Book of Common Prayer
88 A Song, a Psalm, by sons of Korah, to the Overseer, `Concerning the Sickness of Afflictions.' -- An instruction, by Heman the Ezrahite. O Jehovah, God of my salvation, Daily I have cried, nightly before Thee,
2 My prayer cometh in before Thee, Incline Thine ear to my loud cry,
3 For my soul hath been full of evils, And my life hath come to Sheol.
4 I have been reckoned with those going down [to] the pit, I have been as a man without strength.
5 Among the dead -- free, As pierced ones lying in the grave, Whom Thou hast not remembered any more, Yea, they by Thy hand have been cut off.
6 Thou hast put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in depths.
7 Upon me hath Thy fury lain, And [with] all Thy breakers Thou hast afflicted. Selah.
8 Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me, Thou hast made me an abomination to them, Shut up -- I go not forth.
9 Mine eye hath grieved because of affliction, I called Thee, O Jehovah, all the day, I have spread out unto Thee my hands.
10 To the dead dost Thou do wonders? Do Rephaim rise? do they thank Thee? Selah.
11 Is Thy kindness recounted in the grave? Thy faithfulness in destruction?
12 Are Thy wonders known in the darkness? And Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 And I, unto Thee, O Jehovah, I have cried, And in the morning doth my prayer come before Thee.
14 Why, O Jehovah, castest Thou off my soul? Thou hidest Thy face from me.
15 I [am] afflicted, and expiring from youth, I have borne Thy terrors -- I pine away.
16 Over me hath Thy wrath passed, Thy terrors have cut me off,
17 They have surrounded me as waters all the day, They have gone round against me together,
18 Thou hast put far from me lover and friend, Mine acquaintance [is] the place of darkness!
91 He who is dwelling In the secret place of the Most High, In the shade of the Mighty lodgeth habitually,
2 He is saying of Jehovah, `My refuge, and my bulwark, my God, I trust in Him,'
3 For He delivereth thee from the snare of a fowler, From a calamitous pestilence.
4 With His pinion He covereth thee over, And under His wings thou dost trust, A shield and buckler [is] His truth.
5 Thou art not afraid of fear by night, Of arrow that flieth by day,
6 Of pestilence in thick darkness that walketh, Of destruction that destroyeth at noon,
7 There fall at thy side a thousand, And a myriad at thy right hand, Unto thee it cometh not nigh.
8 But with thine eyes thou lookest, And the reward of the wicked thou seest,
9 (For Thou, O Jehovah, [art] my refuge,) The Most High thou madest thy habitation.
10 Evil happeneth not unto thee, And a plague cometh not near thy tent,
11 For His messengers He chargeth for thee, To keep thee in all thy ways,
12 On the hands they bear thee up, Lest thou smite against a stone thy foot.
13 On lion and asp thou treadest, Thou trampest young lion and dragon.
14 Because in Me he hath delighted, I also deliver him -- I set him on high, Because he hath known My name.
15 He doth call Me, and I answer him, I [am] with him in distress, I deliver him, and honour him.
16 With length of days I satisfy him, And I cause him to look on My salvation!
92 A Psalm. -- A Song for the sabbath-day. Good to give thanks to Jehovah, And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High,
2 To declare in the morning Thy kindness, And Thy faithfulness in the nights.
3 On ten strings and on psaltery, On higgaion, with harp.
4 For Thou hast caused me to rejoice, O Jehovah, in Thy work, Concerning the works of Thy hands I sing.
5 How great have been Thy works, O Jehovah, Very deep have been Thy thoughts.
6 A brutish man doth not know, And a fool understandeth not this; --
7 When the wicked flourish as a herb, And blossom do all workers of iniquity -- For their being destroyed for ever and ever!
