Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 118
1 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Israel should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
3 The descendants of Aaron should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
4 Those who fear Yahweh should say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
5 During times of trouble I called on Yah.
Yah answered me and set me free from all of them.
6 Yahweh is on my side.
I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
7 Yahweh is on my side as my helper.
I will see the defeat of those who hate me.
8 It is better to depend on Yahweh
than to trust mortals.
9 It is better to depend on Yahweh
than to trust influential people.
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
11 They surrounded me. Yes, they surrounded me,
but armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were extinguished like burning thornbushes.
So armed with the name of Yahweh, I defeated them.
13 They pushed hard to make me fall,
but Yahweh helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and my song.
He is my savior.
15 The sound of joyful singing and victory is heard
in the tents of righteous people.
The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.
16 The right hand of Yahweh is held high.
The right hand of Yahweh displays strength.
17 I will not die,
but I will live and tell what Yah has done.
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but he did not allow me to be killed.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me.
I will go through them and give thanks to Yah.
20 This is the gate of Yahweh
through which righteous people will enter.
21 I give thanks to you,
because you have answered me.
You are my savior.
22 The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
23 Yahweh is responsible for this,
and it is amazing for us to see.
24 This is the day Yahweh has made.
Let’s rejoice and be glad today!
25 We beg you, O Yahweh, save us!
We beg you, O Yahweh, give us success!
26 Blessed is the one who comes in the name of Yahweh.
We bless you from Yahweh’s house.
27 Yahweh is El, and he has given us light.
March in a festival procession
with branches to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my El, and I give thanks to you.
My Elohim, I honor you highly.
29 Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
Psalm 145[a]
A song of praise by David.
1 I will highly praise you, my Elohim, the Melek.
I will bless your name forever and ever.
2 I will bless you every day.
I will praise your name forever and ever.
3 Yahweh is great, and he should be highly praised.
His greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation will praise your deeds to the next.
Each generation will talk about your mighty acts.
5 I will think about the glorious honor of your majesty
and the miraculous things you have done.
6 People will talk about the power of your terrifying deeds,
and I will tell about your greatness.
7 They will announce what they remember of your great goodness,
and they will joyfully sing about your righteousness.
8 Yahweh is merciful, compassionate, patient,
and always ready to forgive.
9 Yahweh is good to everyone
and has compassion for everything that he has made.
10 Everything that you have made will give thanks to you, O Yahweh,
and your faithful ones will praise you.
11 Everyone will talk about the glory of your kingdom
and will tell the descendants of Adam about your might
12 in order to make known your mighty deeds
and the glorious honor of your kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.
Your empire endures throughout every generation.
14 Yahweh supports everyone who falls.
He straightens the backs of those who are bent over.
15 The eyes of all creatures look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
16 You open your hand,
and you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 Yahweh is fair in all his ways
and faithful in everything he does.
18 Yahweh is near to everyone who prays to him,
to every faithful person who prays to him.
19 He fills the needs of those who fear him.
He hears their cries for help and saves them.
20 Yahweh protects everyone who loves him,
but he will destroy all wicked people.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of Yahweh,
and all living creatures will praise his holy name
forever and ever.
The Bronze Snake
4 Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip 5 and criticized Elohim and Moses. They said, “Why did you make us leave Egypt—just to let us die in the desert? There’s no bread or water, and we can’t stand this awful food!”
6 So Yahweh sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We sinned when we criticized Yahweh and you. Pray to Yahweh so that he will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.
8 Yahweh said to Moses, “Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the bronze snake after they were bitten, and they lived.[a]
Sihon and Og Defeated
21 Then Israel sent messengers to say to King Sihon of the Amorites, 22 “Let us go through your country. We won’t go through any of your fields or vineyards or drink any of the water from your wells. We’ll stay on the king’s highway until we’ve passed through your territory.”
23 Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his troops and came out into the desert to attack Israel. When Sihon’s troops came to Jahaz, they fought against Israel. 24 But Israel defeated them in battle and took possession of their land from the Arnon Valley to the Jabbok River. They stopped at the border of the Ammon because it was fortified. 25 Israel took all those Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its villages, and lived in them. 26 Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had fought the former king of Moab and had taken all his land up to the Arnon Valley.
27 This is why the poets say:
“Come to Heshbon! Rebuild it!
Restore Sihon’s city!
