Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 137
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we [captives] sat down, yes, we wept when we [earnestly] remembered Zion [the city of our God imprinted on our hearts].
2 On the willow trees in the midst of [Babylon] we hung our harps.
3 For there they who led us captive required of us a song with words, and our tormentors and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill [with the harp].
6 Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth if I remember you not, if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy!(A)
7 Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites, that they said in the day of Jerusalem’s fall, Down, down to the ground with her!
8 O Daughter of Babylon [you devastator, you!], who [ought to be and] shall be destroyed, happy and blessed shall he be who requites you as you have served us.(B)
9 Happy and blessed shall he be who takes and dashes your little ones against the rock!
Psalm 144
[A Psalm] of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my keen and firm Strength, Who teaches my hands to war and my fingers to fight—
2 My Steadfast Love and my Fortress, my High Tower and my Deliverer, my Shield and He in Whom I trust and take refuge, Who subdues my people under me.
3 Lord, what is man that You take notice of him? Or [the] son of man that You take account of him?(A)
4 Man is like vanity and a breath; his days are as a shadow that passes away.
5 Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and come down; touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Cast forth lightning and scatter [my enemies]; send out Your arrows and embarrass and frustrate them.
7 Stretch forth Your hand from above; rescue me and deliver me out of great waters, from the hands of hostile aliens (tribes around us)
8 Whose mouths speak deceit and whose right hands are right hands [raised in taking] fraudulent oaths.
9 I will sing a new song to You, O God; upon a harp, an instrument of ten strings, will I offer praises to You.
10 You are He Who gives salvation to kings, Who rescues David His servant from the hurtful sword [of evil].
11 Rescue me and deliver me out of the power of [hostile] alien [tribes] whose mouths speak deceit and whose right hands are right hands [raised in taking] fraudulent oaths.
12 When our sons shall be as plants grown large in their youth and our daughters as sculptured corner pillars hewn like those of a palace;
13 When our garners are full, affording all manner of store, and our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our pastures;
14 When our oxen are well loaded; when there is no invasion [of hostile armies] and no going forth [against besiegers—when there is no murder or manslaughter] and no outcry in our streets;
15 Happy and blessed are the people who are in such a case; yes, happy (blessed, fortunate, prosperous, to be envied) are the people whose God is the Lord!
Psalm 104
1 Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! O Lord my God, You are very great! You are clothed with honor and majesty—
2 [You are the One] Who covers Yourself with light as with a garment, Who stretches out the heavens like a curtain or a tent,
3 Who lays the beams of the upper room of His abode in the waters [above the firmament], Who makes the clouds His chariot, Who walks on the wings of the wind,
4 Who makes winds His messengers, flames of fire His ministers.(A)
5 You laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be moved forever.(B)
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.(C)
7 At Your rebuke they fled; at the voice of Your thunder they hastened away.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place which You appointed for them.
9 You have set a boundary [for the waters] which they may not pass over, that they turn not again to deluge the earth.
10 He sends forth springs into the valleys; their waters run among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every [wild] beast of the field; the wild asses quench their thirst there.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens have their nests; they sing among the branches.(D)
13 He waters the mountains from His upper rooms; the earth is satisfied and abounds with the fruit of His works.
14 He causes vegetation to grow for the cattle, and all that the earth produces for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food out of the earth—
15 And wine that gladdens the heart of man, to make his face shine more than oil, and bread to support, refresh, and strengthen man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly and are filled with sap, the cedars of Lebanon which He has planted,
17 Where the birds make their nests; as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats; the rocks are a refuge for the conies and badgers.
19 [The Lord] appointed the moon for the seasons; the sun knows [the exact time of] its setting.
20 You [O Lord] make darkness and it becomes night, in which creeps forth every wild beast of the forest.
21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.
22 When the sun arises, they withdraw themselves and lie down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work and remains at his task until evening.
24 O Lord, how many and varied are Your works! In wisdom have You made them all; the earth is full of Your riches and Your creatures.
25 Yonder is the sea, great and wide, in which are swarms of innumerable creeping things, creatures both small and great.
