Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
1 Yahweh rules as king! He is clothed with majesty.
Yahweh has clothed himself; he has armed himself with power.
The world was set in place; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne was set in place a long time ago.
You are eternal.
3 The ocean rises, O Yahweh.
The ocean rises with a roar.
The ocean rises with its pounding waves.
4 Yahweh above is mighty—
mightier than the sound of raging water,
mightier than the foaming waves of the sea.
5 Your written testimonies are completely reliable.
O Yahweh, holiness is what makes your house beautiful for days without end.
Psalm 96
1 Sing to Yahweh a new song!
Sing to Yahweh, all the earth!
2 Sing to Yahweh! Praise his name!
Day after day announce that Yahweh saves his people.
3 Tell people about his glory.
Tell all the nations about his miracles.
4 Yahweh is great!
He should be highly praised.
He should be feared more than all other gods
5 because all the gods of the nations are idols.
Yahweh made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are in his presence.
Strength and beauty are in his holy place.
7 Give to Yahweh, you families of the nations.
Give to Yahweh glory and power.
8 Give to Yahweh the glory he deserves.
Bring an offering, and come into his courtyards.
9 Worship Yahweh in his holy splendor.
Tremble in his presence, all the earth!
10 Say to the nations, “Yahweh rules as king!”
The earth stands firm; it cannot be moved.
He will judge people fairly.
11 Let the heavens rejoice and the earth be glad.
Let the sea and everything in it roar like thunder.
12 Let the fields and everything in them rejoice.
Then all the trees in the forest will sing joyfully
13 in Yahweh’s presence because he is coming.
He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and its people with his truth.
Psalm 34[a]
By David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech; Abimelech threw him out, so David left.
1 I will thank Yahweh at all times.
My mouth will always praise him.
2 My soul will boast about Yahweh.
Those who are oppressed will hear it and rejoice.
3 Praise Yahweh’s greatness with me.
Let us highly honor his name together.
4 I went to Yahweh for help.
He answered me and rescued me from all my fears.
5 All who look to him will be radiant.[b]
Their faces will never be covered with shame.
6 Here is a poor man who called out.
Yahweh heard him and saved him from all his troubles.
7 The Messenger of Yahweh camps around those who fear him,
and he rescues them.
8 Taste and see that Yahweh is good.
Blessed is the person who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear Yahweh, you holy people who belong to him.
Those who fear him are never in need.
10 Young lions go hungry and may starve,
but those who seek Yahweh’s help have all the good things they need.
11 Come, children, listen to me.
I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.
12 Which of you wants a full life?
Who would like to live long enough to enjoy good things?
13 Keep your tongue from saying evil things
and your lips from speaking deceitful things.
14 Turn away from evil, and do good.
Seek peace, and pursue it!
15 Yahweh’s eyes are on righteous people.
His ears hear their cry for help.
16 Yahweh confronts those who do evil
in order to wipe out all memory of them from the earth.
17 Righteous people cry out.
Yahweh hears and rescues them from all their troubles.
18 Yahweh is near to those whose hearts are humble.
He saves those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous person has many troubles,
but Yahweh rescues him from all of them.
20 Yahweh guards all of his bones.
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil will kill wicked people,
and those who hate righteous people will be condemned.
22 Yahweh protects the souls of his servants.
All who take refuge in him will never be condemned.
Israel Sins Again
6 The people of Israel did what Yahweh considered evil. So Yahweh handed them over to Midian for seven years. 2 Midian’s power was too strong for Israel. The Israelites made hiding places in the mountains, caves, and mountain strongholds to protect themselves from Midian. 3 Whenever Israel planted crops, Midian, Amalek, and Kedem came and damaged the crops. 4 The enemy used to camp on the land and destroy the crops all the way to Gaza. They left nothing for Israel to live on—not one sheep, cow, or donkey. 5 Like swarms of locusts, they came with their livestock and their tents. They and their camels could not be counted. They came into the land only to ruin it. 6 So the Israelites became very poor because of Midian and cried out to Yahweh for help.
7 When the people of Israel cried out to Yahweh for help because of what the Midianites had done to them, 8 Yahweh sent a prophet to them. He said, “This is what Yahweh Elohim of Israel says:
I brought you out of Egypt.
