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.
Haman’s Plot
3 Later, King Xerxes promoted Haman. (Haman was the son of Hammedatha and was from Agag.) He gave Haman a position higher in authority than all the other officials who were with him. 2 All the king’s advisers were at the king’s gate, kneeling and bowing to Haman with their faces touching the ground, because the king had commanded it. But Mordecai would not kneel and bow to him.
3 Then the king’s advisers at the king’s gate asked Mordecai, “Why do you ignore the king’s command?” 4 Although they asked him day after day, he paid no attention to them. So they informed Haman to see if Mordecai’s actions would be tolerated, since Mordecai had told them that he was a Jew.
5 When Haman saw that Mordecai did not kneel and bow to him, Haman was infuriated. 6 Because the king’s advisers had informed him about Mordecai’s nationality, he thought it beneath himself to kill only Mordecai. So Haman planned to wipe out Mordecai’s people—all the Jews in the entire kingdom of Xerxes.
7 In Xerxes’ twelfth year as king, Pur (which means the lot) was thrown in front of Haman for every day of every month, from Nisan, the first month, until Adar, the twelfth month.
8 Now, Haman told King Xerxes, “Your Majesty, there is a certain nationality scattered among—but separate from—the nationalities in all the provinces of your kingdom. Their laws differ from those of all other nationalities. They do not obey your decrees. So it is not in your interest to tolerate them, Your Majesty. 9 If you approve, have the orders for their destruction be written. For this I will pay 750,000 pounds of silver to your treasurers to be put in your treasury.”
10 At that, the king removed his signet ring and gave it to Haman, the enemy of the Jews. (Haman was the son of Hammedatha and was from Agag.) 11 The king told Haman, “You can keep your silver and do with the people whatever you like.”
Haman Prepares to Kill the Jews
12 On the thirteenth day of the first month the king’s scribes were summoned. All Haman’s orders were written to the king’s satraps, the governors of every province, and the officials of every people. They wrote to each province in its own script and to the people in each province in their own language. The orders were signed in the name of King Xerxes and sealed with the king’s ring. 13 Messengers were sent with official documents to all the king’s provinces. The people were ordered to wipe out, kill, and destroy all the Jews—young and old, women and children—on a single day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. Their possessions were also to be seized. 14 A copy of the document was made public in a decree to every province. All the people were to be ready for this day.
15 The messengers hurried out as the king told them. The decree was also issued at the fortress of Susa. So the king and Haman sat down to drink a toast, but the city of Susa was in turmoil.
4 When Mordecai found out about everything that had been done, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and ashes. He went into the middle of the city and cried loudly and bitterly. 2 He even went right up to the king’s gate. (No one could enter it wearing sackcloth.)
3 In every province touched by the king’s command and decree, the Jews went into mourning, fasting, weeping, and wailing. Many put on sackcloth and ashes.
19 Remember this, my dear brothers and sisters: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and should not get angry easily. 20 An angry person doesn’t do what God approves of. 21 So get rid of all immoral behavior and all the wicked things you do. Humbly accept the word that God has placed in you. This word can save you.
22 Do what God’s word says. Don’t merely listen to it, or you will fool yourselves. 23 If someone listens to God’s word but doesn’t do what it says, he is like a person who looks at his face in a mirror, 24 studies his features, goes away, and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 However, the person who continues to study God’s perfect laws that make people free and who remains committed to them will be blessed. People like that don’t merely listen and forget; they actually do what God’s laws say.
26 If a person thinks that he is religious but can’t control his tongue, he is fooling himself. That person’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure, unstained religion, according to God our Father, is to take care of orphans and widows when they suffer and to remain uncorrupted by this world.
The Sermon on a Mountain Continues: Don’t Do Good Works to Be Praised by People
6 “Be careful not to do your good works in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. 2 So when you give to the poor, don’t announce it with trumpet fanfare. This is what hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets in order to be praised by people. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. 3 When you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. 4 Give your contributions privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.
The Lord’s Prayer(A)
5 “When you pray, don’t be like hypocrites. They like to stand in synagogues and on street corners to pray so that everyone can see them. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. 6 When you pray, go to your room and close the door. Pray privately to your Father who is with you. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.
Fasting
16 “When you fast, stop looking sad like hypocrites. They put on sad faces to make it obvious that they’re fasting. I can guarantee this truth: That will be their only reward. 17 When you fast, wash your face and comb your hair. 18 Then your fasting won’t be obvious. Instead, it will be obvious to your Father who is with you in private. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.