26 There go the ships of the sea, and Leviathan (the sea monster), which You have formed to sport in it.
27 These all wait and are dependent upon You, that You may give them their food in due season.
28 When You give it to them, they gather it up; You open Your hand, and they are filled with good things.
29 When You hide Your face, they are troubled and dismayed; when You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
30 When You send forth Your Spirit and give them breath, they are created, and You replenish the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in His works—
32 Who looks on the earth, and it quakes and trembles, Who touches the mountains, and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34 May my meditation be sweet to Him; as for me, I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
11 In the day that your walls are to be built [a day for building], in that day shall the boundary [of Israel] be far extended and the decree [against her] be far removed.(A)
12 In that day they will come to you from Assyria and from the cities of Matzor [Egypt] and from Egypt even to the river [Euphrates], from sea to sea and from mountain to mountain.
13 Yet shall the earth be desolate because of those who dwell in it, for the fruit of their doings.
14 Rule and feed Your people with Your rod and scepter, the flock of Your inheritance who dwell alone in a forest in the midst of Carmel [a garden land]; they shall feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
15 As in the days of your coming forth from the land of Egypt, I will show them marvelous things.
16 The nations shall see [God’s deliverance] and be ashamed of all their might [which cannot be compared to His]. They shall lay their hands upon their mouths in consternation; their ears shall be deaf.
17 They shall lick the dust like a serpent; like crawling things of the earth they shall come trembling out of their strongholds and close places. They shall turn and come with fear and dread to the Lord our God and shall be afraid and stand in awe because of You [O Lord].(B)
18 Who is a God like You, Who forgives iniquity and passes over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He retains not His anger forever, because He delights in mercy and loving-kindness.
19 He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue and tread underfoot our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.(C)
20 You will show Your faithfulness and perform the sure promise to Jacob and loving-kindness and mercy to Abraham, as You have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.(D)
7 But the end and culmination of all things has now come near; keep sound minded and self-restrained and alert therefore for [the practice of] prayer.
8 Above all things have intense and unfailing love for one another, for love covers a multitude of sins [forgives and [a]disregards the offenses of others].(A)
9 Practice hospitality to one another (those of the household of faith). [Be hospitable, be a lover of strangers, with brotherly affection for the unknown guests, the foreigners, the poor, and all others who come your way who are of Christ’s body.] And [in each instance] do it ungrudgingly (cordially and graciously, without complaining but as representing Him).
10 As each of you has received a gift (a particular spiritual talent, a gracious divine endowment), employ it for one another as [befits] good trustees of God’s many-sided grace [faithful stewards of the [b]extremely diverse powers and gifts granted to Christians by unmerited favor].
11 Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes [c]abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).
12 Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you.
13 But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly].
14 If you are censured and suffer abuse [because you bear] the name of Christ, blessed [are you—happy, fortunate, [d]to be envied, [e]with life-joy, and satisfaction in God’s favor and salvation, regardless of your outward condition], because the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God, is resting upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified.(B)
15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or any sort of criminal, or as a mischief-maker (a meddler) in the affairs of others [infringing on their rights].
16 But if [one is ill-treated and suffers] as a Christian [which he is contemptuously called], let him not be ashamed, but give glory to God that he is [deemed worthy to suffer] in this name.
17 For the time [has arrived] for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will [be] the end of those who do not respect or believe or obey the good news (the Gospel) of God?
18 And if the righteous are barely saved, what will become of the godless and wicked?(C)
19 Therefore, those who are ill-treated and suffer in accordance with God’s will must do right and commit their souls [in charge as a deposit] to the One Who created [them] and will never fail [them].
29 And as they were going out of Jericho, a great throng accompanied Him.
30 And behold, two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, Lord, have pity and mercy on us, [You] Son of David!
31 The crowds reproved them and told them to keep still; but they cried out all the more, Lord, have pity and mercy on us, [You] Son of David!
32 And Jesus stopped and called them, and asked, What do you want Me to do for you?
33 They answered Him, Lord, we want our eyes to be opened!
34 And Jesus, in pity, touched their eyes; and instantly they received their sight and followed Him.
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