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.
15 Delilah said to Samson, “How can you say that you love me when your heart isn’t mine? You’ve made fun of me three times now, but you still haven’t told me what makes you so strong.”
16 Every day she made his life miserable with her questions. She pestered him until he wished he were dead. 17 Finally, he told her the truth. He told her, “Because I’m a Nazirite, no one has ever cut the hair on my head. I was dedicated to Elohim before I was born. If my hair is ever shaved off, my strength will leave me. Then I’ll be like any other man.”
18 When Delilah realized that he had told her everything, she sent a message to the Philistine rulers, “Come here once more.” (She did this because Samson had told her everything.) So the Philistine rulers arrived with the money in their hands.
19 Delilah put Samson to sleep on her lap. She called for a man to shave off his seven braids. Then she began to torture him because his strength had left him. 20 She said, “Samson, the Philistines are attacking!” Samson woke up. He thought, “I’ll get out of this as usual and shake myself free.” (He didn’t realize that Yahweh had left him.) 21 The Philistines grabbed him. They poked out his eyes and took him to the prison in Gaza. They tied him up with double chains and made him grind grain in the mill there.
22 But his hair started to grow back as soon as it was shaved off.
23 Now, the Philistine rulers gathered together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon and to celebrate. They said, “Our god handed Samson, our enemy, over to us.” 24 When the people saw him, they praised their god. They said,
“Our god gave our enemy,
destroyer of our land
and killer of so many,
into our very hand!”
25 When all the Philistines were enjoying themselves, they said, “Call Samson in to entertain us.”
Samson was called from the prison, and he made them laugh. They made him stand between two columns. 26 Samson told the young man who was leading him by the hand, “Let me rest. Let me touch the columns on which the building stands so that I can lean against them.” 27 The building was filled with people. All the Philistine rulers were there. On the roof there were about three thousand men and women who watched Samson entertain them.
28 Then Samson called to Yahweh, “Adonay Yahweh, please remember me! Elohim, give me strength just one more time! Let me get even with the Philistines for at least one of my two eyes.” 29 Samson felt the two middle columns on which the building stood. With his right hand on one column and his left on the other, he pushed hard against them. 30 “Let me die with the Philistines,” he said. With that, he pushed with all his might, and the building fell on the rulers and everyone in it. So he killed more Philistines when he died than he had when he was alive.
31 Then his relatives and his father’s whole family went to Gaza. They took Samson and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of his father Manoah.
Samson had judged Israel for 20 years.
Paul Tells the Corinthians to Prepare for His Visit
13 This is the third time that I’ll be visiting you. Every accusation must be verified by two or three witnesses. 2 I already warned you when I was with you the second time, and even though I’m not there now, I’m warning you again. When I visit you again, I won’t spare you. That goes for all those who formerly led sinful lives as well as for all the others. 3 Since you want proof that Christ is speaking through me, that’s what you’ll get. Christ isn’t weak in dealing with you. Instead, he makes his power felt among you. 4 He was weak when he was crucified, but by God’s power he lives. We are weak with him, but by God’s power we will live for you with his help.
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are still in the Christian faith. Test yourselves! Don’t you recognize that you are people in whom Yeshua Christ lives? Could it be that you’re failing the test? 6 I hope that you will realize that we haven’t failed the test. 7 We pray to God that you won’t do anything wrong. It’s not that we want to prove that we’ve passed the test. Rather, we want you to do whatever is right, even if we seem to have failed. 8 We can’t do anything against the truth but only to help the truth. 9 We’re glad when we are weak and you are strong. We are also praying for your improvement.
10 That’s why I’m writing this letter while I’m not with you. When I am with you I don’t want to be harsh by using the authority that the Lord gave me. The Lord gave us this authority to help you, not to hurt you.
Farewell
11 With that, brothers and sisters, I must say goodbye. Make sure that you improve. Accept my encouragement. Share the same attitude and live in peace. The God of love and peace will be with you.
25 In the crowd was a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. 26 Although she had been under the care of many doctors and had spent all her money, she had not been helped at all. Actually, she had become worse. 27 Since she had heard about Yeshua, she came from behind in the crowd and touched his clothes. 28 She said, “If I can just touch his clothes, I’ll get well.” 29 Her bleeding stopped immediately. She felt cured from her illness.
30 At that moment Yeshua felt power had gone out of him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples said to him, “How can you ask, ‘Who touched me,’ when you see the crowd pressing you on all sides?”
32 But he kept looking around to see the woman who had done this. 33 The woman trembled with fear. She knew what had happened to her. So she quickly bowed in front of him and told him the whole truth.
34 Yeshua told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace! Be cured from your illness.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.