Book of Common Prayer
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ In my distress I cried unto the LORD, and he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O LORD, from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee, thou false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty, with coals of juniper.
5 ¶ Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has long dwelt with those that hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ I will lift up mine eyes unto the mountains, from whence cometh my help.
2 My help comes from the LORD, who made the heavens and earth.
3 He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keeps thee will not slumber.
4 Behold, he that keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.
6 The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil; he shall preserve thy soul.
8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.
A Song of degrees of David.
1 ¶ I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet stood within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem, that one which is built as a city that is well united together
4 Because the tribes went up there, the tribes of JAH, the testimony to Israel, to praise the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of the judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 ¶ Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; those that love thee shall be brought into rest.
7 Peace be within thy walls and rest within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek thy good.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ Unto thee I lift up mine eyes, O thou that dwellest in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of slaves look unto the hand of their masters and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress, so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until he shall have mercy upon us.
3 Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us, for we are exceedingly weary of being held in contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly weary of the scorning of those that are at ease and of the contempt of the proud.
A Song of degrees of David.
1 ¶ If the LORD had not been for us, now may Israel say,
2 If the LORD had not been for us, when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their wrath was kindled against us;
4 then the waters would have overwhelmed us; the flood would have gone over our soul;
5 then the proud waters would have gone over our soul.
6 ¶ Blessed be the LORD, who did not give us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the snare has broken, and we are escaped.
8 Our help is in the name of the LORD, who made the heaven and the earth.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ Those that trust in the LORD are as Mount Zion, which cannot be removed but abides for ever.
2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the LORD is round about his people from now on even for ever.
3 For the rod of wickedness shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous because the righteous shall not put forth their hands unto iniquity.
4 ¶ Do good, O LORD, unto those that are good and to those that are upright in their hearts.
5 As for such as turn aside unto their crooked ways, the LORD shall take them away with the workers of iniquity; and peace shall be upon Israel.
A Song of degrees.
1 ¶ When the LORD shall turn again the captivity of Zion, we shall be like those that dream.
2 Then our mouth shall be filled with laughter and our tongue with singing; then they shall say among the Gentiles, The LORD has done great things with them.
3 The LORD has done great things with us, of which we shall be glad.
4 ¶ Turn again our captivity, O LORD, as the streams in the south.
5 Those that sow with tears shall reap with joy.
6 He that goes forth and weeps, bearing the precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.
A Song of degrees for Solomon.
1 ¶ Unless the LORD builds the house, they labour in vain that build it; unless the LORD keeps the city, the watchmen watch in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to come home late, to eat the bread of sorrows, because he shall give his beloved sleep.
3 Behold, sons are a heritage of the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is to be desired.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man, so are the young men.
5 Happy is the man that has filled his quiver with them: he shall not be ashamed when he speaks with the enemies in the gate.
8 ¶ Therefore thus saith the LORD of the hosts: Because ye have not heard my words,
9 behold, I will send and take all the families of the north wind, saith the LORD, and Nebuchadrezzar the king of Babylon, my slave, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about and will utterly destroy them and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and perpetual desolations.
10 And I will cause them to lose the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones, and the light of the lamp.
11 And this whole land shall be a desolation and an astonishment; and these Gentiles shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years.
12 And it shall come to pass when seventy years are accomplished, that I will visit upon the king of Babylon and upon that people their own evil, said the LORD and upon the land of the Chaldeans and will make it perpetual desolations.
13 And I will bring upon that land all my words which I have spoken against it, with all that is written in this book, prophesied by Jeremiah against all the Gentiles.
14 For many Gentiles and great kings shall serve themselves of them also; and I will recompense them according to their deeds and according to the works of their own hands.
15 ¶ For thus hath the LORD God of Israel said unto me: Take the wine cup of this fury from my hand and cause all the Gentiles, to whom I send thee, to drink of it.
16 And they shall drink and be moved and become mad, before the sword that I will send among them.
17 Then took I the cup from the LORD’s hand and made all the Gentiles to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me,
10 ¶ Brethren, certainly the desire of my heart and my prayer to God regarding Israel, is for saving health.
2 For I give testimony that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.
3 For they, being ignorant of God’s righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.
4 For Christ is the end of the law, to give righteousness to every one that believes.
5 For Moses describes the righteousness which is by the law, That the man who does those things shall live by them.
6 But thus saith the righteousness which is by faith, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven (that is, to bring the Christ down from above)?
7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep (that is, to bring up the Christ again from the dead)?
8 But what does it say? The word is near thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach,
9 that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto saving health.
11 For the scripture says, Whosoever believes on him shall not be ashamed.
12 ¶ For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him that he had been blind and received his sight until they called the parents of him that had received his sight.
19 And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind? how then does he now see?
20 His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son and that he was born blind;
21 but by what means he now sees, we know not; or who has opened his eyes, we know not; he is of age, ask him; he shall speak for himself.
22 These words spoke his parents because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone did confess that he was the Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
23 Therefore his parents said, He is of age, ask him.
24 Then they called again the man that had been blind and said unto him, Give glory to God; we know that this man is a sinner.
25 He answered and said, Whether he is a sinner or not, I do not know; one thing I know, that having been blind, now I see.
26 Then said they to him again, What did he do to thee? How did he open thine eyes?
27 He answered them, I have told you already, and ye have heard; what more would ye hear? Do ye also desire to be his disciples?
28 Then they reviled him and said, Be thou his disciple, but we are disciples of Moses.
29 We know that God spoke unto Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where he is from.
30 The man answered and said unto them, Indeed this is a marvellous thing that ye do not know where he is from, and yet he has opened my eyes.
31 Now we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone should fear God and do his will, him he will hear.
32 Since the world began it has not been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of one that was born blind.
33 If this man were not of God, he could do nothing.
34 They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out.
35 ¶ Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe in the Son of God?
36 He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe in him?
37 And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast seen him, and it is he that talks with thee.
38 And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
39 ¶ And Jesus said, For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see might see and that those who see might be blinded.
40 And some of the Pharisees who were with him heard these words and said unto him, Are we blind also?
41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin; but now because ye say, We see, therefore your sin abides.
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