Old/New Testament
116 I love that Adonai heard
my voice when I prayed;
2 because he turned his ear to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.
3 The cords of death were all around me,
Sh’ol’s constrictions held me fast;
I was finding only distress and anguish.
4 But I called on the name of Adonai:
“Please, Adonai! Save me!”
5 Adonai is merciful and righteous;
yes, our God is compassionate.
6 Adonai preserves the thoughtless;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7 My soul, return to your rest!
For Adonai has been generous toward you.
8 Yes, you have rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.
9 I will go on walking in the presence of Adonai
in the lands of the living.
10 I will keep on trusting even when I say,
“I am utterly miserable,”
11 even when, in my panic, I declare,
“Everything human is deceptive.”
12 How can I repay Adonai
for all his generous dealings with me?
13 I will raise the cup of salvation
and call on the name of Adonai.
14 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people.
15 From Adonai’s point of view,
the death of those faithful to him is costly.
16 Oh, Adonai! I am your slave;
I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl;
you have removed my fetters.
17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you
and will call on the name of Adonai.
18 I will pay my vows to Adonai
in the presence of all his people,
19 in the courtyards of Adonai’s house,
there in your very heart, Yerushalayim.
Halleluyah!
117 Praise Adonai, all you nations!
Worship him, all you peoples!
2 For his grace has overcome us,
and Adonai’s truth continues forever.
Halleluyah!
118 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
2 Now let Isra’el say,
“His grace continues forever.”
3 Now let the house of Aharon say,
“His grace continues forever.”
4 Now let those who fear Adonai say,
“His grace continues forever.”
5 From my being hemmed in I called on Yah;
he answered and gave me more room.
6 With Adonai on my side, I fear nothing —
what can human beings do to me?
7 With Adonai on my side as my help,
I will look with triumph at those who hate me.
8 It is better to take refuge in Adonai
than to trust in human beings;
9 better to take refuge in Adonai
than to put one’s trust in princes.
10 The nations all surrounded me;
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
11 They surrounded me on every side
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
12 They surrounded me like bees
but were extinguished [as quickly] as a fire in thorns;
in the name of Adonai I cut them down.
13 You pushed me hard to make me fall,
but Adonai helped me.
14 Yah is my strength and my song,
and he has become my salvation.
15 The sound of rejoicing and victory
is heard in the tents of the righteous:
“Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!
16 Adonai’s right hand is raised in triumph!
Adonai’s right hand struck powerfully!”
17 I will not die; no, I will live
and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!
18 Yah disciplined me severely,
but did not hand me over to death.
19 Open the gates of righteousness for me;
I will enter them and thank Yah.
20 This is the gate of Adonai;
the righteous can enter it.
21 I am thanking you because you answered me;
you became my salvation.
22 The very rock that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone!
23 This has come from Adonai,
and in our eyes it is amazing.
24 This is the day Adonai has made,
a day for us to rejoice and be glad.
25 Please, Adonai! Save us!
Please, Adonai! Rescue us!
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of Adonai.
We bless you from the house of Adonai.
27 Adonai is God, and he gives us light.
Join in the pilgrim festival with branches
all the way to the horns of the altar.
28 You are my God, and I thank you.
You are my God; I exalt you.
29 Give thanks to Adonai; for he is good,
for his grace continues forever.
7 Now to deal with the questions you wrote about: “Is it good for a man to keep away from women?” 2 Well, because of the danger of sexual immorality, let each man have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give his wife what she is entitled to in the marriage relationship, and the wife should do the same for her husband. 4 The wife is not in charge of her own body, but her husband is; likewise, the husband is not in charge of his own body, but his wife is. 5 Do not deprive each other, except for a limited time, by mutual agreement, and then only so as to have extra time for prayer; but afterwards, come together again. Otherwise, because of your lack of self-control, you may succumb to the Adversary’s temptation. 6 I am giving you this as a suggestion, not as a command. 7 Actually, I wish everyone were like me; but each has his own gift from God, one this, another that.
8 Now to the single people and the widows I say that it is fine if they remain unmarried like me; 9 but if they can’t exercise self-control, they should get married; because it is better to get married than to keep burning with sexual desire.
10 To those who are married I have a command, and it is not from me but from the Lord: a woman is not to separate herself from her husband 11 But if she does separate herself, she is to remain single or be reconciled with her husband. Also, a husband is not to leave his wife.
12 To the rest I say — I, not the Lord: if any brother has a wife who is not a believer, and she is satisfied to go on living with him, he should not leave her. 13 Also, if any woman has an unbelieving husband who is satisfied to go on living with her, she is not to leave him. 14 For the unbelieving husband has been set aside for God by the wife, and the unbelieving wife has been set aside for God by the brother — otherwise your children would be “unclean,” but as it is, they are set aside for God. 15 But if the unbelieving spouse separates himself, let him be separated. In circumstances like these, the brother or sister is not enslaved — God has called you to a life of peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, husband, whether you will save your wife?
17 Only let each person live the life the Lord has assigned him and live it in the condition he was in when God called him. This is the rule I lay down in all the congregations. 18 Was someone already circumcised when he was called? Then he should not try to remove the marks of his circumcision. Was someone uncircumcised when he was called? He shouldn’t undergo b’rit-milah. 19 Being circumcised means nothing, and being uncircumcised means nothing; what does mean something is keeping God’s commandments.
Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.