Book Four
From Everlasting to Everlasting
A sPrayer of Moses, the tman of God.
1 Lord, you have been our udwelling place1
in all generations.
2 vBefore the wmountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
xfrom everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3 You return man to dust
and say, y“Return, zO children of man!”2
4 For aa thousand years in your sight
are but as byesterday when it is past,
or as ca watch in the night.
5 You dsweep them away as with a flood; they are like ea dream,
like fgrass that is renewed in the morning:
6 in ithe morning it flourishes and is renewed;
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger;
by your wrath we are dismayed.
8 You have lset our iniquities before you,
our msecret sins in the light of your presence.
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
10 The years of our life are seventy,
or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span3 is but toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11 Who considers the power of your anger,
and your wrath according to the fear of you?
12 nSo teach us to number our days
that we may get a heart of wisdom.
13 oReturn, O Lord! pHow long?
Have qpity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us in the smorning with your steadfast love,
that we may trejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have uafflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your vwork be shown to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17 Let the xfavor4 of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish ythe work of our hands upon us;
yes, establish the work of our hands!
Ahab and the False Prophets
1 For three years Syria and Israel continued without war. 2 sBut in the third year tJehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. 3 And the king of Israel said to his servants, “Do you know that uRamoth-gilead belongs to us, and we keep quiet and do not take it out of the hand of the king of Syria?” 4 And he said to Jehoshaphat, “Will you go with me to battle at Ramoth-gilead?” And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, v“I am as you are, my people as your people, my horses as your horses.”
5 And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, “Inquire first for the word of the Lord.” 6 Then the king of Israel wgathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said to them, “Shall I go to battle against Ramoth-gilead, or shall I refrain?” And they said, “Go up, for the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.” 7 But xJehoshaphat said, “Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?” 8 And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil.” And Jehoshaphat said, “Let not the king say so.” 9 Then the king of Israel summoned an officer and said, “Bring quickly Micaiah the son of Imlah.” 10 Now the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah were sitting on their thrones, arrayed in their robes, at the threshing floor yat the entrance of the gate of Samaria, and all the prophets were prophesying before them. 11 And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made for himself zhorns of iron and said, “Thus says the Lord, ‘With these ayou shall push the Syrians until they are destroyed.’” 12 And all the prophets prophesied so and said, “Go up to Ramoth-gilead and triumph; the Lord will give it into the hand of the king.”
12 But above all, my brothers, udo not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.
The Prayer of Faith
13 Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him vsing praise. 14 Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, wanointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And xif he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore, yconfess your sins to one another and pray for one another, zthat you may be healed. aThe prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.1 17 Elijah was a man bwith a nature like ours, and che prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for dthree years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 eThen he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
19 My brothers, fif anyone among you wanders from the truth and someone gbrings him back, 20 let him know that whoever brings back a sinner from his wandering hwill save his soul from death and iwill cover a multitude of sins.
