Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 120
A song of ascents.
1 I call on the Lord(A) in my distress,(B)
and he answers me.
2 Save me, Lord,
from lying lips(C)
and from deceitful tongues.(D)
3 What will he do to you,
and what more besides,
you deceitful tongue?
4 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,(E)
with burning coals of the broom bush.
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!(F)
6 Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 121
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(G) and earth.(H)
3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches(I) over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over(J) you—
the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun(K) will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep you from all harm(L)—
he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.(M)
Psalm 122
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 I rejoiced with those who said to me,
“Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
in your gates, Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is built like a city
that is closely compacted together.
4 That is where the tribes go up—
the tribes of the Lord—
to praise the name of the Lord
according to the statute given to Israel.
5 There stand the thrones for judgment,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love(N) you be secure.
7 May there be peace(O) within your walls
and security within your citadels.(P)”
8 For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity.(Q)
Psalm 123
A song of ascents.
1 I lift up my eyes to you,
to you who sit enthroned(R) in heaven.
2 As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord(S) our God,
till he shows us his mercy.
3 Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us,
for we have endured no end of contempt.
4 We have endured no end
of ridicule from the arrogant,
of contempt from the proud.
Psalm 124
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 If the Lord had not been on our side—
let Israel say(T)—
2 if the Lord had not been on our side
when people attacked us,
3 they would have swallowed us alive
when their anger flared against us;
4 the flood(U) would have engulfed us,
the torrent(V) would have swept over us,
5 the raging waters
would have swept us away.
6 Praise be to the Lord,
who has not let us be torn by their teeth.
7 We have escaped like a bird
from the fowler’s snare;(W)
the snare has been broken,(X)
and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in the name(Y) of the Lord,
the Maker of heaven(Z) and earth.
Psalm 125
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,(AA)
which cannot be shaken(AB) but endures forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,(AC)
so the Lord surrounds(AD) his people
both now and forevermore.
3 The scepter(AE) of the wicked will not remain(AF)
over the land allotted to the righteous,
for then the righteous might use
their hands to do evil.(AG)
4 Lord, do good(AH) to those who are good,
to those who are upright in heart.(AI)
5 But those who turn(AJ) to crooked ways(AK)
the Lord will banish(AL) with the evildoers.
Peace be on Israel.(AM)
Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored(AN) the fortunes of[a] Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,(AO)
our tongues with songs of joy.(AP)
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things(AQ) for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things(AR) for us,
and we are filled with joy.(AS)
4 Restore our fortunes,[c](AT) Lord,
like streams in the Negev.(AU)
5 Those who sow with tears(AV)
will reap(AW) with songs of joy.(AX)
6 Those who go out weeping,(AY)
carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with them.
Psalm 127
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.
Saul Rescues the City of Jabesh
11 Nahash[a](A) the Ammonite went up and besieged Jabesh Gilead.(B) And all the men of Jabesh said to him, “Make a treaty(C) with us, and we will be subject to you.”
2 But Nahash the Ammonite replied, “I will make a treaty with you only on the condition(D) that I gouge(E) out the right eye of every one of you and so bring disgrace(F) on all Israel.”
3 The elders(G) of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days so we can send messengers throughout Israel; if no one comes to rescue(H) us, we will surrender(I) to you.”
4 When the messengers came to Gibeah(J) of Saul and reported these terms to the people, they all wept(K) aloud. 5 Just then Saul was returning from the fields, behind his oxen, and he asked, “What is wrong with everyone? Why are they weeping?” Then they repeated to him what the men of Jabesh had said.
6 When Saul heard their words, the Spirit(L) of God came powerfully upon him, and he burned with anger. 7 He took a pair of oxen,(M) cut them into pieces, and sent the pieces by messengers throughout Israel,(N) proclaiming, “This is what will be done to the oxen of anyone(O) who does not follow Saul and Samuel.” Then the terror of the Lord fell on the people, and they came out together as one.(P) 8 When Saul mustered(Q) them at Bezek,(R) the men of Israel numbered three hundred thousand and those of Judah thirty thousand.
9 They told the messengers who had come, “Say to the men of Jabesh Gilead, ‘By the time the sun is hot tomorrow, you will be rescued.’” When the messengers went and reported this to the men of Jabesh, they were elated. 10 They said to the Ammonites, “Tomorrow we will surrender(S) to you, and you can do to us whatever you like.”
11 The next day Saul separated his men into three divisions;(T) during the last watch of the night they broke into the camp of the Ammonites(U) and slaughtered them until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
Saul Confirmed as King
12 The people then said to Samuel, “Who(V) was it that asked, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ Turn these men over to us so that we may put them to death.”
13 But Saul said, “No one will be put to death today,(W) for this day the Lord has rescued(X) Israel.”
14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal(Y) and there renew the kingship.(Z)” 15 So all the people went to Gilgal(AA) and made Saul king(AB) in the presence of the Lord. There they sacrificed fellowship offerings before the Lord, and Saul and all the Israelites held a great celebration.
8 And Saul(A) approved of their killing him.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered(B) throughout Judea and Samaria.(C) 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul(D) began to destroy the church.(E) Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip in Samaria
4 Those who had been scattered(F) preached the word wherever they went.(G) 5 Philip(H) went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many,(I) and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.(J) 8 So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery(K) in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,(L) 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”(M) 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God(N) and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized,(O) both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles(P) he saw.
The Guards Mock Jesus(A)
63 The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.(B)
Jesus Before Pilate and Herod(C)(D)(E)
66 At daybreak the council(F) of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together,(G) and Jesus was led before them. 67 “If you are the Messiah,” they said, “tell us.”
Jesus answered, “If I tell you, you will not believe me, 68 and if I asked you, you would not answer.(H) 69 But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.”(I)
70 They all asked, “Are you then the Son of God?”(J)
He replied, “You say that I am.”(K)
71 Then they said, “Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.”
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