Book of Common Prayer
131 (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) Adonai, my heart isn’t proud;
I don’t set my sight too high,
I don’t take part in great affairs
or in wonders far beyond me.
2 No, I keep myself calm and quiet,
like a little child on its mother’s lap —
I keep myself like a little child.
3 Isra’el, put your hope in Adonai
from now on and forever!
132 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) Adonai, remember in David’s favor
all the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to Adonai,
vowed to the Mighty One of Ya‘akov,
3 “I will not enter the house where I live
or get into my bed,
4 I will not allow myself to sleep
or even close my eyes,
5 until I find a place for Adonai,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Ya‘akov.”
6 We heard about it in Efrat,
we found it in the Fields of Ya‘ar.
7 Let’s go into his dwelling
and prostrate ourselves at his footstool.
8 Go up, Adonai, to your resting-place,
you and the ark through which you give strength.
9 May your cohanim be clothed with righteousness;
may those loyal to you shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
don’t turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 Adonai swore an oath to David,
an oath he will not break:
“One of the sons from your own body
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my instruction, which I will teach them,
then their descendants too, forever,
will sit on your throne.”
13 For Adonai has chosen Tziyon,
he has wanted it as his home.
14 “This is my resting-place forever,
I will live here because I so much want to.
15 I will bless it with plenty of meat,
I will give its poor their fill of food.
16 Its cohanim I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
17 I will make a king sprout there from David’s line
and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.
18 His enemies I will clothe with shame,
but on him there will be a shining crown.”
133 (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) Oh, how good, how pleasant it is
for brothers to live together in harmony.
2 It is like fragrant oil on the head
that runs down over the beard,
over the beard of Aharon,
and flows down on the collar of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon
that settles on the mountains of Tziyon.
For it was there that Adonai ordained
the blessing of everlasting life.
134 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) Come, bless Adonai, all you servants of Adonai,
who serve each night in the house of Adonai.
2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary,
and bless Adonai.
3 May Adonai, the maker of heaven and earth,
bless you from Tziyon.
135 Halleluyah!
(1) Give praise to the name of Adonai!
Servants of Adonai, give praise!
2 You who stand in the house of Adonai,
in the courtyards of the house of our God,
3 praise Yah, for Adonai is good;
sing to his name, because it is pleasant.
4 For Yah chose Ya‘akov for himself,
Isra’el as his own unique treasure.
5 I know that Adonai is great,
that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Adonai does whatever pleases him,
in heaven, on earth, in the seas, in all the depths.
7 He raises clouds from the ends of the earth,
he makes the lightning flash in the rain
and brings the wind out from his storehouses.
8 He struck down Egypt’s firstborn,
humans and animals alike.
9 He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his subjects.
10 He struck many nations,
and slaughtered mighty kings —
11 Sichon king of the Emori,
‘Og king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Kena‘an.
12 Then he gave their land as a heritage,
to be possessed by Isra’el his people.
13 Adonai, your name continues forever,
your renown, Adonai, through all generations.
14 For Adonai will vindicate his people,
he will take pity on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are mere silver and gold,
made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they can’t speak;
they have eyes, but they can’t see;
17 they have ears, but they can’t listen;
and they have no breath in their mouths;
18 The people who make them will become like them,
along with everyone who trusts in them.
19 House of Isra’el, bless Adonai!
House of Aharon, bless Adonai!
20 House of Levi, bless Adonai!
You who fear Adonai, bless Adonai!
21 Blessed be Adonai out of Tziyon,
he who dwells in Yerushalayim!
Halleluyah!
1 There was a man in the land of ‘Utz whose name was Iyov. This man was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. 2 Seven sons and three daughters were born to him. 3 He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 pairs of oxen and 500 female donkeys, as well as a great number of servants; so that he was the wealthiest man in the east.
4 It was the custom of his sons to give banquets, each on his set day in his own house; and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 After a cycle of banquets, Iyov would send for them to come and be consecrated; then he would get up early in the morning and offer burnt offerings for each of them, because Iyov said, “My sons might have sinned and blasphemed God in their thoughts.” This is what Iyov did every time.
