Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5
For the choir director; for flutes; a psalm by David.
1 Open your ears to my words, O Yahweh.
Consider my innermost thoughts.
2 Pay attention to my cry for help, my Melek and my Elohim,
because I pray only to you.
3 In the morning, O Yahweh, hear my voice.
In the morning I lay my needs in front of you,
and I wait.
4 You are not an El who takes pleasure in wickedness.
Evil will never be your guest.
5 Those who brag cannot stand in your sight.
You hate all troublemakers.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Yahweh is disgusted with bloodthirsty and deceitful people.
7 But I will enter your house because of your great mercy.
Out of reverence for you, I will bow toward your holy temple.
8 O Yahweh, lead me in your righteousness because of those who spy on me.
Make your way in front of me smooth.
9 Nothing in their mouths is truthful.
Destruction comes from their hearts.
Their throats are open graves.
They flatter with their tongues.
10 Condemn them, O Elohim.
Let their own schemes be their downfall.
Throw them out for their many crimes
because they have rebelled against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice.
Let them sing with joy forever.
Protect them, and let those who love your name triumph in you.
12 You bless righteous people, O Yahweh.
Like a large shield, you surround them with your favor.
Psalm 6
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, on the sheminith;[a] a psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, do not punish me in your anger
or discipline me in your rage.
2 Have pity on me, O Yahweh, because I am weak.
Heal me, O Yahweh, because my bones shake with terror.
3 My soul has been deeply shaken with terror.
But you, O Yahweh, how long . . . ?
4 Come back, O Yahweh.
Rescue me.
Save me because of your mercy!
5 In death, no one remembers you.
In the grave, who praises you?
6 I am worn out from my groaning.
My eyes flood my bed every night.
I soak my couch with tears.
7 My eyes blur from grief.
They fail because of my enemies.
8 Get away from me, all you troublemakers,
because Yahweh has heard the sound of my crying.
9 Yahweh has heard my plea for mercy.
Yahweh accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be put to shame and deeply shaken with terror.
In a moment they will retreat and be put to shame.
Psalm 10
1 Why are you so distant, Yahweh?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 The wicked person arrogantly pursues oppressed people.
He will be caught in the schemes that he planned.
3 The wicked person boasts about his selfish desires.
He blesses robbers, but he curses Yahweh.
4 He turns up his nose and says, “Yahweh doesn’t care.”
His every thought concludes, “There is no Elohim.”
5 He always seems to succeed.
Your judgments are beyond his understanding.
He spits at all his opponents.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing can shake me.
I’ll never face any trouble.”
7 His mouth is full of cursing, deception, and oppression.
Trouble and wrongdoing are on the tip of his tongue.
8 He waits in ambush in the villages.
From his hiding places he kills innocent people.
His eyes are on the lookout for victims.
9 He lies in his hiding place like a lion in his den.
He hides there to catch oppressed people.
He catches oppressed people when he draws them into his net.
10 His victims are crushed.
They collapse,
and they fall under the weight of his power.
11 He says to himself,
“El has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He will never see it!”
12 Arise, O Yahweh!
Lift your hand, O El.
Do not forget oppressed people!
13 Why does the wicked person despise Elohim?
Why does he say to himself, “Elohim doesn’t care”?
14 You have seen it; yes, you have taken note of trouble and grief
and placed them under your control.
The victim entrusts himself to you.
You alone have been the helper of orphans.
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person.
Punish his wickedness until you find no more.
16 Yahweh is Melek forever and ever.
The nations have vanished from his land.
17 You have heard the desire of oppressed people, O Yahweh.
You encourage them.
You pay close attention to them
18 in order to provide justice for orphans and oppressed people
so that no mere mortal will terrify them again.
Psalm 11
For the choir director; by David.
1 I have taken refuge in Yahweh.
How can you say to me:
“Flee to your mountain like a bird?
2 Wicked people bend their bows.
They set their arrows against the strings
to shoot in the dark at people whose motives are decent.
3 When the foundations of life are undermined,
what can a righteous person do?”
4 Yahweh is in his holy temple.
Yahweh’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes see.
They examine Adam’s descendants.
5 Yahweh tests righteous people,
but he hates wicked people and the ones who love violence.
6 He rains down fire and burning sulfur upon wicked people.
He makes them drink from a cup filled with scorching wind.
7 Yahweh is righteous.
He loves a righteous way of life.
Decent people will see his face.
Jonah Tries to Run Away from the Lord
1 Yahweh spoke his word to Jonah, son of Amittai. He said, 2 “Leave at once for the important city, Nineveh. Announce to the people that I can no longer overlook the wicked things they have done.”
3 Jonah immediately tried to run away from Yahweh by going to Tarshish. He went to Joppa and found a ship going to Tarshish. He paid for the trip and went on board. He wanted to go to Tarshish to get away from Yahweh.
4 Yahweh sent a violent wind over the sea. The storm was so powerful that the ship was in danger of breaking up. 5 The sailors were afraid, and they cried to their gods for help. They began to throw the cargo overboard to lighten the ship’s load.
