Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 O Yahweh, my heart is not conceited.
My eyes do not look down on others.
I am not involved in things too big or too difficult for me.
2 Instead, I have kept my soul calm and quiet.
My soul is content as a weaned child is content in its mother’s arms.
3 Israel, put your hope in Yahweh now and forever.
Psalm 132
A song for going up to worship.
1 O Yahweh, remember David and all the hardships he endured.
2 Remember how he swore an oath to Yahweh
and made this vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not step inside my house,
4 get into my bed, shut my eyes, or close my eyelids
5 until I find a place for Yahweh,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Now, we have heard about the ark of the promise being in Ephrathah.
We have found it in Jaar.
7 Let’s go to his dwelling place.
Let’s worship at his footstool.
8 O Yahweh, arise, and come to your resting place
with the ark of your power.
9 Clothe your priests with righteousness.
Let your godly ones sing with joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 Yahweh swore an oath to David.
This is a truth he will not take back:
“I will set one of your own descendants on your throne.
12 If your sons are faithful to my promise[a]
and my written instructions that I will teach them,
then their descendants will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 Yahweh has chosen Zion.
He wants it for his home.
14 “This will be my resting place forever.
Here I will sit enthroned because I want Zion.
15 I will certainly bless all that Zion needs.
I will satisfy its needy people with food.
16 I will clothe its priests with salvation.
Then its godly ones will sing joyfully.
17 There I will make a horn sprout up for David.
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but the crown on my anointed one will shine.”
Psalm 133
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 See how good and pleasant it is
when brothers and sisters live together in harmony!
2 It is like fine, scented oil on the head,
running down the beard—down Aaron’s beard—
running over the collar of his robes.
3 It is like dew on Mount Hermon,
dew which comes down on Zion’s mountains.
That is where Yahweh promised
the blessing of eternal life.
Psalm 140
For the choir leader; a psalm by David.
1 Rescue me from evil people, O Yahweh.
Keep me safe from violent people.
2 They plan evil things in their hearts.
They start fights every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s fang.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah
4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O Yahweh.
Keep me safe from violent people.
They try to trip me.
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me.
They have spread out a net with ropes.
They have set traps for me along the road. Selah
6 I said to Yahweh, “You are my El.”
O Yahweh, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.
7 O Yahweh Adonay, the strong one who saves me,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 O Yahweh, do not give wicked people what they want.
Do not let their evil plans succeed,
or they will become arrogant. Selah
9 Let the heads of those who surround me
be covered with their own threats.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth.
Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.
12 I know that Yahweh will defend the rights of those who are oppressed
and the cause of those who are needy.
13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name.
Decent people will live in your presence.
Psalm 142
A maskil[a] by David when he was in the cave; a prayer.
1 Loudly, I cry to Yahweh.
Loudly, I plead with Yahweh for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints in his presence
and tell him my troubles.
3 When I begin to lose hope,
you already know what I am experiencing.
My enemies have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.
4 Look to my right and see that no one notices me.
Escape is impossible for me.
No one cares about me.
5 I call out to you, O Yahweh.
I say, “You are my Machseh,
my own inheritance in this world of the living.”
6 Pay attention to my cry for help
because I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me
because they are too strong for me.
7 Release my soul from prison
so that I may give thanks to your name.
Righteous people will surround me
because you are good to me.
25 Seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.
The Second Plague—Frogs
8 [a]Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says: Let my people go to worship me. 2 If you refuse to let them go, I will bring a plague of frogs on your whole country. 3 The Nile River will swarm with frogs. They will come into your palace, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your officials, on your people, into your ovens and into your mixing bowls. 4 The frogs will jump on you, on your people, and on all your officials.’”
5 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Hold your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds. This will bring frogs onto the land.’”
6 So Aaron held his staff over the waters of Egypt. The frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same thing using their magic spells and brought frogs onto the land.
8 Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray that Yahweh will take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to Yahweh.”
9 Moses answered Pharaoh, “You may have the honor of choosing when I should pray for you, your officials, and your people. Then the frogs will leave you and your homes. The only ones left will be those in the Nile.”
10 “Pray for me tomorrow,” Pharaoh said.
Moses replied, “It will be as you say so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our Elohim. 11 The frogs will leave you, your homes, your officials, and your people. The only frogs left will be those in the Nile.”
12 After Moses and Aaron left Pharaoh, Moses prayed to Yahweh about the frogs he had brought on Pharaoh. 13 Yahweh did what Moses asked. The frogs died in the houses, in the yards, and in the fields. 14 They were piled into countless heaps, and the land began to stink because of them.
15 When Pharaoh saw that the plague was over, he became stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as Yahweh had predicted.
The Third Plague—Gnats
16 Then Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Hold out your staff and strike the dust on the ground. All over Egypt the dust will turn into gnats.’”
17 When Moses told him, Aaron held out the staff in his hand and struck the dust on the ground. It turned into gnats that bit people and animals. All the dust on the ground everywhere in Egypt turned into gnats.
18 The magicians also tried to produce gnats using their magic spells, but they couldn’t do it. The gnats bit people and animals. 19 So the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the hand of Elohim!”
Yet, Pharaoh continued to be stubborn and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, as Yahweh had predicted.
7 The ministry that brought death was inscribed on stone. Yet, it came with such glory that the people of Israel couldn’t look at Moses’ face. His face was shining with glory, even though that glory was fading. 8 Won’t the ministry that brings the Spirit have even more glory? 9 If the ministry that brings punishment has glory, then the ministry that brings God’s approval has an overwhelming glory. 10 In fact, the ministry that brings punishment lost its glory because of the superior glory of the other ministry. 11 If that former ministry faded away despite its glory, how much more does that ministry which remains continue to be glorious?
12 Since we have confidence in the new promise, we speak very boldly. 13 We are not like Moses. He kept covering his face with a veil. He didn’t want the people of Israel to see the glory fading away. 14 However, their minds became closed. In fact, to this day the same veil is still there when they read the Old Testament. It isn’t removed, because only Christ can remove it. 15 Yet, even today, when they read the books of Moses, a veil covers their minds. 16 But whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
17 This Lord is the Spirit. Wherever the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. 18 As all of us reflect the Lord’s glory with faces that are not covered with veils, we are being changed into his image with ever-increasing glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Eternal Life in the Kingdom(A)
17 As Yeshua was coming out to the road, a man came running to him and knelt in front of him. He asked Yeshua, “Good Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
18 Yeshua said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Never murder. Never commit adultery. Never steal. Never give false testimony. Never cheat. Honor your father and mother.”
20 The man replied, “Teacher, I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was a boy.”
21 Yeshua looked at him and loved him. He told him, “You’re still missing one thing. Sell everything you have. Give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then follow me!”
22 When the man heard that, he looked unhappy and went away sad, because he owned a lot of property.
23 Yeshua looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it will be for rich people to enter the kingdom of God!”
24 The disciples were stunned by his words. But Yeshua said to them again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
26 This amazed his disciples more than ever. They asked each other, “Who, then, can be saved?”
27 Yeshua looked at them and said, “It’s impossible for people to save themselves, but it’s not impossible for God to save them. Everything is possible for God.”
28 Then Peter spoke up, “We’ve given up everything to follow you.”
29 Yeshua said, “I can guarantee this truth: Anyone who gave up his home, brothers, sisters, mother, father, children, or fields because of me and the Good News 30 will certainly receive a hundred times as much here in this life. They will certainly receive homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields, along with persecutions. But in the world to come they will receive eternal life. 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.