Book of Common Prayer
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.
72 God, give the king your good judgment
and the king’s son your goodness.
2 Help him judge your people fairly
and decide what is right for the poor.
3 Let there be peace on the mountains
and goodness on the hills for the people.
4 Help him be fair to the poor
and save the needy
and punish those who hurt them.
5 May they respect you as long as the sun shines
and as long as the moon glows.
6 Let him be like rain on the grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Let goodness be plentiful while he lives.
Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
8 Let his kingdom go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the people of the desert bow down to him,
and make his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the faraway lands
bring him gifts.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring their presents to him.
11 Let all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him.
12 He will help the poor when they cry out
and will save the needy when no one else will help.
13 He will be kind to the weak and poor,
and he will save their lives.
14 He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them,
because their lives are precious to him.
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba.
Let people always pray for him
and bless him all day long.
16 Let the fields grow plenty of grain
and the hills be covered with crops.
Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon,
and let the cities grow like the grass in a field.
17 Let the king be famous forever;
let him be remembered as long as the sun shines.
Let the nations be blessed because of him,
and may they all bless him.
18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does such miracles.
19 Praise his glorious name forever.
Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
73 You made me and formed me with your hands.
Give me understanding so I can learn your commands.
74 Let those who respect you rejoice when they see me,
because I put my hope in your word.
75 Lord, I know that your laws are right
and that it was right for you to punish me.
76 Comfort me with your love,
as you promised me, your servant.
77 Have mercy on me so that I may live.
I love your teachings.
78 Make proud people ashamed because they lied about me.
But I will think about your orders.
79 Let those who respect you return to me,
those who know your rules.
80 Let me obey your demands perfectly
so I will not be ashamed.
81 I am weak from waiting for you to save me,
but I hope in your word.
82 My eyes are tired from looking for your promise.
When will you comfort me?
83 Even though I am like a wine bag going up in smoke,
I do not forget your demands.
84 How long will I live?
When will you judge those who are hurting me?
85 Proud people have dug pits to trap me.
They have nothing to do with your teachings.
86 All of your commands can be trusted.
Liars are hurting me. Help me!
87 They have almost put me in the grave,
but I have not rejected your orders.
88 Give me life by your love
so I can obey your rules.
89 Lord, your word is everlasting;
it continues forever in heaven.
90 Your loyalty will go on and on;
you made the earth, and it still stands.
91 All things continue to this day because of your laws,
because all things serve you.
92 If I had not loved your teachings,
I would have died from my sufferings.
93 I will never forget your orders,
because you have given me life by them.
94 I am yours. Save me.
I want to obey your orders.
95 Wicked people are waiting to destroy me,
but I will think about your rules.
96 Everything I see has its limits,
but your commands have none.
Job Answers the Lord
42 Then Job answered the Lord:
2 “I know that you can do all things
and that no plan of yours can be ruined.
3 You asked, ‘Who is this that made my purpose unclear by saying things that are not true?’
Surely I spoke of things I did not understand;
I talked of things too wonderful for me to know.
4 You said, ‘Listen now, and I will speak.
I will ask you questions,
and you must answer me.’
5 My ears had heard of you before,
but now my eyes have seen you.
6 So now I hate myself;
I will change my heart and life.
I will sit in the dust and ashes.”
End of the Story
7 After the Lord had said these things to Job, he said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “I am angry with you and your two friends, because you have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job did. 8 Now take seven bulls and seven male sheep, and go to my servant Job, and offer a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will listen to his prayer. Then I will not punish you for being foolish. You have not said what is right about me, as my servant Job did.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite did as the Lord said, and the Lord listened to Job’s prayer.
10 After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord gave him success again. The Lord gave Job twice as much as he had owned before. 11 Job’s brothers and sisters came to his house, along with everyone who had known him before, and they all ate with him there. They comforted him and made him feel better about the trouble the Lord had brought on him, and each one gave Job a piece of silver and a gold ring.
12 The Lord blessed the last part of Job’s life even more than the first part. Job had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand teams of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. 13 Job also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first daughter Jemimah, the second daughter Keziah, and the third daughter Keren-Happuch. 15 There were no other women in all the land as beautiful as Job’s daughters. And their father Job gave them land to own along with their brothers.
16 After this, Job lived one hundred forty years. He lived to see his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. 17 Then Job died; he was old and had lived many years.
Paul and Silas in Jail
16 Once, while we were going to the place for prayer, a servant girl met us. She had a special spirit[a] in her, and she earned a lot of money for her owners by telling fortunes. 17 This girl followed Paul and us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God. They are telling you how you can be saved.”
18 She kept this up for many days. This bothered Paul, so he turned and said to the spirit, “By the power of Jesus Christ, I command you to come out of her!” Immediately, the spirit came out.
19 When the owners of the servant girl saw this, they knew that now they could not use her to make money. So they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them before the city rulers in the marketplace. 20 They brought Paul and Silas to the Roman rulers and said, “These men are Jews and are making trouble in our city. 21 They are teaching things that are not right for us as Romans to do.”
22 The crowd joined the attack against them. The Roman officers tore the clothes of Paul and Silas and had them beaten with rods. 23 Then Paul and Silas were thrown into jail, and the jailer was ordered to guard them carefully. 24 When he heard this order, he put them far inside the jail and pinned their feet down between large blocks of wood.
Jesus Talks About His Death
20 There were some Greek people, too, who came to Jerusalem to worship at the Passover Feast. 21 They went to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said, “Sir, we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip told Andrew, and then Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 Jesus said to them, “The time has come for the Son of Man to receive his glory. 24 I tell you the truth, a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die to make many seeds. But if it never dies, it remains only a single seed. 25 Those who love their lives will lose them, but those who hate their lives in this world will keep true life forever. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me. Then my servant will be with me everywhere I am. My Father will honor anyone who serves me.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.