Now, Jonah had gone below deck and was lying there sound asleep. 6 The captain of the ship went to him and asked, “How can you sleep? Get up, and pray to your El. Maybe he will notice us, and we won’t die.”
7 Then the sailors said to each other, “Let’s throw dice to find out who is responsible for bringing this disaster on us.” So they threw dice, and the dice indicated that Jonah was responsible.
8 They asked him, “Tell us, why has this disaster happened to us? What do you do for a living? Where do you come from? What country are you from? What nationality are you?”
9 Jonah answered them, “I’m a Hebrew. I worship Yahweh, the God of heaven. He is the Elohim who made the sea and the land.”
10 Then the men were terrified. They knew that he was running away from Yahweh, because he had told them. They asked Jonah, “Why have you done this?”
11 The storm was getting worse. So they asked Jonah, “What should we do with you to calm the sea?”
12 He told them, “Throw me overboard. Then the sea will become calm. I know that I’m responsible for this violent storm.”
13 Instead, the men tried to row harder to get the ship back to shore, but they couldn’t do it. The storm was getting worse.
14 So they cried to Yahweh for help: “Please, Yahweh, don’t let us die for taking this man’s life. Don’t hold us responsible for the death of an innocent man, because you, Yahweh, do whatever you want.” 15 Then they took Jonah and threw him overboard, and the sea became calm. 16 The men were terrified of Yahweh. They offered sacrifices and made vows to Yahweh.[a]
17 Yahweh sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.
24 As Paul was defending himself in this way, Festus shouted, “Paul, you’re crazy! Too much education is driving you crazy!”
25 Paul replied, “I’m not crazy, Your Excellency Festus. What I’m saying is true and sane. 26 I can easily speak to a king who knows about these things. I’m sure that none of these things has escaped his attention. None of this was done secretly. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you believe them!”
28 Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think you can quickly persuade me to become a Christian?”
29 Paul replied, “I wish to God that you and everyone listening to me today would quickly and completely become as I am (except for being a prisoner).”
30 The king, the governor, Bernice, and the people who were sitting with them got up. 31 As they were leaving, they said to each other, “This man isn’t doing anything for which he deserves to die or be put in prison.”
32 Agrippa told Festus, “This man could have been set free if he hadn’t appealed his case to the emperor.”
Paul Sails for Rome
27 When it was decided that we should sail to Italy, Paul and some other prisoners were turned over to an army officer. His name was Julius, and he belonged to the emperor’s division. 2 We set sail on a ship from the city of Adramyttium. The ship was going to stop at ports on the coast of the province of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from the city of Thessalonica, went with us.
3 The next day we arrived at the city of Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to visit his friends and receive any care he needed. 4 Leaving Sidon, we sailed on the northern side of the island of Cyprus because we were traveling against the wind. 5 We sailed along the coast of the provinces of Cilicia and Pamphylia and arrived at the city of Myra in the province of Lycia. 6 In Myra the officer found a ship from Alexandria that was on its way to Italy and put us on it. 7 We were sailing slowly for a number of days. Our difficulties began along the coast of the city of Cnidus because the wind would not let us go further. So at Cape Salmone, we started to sail for the south side of the island of Crete. 8 We had difficulty sailing along the shore of Crete. We finally came to a port called Fair Harbors. The port was near the city of Lasea.
Jairus’ Daughter and a Woman with Chronic Bleeding(A)
40 When Yeshua came back, a crowd welcomed him. Everyone was expecting him.
41 A man named Jairus, a synagogue leader, arrived and quickly bowed down in front of Yeshua. He begged Yeshua to come to his home. 42 His only daughter, who was about twelve years old, was dying. As Yeshua went, the people were crowding around him.
43 A woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years was in the crowd. No one could cure her. 44 She came up behind Yeshua, touched the edge of his clothes, and her bleeding stopped at once.
45 Yeshua asked, “Who touched me?”
After everyone denied touching him, Peter said, “Teacher, the people are crowding you and pressing against you.”
46 Yeshua said, “Someone touched me. I know power has gone out of me.”
47 The woman saw that she couldn’t hide. Trembling, she quickly bowed in front of him. There, in front of all the people, she told why she touched him and how she was cured at once.
48 Yeshua told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace!”
49 While Yeshua was still speaking to her, someone came from the synagogue leader’s home. He said, “Your daughter is dead. Don’t bother the teacher anymore.”
50 When Yeshua heard this, he told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid! Just believe, and she will get well.”
51 Yeshua went into the house. He allowed no one to go with him except Peter, John, James, and the child’s parents. 52 Everyone was crying and showing how sad they were. Yeshua said, “Don’t cry! She’s not dead. She’s just sleeping.”
53 They laughed at him because they knew she was dead. 54 But Yeshua took her hand and called out, “Child, get up!” 55 She came back to life and got up at once. He ordered her parents to give her something to eat. 56 They were amazed. Yeshua ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.