Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
1 The Eternal reigns, clothed in majesty;
He is dressed in power;
He has surrounded Himself with strength.
He has established the world, and it will never be toppled.
2 Your throne was established from the beginning of the world, O God,
and You are everlasting.
3 The waters have risen, O Eternal One;
the sound of pounding waves is deafening.
The waters have roared with power.
4 More powerful than the thunder of mighty rivers,
more powerful than the mighty waves in the ocean
is the Eternal on high!
5 Your teachings are true;
Your decrees sure.
Sacredness adorns Your house, O Eternal One, forevermore.
Psalm 96
1 Sing a new song to the Eternal;
sing in one voice to the Eternal, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Eternal of all the good things He’s done.
Bless His name;
broadcast the good news of His salvation each and every day.
3 Enlighten the nations to His splendor;
describe His wondrous acts to all people.
4 For the Eternal is great indeed and praiseworthy;
feared and reverenced above all gods, the True God shall be.
5 For all human-made, lifeless gods are worthless idols,
but the Eternal plotted the vast heavens, shaped every last detail.
6 Honor and majesty precede Him;
strength and beauty infuse His holy sanctuary.
One of the great themes of Scripture and Psalms is the kingship of God. While lesser kings come and go, God is the One who ultimately rules and reigns over His people, and by extension over the rest of creation. Psalm 96 and others in the collection are often referred to as “enthronement” psalms because they declare boldly and unequivocally that the Eternal is King. There is evidence to suggest that an annual festival at the beginning of the year provided an opportunity to reaffirm the people’s loyalty to the one True God. Psalm 96 calls for new songs to be composed and sung to God and about God as a witness. The enthronement psalms call the world and all its inhabitants to come and recognize His beauty and majesty.
7 Give all credit to the Eternal, families of the world!
Credit Him with glory, honor, and strength!
8 Credit Him with the glory worthy of His magnificent name;
gather your sacrifice, and present it at His temple.
9 Bow down to the Eternal, adorned in holiness;
lay awestruck before Him, trembling, all people of the earth.
10 Shout out to the nations, “The Eternal reigns!
Yes, indeed, the world is anchored and will not shake loose.
He governs all people with a fair hand.”
11 And so, let the heavens resound in gladness!
Let joy be the earth’s rhythm as the sea and all its creatures roar.
12 Let the fields grow in triumph, a grand jubilee for all that live there.
Let all the trees of the forest dig in and reach high with songs of joy before the Eternal,
13 For the Eternal is on His way:
yes, He is coming to judge the earth.
He will set the world right by His standards,
and by His faithfulness, He will examine the people.
Psalm 34
A song of David as he pretended to be insane to escape from Abimelech.
While there is nothing specific to tie this Davidic psalm to the events in 1 Samuel 21:10–15, the superscription recalls a time when David pretended to be insane to protect himself from the Philistines.
1 I will praise the Eternal in every moment through every situation.
Whenever I speak, my words will always praise Him.
2 Everything within me wants to pay tribute to Him.
Whenever the poor and humble hear of His greatness, they will celebrate too!
3 Come and lift up the Eternal with me;
let’s praise His name together!
4 When I needed the Lord, I looked for Him;
I called out to Him, and He heard me and responded.
He came and rescued me from everything that made me so afraid.
5 Look to Him and shine,
so shame will never contort your faces.
6 This poor soul cried, and the Eternal heard me.
He rescued me from my troubles.
7 The messenger of the Eternal God surrounds
everyone who walks with Him and is always there to protect and rescue us.
8 Taste of His goodness; see how wonderful the Eternal truly is.
Anyone who puts trust in Him will be blessed and comforted.
9 Revere the Eternal, you His saints,
for those who worship Him will possess everything important in life.
10 Young lions may grow tired and hungry,
but those intent on knowing the Eternal God will have everything they need.
11 Gather around, children, listen to what I’m saying;
I will teach you how to revere the Eternal.
12 If you love life
and want to live a good, long time,
13 Take care with the things you say.
Don’t lie or spread gossip or talk about improper things.
14 Walk away from the evil things of the world,
and always seek peace and pursue it.
15 For the Eternal watches over the righteous,
and His ears are attuned to their prayers. He is always listening.
16 But He will punish evildoers,
and nothing they do will last. They will soon be forgotten.
17 When the upright need help and cry to the Eternal, He hears their cries
and rescues them from all of their troubles.
18 When someone is hurting or brokenhearted, the Eternal moves in close
and revives him in his pain.
19 Hard times may well be the plight of the righteous—
they may often seem overwhelmed—
but the Eternal rescues the righteous from what oppresses them.
20 He will protect all of their bones;
not even one bone will be broken.
21 Evil moves in and ultimately murders the wicked;
the enemies of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Eternal will liberate His servants;
those who seek refuge in Him will never be condemned.
Laban and Bethuel: 50 There is no doubt this comes from the Eternal One. We cannot find fault or add anything to what you have said. 51 Look, you’ve found Rebekah here. Take her, and go. Let her marry your master’s son as the Eternal has intended.
