Book of Common Prayer
Book One
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 Blessed is the man[a]
who (A)walks not in (B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in (C)the way of sinners,
nor (D)sits in (E)the seat of (F)scoffers;
2 but his (G)delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his (H)law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like (I)a tree
planted by (J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its (K)leaf does not wither.
(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like (M)chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked (N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in (O)the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord (P)knows (Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord's Anointed
2 (R)Why do (S)the nations rage[c]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his (T)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (U)burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who (V)sits in the heavens (W)laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his (X)wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have (Y)set my King
on (Z)Zion, my (AA)holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, (AB)“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and (AC)the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall (AD)break[d] them with (AE)a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like (AF)a potter's vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 (AG)Serve the Lord with (AH)fear,
and (AI)rejoice with (AJ)trembling.
12 (AK)Kiss (AL)the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his (AM)wrath is quickly kindled.
(AN)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David, (AO)when he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, (AP)how many are my foes!
Many are (AQ)rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
(AR)“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[e]
3 But you, O Lord, are (AS)a shield (AT)about me,
my glory, and (AU)the lifter of my head.
4 I (AV)cried aloud to the Lord,
and he (AW)answered me from his (AX)holy hill. Selah
5 I (AY)lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I (AZ)will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have (BA)set themselves against me all around.
7 (BB)Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you (BC)strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you (BD)break the teeth of the wicked.
8 (BE)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
Answer Me When I Call
To the (BF)choirmaster: with (BG)stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 Answer me when I call, O God of my (BH)righteousness!
You have (BI)given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men,[f] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after (BJ)lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has (BK)set apart (BL)the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 (BM)Be angry,[g] and do not sin;
(BN)ponder in your own hearts (BO)on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer (BP)right sacrifices,
and put your (BQ)trust in the Lord.
In You Do I Take Refuge
A (A)Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
7 O Lord my God, in you do I (B)take refuge;
(C)save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like (D)a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with (E)none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, (F)if I have done this,
if there is (G)wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid (H)my friend[b] with evil
or (I)plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him (J)trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 (K)Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
(L)lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
(M)awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.
8 The Lord (N)judges the peoples;
(O)judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who (P)test (Q)the minds and hearts,[c]
O righteous God!
10 My shield is (R)with God,
who saves (S)the upright in heart.
11 God is (T)a righteous judge,
and a God who feels (U)indignation every day.
12 If a man[d] does not repent, God[e] will (V)whet his sword;
he has (W)bent and (X)readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his (Y)arrows (Z)fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man (AA)conceives evil
and is (AB)pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes (AC)a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His (AD)mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will (AE)sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
The Proverbs of Solomon
10 (A)The proverbs of Solomon.
(B)A wise son makes a glad father,
(C)but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
2 (D)Treasures gained by wickedness do not profit,
(E)but righteousness delivers from death.
3 (F)The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,
(G)but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
4 A slack hand (H)causes poverty,
(I)but the hand of the diligent makes rich.
5 He who (J)gathers in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps in harvest is (K)a son who brings shame.
6 Blessings are on the head of the righteous,
but (L)the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.[a]
7 (M)The memory of the righteous is a blessing,
but (N)the name of the wicked will rot.
8 (O)The wise of heart will receive commandments,
but a babbling fool will come to ruin.
9 (P)Whoever walks in integrity walks securely,
but he who makes his ways crooked (Q)will be found out.
10 Whoever (R)winks the eye causes trouble,
and a babbling fool will come to ruin.
11 (S)The mouth of the righteous is (T)a fountain of life,
but the mouth of the wicked (U)conceals violence.
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
but (V)love covers all offenses.
15 You are aware that (A)all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to (B)the household of Onesiphorus, for he often (C)refreshed me and was not ashamed of (D)my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome (E)he searched for me earnestly and found me— 18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on (F)that day!—and you well know all the service he (G)rendered at Ephesus.
A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus
2 You then, (H)my child, (I)be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and (J)what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses (K)entrust to faithful men,[a] (L)who will be able to teach others also. 3 (M)Share in suffering as (N)a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier (O)gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 (P)An athlete is not (Q)crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is (R)the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, (S)risen from the dead, the (T)offspring of David, (U)as preached in my gospel, 9 (V)for which I am suffering, (W)bound with chains as a criminal. But (X)the word of God is not bound! 10 Therefore (Y)I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain (Z)the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with (AA)eternal glory. 11 The saying is (AB)trustworthy, for:
(AC)If we have died with him, we will also (AD)live with him;
12 (AE)if we endure, we will also reign with him;
(AF)if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 (AG)if we are faithless, (AH)he remains faithful—
for (AI)he cannot deny himself.
The Son of Man Must Be Lifted Up
27 (A)“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, (B)save me from (C)this hour’? But (D)for this purpose I have come to (E)this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then (F)a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, (G)“An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, (H)“This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 (I)Now is the judgment of this world; now will (J)the ruler of this world (K)be cast out. 32 And I, (L)when I am lifted up from the earth, (M)will draw (N)all people to myself.” 33 He said this (O)to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that (P)the Christ remains forever. How can you say that (Q)the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, (R)“The light is among you (S)for a little while longer. (T)Walk while you have the light, lest darkness (U)overtake you. (V)The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become (W)sons of light.”
The Unbelief of the People
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.