Book of Common Prayer
120 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) I called to Adonai in my distress,
and he answered me.
2 Rescue me, Adonai, from lips that tell lies,
from a tongue full of deceit.
3 What has he in store for you, deceitful tongue?
What more will he do to you?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with red-hot coals from a broom tree.
5 How wretched I am, that I’m an alien in Meshekh,
that I must live among the tents of Keidar!
6 I have had to live far too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am all for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
121 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) If I raise my eyes to the hills,
from where will my help come?
2 My help comes from Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let your foot slip —
your guardian is not asleep.
4 No, the guardian of Isra’el
never slumbers or sleeps.
5 Adonai is your guardian; at your right hand
Adonai provides you with shade —
6 the sun can’t strike you during the day
or even the moon at night.
7 Adonai will guard you against all harm;
he will guard your life.
8 Adonai will guard your coming and going
from now on and forever.
122 (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) I was glad when they said to me,
“The house of Adonai! Let’s go!”
2 Our feet were already standing
at your gates, Yerushalayim.
3 Yerushalayim, built as a city
fostering friendship and unity.
4 The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of Adonai,
as a witness to Isra’el,
to give thanks to the name of Adonai.
5 For there the thrones of justice were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim;
may those who love you prosper.
7 May shalom be within your ramparts,
prosperity in your palaces.
8 For the sake of my family and friends, I say,
“Shalom be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of Adonai our God,
I will seek your well-being.
123 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) I raise my eyes to you,
whose throne is in heaven.
2 As a servant looks to the hand of his master,
or a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes turn to Adonai our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Adonai, have mercy;
for we have had our fill of contempt,
4 more than our fill of scorn from the complacent
and contempt from the arrogant.
124 (0) A song of ascents. By David:
(1) If Adonai hadn’t been for us —
let Isra’el repeat it —
2 If Adonai hadn’t been for us
when people rose to attack us,
3 then, when their anger blazed against us,
they would have swallowed us alive!
4 Then the water would have engulfed us,
the torrent would have swept over us.
5 Yes, the raging water
would have swept right over us.
6 Blessed be Adonai, who did not leave us
to be a prey for their teeth!
7 We escaped like a bird from the hunter’s trap;
the trap is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of Adonai,
the maker of heaven and earth.
125 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) Those who trust in Adonai
are like Mount Tziyon,
which cannot be moved
but remains forever.
2 Yerushalayim!
Mountains all around it!
Thus Adonai is around his people
henceforth and forever.
3 For the scepter of wickedness
will not rule the inheritance of the righteous,
so that the righteous will not themselves
turn their hands to evil.
4 Do good, Adonai, to the good,
to those upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn aside
to their own crooked ways,
may Adonai turn them away,
along with those who do evil.
Shalom on Isra’el!
126 (0) A song of ascents:
(1) When Adonai restored Tziyon’s fortunes,
we thought we were dreaming.
2 Our mouths were full of laughter,
and our tongues shouted for joy.
Among the nations it was said,
“Adonai has done great things for them!”
3 Adonai did do great things with us;
and we are overjoyed.
4 Return our people from exile, Adonai,
as streams fill vadis in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears
will reap with cries of joy.
6 He who goes out weeping
as he carries his sack of seed
will come home with cries of joy
as he carries his sheaves of grain.
127 (0) A song of ascents. By Shlomo:
(1) Unless Adonai builds the house,
its builders work in vain.
Unless Adonai guards the city,
the guard keeps watch in vain.
2 In vain do you get up early
and put off going to bed,
working hard to earn a living;
for he provides for his beloved,
even when they sleep.
3 Children too are a gift from Adonai;
the fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 The children born when one is young.
are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.
5 How blessed is the man
who has filled his quiver with them;
he will not have to be embarrassed
when contending with foes at the city gate.
8 “Therefore, here is what Adonai-Tzva’ot says: ‘Because you haven’t paid attention to what I’ve been saying, 9 I’m going to send for all the families of the north,’ says Adonai, ‘and for my servant N’vukhadretzar the king of Bavel, and bring them against this land, against its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror and ridicule, a perpetual ruin. 10 Moreover, I will silence among them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bridegroom and bride, the grinding of millstones and the light of lamps. 11 This entire land will become a ruin, a waste; and these nations will serve the king of Bavel for seventy years. 12 But when the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Bavel and that nation for their sin,’ says Adonai, ‘and I will turn the land of the Kasdim into everlasting ruins. 13 I will inflict on that land all my words that I have decreed against it, everything written in this book, in which Yirmeyahu has prophesied against all the nations. 14 For they too will become slaves to many nations and to powerful kings; I will pay them back according to their deeds and the work of their own hands.’
