzvot from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing
for Your judgments at all times.
21 You rebuke the proud, who are cursed,
who wander from Your mitzvot.
22 Take scorn and contempt away from me,
for I have kept Your testimonies.
23 Though princes sit and talk against me,
Your servant meditates on Your decrees.
24 For Your testimonies are my delight—
they are also my counselors.
Silence the Flattering Lips
Psalm 12
1 For the music director, on the eight-string lyre, a psalm of David.
2 Help, Adonai! For no one godly exists.
For the faithful have vanished from the children of men.
3 Everyone tells a lie to his neighbor,
talking with flattering lips and a divided heart.
4 May Adonai cut off all flattering lips—
a tongue bragging big things.
5 They say: “With our tongue we’ll prevail.
We own our lips—who can master us?”
6 “Because of the oppression of the poor,
because of the groaning of the needy,
now will I arise,” says Adonai.
“I will put him in the safe place—he pants for it.”
7 The words of Adonai are pure words—
like silver refined in an earthly crucible,
purified seven times.
8 You will keep us safe, Adonai.
You will protect us from this generation forever.
9 The wicked strut all around,
while vileness is exalted by mankind.
Trust in His Chesed
Psalm 13
1 For the music director, a psalm of David.
2 How long, Adonai? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
3 How long must I have cares in my soul
and daily sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
4 Look at me and answer, Adonai my God.
Light up my eyes, or I will sleep in death.
5 Or else my enemy will say: “I have overcome him!”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
6 But I trust in Your lovingkindness,
my heart rejoices in Your salvation.
I will sing to Adonai,
because He has been good to me.
There Is No God?
Psalm 14
1 For the music director, of David.
The fool said in his heart:
“There is no God.”
They are corrupt; their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.[a]
2 Adonai looked down from heaven on the children of men,
to see if there are any who understand,
who seek after God.
3 They all turned aside, became corrupt.
There is no one who does good
—not even one.
4 “Will evildoers never understand—
those who consume My people as they eat bread—
and never call on Adonai?”
5 There they are, in great dread.
For God is with the righteous generation.
6 You would frustrate the plan of the lowly.
Surely Adonai is his refuge!
7 O may He give Israel’s salvation out of Zion!
When Adonai restores His captive people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad!
12 Thus says Adonai:
“Just as the shepherd snatches out of the mouth of the lion
two legs, or a piece of an ear,
so will Bnei-Yisrael dwelling in Samaria
escape with the corner of a bed
or a head of a couch.
13 Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob.”
It is the declaration of my Lord
Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot.
14 “For in a day I shall punish Israel for the transgressions of Israel,
and attend to the altars of Bethel—
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will also strike the winter house
together with the summer house.
The houses of ivory will perish,
and great houses will be demolished.”
It is the declaration of Adonai.
Word for Worldly Women
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on Samaria’s hill,
who oppress the poor,
who crush the needy,
who say to their masters: “Bring, so we may drink.”
2 My Lord Adonai has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, days are coming upon you
when he will drag you away with meat-hooks,
the last of you with fishhooks.
3 You will go out through breaches—
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be cast to Harmon.”[a]
It is the declaration of Adonai.
4 “Come to Bethel and transgress,
in Gilgal multiply transgression.
Every morning bring your sacrifices
and your tithes every three days.
5 Offer up hametz as a thank offering,
call out about freewill offerings—
boast about it!
For so you love to do, Bnei-Yisrael.”
It is the declaration of my Lord Adonai.
The Day of the Lord Is Coming
3 Loved ones, this is now the second letter that I am writing to you. In both I am trying to stir you up by way of a reminder to wholesome thinking— 2 to remember the words previously proclaimed by the holy prophets and the commandment of our Lord and Savior through your emissaries. [a] 3 First of all, understand that in the last days, scoffers will come scoffing, following after their own desires [b] 4 and saying, “Where is this promise of His coming?[c] Ever since the fathers died,[d] everything goes on just as it has from the beginning of creation.” 5 For in holding to this idea, it escapes their notice that the heavens existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God. [e] 6 Through these, the world of that time was destroyed by being flooded with water. [f] 7 But by the same word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire—kept until the Day of Judgment and the destruction of ungodly people.[g]
8 But don’t forget this one thing, loved ones, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. [h] 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some consider slowness.[i] Rather, He is being patient toward you—not wanting anyone to perish, but for all to come to repentance.
10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief.[j] On that day the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the elements will melt and disintegrate, and the earth and everything done on it shall be exposed.
Questions about Yeshua’s Authority
23 Now when He entered the Temple, the ruling kohanim and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, saying, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?”
24 Yeshua replied to them, “I also will ask you one question. If you tell Me, I likewise will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 John’s immersion, where was it from? From heaven or from men?”
They began to dialogue among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we fear the crowd, for all hold up John as a prophet.” 27 So answering Yeshua, they said, “We don’t know.”
Then He said to them, “Neither am I telling you by what authority I do these things.”
A Parable about Intentions and Actions
28 “Now what do you think? A man had two sons, and he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go work in the vineyard today.’ 29 The son answered, ‘I won’t,’ but afterward he had a change of heart and went. 30 The man went to the second son and said the same thing. But he answered, ‘I will, sir,’ and didn’t go. 31 Which of the two did the will of the father?”
“The first,” they said.
Yeshua said to them, “Amen, I tell you, the tax collectors and prostitutes are going ahead of you into the kingdom of God. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and even after you saw this, you had no change of heart to believe him.”
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.