Book of Common Prayer
We Wept When We Remembered Zion
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat and also (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our lyres.
3 For there our captors (E)asked us about the words of a song,
And (F)our tormentors asked joyfully, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of (G)Yahweh
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [b]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [c](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Tear it down! Tear it down
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you (M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [d]the recompense with which you have recompensed us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your infants
Against the cliff.
Blessed Be Yahweh, My Rock
Of David.
144 Blessed be Yahweh, (A)my rock,
Who (B)trains my hands for war,
My fingers for battle;
2 My lovingkindness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my deliverer,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 O Yahweh, (G)what is man, that You know him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like a breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 O Yahweh, (J)bow Your heavens, and (K)come down;
(L)Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth (M)lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your (N)arrows and confuse them.
7 Send forth Your hand (O)from on high;
Set me free and (P)deliver me out of many waters,
Out of the hand of (Q)foreigners
8 Whose mouth (R)speaks worthlessness,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of lying.
9 O God, I will sing a (T)new song to You;
Upon a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)sets David His servant free from the evil sword.
11 Set me free and deliver me out of the hand of the sons of a (X)foreigner,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks worthlessness
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of lying.
12 That our sons would be as (AA)grown-up plants in their youth,
And our daughters as (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned as for a palace;
13 That our (AC)granaries would be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks would bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields outside;
14 That our (AD)cattle would [c]bear
Without [d](AE)mishap and without [e](AF)loss,
And without (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people for whom this is so;
How (AH)blessed are the people for whom God is Yahweh!
The Glory of Yahweh Endures Forever
104 (A)Bless Yahweh, O my soul!
O Yahweh my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Wrapping Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out the heavens like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He sets up the (F)clouds to be His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes His [e]angels (H)the winds,
His ministers flaming (I)fire.
5 He (J)founded the earth upon its place,
So that it will not [f]shake forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away in alarm.
8 The mountains went up; the valleys went down
To the (N)place which You founded for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [g]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give water to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Above them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They give forth their voices among the branches.
13 [h]He (T)gives water to the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [i]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [j]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for man’s [k]cultivation,
To bring forth [l]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)To make his face glisten more than oil,
And [m]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of Yahweh are satisfied,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
The (AC)stork’s home is in the [n]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [o](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness so that it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest (AK)creep about.
21 The (AL)young lions roar to go after their prey
And to (AM)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they gather together
And lie down in their (AN)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AO)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 How (AP)numerous are Your works, O Yahweh!
[p]In (AQ)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AR)earth is full of Your [q]possessions.
25 This is the (AS)sea, great and [r]broad,
There the creeping things are without number,
Creatures both small and great.
26 There the (AT)ships move along,
And [s](AU)Leviathan, which You have formed to play in it.
27 They all (AV)wait for You
To (AW)give them their food in [t]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AX)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AY)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AZ)take away their [u]spirit, they breathe their last
And (BA)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [v](BB)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BC)glory of Yahweh endure forever;
Let Yahweh (BD)be glad in His works;
32 [w]He (BE)looks at the earth, and it (BF)trembles;
He (BG)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [x]I will sing to Yahweh (BH)throughout my life;
[y]I will (BI)sing praise to my God [z]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BJ)musing be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BK)be glad in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners be (BL)consumed from the earth
And let the (BM)wicked be no more.
(BN)Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
[aa](BO)Praise Yah!
David’s Last Words
23 Now these are the last words of David.
David the son of Jesse declares,
(A)The man who was raised on high declares,
(B)The anointed of the God of Jacob,
And the sweet psalmist of Israel,
2 “(C)The Spirit of Yahweh spoke by me,
And His word was on my tongue.
3 The God of Israel said,
(D)The Rock of Israel spoke to me,
‘(E)He who rules over men as a righteous one,
(F)Who rules in the fear of God,
4 (G)Is as the light of the morning when the sun rises,
A morning without clouds,
From brightness of the sun after rain.’
