Book of Common Prayer
Lead Me in Your Righteousness
For the choir director. For [a]the flutes. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Yahweh,
Consider my (B)meditation.
2 Give heed to (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 O Yahweh, in the morning, [b]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [c]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who delights in wickedness;
(H)Evil does not sojourn with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
Yahweh abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)in the abundance of Your lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[d]At Your holy temple I will (O)worship in (P)fear of You.
8 O Yahweh, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [e]my foes;
Make Your way [f]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [g]reliable in their mouth;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [h]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the abundance of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But let all who (Z)take refuge in You (AA)be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And [i]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who (AD)blesses the righteous one, O Yahweh,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a large shield.
Yahweh, Rescue My Soul
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. According to the [j]Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
6 O Yahweh, (AF)do not reprove me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, for I am (AG)pining away;
(AH)Heal me, O Yahweh, for (AI)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Yahweh—(AK)how long?
4 Return, O Yahweh, (AL)rescue my [k]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (AM)there is no remembrance of You in death;
In Sheol who will give You thanks?
Do Not Forget the Afflicted
Lamedh
10 [a]Why (A)do You stand afar off, O Yahweh?
Why (B)do You hide [b]Yourself in times of distress?
2 In his (C)lofty pride the wicked [c]hotly pursues the afflicted;
[d]Let them be (D)caught in the thoughts which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)soul’s desire,
And [e]the greedy man curses and (G)spurns Yahweh.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, (H)does not seek Him.
All his [f]thoughts are, “(I)There is no God.”
5 His ways [g](J)prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says in his heart, “(L)I will not be shaken;
[h]From generation to generation (M)I will not be in adversity.”
Pe
7 His (N)mouth is full of curses and deceit and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
Ayin
8 He sits in the [i](Q)places of the villages where one lies in wait;
In the hiding places he (R)kills the innocent;
His eyes [j]stealthily watch for the [k](S)unfortunate.
9 He lies in wait in a hiding place as (T)a lion in his [l]lair;
He (U)lies in wait to catch (V)the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his (W)net.
10 He [m]crouches, he [n]bows down,
And the [o]unfortunate fall [p]by his mighty ones.
11 He (X)says in his heart, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
Qoph
12 Arise, O Yahweh; O God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)spurned God?
He has said in his heart, “You will not require it.”
Resh
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld (AB)mischief and vexation to [q]take it into Your hand.
The [r](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
Shin
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[s](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
Tav
17 O Yahweh, You have heard the (AI)desire of the [t]humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will cause Your ear to give heed
18 To give justice to the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause (AN)terror.
Yahweh Is in His Holy Temple
For the choir director. Of David.
11 In Yahweh I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They [u](AR)make ready their arrow upon the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 Yahweh is in His (AU)holy temple; [v]Yahweh’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 Yahweh (AX)tests the righteous,
But (AY)the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 May He (AZ)rain [w]snares upon the wicked;
(BA)Fire and brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For Yahweh is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [x]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)behold His face.
Adam and Eve Sent Out from the Garden
3 Now (A)the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘[a]You shall not eat from [b]any tree of the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “(B)From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; 3 but from the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God said, ‘You shall not eat from it, and you shall not touch it, lest you die.’” 4 (C)And the serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! 5 For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and (D)you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 (E)Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, so she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they (F)knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves [c]loin coverings.
8 Then they heard the sound of (G)Yahweh God walking in the garden in the [d]cool of the day, (H)and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God in the midst of the trees of the garden. 9 Yahweh God called to the man and said to him, “(I)Where are you?” 10 And he said, “(J)I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 (K)And the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave to me from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then Yahweh God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “(L)The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” 14 And Yahweh God said to the serpent,
“(M)Because you have done this,
Cursed are you more than any of the cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you will go,
And (N)dust you will eat
All the days of your life;
15 And I will put (O)enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
(P)He shall [e]bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
16 To the woman He said,
“I will greatly multiply
Your pain and [f]conception,
In pain you will [g](Q)bear children;
Your desire will be for your husband,
And (R)he will rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’;
(S)Cursed is the ground because of you;
(T)In [h]pain you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall (U)grow for you;
And you will eat the [i]plants of the field;
19 By the sweat of your [j]face
You will eat bread,
Till you (V)return to the ground,
Because (W)from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”
20 Now the man called his wife’s name [k](X)Eve, because she was the mother of all the living. 21 Then Yahweh God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them.
22 Then Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of (Y)Us [l]to know good and evil; and now, lest he send forth his hand and take also from (Z)the tree of life and eat and live forever”— 23 therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to [m]cultivate the ground from which he was taken. 24 So (AA)He drove the man out; and at the (AB)east of the garden of Eden He stationed the (AC)cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to [n]guard the way to (AD)the tree of life.
Warning Against Neglecting Salvation
2 For this reason we must pay much closer attention to [a]what we have heard, lest (A)we drift away. 2 For if the word (B)spoken through (C)angels proved [b]unalterable, and (D)every trespass and disobedience received a just [c](E)penalty, 3 (F)how will we escape if we neglect so great a (G)salvation? That salvation, first (H)spoken by the Lord, was (I)confirmed to us by those who heard, 4 God also testifying with them, both by (J)signs and wonders and by (K)various [d]miracles and by [e](L)gifts of the Holy Spirit (M)according to His own will.
Jesus, the Author of Salvation
5 For He did not subject to angels [f](N)the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified (O)somewhere, saying,
“(P)What is man, that You remember him?
Or the son of man, that You are concerned about him?
7 (Q)You have made [g]him for a little while lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honor,
[h]And have appointed him over the works of Your hands;
8 (R)You have put all things in subjection under his feet.”
For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now (S)we do not yet see all things subjected to him. 9 But we do see Him who was (T)made [i]for a little while lower than the angels—Jesus, (U)because of the suffering of death (V)crowned with glory and honor, so that (W)by the grace of God He might (X)taste death (Y)for everyone.
10 For (Z)it was fitting for Him, (AA)for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to (AB)perfect the [j](AC)author of their salvation through sufferings.
A Voice in the Wilderness
19 And this is (A)the witness of John, when (B)the [a]Jews sent to him priests and Levites (C)from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “(D)I am not the [b]Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you (E)Elijah?” And he *said, “I am not.” “Are you (F)the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Therefore, they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am (G)a voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the [c]Lord,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the [d]Christ, nor Elijah, nor (H)the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, saying, “(I)I baptize with water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 This One is (J)He who comes after me, of whom I am not worthy to untie the (K)strap of His sandal.” 28 These things took place in Bethany (L)beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.