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.
The Scroll with Cyrus’ Decree Is Found
6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and a (A)search was made in the [a]archives, where the treasures were deposited in Babylon. 2 And in [b]Ecbatana in the fortress, which is (B)in the province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows:
“Memorandum—
3 (C)In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree:
‘Concerning the house of God in Jerusalem, let that house, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be [c]retained, its height being [d]60 cubits and its width 60 cubits;
5 And also let (E)the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and [g]brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall deposit them in the house of God.’
6 “Now (F)Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the [h]River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the River, [i]keep away from there.
7 Leave that work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild that house of God in its designated place.
8 Moreover, (G)I issue a decree concerning what you shall do for those elders of Judah in the rebuilding of that house of God: the full cost is to be given to those people from the royal treasury out of the tribute of the provinces beyond the River, and that without negligence.
9 Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine, and anointing oil, according to what the priests in Jerusalem say, it is to be given to them daily without negligence,
10 that they may bring sweet-smelling sacrifices near to the God of heaven and (H)pray for the life of the king and his sons.
11 And I issued a decree that (I)any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be pulled out from his house and he shall be impaled on it and (J)his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this.
12 May the God who (K)has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who [j]stretches out his hand to change it, so as to destroy that house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be done with all diligence!”
The Dedication of the House of God
13 Then (L)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent. 14 And (M)the elders of the Jews were building and succeeding through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. So they built and completed it according to the decree of the God of Israel and the decree (N)of Cyrus, (O)Darius, and (P)Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 And this house was brought to completion [k]on the third day of the (Q)month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the [l]exiles, (R)celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They brought near for the dedication of this house of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel (S)12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 Then they appointed the priests to (T)their sections and the Levites in (U)their divisions for the service of God [m]in Jerusalem, (V)as it is written in the book of Moses.
Passover Celebrated
19 (W)And the exiles celebrated the Passover on (X)the fourteenth of the first month. 20 (Y)For the priests and the Levites had cleansed themselves together; all of them were clean. Then (Z)they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 Then the sons of Israel who returned from exile and (AA)all those who had separated themselves from (AB)the uncleanness of the nations of the land to join them, to seek Yahweh, the God of Israel, ate the Passover. 22 And (AC)they celebrated the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with gladness, for Yahweh had caused them to be glad and (AD)had turned the heart of (AE)the king of Assyria toward them to [n]strengthen them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
The Scroll and the Lamb
5 Then I saw [a]in the right hand of Him who (A)sits on the throne a (B)scroll written inside and on the back, (C)sealed up with seven seals. 2 Then I saw a (D)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and to break its seals?” 3 And no one (E)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. 4 Then I was crying greatly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders *said to me, “Stop crying! Behold, the (F)Lion that is (G)from the tribe of Judah, the (H)Root of David, has overcome so as to open the scroll and its seven seals.”
6 Then I saw in the midst of the throne and the four living creatures and in the midst of (I)the elders a (J)Lamb standing, as if (K)slain, having seven (L)horns and (M)seven eyes, which are (N)the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took (O)the scroll out of the right hand of Him who (P)sits on the throne. 8 And when He had taken the scroll, the (Q)four living creatures and the (R)twenty-four elders (S)fell down before the (T)Lamb, each one having a (U)harp and (V)golden bowls full of incense, which are the (W)prayers of the [b]saints. 9 And they *sang a (X)new song, saying,
“(Y)Worthy are You to take the scroll and to open its seals, because You were (Z)slain and (AA)purchased for God with Your blood people from (AB)every tribe and tongue and people and nation.
10 And You made them to be a (AC)kingdom and (AD)priests to our God, and they will (AE)reign upon the earth.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And [a]Jesus answered and said to them, “(A)To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (B)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while (C)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘[b](D)You will keep on hearing, [c]but will not understand;
[d]You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
15 (E)For the heart of this people has become dull,
And with their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Lest they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’
16 (F)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that (G)many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
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