Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 120
A song for going up to worship.
1 When I was in trouble, I cried out to Yahweh,
and he answered me.
2 O Yahweh, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can Yahweh give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
Psalm 121
A song for going up to worship.
1 I look up toward the mountains.
Where can I find help?
2 My help comes from Yahweh,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let you fall.
Your guardian will not fall asleep.
4 Indeed, the Guardian of Israel never rests or sleeps.
5 Yahweh is your guardian.
Yahweh is the shade over your right hand.
6 The sun will not beat down on you during the day,
nor will the moon at night.
7 Yahweh guards you from every evil.
He guards your life.
8 Yahweh guards you as you come and go,
now and forever.
Psalm 122
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to the house of Yahweh.”
2 Our feet are standing inside your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built to be a city
where the people are united.[a]
4 All of Yah’s tribes go to that city
because it is a law in Israel
to give thanks to the name of Yahweh.
5 The court of justice sits there.
It consists of princes who are David’s descendants.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you prosper.
7 May there be peace inside your walls
and prosperity in your palaces.”
8 For the sake of my relatives and friends, let me say,
“May it go well for you!”
9 For the sake of the house of Yahweh our Elohim,
I will seek what is good for you.
Psalm 123
A song for going up to worship.
1 I look up to you,
to the one who sits enthroned in heaven.
2 As servants depend on their masters,
as a maid depends on her mistress,
so we depend on Yahweh our Elohim
until he has pity on us.
3 Have pity on us, O Yahweh.
Have pity on us
because we have suffered more than our share of contempt.
4 We have suffered more than our share of ridicule
from those who are carefree.
We have suffered more than our share of contempt
from those who are arrogant.
Psalm 124
A song by David for going up to worship.
1 “If Yahweh had not been on our side . . .”
(Israel should repeat this.)
2 “If Yahweh had not been on our side when people attacked us,
3 then they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger exploded against us.
4 Then the floodwaters would have swept us away.
An overflowing stream would have washed us away.
5 Then raging water would have washed us away.”
6 Thank Yahweh, who did not let them sink their teeth into us.
7 We escaped like a bird caught in a hunter’s trap.
The trap was broken, and we escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Yahweh, the maker of heaven and earth.
Psalm 125
A song for going up to worship.
1 Those who trust Yahweh are like Mount Zion,
which can never be shaken.
It remains firm forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so Yahweh surrounds his people now and forever.
3 A wicked ruler will not be allowed to govern
the land set aside for righteous people.
That is why righteous people do not use their power to do wrong.
4 Do good, O Yahweh, to those who are good,
to those whose motives are decent.
5 But when people become crooked,
Yahweh will lead them away with troublemakers.
Let there be peace in Israel!
Psalm 126
A song for going up to worship.
1 When Yahweh restored the fortunes of Zion,
it was as if we were dreaming.
2 Then our mouths were filled with laughter
and our tongues with joyful songs.
Then the nations said,
“Yahweh has done spectacular things for them.”
3 Yahweh has done spectacular things for us.
We are overjoyed.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Yahweh,
as you restore streams to dry riverbeds in the Negev.
5 Those who cry while they plant
will joyfully sing while they harvest.
6 The person who goes out weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
will come home singing, carrying his bundles of grain.
Psalm 127
A song by Solomon for going up to worship.
1 If Yahweh does not build the house,
it is useless for the builders to work on it.
If Yahweh does not protect a city,
it is useless for the guard to stay alert.
2 It is useless to work hard for the food you eat
by getting up early and going to bed late.
Yahweh gives food to those he loves while they sleep.
3 Children are an inheritance from Yahweh.
They are a reward from him.
4 The children born to a man when he is young
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.
He will not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the city gate.
The Prophet Micah
1 Yahweh spoke his word to Micah, who was from Moresheth, when Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah were kings of Judah. This is the vision that Micah saw about Samaria and Jerusalem.
The Capital Cities of Israel and Judah Destroyed
2 Listen, all you people!
Pay attention, earth and all who are on it.
Adonay Yahweh will be a witness against you.