52 When Abraham’s servant heard this, he bowed low to the ground before the Eternal. 53 He brought out silver and gold jewelry and beautiful clothes, and the servant presented them to Rebekah. He also gave her brother and her mother expensive ornaments to pay her bride-price. 54 Then he and the men who traveled with him ate and drank heartily, and they spent the night there. After everyone had risen the next morning, he asked his hosts for permission to leave and return to his master with Rebekah.
Laban and Rebekah’s Mother: 55 Allow Rebekah to remain with us just a little while longer—perhaps 10 days. After that, she may go.
Servant: 56 Please don’t delay my journey. Since the Eternal One has made me successful in my mission, grant me permission to leave and return to my master.
Laban and Rebekah’s Mother: 57 We’ll call Rebekah now and ask her what she wants to do.
58 They called for Rebekah.
Laban and Rebekah’s Mother (to Rebekah): Are you willing to go with this man?
Rebekah: Yes, I will go.
59 So the family gathered and sent Rebekah, their sister, along with her nurse to go with Abraham’s servant and his men. 60 They all blessed Rebekah, saying,
May you, our dear sister,
be blessed with thousands upon thousands of children,
And may your descendants possess
the cities of their enemies.
61 At last Rebekah and her maidservants all went out, mounted the camels, and followed Abraham’s trusted servant back toward Canaan. This is how the servant found Rebekah and took her to be Isaac’s wife.
62 Meanwhile, Isaac had come back from a trip to Beer-lahai-roi and was living in the Negev. 63 Isaac went outside toward evening to take a walk in the field. As he was deep in thought, he looked up and saw the camels coming toward him. 64 At the same time, Rebekah looked up; and when she saw Isaac, she slipped down quickly from the camel 65 and spoke softly to the servant.
Rebekah: Who is that man over there, walking in the field to meet us?
Servant: Ah, it is my young master.
So she took her veil and covered herself so as to be in proper attire to meet her future husband. 66 When Isaac reached them, the servant told him all of the amazing things that had happened. 67 Then Isaac brought Rebekah into his mother Sarah’s tent. He took her as his wife and slept with her, and grew to love her deeply. In this way, Isaac found comfort in the wake of his mother’s death.
14 Remind others about these things that I’m telling you. Warn them before God to stop their useless bickering over words. After all, splitting hairs does no good; it only ruins those forced to listen to their meritless arguments. 15 Timothy, do everything you can to present yourself to God as a man who is fully genuine, a worker unashamed of your mission, a guide capable of leading others along the correct path defined by the word of truth. 16 Stay away from ungodly babbling because it will only lead deeper into a godless lifestyle. 17 Once these empty voices start to speak, Timothy, they infect and spread; and soon the body is consumed with its cancer.[a] Hymenaeus and Philetus fell victim to it, 18 and they walked away from the truth by claiming that the day of resurrection has already arrived. They are clearly disrupting the faith of some who are not well grounded. 19 Regardless of what they do or say, God’s foundation is strong and firmly in place, etched with this seal: “The Lord knows the ones who belong to Him,”[b] and, “Everyone who invokes the name of the Lord ought to stop doing what they know to be wrong.”
20 Look, in the mansions of the rich and powerful you will find everything from silver and gold serving bowls to wooden containers and clay jars; some are used for special occasions—where honor is important—others are used for more mundane tasks. 21 So tell them, if they will clean up their lives and purify themselves from dishonorable teachings that lead people astray, then they can become honorable vessels, consecrated and useful to the Master, made ready for every good work He has in store.
The Pharisees hope to trip Jesus. Instead of taking a side, Jesus goes to the purpose and meaning of marriage: not just from a social but a spiritual perspective.
13 When the crowd gathered again, the people brought their children to see Jesus, hoping that He might grant them His blessing through His touch.
His disciples turned them all away; 14 but when Jesus saw this, He was incensed.
Jesus (to the disciples): Let the children come to Me, and don’t ever stand in their way, for this is what the kingdom of God is all about. 15 Truly anyone who doesn’t accept the kingdom of God as a little child does can never enter it.
16 Jesus gathered the children in His arms, and He laid His hands on them to bless them.
17 When He had traveled on, a young man came and knelt in the dust of the road in front of Jesus.
Young Man: Good Teacher! What must I do to gain life in the world to come?
Jesus: 18 You are calling Me good? Don’t you know that God and God alone is good? 19 Anyway, why ask Me that question? You know the Commandments of Moses: “Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not slander, do not defraud, and honor your father and mother.”[a]
Young Man: 20 Yes, Teacher, I have done all these since I was a child.
21 Then Jesus, looking at the young man, saw that he was sincere and responded out of His love for him.
Jesus: Son, there is still one thing you have not done. Go now. Sell everything you have and give the proceeds to the poor so that you will have treasure in heaven. After that, come, follow Me.
22 The young man went away sick at heart at these words because he was very wealthy,
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.