28 Fire came out of Heshbon,
flames from Sihon’s city.
They destroyed Ar of Moab,
the rulers of Arnon’s worship sites.[a]
29 How horrible it is for you, Moab!
You are destroyed, you people of the god Chemosh.
Chemosh let his sons become refugees
and he let his daughters become prisoners
of King Sihon of the Amorites.
30 But we shot the Amorites full of arrows.
From Heshbon to Dibon they all died.
We destroyed everyone and everything
between Nophah and Medeba.”
31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. 32 After Moses sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its cities and villages and forced out the Amorites who were there. 33 Then they turned and followed the road that goes to Bashan. King Og of Bashan and all his troops came out to fight the Israelites at Edrei.
34 Yahweh said to Moses, “Don’t be afraid of him. I’ll hand him, all his troops, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” 35 The Israelites defeated him, his sons, and all his troops, leaving no survivors. And they took possession of his land.
12 Many of them became believers, and quite a number of them were prominent Greek men and women.
13 But when the Jews in Thessalonica found out that Paul was also spreading God’s word in Berea, they went there to upset and confuse the people. 14 The believers immediately sent Paul to the seacoast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.
Paul in Athens
15 The men who escorted Paul took him all the way to the city of Athens. When the men left Athens, they took instructions back to Silas and Timothy to join Paul as soon as possible.
16 While Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens, he saw that the city had statues of false gods everywhere. This upset him. 17 He held discussions in the synagogue with Jews and converts to Judaism. He also held discussions every day in the public square with anyone who happened to be there. 18 Some Epicurean and Stoic philosophers had discussions with him. Some asked, “What is this babbling fool trying to say?” Others said, “He seems to be speaking about foreign gods.” The philosophers said these things because Paul was telling the Good News about Yeshua and saying that people would come back to life.
19 Then they brought Paul to the city court, the Areopagus, and asked, “Could you tell us these new ideas that you’re teaching? 20 Some of the things you say sound strange to us. So we would like to know what they mean.”
21 Everyone who lived in Athens looked for opportunities to tell or hear something new and unusual.
22 Paul stood in the middle of the court and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious. 23 As I was going through your city and looking closely at the objects you worship, I noticed an altar with this written on it: ‘To an unknown god.’ I’m telling you about the unknown god you worship. 24 The God who made the universe and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in shrines made by humans, 25 and he isn’t served by humans as if he needed anything. He gives everyone life, breath, and everything they have. 26 From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live. 27 He has done this so that they would look for God, somehow reach for him, and find him. In fact, he is never far from any one of us. 28 Certainly, we live, move, and exist because of him. As some of your poets have said, ‘We are God’s children.’ 29 So if we are God’s children, we shouldn’t think that the divine being is like an image made from gold, silver, or stone, an image that is the product of human imagination and skill.
30 “God overlooked the times when people didn’t know any better. But now he commands everyone everywhere to turn to him and change the way they think and act. 31 He has set a day when he is going to judge the world with justice, and he will use a man he has appointed to do this. God has given proof to everyone that he will do this by bringing that man back to life.”
32 When the people of the court heard that a person had come back to life, some began joking about it, while others said, “We’ll hear you talk about this some other time.”
33 With this response, Paul left the court. 34 Some men joined him and became believers. With them were Dionysius, who was a member of the court, and a woman named Damaris, and some other people.
Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman
10 Yeshua was teaching in a synagogue on the day of worship. 11 A woman who was possessed by a spirit was there. The spirit had disabled her for 18 years. She was hunched over and couldn’t stand up straight. 12 When Yeshua saw her, he called her to come to him and said, “Woman, you are free from your disability.” 13 He placed his hands on her, and she immediately stood up straight and praised God.
14 The synagogue leader was irritated with Yeshua for healing on the day of worship. The leader told the crowd, “There are six days when work can be done. So come on one of those days to be healed. Don’t come on the day of worship.”
15 The Lord said, “You hypocrites! Don’t each of you free your ox or donkey on the day of worship? Don’t you then take it out of its stall to give it some water to drink? 16 Now, here is a descendant of Abraham. Satan has kept her in this condition for 18 years. Isn’t it right to free her on the day of worship?”
17 As he said this, everyone who opposed him felt ashamed. But the entire crowd was happy about the miraculous things he was doing.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.