With the tender grass springing from the earth,
5 [a]Truly is not my house so with God?
For (H)He has made an everlasting covenant with me,
Ordered in all things, and secured;
For all my salvation and all my desire,
Will He not indeed make it grow?
6 (I)But the vile men, every one of them will be thrust away like thorns,
Because they cannot be taken in hand;
7 But the man who touches them
Must be [b]armed with iron and the shaft of a spear,
And (J)they will be completely burned with fire where they sit.”
13 Then three of the thirty chief men went down and came to David in the harvest time to the (A)cave of Adullam, while the troop of the Philistines was camping in (B)the valley of Rephaim. 14 And David was then (C)in the fortress, while the garrison of the Philistines was then in Bethlehem. 15 (D)Then David had a craving and said, “Oh that someone would give me water to drink from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate!” 16 (E)So the three mighty men broke through the camp of the Philistines and drew water from the well of Bethlehem which was by the gate, and carried it and brought it to David. Nevertheless, he was not willing to drink it, but (F)poured it out to Yahweh; 17 and he said, “Be it far from me, O Yahweh, that I should do this. (G)Shall I drink the blood of the men who went [a]at the risk of their lives?” Therefore he was not willing to drink it. These things the three mighty men did.
Festus and Agrippa Discuss Paul’s Trial
13 Now when several days had passed, King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at (A)Caesarea [a]and greeted Festus. 14 And while they were spending many days there, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a man who was (B)left as a prisoner by Felix; 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews (C)brought charges against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 I (D)answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to hand over any man before (E)the accused meets his accusers face to face and has an opportunity to make his defense against the charges. 17 So after they had assembled here, I did not delay, but on the next day took my seat on (F)the judgment seat and ordered the man to be brought before me. 18 When the accusers stood up, they were not bringing any charges against him for the evil deeds I was expecting, 19 but they had some (G)points of disagreement with him about their own [b](H)religion and about a certain Jesus, a dead man whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 (I)And being perplexed about how to investigate [c]such matters, I was asking whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there to be tried on these matters. 21 But when Paul (J)appealed to be held in custody for [d]the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him to be kept in custody until I send him to Caesar.” 22 Then (K)Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” he *said, “you shall hear him.”
Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice
23 So, on the next day when (L)Agrippa came [e]together with (M)Bernice amid great pomp, and entered the hall [f]accompanied by the [g]commanders and the prominent men of the city, at the order of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus *said, “King Agrippa, and all you gentlemen here present with us, you see this man about whom (N)all the people of the Jews appealed to me, both at Jerusalem and here, loudly declaring that (O)he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that he had committed (P)nothing worthy of death, and since he himself (Q)appealed to [h]the Emperor, I decided to send him. 26 [i]Yet I have nothing definite about him to write to my lord. Therefore I have brought him before you all and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the investigation has taken place, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems absurd to me in sending a prisoner, not to indicate also the charges against him.”
Signs of Christ’s Return
13 (A)And as He was going out of the temple, one of His disciples *said to Him, “Teacher, behold [a]what wonderful stones and [b]what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? (B)Not one stone will be left upon another which will not be torn down.”
3 And as He was sitting on (C)the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, (D)Peter and James and John and Andrew were questioning Him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the [c]sign when all these things are going to be fulfilled?” 5 And Jesus began to say to them, “See to it that no one deceives you. 6 Many will come in My name, saying, ‘(E)I am He!’ and will mislead many. 7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; those things must take place; but that is not yet the end. 8 For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; there will be earthquakes in various places; there will also be famines. These things are merely the beginning of birth pains.
9 “But see to yourselves; for they will (F)deliver you to the [d]courts, and you will be beaten (G)in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a witness to them. 10 (H)And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all the nations. 11 (I)And when they lead you away, delivering you up, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit. 12 And brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and [e]have them put to death. 13 (J)And you will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved.
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