Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140
For the choir leader; a psalm by David.
1 Rescue me from evil people, O Yahweh.
Keep me safe from violent people.
2 They plan evil things in their hearts.
They start fights every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s fang.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah
4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O Yahweh.
Keep me safe from violent people.
They try to trip me.
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me.
They have spread out a net with ropes.
They have set traps for me along the road. Selah
6 I said to Yahweh, “You are my El.”
O Yahweh, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.
7 O Yahweh Adonay, the strong one who saves me,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 O Yahweh, do not give wicked people what they want.
Do not let their evil plans succeed,
or they will become arrogant. Selah
9 Let the heads of those who surround me
be covered with their own threats.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth.
Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.
12 I know that Yahweh will defend the rights of those who are oppressed
and the cause of those who are needy.
13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name.
Decent people will live in your presence.
Psalm 142
A maskil[a] by David when he was in the cave; a prayer.
1 Loudly, I cry to Yahweh.
Loudly, I plead with Yahweh for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints in his presence
and tell him my troubles.
3 When I begin to lose hope,
you already know what I am experiencing.
My enemies have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.
4 Look to my right and see that no one notices me.
Escape is impossible for me.
No one cares about me.
5 I call out to you, O Yahweh.
I say, “You are my Machseh,
my own inheritance in this world of the living.”
6 Pay attention to my cry for help
because I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me
because they are too strong for me.
7 Release my soul from prison
so that I may give thanks to your name.
Righteous people will surround me
because you are good to me.
Psalm 141
A psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, I cry out to you, “Come quickly.”
Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.
2 Let my prayer be accepted
as sweet-smelling incense in your presence.
Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted
as an evening sacrifice.
3 O Yahweh, set a guard at my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil
or to become involved with wickedness,
with people who are troublemakers.
Do not let me taste their delicacies.
5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness.
It is like lotion for my head.
My head will not refuse it,
because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff,
they will listen to what I have to say.
It will sound pleasant to them.
7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground,
so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.[a]
8 My eyes look to you, Yahweh Adonay.
I have taken refuge in you.
Do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me
and from the traps set by troublemakers.
10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets,
while I escape unharmed.
Psalm 143
A psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, listen to my prayer.
Open your ears to hear my urgent requests.
Answer me because you are faithful and righteous.
2 Do not take me to court for judgment,
because there is no one alive
who is righteous in your presence.
3 The enemy has pursued me.
He has ground my life into the dirt.
He has made me live in dark places
like those who have died long ago.
4 That is why I begin to lose hope
and my heart is in a state of shock.
5 I remember the days long ago.
I reflect on all that you have done.
I carefully consider what your hands have made.
6 I stretch out my hands to you in prayer.
Like parched land, my soul thirsts for you. Selah
7 Answer me quickly, O Yahweh.
My spirit is worn out.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will be like those who go into the pit.
8 Let me hear about your mercy in the morning,
because I trust you.
Let me know the way that I should go,
because I long for you.
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Yahweh.
I come to you for protection.
10 Teach me to do your will, because you are my Elohim.
May your good Ruach lead me on level ground.
11 O Yahweh, keep me alive for the sake of your name.
Because you are righteous, lead me out of trouble.
12 In keeping with your mercy, wipe out my enemies
and destroy all who torment me,
because I am your servant.
Satan Challenges the Lord Again
2 One day when the sons of Elohim came to stand in front of Yahweh, Satan the Accuser came along with them.
2 Yahweh asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”
Satan answered Yahweh, “From wandering all over the earth.”
3 Yahweh asked Satan, “Have you thought about my servant Job? No one in the world is like him! He is a man of integrity: He is decent, he fears Elohim, and he stays away from evil. And he still holds on to his principles. You’re trying to provoke me into ruining him for no reason.”
4 Satan answered Yahweh, “Skin for skin! Certainly, a man will give everything he has for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand, and strike his flesh and bones. I bet he’ll curse you to your face.”
6 Yahweh told Satan, “He is in your power, but you must spare his life!”
Job’s Second Crisis
7 Satan left Yahweh’s presence and struck Job with painful boils from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. 8 Job took a piece of broken pottery to scratch himself as he sat in the ashes.
9 His wife asked him, “Are you still holding on to your principles? Curse Elohim and die!”
10 He said to her, “You’re talking like a godless fool. We accept the good that Elohim gives us. Shouldn’t we also accept the bad?”
Through all this Job’s lips did not utter one sinful word.
11 When Job’s three friends heard about all the terrible things that had happened to him, each of them came from his home—Eliphaz of Teman, Bildad of Shuah, Zophar of Naama. They had agreed they would go together to sympathize with Job and comfort him.
12 When they saw him from a distance, they didn’t even recognize him. They cried out loud and wept, and each of them tore his own clothes in grief. They threw dust on their heads. 13 Then they sat down on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw that he was in such great pain.
Saul Becomes a Follower of Jesus
9 Saul kept threatening to murder the Lord’s disciples. He went to the chief priest 2 and asked him to write letters of authorization to the synagogue leaders in the city of Damascus. Saul wanted to arrest any man or woman who followed the way of Christ and imprison them in Jerusalem.
3 As Saul was coming near the city of Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?”
5 Saul asked, “Who are you, sir?”
The person replied, “I’m Yeshua, the one you’re persecuting. 6 Get up! Go into the city, and you’ll be told what you should do.”
7 Meanwhile, the men traveling with him were speechless. They heard the voice but didn’t see anyone.
8 Saul was helped up from the ground. When he opened his eyes, he was blind. So his companions led him into Damascus. 9 For three days he couldn’t see and didn’t eat or drink.
27 Don’t work for food that spoils. Instead, work for the food that lasts into eternal life. This is the food the Son of Man will give you. After all, the Father has placed his seal of approval on him.”
28 The people asked Yeshua, “What does God want us to do?”
29 Yeshua replied to them, “God wants to do something for you so that you believe in the one whom he has sent.”
30 The people asked him, “What miracle are you going to perform so that we can see it and believe in you? What are you going to do? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the desert. Scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
32 Yeshua said to them, “I can guarantee this truth: Moses didn’t give you bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 God’s bread is the man who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.”
34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread all the time.”
35 Yeshua told them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never become hungry, and whoever believes in me will never become thirsty. 36 I’ve told you that you have seen me. However, you don’t believe in me. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me. 38 I haven’t come from heaven to do what I want to do. I’ve come to do what the one who sent me wants me to do. 39 The one who sent me doesn’t want me to lose any of those he gave me. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day. 40 My Father wants all those who see the Son and believe in him to have eternal life. He wants me to bring them back to life on the last day.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.