Book of Common Prayer
1 ¶ The LORD reigns; he has clothed himself with majesty; the LORD has clothed himself with strength; he has girded himself: he has established the world also, that it cannot be moved.
2 From this time on, thy throne shall never be moved; thou art eternal.
3 The rivers have lifted up, O LORD; the rivers have lifted up their voice; the rivers lift up their waves.
4 The LORD on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea.
5 Thy testimonies are very sure; holiness becomes thy house, O LORD, for ever.
1 ¶ O sing unto the LORD a new song; sing unto the LORD, all the earth.
2 Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his saving health from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the Gentiles, his wonders among all peoples.
4 For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.
6 Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the peoples, give unto the LORD the glory and the strength.
8 Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; bring offerings, and come into his courts.
9 O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; fear before him, all the earth.
10 ¶ Say among the Gentiles that the LORD reigns; he also has established the world, it shall not be moved; he shall judge the peoples righteously.
11 Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar and the fullness thereof.
12 Let the field be joyful and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice
13 before the LORD; for he has come, for he has come to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth.
A Psalm of David, when he changed his behaviour before Abimelech; who drove him away, and he departed.
Aleph
1 ¶ I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Beth
2 My soul shall glory in the LORD; the meek shall hear of this, and be glad.
Gimel
3 O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together.
Daleth
4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me and delivered me from all my fears.
He
5 They looked unto him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.
Vau
6 This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.
Zain
7 The angel of the LORD encamps round about those that fear him and delivers them.
Cheth
8 O taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man that shall trust in him.
Teth
9 O fear the LORD, ye his saints; for those that fear him lack nothing.
Jod
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger, but those that seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.
Caph
11 ¶ Come, ye children, hearken unto me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
Lamed
12 Who is the man that desires life and loves many days that he may see good?
Mem
13 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
Nun
14 Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
Samech
15 The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.
Ain
16 The anger of the LORD is against those that do evil to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
Pe
17 The righteous cried out, and the LORD heard and delivered them out of all their troubles.
Tzaddi
18 The LORD is near unto those that are of a broken heart and saves such as are of a contrite spirit.
Koph
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD shall deliver him out of them all,
Resh
20 keeping all his bones; not one of them shall be broken.
Schin
21 Evil shall slay the wicked; and those that hate the righteous shall be declared guilty.
Tau
22 The LORD ransoms the soul of his slaves, and none of those that trust in him shall be declared guilty.
10 ¶ Now as Ezra prayed and confessed, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there assembled unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; and the people wept very sore.
2 Then Shechaniah, the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have rebelled against our God and have taken strange women of the peoples of the land, but there is yet hope for Israel concerning this thing.
3 Now, therefore, let us make a covenant with our God to send away all the women and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of the Lord and of those that fear the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law.
4 Arise; for this matter belongs unto thee; we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
5 Then Ezra arose and made the princes of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, swear that they should do according to this word. And they swore.
6 ¶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God and went into the chamber of Johanan, the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ate no bread, nor drank water; for he mourned because of the transgression of those that had been carried away.
7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the sons of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem
8 and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and of the elders, all his substance should be forfeited and himself separated from the congregation of those that had been carried away.
9 Thus were all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered together unto Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and all the people sat in the plaza of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.
10 And Ezra, the priest, stood up, and said unto them, Ye have transgressed because ye have taken strange women, thus increasing the guiltiness of Israel.
11 Now, therefore, make confession unto the LORD God of your fathers and do his will; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the lands and from the strange women.
12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice, Let it be done according to thy word.
13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and there is no strength to stand in the street; neither is this a work of one day or two; for we are many that have transgressed in this thing.
14 Let our rulers of all the congregation now stand, and let all those who have taken strange women in our cities come at appointed times, and with them the elders of each city and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God for this matter is turned from us.
15 ¶ Jonathan, the son of Asahel, and Jahaziah, the son of Tikvah, were placed over this matter; and Meshullam and Shabbethai, the Levites, helped them.
16 And the sons of the captivity did so. And Ezra, the priest, and the men who were the heads of the fathers in the house of their fathers were separated, all of them by their names, and sat down in the first day of the tenth month to inquire into the matter.
17 And they finished, with all the men that had taken strange women by the first day of the first month.
10 ¶ Then Paul, after the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself;
11 because thou art able to understand that there have been but twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship.
12 And they neither found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the city,
13 neither can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.
14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the way which they call a sect, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets,
15 and have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.
16 And for this reason do I exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense toward God and toward men.
17 Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation and offerings.
18 Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult,
19 who ought to have been here before thee and object if they had anything against me.
20 Or else let these same here say if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council,
21 except it be for this one voice, that I cried out standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead, I am called in question by you this day.
12 Then said he also to him that invited him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen nor thy rich neighbours, lest they also invite thee again, and a recompense be made thee.
13 But when thou makest a banquet, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind,
14 and thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
15 ¶ And when one of those that sat at the table with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.
16 Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper and called many
17 and sent his slave at supper time to say to those that were called, Come, for all things are now ready.
18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I have need to go and see it; I pray thee have me excused.
19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused.
20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.
21 So that slave came and showed his lord these things. Then the husband of the house, being angry, said to his slave, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the halt and the blind.
22 And the slave said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.
23 And the lord said unto the slave, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled.
24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were called shall taste of my supper.
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