Adonay will be a witness from his holy temple.
3 Yahweh is going to come from his place.
He is going to come down and step on the worship places of the earth.
4 Mountains will melt under him like wax near a fire.
Valleys will split apart like water pouring down a steep hill.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s crime and Israel’s sin.
What is Jacob’s crime? Isn’t it Samaria?
What is Judah’s worship place? Isn’t it Jerusalem?
6 So I will turn Samaria into a pile of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will roll its stones down into a valley and expose its foundations.
7 All its idols will be smashed to pieces.
All its wages for being a prostitute will be burned.
All its statues will be turned into a pile of rubble.
Samaria collected its wages for being a prostitute.
That money will again pay for prostitutes.
8 I will mourn and cry because of this.
I will walk around barefoot and naked.
I will cry like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich.
9 Samaria’s wounds are incurable.
The news about Samaria will come to Judah.
It will reach the gates of my people in Jerusalem.
Some Jews Plot to Kill Paul
12 In the morning the Jews formed a conspiracy. They asked God to curse them if they ate or drank anything before they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men took part in this plot.
14 They went to the chief priests and leaders of the people and said, “We’ve asked God to curse us if we taste any food before we’ve killed Paul. 15 Here’s our plan: You and the council must go to the Roman officer on the pretext that you need more information from Paul. You have to make it look as though you want to get more accurate information about him. We’ll be ready to kill him before he gets to you.”
16 But Paul’s nephew heard about the ambush. He entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the sergeants and told him, “Take this young man to the officer. He has something to tell him.”
18 The sergeant took the young man to the officer and said, “The prisoner Paul called me. He asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”
19 The officer took the young man by the arm, went where they could be alone, and asked him, “What do you have to tell me?”
20 The young man answered, “The Jews have planned to ask you to bring Paul to the Jewish council tomorrow. They’re going to make it look as though they want more accurate information about him. 21 Don’t let them persuade you to do this. More than forty of them are planning to ambush him. They have asked God to curse them if they eat or drink anything before they have murdered him. They are ready now and are expecting you to promise that you will bring Paul.”
22 The officer dismissed the young man and ordered him not to tell this information to anyone else.
23 Then the officer summoned two of his sergeants and told them, “I want 200 infantrymen, 70 soldiers on horseback, and 200 soldiers with spears. Have them ready to go to Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. 24 Provide an animal for Paul to ride, and take him safely to Governor Felix.”
A Believing Army Officer(A)
7 When Yeshua had finished everything he wanted to say to the people, he went to Capernaum. 2 There a Roman army officer’s valuable slave was sick and near death. 3 The officer had heard about Yeshua and sent some Jewish leaders to him. They were to ask Yeshua to come and save the servant’s life. 4 They came to Yeshua and begged, “He deserves your help. 5 He loves our people and built our synagogue at his own expense.”
6 Yeshua went with them. He was not far from the house when the officer sent friends to tell Yeshua, “Sir, don’t bother. I don’t deserve to have you come into my house. 7 That’s why I didn’t come to you. But just give a command, and let my servant be cured. 8 As you know, I’m in a chain of command and have soldiers at my command. I tell one of them, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and another, ‘Come!’ and he comes. I tell my servant, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.”
9 Yeshua was amazed at the officer when he heard these words. He turned to the crowd following him and said, “I can guarantee that I haven’t found faith as great as this in Israel.”
10 When the men who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant healthy again.
Jesus Brings a Widow’s Son Back to Life
11 Soon afterward, Yeshua went to a city called Nain. His disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he came near the entrance to the city, he met a funeral procession. The dead man was a widow’s only child. A large crowd from the city was with her.
13 When the Lord saw her, he felt sorry for her. He said to her, “Don’t cry.”
14 He went up to the open coffin, took hold of it, and the men who were carrying it stopped. He said, “Young man, I’m telling you to come back to life!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Yeshua gave him back to his mother.
16 Everyone was struck with fear and praised God. They said, “A great prophet has appeared among us,” and “God has taken care of his people.” 17 This news about Yeshua spread throughout Judea and the surrounding region.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.