Book of Common Prayer
38 (0) A psalm of David, serving as a reminder:
2 (1) Adonai, don’t rebuke me when you are angry
or discipline me when you are enraged,
3 (2) for your arrows penetrate me deeply,
and your hand is pressing me down.
4 (3) Your indignation left no part of me intact;
my sin made my whole body sick;
5 (4) for my iniquities loom high over my head
as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.
6 (5) I have stinking, festering wounds
because of my foolishness.
7 (6) I am bent down, prostrate completely;
I go about mourning all day long.
8 (7) For my insides burn with fever,
and my whole body is sick.
9 (8) I am numb, completely crushed;
my anguished heart makes me groan aloud.
10 (9) Adonai, all my longing is known to you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
11 (10) My heart is throbbing, my strength is gone,
and the light in my eyes has left me.
12 (11) My friends and companions shun my disease;
even the closest keep their distance.
13 (12) Those seeking my life lay snares for me,
those seeking to harm me speak of disaster
and think up deceptions all day long.
14 (13) But I’m like a deaf man — I don’t hear it;
and, like a mute, I don’t say a word.
15 (14) Yes, I’ve become like a man who doesn’t hear
and in whose mouth are no defenses.
16 (15) For it is in you, Adonai, that I hope.
You will answer, Adonai my God.
17 (16) I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me
or boast against me when my foot slips.”
18 (17) For I am about to fall,
and my pain is always with me.
19 (18) I acknowledge my guilt,
I am anxious because of my sin.
20 (19) But my enemies are alive and well,
those who wrongfully hate me increase their numbers;
21 (20) and, since they repay good with evil,
they oppose me because I pursue good.
22 (21) Don’t abandon me, Adonai!
My God, don’t be far from me!
23 (22) Come quickly to help me,
Adonai, my salvation!
ד (Dalet)
25 I lie prostrate in the dust;
revive me, in keeping with your word.
26 I told you of my ways, and you answered me;
teach me your laws.
27 Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wonders.
28 I am melting away from anxiety and grief;
renew my strength, in keeping with your word.
29 Keep deceitful ways far from me,
and favor me with your Torah.
30 I choose the way of trust;
I set your rulings [before me].
31 I cling to your instruction;
Adonai, don’t let me be put to shame!
32 I will run the way of your mitzvot,
for you have broadened my understanding.
ה (Heh)
33 Teach me, Adonai, the way of your laws;
keeping them will be its own reward for me.
34 Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah;
I will observe it with all my heart.
35 Guide me on the path of your mitzvot,
for I take pleasure in it.
36 Bend my heart toward your instructions
and not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things;
with your ways, give me life.
38 Fulfill your promise, which you made to your servant,
which you made to those who fear you.
39 Avert the disgrace which I dread,
for your rulings are good.
40 See how I long for your precepts;
in your righteousness, give me life!
ו (Vav)
41 May your grace come to me, Adonai,
your salvation, as you promised;
42 then I will have an answer for those who taunt me;
for I trust in your word.
43 Don’t take away completely my power to speak the truth;
for I put my hope in your rulings;
44 and I will keep your Torah always,
forever and ever.
45 I will go wherever I like,
for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will speak of your instructions even to kings
without being ashamed.
47 I will delight myself in your mitzvot,
which I have loved.
48 I will lift my hands to your mitzvot, which I love;
and I will meditate on your laws.
17 Better a dry piece of bread with calm
than a house full of food but also full of strife.
2 An intelligent slave will rule a shameful son
and share the inheritance with the brothers.
3 The crucible [tests] silver, and the furnace [tests] gold,
but the one who tests hearts is Adonai.
4 An evildoer heeds wicked lips;
a liar listens to destructive talk.
5 He who mocks the poor insults his maker;
he who rejoices at calamity will not go unpunished.
6 Grandchildren are the crown of the aged,
while the glory of children is their ancestors.
7 Fine speech is unbecoming to a boor,
and even less lying lips to a leader.
8 A bribe works like a charm, in the view of him who gives it —
wherever it turns, it succeeds.
9 He who conceals an offense promotes love,
but he who harps on it can separate even close friends.
10 A rebuke makes more impression on a person of understanding
than a hundred blows on a fool.
11 An evil person seeks only rebellion,
but a cruel messenger will be sent against him.
12 Rather meet a bear robbed of its cubs
than encounter a fool in his folly.
13 Evil will not depart from the house
of him who returns evil for good.
14 Starting a fight is like letting water through [a dike] —
better stop the quarrel before it gets worse.
15 He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous —
both alike are an abomination to Adonai.
16 Why would a fool wish to pay for wisdom
when he has no desire to learn?
17 A friend shows his friendship at all times —
it is for adversity that [such] a brother is born.
18 He who gives his hand to guarantee a loan
for his neighbor lacks good sense.
19 Those who love quarreling love giving offense;
those who make their gates tall are courting disaster.
20 A crooked-hearted person will find nothing good,
and the perverse of speech will end in calamity.
3 Here is a statement you can trust: anyone aspiring to be a congregation leader is seeking worthwhile work. 2 A congregation leader must be above reproach, he must be faithful to his wife, temperate, self-controlled, orderly, hospitable and able to teach. 3 He must not drink excessively or get into fights; rather, he must be kind and gentle. He must not be a lover of money. 4 He must manage his own household well, having children who obey him with all proper respect; 5 for if a man can’t manage his own household, how will he be able to care for God’s Messianic Community? 6 He must not be a new believer, because he might become puffed up with pride and thus fall under the same judgment as did the Adversary. 7 Furthermore, he must be well regarded by outsiders, so that he won’t fall into disgrace and into the Adversary’s trap.
8 Likewise, the shammashim must be of good character, people whose word can be trusted. They must not give themselves to excessive drinking or be greedy for dishonest gain. 9 They must possess the formerly hidden truth of the faith with a clean conscience. 10 And first, let them be tested; then, if they prove themselves blameless, let them be appointed shammashim. 11 Similarly, the wives must be of good character, not gossips, but temperate, faithful in everything. 12 Let the shammashim each be faithful to his wife, managing his children and household well. 13 For those who serve well as shammashim gain good standing for themselves and much boldness in the trust that comes through Yeshua the Messiah.
14 I hope to visit you soon; but I am writing these things 15 so that if I am delayed, you may know how one should behave in the household of God, which is the Messianic Community of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. 16 Great beyond all question is the formerly hidden truth underlying our faith:
He was manifested physically
and proved righteous spiritually,
seen by angels
and proclaimed among the nations,
trusted throughout the world
and raised up in glory to heaven.
43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it travels through dry country seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says to itself, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house standing empty, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they come and live there — so that in the end, the person is worse off than he was before. This is how it will be for this wicked generation.”
46 He was still speaking to the crowd when his mother and brothers appeared outside, asking to talk with him. 47 [a] 48 But to the one who had informed him he replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his talmidim, he said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants, that person is my brother and sister and mother.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.