15 “For here is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says to me: ‘Take this cup of the wine of fury from my hand, and make all the nations where I am sending you drink it. 16 They will drink, stagger to and fro and behave like crazy people because of the sword that I will send among them.’”
17 Then I took the cup from Adonai’s hand and made all the nations drink, where Adonai had sent me —
10 Brothers, my heart’s deepest desire and my prayer to God for Isra’el is for their salvation; 2 for I can testify to their zeal for God. But it is not based on correct understanding; 3 for, since they are unaware of God’s way of making people righteous and instead seek to set up their own, they have not submitted themselves to God’s way of making people righteous. 4 For the goal at which the Torah aims is the Messiah, who offers righteousness to everyone who trusts. 5 For Moshe writes about the righteousness grounded in the Torah that the person who does these things will attain life through them.[a] 6 Moreover, the righteousness grounded in trusting says:
“Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend to heaven?’” —
that is, to bring the Messiah down — 7 or,
“‘Who will descend into Sh’ol?’” —
that is, to bring the Messiah up from the dead. 8 What, then, does it say?
“The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart.”[b] —
that is, the word about trust which we proclaim, namely, 9 that if you acknowledge publicly with your mouth that Yeshua is Lord and trust in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be delivered. 10 For with the heart one goes on trusting and thus continues toward righteousness, while with the mouth one keeps on making public acknowledgement and thus continues toward deliverance. 11 For the passage quoted says that everyone who rests his trust on him will not be humiliated.[c] 12 That means that there is no difference between Jew and Gentile — Adonai is the same for everyone, rich toward everyone who calls on him, 13 since everyone who calls on the name of Adonai will be delivered.[d]
18 The Judeans, however, were unwilling to believe that he had formerly been blind, but now could see, until they had summoned the man’s parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” 20 His parents answered, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind; 21 but how it is that he can see now, we don’t know; nor do we know who opened his eyes. Ask him — he’s old enough, he can speak for himself!” 22 The parents said this because they were afraid of the Judeans, for the Judeans had already agreed that anyone who acknowledged Yeshua as the Messiah would be banned from the synagogue. 23 This is why his parents said, “He’s old enough, ask him.”
24 So a second time they called the man who had been blind; and they said to him, “Swear to God that you will tell the truth! We know that this man is a sinner.” 25 He answered, “Whether he’s a sinner or not I don’t know. One thing I do know: I was blind, now I see.” 26 So they said to him, “What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes?” 27 “I already told you,” he answered, “and you didn’t listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Maybe you too want to become his talmidim?” 28 Then they railed at him. “You may be his talmid,” they said, “but we are talmidim of Moshe! 29 We know that God has spoken to Moshe, but as for this fellow — we don’t know where he’s from!” 30 “What a strange thing,” the man answered, “that you don’t know where he’s from — considering that he opened my eyes! 31 We know that God doesn’t listen to sinners; but if anyone fears God and does his will, God does listen to him. 32 In all history no one has ever heard of someone’s opening the eyes of a man born blind. 33 If this man were not from God, he couldn’t do a thing!” 34 “Why, you mamzer!” they retorted, “Are you lecturing us?” And they threw him out.
35 Yeshua heard that they had thrown the man out. He found him and said, “Do you trust in the Son of Man?” 36 “Sir,” he answered, “tell me who he is, so that I can trust in him.” 37 Yeshua said to him, “You have seen him. In fact, he’s the one speaking with you now.” 38 “Lord, I trust!” he said, and he kneeled down in front of him.
39 Yeshua said, “It is to judge that I came into this world, so that those who do not see might see, and those who do see might become blind.” 40 Some of the P’rushim nearby heard this and said to him, “So we’re blind too, are we?” 41 Yeshua answered them, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin. But since you still say, ‘We see,’ your guilt remains.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.