Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72
A Prayer for the King
Solomonic.(A)
1 God, give Your justice to the king
and Your righteousness to the king’s son.(B)
2 He will judge Your people with righteousness
and Your afflicted ones with justice.(C)
3 May the mountains bring prosperity[a] to the people
and the hills, righteousness.(D)
4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.(E)
5 May he continue[b] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.(F)
6 May he be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.(G)
7 May the righteous[c] flourish in his days
and prosperity[d] abound
until the moon is no more.(H)
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.(I)
9 May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.(J)
10 May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(K)
11 Let all kings bow down to him,
all nations serve him.(L)
12 For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.(M)
13 He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.(N)
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are[e] precious[f] in his sight.(O)
15 May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.(P)
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.(Q)
17 May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.(R)
י Yod
73 Your hands made me and formed me;(A)
give me understanding
so that I can learn Your commands.(B)
74 Those who fear You will see me and rejoice,(C)
for I put my hope in Your word.(D)
75 I know, Lord, that Your judgments are just
and that You have afflicted me fairly.(E)
76 May Your faithful love comfort me
as You promised Your servant.
77 May Your compassion come to me(F)
so that I may live,
for Your instruction is my delight.(G)
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame(H)
for slandering me with lies;
I will meditate on Your precepts.
79 Let those who fear You,
those who know Your decrees, turn to me.
80 May my heart be blameless regarding Your statutes(I)
so that I will not be put to shame.
כ Kaf
81 I long for Your salvation;(J)
I put my hope in Your word.(K)
82 My eyes grow weary
looking for what You have promised;(L)
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.
84 How many days must Your servant wait?
When will You execute judgment on my persecutors?(M)
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me;(N)
they violate Your instruction.
86 All Your commands are true;
people persecute me with lies—help me!(O)
87 They almost ended my life on earth,
but I did not abandon Your precepts.
88 Give me life in accordance with Your faithful love,
and I will obey the decree You have spoken.
ל Lamed
89 Lord, Your word is forever;(P)
it is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness is for all generations;(Q)
You established the earth, and it stands firm.(R)
91 They stand today in accordance with Your judgments,(S)
for all things are Your servants.(T)
92 If Your instruction had not been my delight,
I would have died in my affliction.(U)
93 I will never forget Your precepts,
for You have given me life through them.(V)
94 I am Yours; save me,(W)
for I have sought Your precepts.(X)
95 The wicked hope to destroy me,(Y)
but I contemplate Your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your command is without limit.
Unfaithful Israel, Treacherous Judah
6 In the days of King Josiah the Lord asked me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there.(A) 7 I thought: After she has done all these things, she will return to Me.(B) But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah(C) saw it. 8 I[a] observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce.(D) Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself.(E) 9 Indifferent to[b] her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones(F) and trees.(G) 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to Me with all her heart(H)—only in pretense.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
11 The Lord announced to me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.(I) 12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say:
Return, unfaithful Israel.(J)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not look on you with anger,[c]
for I am unfailing in My love.(K)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will not be angry forever.(L)
13 Only acknowledge your guilt(M)—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God.(N)
You have scattered your favors to strangers
under every green tree(O)
and have not obeyed My voice.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
14 “Return, you faithless children”(P)—this is the Lord’s declaration—“for I am your master,(Q) and I will take you,(R) one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. 15 I will give you shepherds who are loyal to Me,[d](S) and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. 16 When you multiply and increase in the land,(T) in those days”—the Lord’s declaration—“no one will say any longer, ‘The ark of the Lord’s covenant.’(U) It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. It will never again be made. 17 At that time Jerusalem will be called, Yahweh’s Throne,(V) and all the nations will be gathered to it,(W) to the name of Yahweh in Jerusalem.(X) They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel,(Y) and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”(Z)
28 And because they did not think it worthwhile to acknowledge God, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong. 29 They are filled with all unrighteousness,[a] evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, quarrels, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,(A) 30 slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful,(B) inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,(C) 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving,[b](D) and unmerciful. 32 Although they know full well God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die[c](E)—they not only do them, but even applaud[d](F) others who practice them.
God’s Righteous Judgment
2 Therefore, any one of you[e](G) who judges is without excuse.(H) For when you judge another,(I) you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, do the same things. 2 We know that God’s judgment on those who do such things is based on the truth. 3 Do you really think—anyone of you who judges those who do such things yet do the same—that you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you despise the riches of His kindness,(J) restraint,(K) and patience,(L) not recognizing[f] that God’s kindness(M) is intended to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath(N) for yourself in the day of wrath,(O) when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. 6 He will repay each one according to his works:(P)[g] 7 eternal life(Q) to those who by persistence in doing good(R) seek glory, honor,(S) and immortality;(T) 8 but wrath and indignation to those who are self-seeking(U) and disobey the truth(V) but are obeying unrighteousness; 9 affliction and distress(W) for every human being who does evil, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek;(X) 10 but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does what is good, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. 11 There is no favoritism with God.(Y)
The Third Sign: Healing the Sick
5 After this, a Jewish festival took place, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.(A) 2 By the Sheep Gate(B) in Jerusalem there is a pool, called Bethesda[a] in Hebrew, which has five colonnades.[b] 3 Within these lay a large number of the sick—blind, lame, and paralyzed [—waiting for the moving of the water, 4 because an angel would go down into the pool from time to time and stir up the water. Then the first one who got in after the water was stirred up recovered from whatever ailment he had].[c]
5 One man was there who had been sick for 38 years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had already been there a long time,(C) He said to him, “Do you want to get well?”
7 “Sir,”(D) the sick man answered, “I don’t have a man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, someone goes down ahead of me.”
8 “Get up,” Jesus told him, “pick up your mat and walk!” 9 Instantly the man got well, picked up his mat, and started to walk.
Now that day was the Sabbath,(E) 10 so the Jews(F) said to the man who had been healed, “This is the Sabbath!(G) It’s illegal for you to pick up your mat.”
11 He replied, “The man who made me well(H) told me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’”
12 “Who is this man who told you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” they asked. 13 But the man who was cured did not know who it was,(I) because Jesus had slipped away into the crowd that was there.[d]
14 After this, Jesus found him in the temple complex(J) and said to him, “See, you are well. Do not sin anymore, so that something worse doesn’t happen to you.” 15 The man went and reported to the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.(K)
Honoring the Father and the Son
16 Therefore, the Jews began persecuting(L) Jesus[e] because He was doing these things on the Sabbath.(M) 17 But Jesus responded to them, “My Father(N) is still working, and I am working also.” 18 This is why the Jews began trying all the more to kill Him:(O) Not only was He breaking the Sabbath, but He was even calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.
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