Book of Common Prayer
Praise the Name of the Lord
148 (A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord (B)from the heavens;
praise him (C)in the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his (D)hosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you (E)highest heavens,
and you (F)waters above the heavens!
5 (G)Let them praise the name of the Lord!
For (H)he commanded and they were created.
6 And he (I)established them forever and ever;
he gave (J)a decree, and it shall not (K)pass away.[a]
7 Praise the Lord (L)from the earth,
you (M)great sea creatures and all deeps,
8 (N)fire and hail, (O)snow and mist,
(P)stormy wind (Q)fulfilling his word!
9 (R)Mountains and all hills,
(S)fruit trees and all (T)cedars!
10 (U)Beasts and all livestock,
creeping things and (V)flying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and (W)all peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
13 (X)Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for (Y)his name alone is exalted;
(Z)his majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has (AA)raised up a horn for his people,
(AB)praise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are (AC)near to him.
(AD)Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a New Song
149 (AE)Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord (AF)a new song,
his praise in (AG)the assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel (AH)be glad in (AI)his Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their (AJ)King!
3 Let them praise his name with (AK)dancing,
making melody to him with (AL)tambourine and (AM)lyre!
4 For the Lord (AN)takes pleasure in his people;
he (AO)adorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory;
let them (AP)sing for joy on their (AQ)beds.
6 Let (AR)the high praises of God be in their throats
and (AS)two-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with (AT)chains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment (AU)written!
(AV)This is honor for all his godly ones.
(AW)Praise the Lord!
Let Everything Praise the Lord
150 (AX)Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his (AY)sanctuary;
praise him in (AZ)his mighty heavens![b]
2 Praise him for his (BA)mighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent (BB)greatness!
3 Praise him with (BC)trumpet sound;
praise him with (BD)lute and (BE)harp!
4 Praise him with (BF)tambourine and (BG)dance;
praise him with (BH)strings and (BI)pipe!
5 Praise him with sounding (BJ)cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let (BK)everything that has breath praise the Lord!
(BL)Praise the Lord!
Tremble at the Presence of the Lord
114 When (A)Israel went out from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from (B)a people of strange language,
2 Judah became his (C)sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3 (D)The sea looked and fled;
(E)Jordan turned back.
4 (F)The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 What (G)ails you, O sea, that you flee?
O Jordan, that you turn back?
6 O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7 (H)Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
8 who turns (I)the rock into (J)a pool of water,
(K)the flint into a spring of water.
To Your Name Give Glory
115 (L)Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,
(M)for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!
2 Why should the nations say,
(N)“Where is their God?”
3 (O)Our God is in the heavens;
(P)he does all that he pleases.
4 (Q)Their idols are silver and gold,
(R)the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, (S)but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 (T)Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
9 O (U)Israel,[a] (V)trust in the Lord!
He is their (W)help and their shield.
10 O (X)house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and (Y)their shield.
11 You (Z)who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!
He is their help and their shield.
12 The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us;
he will bless (AA)the house of Israel;
he will bless (AB)the house of Aaron;
13 he will (AC)bless those who fear the Lord,
(AD)both the small and the great.
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
6 (A)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on (B)the mountain of Samaria,
(C)the notable men of (D)the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to (E)Calneh, and see,
and from there go to (F)Hamath the great;
then go down to (G)Gath of the Philistines.
(H)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 (I)O you who put far away the day of disaster
(J)and bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those (K)who lie on (L)beds of ivory
(M)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
(N)and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 (O)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David (P)invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 (Q)who drink wine in bowls
and (R)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 (S)Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 (T)The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
“I abhor (U)the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
(V)and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
9 And (W)if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one's relative, (X)the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, (Y)“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, the Lord commands,
and (Z)the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there[a] with oxen?
(AA)But you have turned justice into (AB)poison
(AC)and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[b]—
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[c]
who say, (AD)“Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim[d] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (AE)I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from (AF)Lebo-hamath
to the Brook of (AG)the Arabah.”
The Judgment at Christ's Coming
5 This is (A)evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be (B)considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— 6 since indeed God considers it (C)just (D)to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to grant (E)relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when (F)the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven (G)with his mighty angels 8 (H)in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those (I)who do not know God and on those who (J)do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will suffer the punishment of (K)eternal destruction, (L)away from[a] the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 (M)when he comes on (N)that day (O)to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our (P)testimony to you (Q)was believed. 11 To this end we (R)always pray for you, that our God may (S)make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every (T)work of faith by his power, 12 so that the name of our Lord Jesus (U)may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Birth of John the Baptist
57 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a son. 58 And her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord (A)had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And (B)on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child. And they would have called him Zechariah after his father, 60 but his mother answered, “No; (C)he shall be called John.” 61 And they said to her, “None of your relatives is called by this name.” 62 And (D)they made signs to his father, inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 63 And he asked for (E)a writing tablet and wrote, (F)“His name is John.” And they all wondered. 64 (G)And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue (H)loosed, and he spoke, (I)blessing God. 65 And (J)fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all (K)the hill country of Judea, 66 and all who heard them (L)laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For (M)the hand of the Lord was with him.
Zechariah's Prophecy
67 And his father Zechariah (N)was filled with the Holy Spirit and (O)prophesied, saying,
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.