I took you away from slavery.
9 I rescued you from the power of the Egyptians
and from the power of those who oppressed you.
I forced people out of your way.
I gave you their land.
10 I said to you, ‘I am Yahweh your Elohim.
You must never fear the gods of the Amorites
in whose land you will live.’
But you have not obeyed me.”
Gideon Is Chosen to Be a Judge
11 The Messenger of Yahweh came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah that belonged to Joash from Abiezer’s family. Joash’s son Gideon was beating out wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. 12 The Messenger of Yahweh appeared to Gideon and said, “Yahweh is with you, brave man.”
13 Gideon responded, “Excuse me, sir! But if Yahweh is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracles our ancestors have told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘Yahweh brought us out of Egypt?’ But now Yahweh has abandoned us and has handed us over to Midian.”
14 Yahweh turned to him and said, “You will rescue Israel from Midian with the strength you have. I am sending you.”
15 Gideon said to him, “Excuse me, sir! How can I rescue Israel? Look at my whole family. It’s the weakest one in Manasseh. And me? I’m the least important member of my family.”
16 Yahweh replied, “I will be with you. You will defeat Midian as if it were only one man.”
17 Gideon said to him, “If you find me acceptable, give me a sign that it is really you speaking to me. 18 Don’t leave until I come back. I want to bring my gift and set it in front of you.”
“I will stay until you come back,” he said.
19 Then Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread made with 18 quarts of flour. He put the meat in a basket and the broth in a pot. Then he went out and presented them to the Messenger of the Lord under the oak tree.
20 The Messenger of Yahweh told him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” Gideon did so. 21 Then the Messenger of Yahweh touched the meat and the bread with the tip of the staff that was in his hand. Fire flared up from the rock and burned the meat and the bread. Then the Messenger of Yahweh disappeared. 22 That’s when Gideon realized that this had been the Messenger of Yahweh. So he said, “Adonay Yahweh! I have seen the Messenger of Yahweh face to face.”
23 Yahweh said to him, “Calm down! Don’t be afraid. You will not die.” 24 So Gideon built an altar there to Yahweh. He called it Yahweh Shalom. To this day it is still in Ophrah, which belongs to Abiezer’s family.
6 Remember this: The farmer who plants a few seeds will have a very small harvest. But the farmer who plants because he has received God’s blessings will receive a harvest of God’s blessings in return. 7 Each of you should give whatever you have decided. You shouldn’t be sorry that you gave or feel forced to give, since God loves a cheerful giver. 8 Besides, God will give you his constantly overflowing kindness.[a] Then, when you always have everything you need, you can do more and more good things. 9 Scripture says,
“The righteous person gives freely to the poor.
His righteousness continues forever.”
10 God gives seed to the farmer and food to those who need to eat. God will also give you seed and multiply it. In your lives he will increase the things you do that have his approval. 11 God will make you rich enough so that you can always be generous. Your generosity will produce thanksgiving to God because of us. 12 What you do to serve others not only provides for the needs of God’s people, but also produces more and more prayers of thanksgiving to God. 13 You will honor God through this genuine act of service because of your commitment to spread the Good News of Christ and because of your generosity in sharing with them and everyone else. 14 With deep affection they will pray for you because of the extreme kindness that God has shown you. 15 I thank God for his gift that words cannot describe.
Jesus Is Accused of Working with Beelzebul(A)
20 Then Yeshua went home. Another crowd gathered so that Yeshua and his disciples could not even eat. 21 When his family heard about it, they went to get him. They said, “He’s out of his mind!”
22 The experts in Moses’ Teachings who had come from Jerusalem said, “Beelzebul is in him,” and “He forces demons out of people with the help of the ruler of demons.”
23 Yeshua called them together and used this illustration: “How can Satan force out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot last. 25 And if a household is divided against itself, that household will not last. 26 So if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot last. That will be the end of him.
27 “No one can go into a strong man’s house and steal his property. First he must tie up the strong man. Then he can go through the strong man’s house and steal his property.
28 “I can guarantee this truth: People will be forgiven for any sin or curse. 29 But whoever curses the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven. He is guilty of an everlasting sin.” 30 Yeshua said this because the experts in Moses’ Teachings had said that he had an evil spirit.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.