Book of Common Prayer
A psalm of David.
37 Don’t be upset because of sinful people.
Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 Like grass, they will soon dry up.
Like green plants, they will soon die.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live in the land and enjoy its food.
4 Find your delight in the Lord.
Then he will give you everything your heart really wants.
5 Commit your life to the Lord.
Here is what he will do if you trust in him.
6 He will make the reward for your godly life shine like the dawn.
He will make the proof of your honest life shine like the sun at noon.
7 Be still and wait patiently for the Lord to act.
Don’t be upset when other people succeed.
Don’t be upset when they carry out their evil plans.
8 Turn away from anger and don’t give in to wrath.
Don’t be upset, because that only leads to evil.
9 Sinful people will be destroyed.
But those who put their hope in the Lord will receive the land.
10 In a little while, there won’t be any more sinners.
Even if you look for them, you won’t be able to find them.
11 But those who are free of pride will be given the land.
They will enjoy peace and success.
12 Sinful people make plans to harm those who do what is right.
They grind their teeth at them.
13 But the Lord laughs at those who do evil.
He knows the day is coming when he will judge them.
14 Sinners pull out their swords.
They bend their bows.
They want to kill poor and needy people.
They plan to murder those who lead honest lives.
15 But they will be killed by their own swords.
Their own bows will be broken.
16 Those who do what is right may have very little.
But it’s better than the wealth of many sinners.
17 The power of those who are evil will be broken.
But the Lord takes good care of those who do what is right.
18 Those who are without blame spend their days in the Lord’s care.
What he has given them will last forever.
19 When trouble comes to them, they will have what they need.
When there is little food in the land, they will still have plenty.
20 But sinful people will die.
The Lord’s enemies may be like flowers in the field.
But they will be swallowed up.
They will disappear like smoke.
21 Sinful people borrow and don’t pay back.
But those who are godly give freely to others.
22 The Lord will give the land to those he blesses.
But he will destroy those he curses.
23 The Lord makes secure the footsteps
of the person who delights in him,
24 Even if that person trips, he won’t fall.
The Lord’s hand takes good care of him.
25 I once was young, and now I’m old.
But I’ve never seen godly people deserted.
I’ve never seen their children begging for bread.
26 The godly are always giving and lending freely.
Their children will be a blessing.
27 Turn away from evil and do good.
Then you will live in the land forever.
28 The Lord loves those who are honest.
He will not desert those who are faithful to him.
Those who do wrong will be completely destroyed.
The children of sinners will die.
29 Those who do what is right will be given the land.
They will live in it forever.
30 The mouths of those who do what is right speak words of wisdom.
They say what is honest.
31 God’s law is in their hearts.
Their feet do not slip.
32 Those who are evil hide and wait for godly people.
They want to kill them.
33 But the Lord will not leave the godly in their power.
He will not let them be found guilty when they are brought into court.
34 Put your hope in the Lord.
Live as he wants you to.
He will honor you by giving you the land.
When sinners are destroyed, you will see it.
35 I saw a mean and sinful person.
He was doing well, like a green tree in its own land.
36 But he soon passed away and was gone.
Even though I looked for him, I couldn’t find him.
37 Consider honest people who are without blame.
People who seek peace will have a tomorrow.
38 But all sinners will be destroyed.
Those who are evil won’t have a tomorrow.
39 The Lord saves those who do what is right.
He is their place of safety when trouble comes.
40 The Lord helps them and saves them.
He saves them from sinful people
because they go to him for safety.
13 So Daniel was brought to the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel? Are you one of the prisoners my father the king brought here from Judah? 14 I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. I’ve also heard that you have understanding and good sense and special wisdom. 15 The wise men and those who practice magic were brought to me. They were asked to read this writing and tell me what it means. But they couldn’t. 16 I have heard that you are able to explain things and solve hard problems. I hope you can read this writing and tell me what it means. If you can, you will be dressed in purple clothes. A gold chain will be put around your neck. And you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”
17 Then Daniel answered the king. He said, “You can keep your gifts for yourself. You can give your rewards to someone else. But I will read the writing for you. I’ll tell you what it means.
18 “Your Majesty, the Most High God was good to your father Nebuchadnezzar. He gave him authority and greatness and glory and honor. 19 God gave him a high position. Then people from every nation became afraid of the king. That was true no matter what language they spoke. The king put to death anyone he wanted to. He spared anyone he wanted to spare. He gave high positions to anyone he wanted to. And he brought down anyone he wanted to bring down. 20 But his heart became very stubborn and proud. So he was removed from his royal throne. His glory was stripped away from him. 21 He was driven away from people. He was given the mind of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass just as an ox does. His body became wet with the dew of heaven. He stayed that way until he recognized that the Most High God rules over all kingdoms on earth. He puts anyone he wants to in charge of them.
22 “But you knew all that, Belshazzar. After all, you are Nebuchadnezzar’s son. In spite of that, you are still proud. 23 You have taken your stand against the Lord of heaven. You had your servants bring cups from his temple to you. You and your nobles drank wine from them. So did your wives and concubines. You praised your gods. The statues of those gods are made out of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood or stone. They can’t see or hear or understand anything. But you didn’t honor God. He holds in his hand your very life and everything you do. 24 So he sent the hand that wrote on the wall.
25 “Here is what was written.
mene, mene, tekel, parsin
26 “And here is what these words mean.
“The word Mene means that God has limited the time of your rule. He has brought it to an end.
27 “The word Tekel means that you have been weighed on scales. And you haven’t measured up to God’s standard.
28 “The word Peres means that your authority over your kingdom will be taken away from you. It will be given to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then Belshazzar commanded his servants to dress Daniel in purple clothes. So they did. They put a gold chain around his neck. And he was made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
30 That very night Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, was killed.
Final Words
13 I’m writing these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God. I’m writing so you will know that you have eternal life. 14 Here is what we can be sure of when we come to God in prayer. If we ask anything in keeping with what he wants, he hears us. 15 If we know that God hears what we ask for, we know that we have it.
16 Suppose you see any brother or sister commit a sin. But this sin is not the kind that leads to death. Then you should pray, and God will give them life. I’m talking about someone whose sin does not lead to death. But there is a sin that does lead to death. I’m not saying you should pray about that sin. 17 Every wrong thing we do is sin. But there are sins that do not lead to death.
18 We know that those who are children of God do not keep on sinning. The Son of God keeps them safe. The evil one can’t harm them. 19 We know that we are children of God. We know that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We also know that the Son of God has come. He has given us understanding. So we can know the God who is true. And we belong to the true God by belonging to his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
21 Dear children, keep away from statues of gods.
Jesus Chooses His First Disciples
5 One day Jesus was standing by the Sea of Galilee. The people crowded around him and listened to the word of God. 2 Jesus saw two boats at the edge of the water. They had been left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into the boat that belonged to Simon. Jesus asked him to go out a little way from shore. Then he sat down in the boat and taught the people.
4 When he finished speaking, he turned to Simon. Jesus said, “Go out into deep water. Let down the nets so you can catch some fish.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught a large number of fish. There were so many that their nets began to break. 7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. They came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees. “Go away from me, Lord!” he said. “I am a sinful man!” 9 He and everyone with him were amazed at the number of fish they had caught. 10 So were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who worked with Simon.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid. From now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore. Then they left everything and followed him.
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