Book of Common Prayer
A Song of Ascents.
120 In my distress, I cried to Yahweh.
He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, Yahweh, from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
3 What will be given to you, and what will be done more to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty,
with coals of juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I live in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul has had her dwelling too long
with him who hates peace.
7 I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from Yahweh,
who made heaven and earth.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 Yahweh is your keeper.
Yahweh is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 Yahweh will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your soul.
8 Yahweh will keep your going out and your coming in,
from this time forward, and forever more.
A Song of Ascents. By David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let’s go to Yahweh’s house!”
2 Our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together,
4 where the tribes go up, even Yah’s tribes,
according to an ordinance for Israel,
to give thanks to Yahweh’s name.
5 For there are set thrones for judgment,
the thrones of David’s house.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Those who love you will prosper.
7 Peace be within your walls,
and prosperity within your palaces.
8 For my brothers’ and companions’ sakes,
I will now say, “Peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of Yahweh our God,
I will seek your good.
A Song of Ascents.
123 I lift up my eyes to you,
you who sit in the heavens.
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to Yahweh, our God,
until he has mercy on us.
3 Have mercy on us, Yahweh, have mercy on us,
for we have endured much contempt.
4 Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scoffing of those who are at ease,
with the contempt of the proud.
A Song of Ascents. By David.
124 If it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,
let Israel now say,
2 if it had not been Yahweh who was on our side,
when men rose up against us,
3 then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their wrath was kindled against us,
4 then the waters would have overwhelmed us,
the stream would have gone over our soul.
5 Then the proud waters would have gone over our soul.
6 Blessed be Yahweh,
who has not given us as a prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul has escaped like a bird out of the fowler’s snare.
The snare is broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help is in Yahweh’s name,
who made heaven and earth.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in Yahweh are as Mount Zion,
which can’t be moved, but remains forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so Yahweh surrounds his people from this time forward and forever more.
3 For the scepter of wickedness won’t remain over the allotment of the righteous,
so that the righteous won’t use their hands to do evil.
4 Do good, Yahweh, to those who are good,
to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who turn away to their crooked ways,
Yahweh will lead them away with the workers of iniquity.
Peace be on Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When Yahweh brought back those who returned to Zion,
we were like those who dream.
2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with singing.
Then they said among the nations,
“Yahweh has done great things for them.”
3 Yahweh has done great things for us,
and we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes again, Yahweh,
like the streams in the Negev.
5 Those who sow in tears will reap in joy.
6 He who goes out weeping, carrying seed for sowing,
will certainly come again with joy, carrying his sheaves.
A Song of Ascents. By Solomon.
127 Unless Yahweh builds the house,
they who build it labor in vain.
Unless Yahweh watches over the city,
the watchman guards it in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
to stay up late,
eating the bread of toil,
for he gives sleep to his loved ones.
3 Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh.
The fruit of the womb is his reward.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty man,
so are the children of youth.
5 Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them.
They won’t be disappointed when they speak with their enemies in the gate.
5 Afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’”
2 Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know Yahweh, and moreover I will not let Israel go.”
3 They said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh, our God, lest he fall on us with pestilence, or with the sword.”
4 The king of Egypt said to them, “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, take the people from their work? Get back to your burdens!” 5 Pharaoh said, “Behold, the people of the land are now many, and you make them rest from their burdens.” 6 The same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, 7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick, as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. 8 You shall require from them the number of the bricks which they made before. You shall not diminish anything of it, for they are idle. Therefore they cry, saying, ‘Let’s go and sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Let heavier work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it. Don’t let them pay any attention to lying words.”
10 The taskmasters of the people went out with their officers, and they spoke to the people, saying, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you straw. 11 Go yourselves, get straw where you can find it, for nothing of your work shall be diminished.’” 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. 13 The taskmasters were urgent saying, “Fulfill your work quota daily, as when there was straw!” 14 The officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and were asked, “Why haven’t you fulfilled your quota both yesterday and today, in making brick as before?”
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, “Why do you deal this way with your servants? 16 No straw is given to your servants, and they tell us, ‘Make brick!’ and behold, your servants are beaten; but the fault is in your own people.”
17 But Pharaoh said, “You are idle! You are idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let’s go and sacrifice to Yahweh.’ 18 Go therefore now, and work; for no straw shall be given to you; yet you shall deliver the same number of bricks!”
19 The officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble when it was said, “You shall not diminish anything from your daily quota of bricks!”
20 They met Moses and Aaron, who stood along the way, as they came out from Pharaoh. 21 They said to them, “May Yahweh look at you and judge, because you have made us a stench to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us!”
22 Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, “Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it that you have sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people. You have not rescued your people at all!”
6 Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.”
20 Brothers, don’t be children in thoughts, yet in malice be babies, but in thoughts be mature. 21 In the law it is written, “By men of strange languages and by the lips of strangers I will speak to this people. They won’t even listen to me that way, says the Lord.”(A) 22 Therefore other languages are for a sign, not to those who believe, but to the unbelieving; but prophesying is for a sign, not to the unbelieving, but to those who believe. 23 If therefore the whole assembly is assembled together and all speak with other languages, and unlearned or unbelieving people come in, won’t they say that you are crazy? 24 But if all prophesy, and someone unbelieving or unlearned comes in, he is reproved by all, and he is judged by all. 25 And thus the secrets of his heart are revealed. So he will fall down on his face and worship God, declaring that God is among you indeed.
26 What is it then, brothers? When you come together, each one of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has another language, or has an interpretation. Let all things be done to build each other up. 27 If any man speaks in another language, let there be two, or at the most three, and in turn; and let one interpret. 28 But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the assembly, and let him speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three of the prophets speak, and let the others discern. 30 But if a revelation is made to another sitting by, let the first keep silent. 31 For you all can prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be exhorted. 32 The spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets, 33 for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the assemblies of the saints.
39 Therefore, brothers, desire earnestly to prophesy, and don’t forbid speaking with other languages. 40 Let all things be done decently and in order.
42 “Whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, [a] into the unquenchable fire, 44 ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ (A)[b] 45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, [c] into the fire that will never be quenched— 46 ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ [d] 47 If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out. It is better for you to enter into God’s Kingdom with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna[e] of fire, 48 ‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ (B) 49 For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. 50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
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