6 It happened one day that the sons of God came to serve Adonai, and among them came the Adversary [a]. 7 Adonai asked the Adversary, “Where are you coming from?” The Adversary answered Adonai, “From roaming through the earth, wandering here and there.” 8 Adonai asked the Adversary, “Did you notice my servant Iyov, that there’s no one like him on earth, a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil?” 9 The Adversary answered Adonai, “Is it for nothing that Iyov fears God? 10 You’ve put a protective hedge around him, his house and everything he has. You’ve prospered his work, and his livestock are spread out all over the land. 11 But if you reach out your hand and touch whatever he has, without doubt he’ll curse you to your face!” 12 Adonai said to the Adversary, “Here! Everything he has is in your hands, except that you are not to lay a finger on his person.” Then the Adversary went out from the presence of Adonai.
13 One day when Iyov’s sons and daughters were eating and drinking in their oldest brother’s house, 14 a messenger came to him and said, “The oxen were plowing, with the donkeys grazing near them, 15 when a raiding party from Sh’va came and carried them off; they put the servants to the sword too, and I’m the only one who escaped to tell you.”
16 While he was still speaking, another one came and said, “Fire from God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants; it completely destroyed them, and I’m the only one who escaped to tell you.”
17 While he was still speaking, another one came and said, “The Kasdim, three bands of them, fell on the camels and carried them off; they put the servants to the sword too, and I’m the only one who escaped to tell you.”
18 While he was still speaking, another one came and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother’s house, 19 when suddenly a strong wind blew in from over the desert. It struck the four corners of the house, so that it fell on the young people; they are dead, and I’m the only one who escaped to tell you.”
20 Iyov got up, tore his coat, shaved his head, fell down on the ground and worshipped; 21 he said,
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
and naked I will return there.
Adonai gave; Adonai took;
blessed be the name of Adonai.”
22 In all this Iyov neither committed a sin nor put blame on God.
26 An angel of Adonai said to Philip, “Get up, and go southward on the road that goes down from Yerushalayim to ‘Azah, the desert road.” 27 So he got up and went. On his way, he caught sight of an Ethiopian, a eunuch who was minister in charge of all the treasure of the Kandake, or queen, of Ethiopia. He had been to Yerushalayim to worship; 28 and now, as he was returning home, he was sitting in his chariot, reading the prophet Yesha‘yahu. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot, and stay close to it.” 30 As Philip ran up, he heard the Ethiopian reading from Yesha‘yahu the prophet. “Do you understand what you’re reading?” he asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” And he invited Philip to climb up and sit with him.
32 Now the portion of the Tanakh that he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep led to be slaughtered;
like a lamb silent before the shearer, he does not open his mouth.
33 He was humiliated and denied justice.
Who will tell about his descendants,
since his life has been taken from the earth?”[a]
34 The eunuch said to Philip, “Here’s my question to you — is the prophet talking about himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip started to speak — beginning with that passage, he went on to tell him the Good News about Yeshua.
36 As they were going down the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Here’s some water! Is there any reason why I shouldn’t be immersed?” 37 [b] 38 He ordered the chariot to stop; then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip immersed him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. The eunuch saw no more of him, because he continued on his way — full of joy. 40 But Philip showed up at Ashdod and continued proclaiming the Good News as he went through all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
16 When evening came, his talmidim went down to the lake, 17 got into a boat and set out across the lake toward K’far-Nachum. By now it was dark, Yeshua had not yet joined them, 18 and the sea was getting rough, because a strong wind was blowing. 19 They had rowed three or four miles when they saw Yeshua approaching the boat, walking on the lake! They were terrified; 20 but he said to them, “Stop being afraid, it is I.” 21 Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and instantly the boat reached the land they were heading for.
22 The next day, the crowd which had stayed on the other side of the lake noticed that there had been only one boat there, and that Yeshua had not entered the boat with his talmidim, but that the talmidim had been alone when they sailed off. 23 Then other boats, from Tiberias, came ashore near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had made the b’rakhah. 24 Accordingly, when the crowd saw that neither Yeshua nor his talmidim were there, they themselves boarded the boats and made for K’far-Nachum in search of Yeshua.
25 When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” 26 Yeshua answered, “Yes, indeed! I tell you, you’re not looking for me because you saw miraculous signs, but because you ate the bread and had all you wanted! 27 Don’t work for the food which passes away but for the food that stays on into eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For this is the one on whom God the Father has put his seal.”
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.