Book of Common Prayer
Zayin
49 Remember the word to Your slave,
[a]In which You have made me wait.
50 This is my (A)comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has [b]revived me.
51 The arrogant (B)utterly scoff at me,
Yet I do not (C)turn aside from Your law.
52 I have (D)remembered Your judgments from [c]of old, O Yahweh,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning (E)indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who (F)forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes have become my songs
In the house of my (G)sojourning.
55 I (H)remember (I)in the night Your name, O Yahweh,
So I keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
[d]That I (J)observe Your precepts.
Heth
57 Yahweh is my (K)portion;
I have [e]promised to (L)keep Your words.
58 I have (M)sought to please Your face (N)with all my heart;
(O)Be gracious to me (P)according to Your [f]word.
59 I (Q)thought upon my ways
And I turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The (R)cords of the wicked have encircled me,
But I have (S)not forgotten Your law.
62 At (T)midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your (U)righteous judgments.
63 I am a (V)companion of all those who [g]fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 (W)The earth, O Yahweh, is full of Your lovingkindness;
(X)Teach me Your statutes.
Teth
65 You have dealt well with Your slave,
O Yahweh, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [h](Y)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (Z)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (AA)good and (AB)do good;
(AC)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant have (AD)smeared me with lying;
With all my heart I will (AE)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [i](AF)covered with fat,
But I (AG)delight in Your law.
71 It is (AH)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (AI)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Why Should I Fear in Days of Evil?
For the choir director. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both [a](C)low and [b]high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)discernment.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [c]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of evil,
When the iniquity of my [d]supplanters surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly, no man can (K)redeem his brother;
He cannot give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption price for their soul is costly,
And it ceases forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not (O)see [e]corruption.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The [f](Q)fool and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [g](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places [h]from generation to generation;
They have (U)called their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his honor will not endure;
He is like the animals that [i]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)are pleased [j]with their words. [k]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them;
And the (Z)upright shall have dominion over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for Sheol (AA)to consume,
Far away from his habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [l]power of Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [m]glory of his house increases;
17 For when he dies he will not (AE)take any of it;
His [n]glory will not descend after him.
18 For while he lives he (AF)blesses his soul—
And men will praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 But his soul shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will eternally not see (AH)light.
20 (AI)Man in his honor, but who does not understand,
Is (AJ)like the animals that [o]perish.
There Is No One Who Does Good
For the choir director. According to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.
53 (A)The wicked fool says in his heart, “There is no God,”
They act corruptly, and commit abominable injustice;
(B)There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is (C)anyone who has insight,
Anyone who (D)seeks after God.
3 (E)Every one of them has turned back; together they have become [c]worthless;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Do the workers of iniquity (F)not know,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread
And do not call upon God?
5 There they were in great dread (G)where no dread had been;
For God (H)scattered the bones of [d]him who encamped against you;
You (I)put them to shame, because (J)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (K)the salvation of Israel [e]would come out of Zion!
When God [f]restores His captive people,
[g]May Jacob rejoice, may Israel be glad.
A Widow Sustains Elijah
17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of [a](A)the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “(B)As Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, surely (C)there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 3 “Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is [b]east of the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you will drink of the brook, and (D)I have commanded the ravens to sustain you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of Yahweh, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is [c]east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens were bringing him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. 7 Now it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
8 Then the word of Yahweh came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to (E)Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and remain there; behold, (F)I have commanded a widow there to sustain you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and (G)he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a [d]jar, that I may drink.” 11 So she went to get it, and he called to her and said, “Please get me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, “(H)As Yahweh your God lives, (I)I have no [e]bread, only a handful of flour in the [f]bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering [g]a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and (J)die.” 13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from [h]it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 For thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, ‘The [i]bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil [j]be empty, until the day that Yahweh sends rain on the face of the earth.’” 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The [k]bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil [l]become empty, according to the word of Yahweh which He spoke by the hand of Elijah.
Yahweh Returns Life to the Widow’s Son
17 Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 So she said to Elijah, “(K)What do I have to do with you, O (L)man of God? [m]You have come to me to bring my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” Then he took him from her bosom and carried him up to the upper room where he was living, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he called to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am sojourning, by causing her son to die?” 21 (M)Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to Yahweh and said, “O Yahweh my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return [n]to him.” 22 And Yahweh heard the voice of Elijah, (N)and the life of the child returned [o]to him and he became alive. 23 Then Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “(O)Now I know this: that you are a man of God and that the word of Yahweh in your mouth is truth.”
Christ’s Humility and Exaltation
2 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any (A)fellowship of the Spirit, if any [a](B)affection and compassion, 2 (C)fulfill my joy, that (D)you think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose, 3 doing nothing [b]from [c](E)selfish ambition or (F)vain glory, but with humility of mind (G)regarding one another as more important than yourselves, 4 (H)not merely looking out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 (I)Have this way of thinking [d]in yourselves which was also in (J)Christ Jesus, 6 who, although (K)existing in the (L)form of God, (M)did not regard equality with God a thing [e]to be grasped, 7 but [f](N)emptied Himself, by taking the form of a (O)slave, by (P)being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, (Q)He humbled Himself by becoming (R)obedient to the point of death, even (S)death [g]on a cross. 9 (T)Therefore, God also (U)highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him (V)the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus (W)every knee will bow, of (X)those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that (Y)every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is [h](Z)Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
The Visit of the Magi
2 Now after Jesus was (A)born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of (B)Herod the king, behold, [a]magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, 2 “Where is He who has been born (C)King of the Jews? For we saw (D)His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” 3 And when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he was inquiring of them where the [b]Christ was to be born. 5 And they said to him, “(E)In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written [c]by the prophet:
6 ‘(F)And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Leader
Who will (G)shepherd My people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and carefully determined from them [d]the time (H)the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” 9 Now after hearing the king, they went their way; and behold, the star, which they had seen in the east, was going on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. 10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. 11 And after coming into the house they saw the Child with (I)Mary His mother; and they [e]fell to the ground and (J)worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been (K)warned (L)in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi departed for their own country by another way.
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