8 And Thou [art] high to the age, O Jehovah.
9 For, lo, Thine enemies, O Jehovah, For, lo, Thine enemies, do perish, Separate themselves do all workers of iniquity.
10 And Thou exaltest as a reem my horn, I have been anointed with fresh oil.
11 And mine eye looketh on mine enemies, Of those rising up against me, The evil doers, do mine ears hear.
12 The righteous as a palm-tree flourisheth, As a cedar in Lebanon he groweth.
13 Those planted in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of our God do flourish.
14 Still they bring forth in old age, Fat and flourishing are they,
15 To declare that upright [is] Jehovah my rock, And there is no perverseness in Him!
8 On that day hath the king Ahasuerus given to Esther the queen the house of Haman, adversary of the Jews, and Mordecai hath come in before the king, for Esther hath declared what he [is] to her,
2 and the king turneth aside his signet, that he hath caused to pass away from Haman, and giveth it to Mordecai, and Esther setteth Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 And Esther addeth, and speaketh before the king, and falleth before his feet, and weepeth, and maketh supplication to him, to cause the evil of Haman the Agagite to pass away, and his device that he had devised against the Jews;
4 and the king holdeth out to Esther the golden sceptre, and Esther riseth, and standeth before the king,
5 and saith, `If to the king [it be] good, and if I have found grace before him, and the thing hath been right before the king, and I [be] good in his eyes, let it be written to bring back the letters -- a device of Haman son of Hammedatha the Agagite -- that he wrote to destroy the Jews who [are] in all provinces of the king,
6 for how do I endure when I have looked on the evil that doth find my people? and how do I endure when I have looked on the destruction of my kindred?'
7 And the king Ahasuerus saith to Esther the queen, and to Mordecai the Jew, `Lo, the house of Haman I have given to Esther, and him they have hanged on the tree, because that he put forth his hand on the Jews,
8 and ye, write ye for the Jews, as [it is] good in your eyes, in the name of the king, and seal with the signet of the king -- for the writing that is written in the name of the king, and sealed with the signet of the king, there is none to turn back.'
15 And Mordecai went out from before the king, in royal clothing of blue and white, and a great crown of gold, and a garment of fine linen and purple, and the city of Shushan hath rejoiced and been glad;
16 to the Jews hath been light, and gladness, and joy, and honour,
17 and in every province and province, and in every city and city, the place where the word of the king, even his law, is coming, gladness and joy [are] to the Jews, a banquet, and a good day; and many of the peoples of the land are becoming Jews, for a fear of the Jews hath fallen upon them.
21 And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in the Spirit, having gone through Macedonia and Achaia, to go on to Jerusalem, saying -- `After my being there, it behoveth me also to see Rome;'
22 and having sent to Macedonia two of those ministering to him -- Timotheus and Erastus -- he himself stayed a time in Asia.
23 And there came, at that time, not a little stir about the way,
24 for a certain one, Demetrius by name, a worker in silver, making silver sanctuaries of Artemis, was bringing to the artificers gain not a little,
25 whom, having brought in a crowd together, and those who did work about such things, he said, `Men, ye know that by this work we have our wealth;
26 and ye see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but almost in all Asia, this Paul, having persuaded, did turn away a great multitude, saying, that they are not gods who are made by hands;
27 and not only is this department in danger for us of coming into disregard, but also, that of the great goddess Artemis the temple is to be reckoned for nothing, and also her greatness is about to be brought down, whom all Asia and the world doth worship.'
28 And they having heard, and having become full of wrath, were crying out, saying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'
29 and the whole city was filled with confusion, they rushed also with one accord into the theatre, having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travellers.
30 And on Paul's purposing to enter in unto the populace, the disciples were not suffering him,
31 and certain also of the chief men of Asia, being his friends, having sent unto him, were entreating him not to venture himself into the theatre.
32 Some indeed, therefore, were calling out one thing, and some another, for the assembly was confused, and the greater part did not know for what they were come together;
33 and out of the multitude they put forward Alexander -- the Jews thrusting him forward -- and Alexander having beckoned with the hand, wished to make defence to the populace,
34 and having known that he is a Jew, one voice came out of all, for about two hours, crying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'
35 And the public clerk having quieted the multitude, saith, `Men, Ephesians, why, who is the man that doth not know that the city of the Ephesians is a devotee of the great goddess Artemis, and of that which fell down from Zeus?
36 these things, then, not being to be gainsaid, it is necessary for you to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
37 `For ye brought these men, who are neither temple-robbers nor speaking evil of your goddess;
38 if indeed, therefore, Demetrius and the artificers with him with any one have a matter, court [days] are held, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another.
39 `And if ye seek after anything concerning other matters, in the legal assembly it shall be determined;
40 for we are also in peril of being accused of insurrection in regard to this day, there being no occasion by which we shall be able to give an account of this concourse;'
41 and these things having said, he dismissed the assembly.
31 And he came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbaths,
32 and they were astonished at his teaching, because his word was with authority.
33 And in the synagogue was a man, having a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a great voice,
34 saying, `Away, what -- to us and to thee, Jesus, O Nazarene? thou didst come to destroy us; I have known thee who thou art -- the Holy One of God.'
35 And Jesus did rebuke him, saying, `Be silenced, and come forth out of him;' and the demon having cast him into the midst, came forth from him, having hurt him nought;
36 and amazement came upon all, and they were speaking together, with one another, saying, `What [is] this word, that with authority and power he doth command the unclean spirits, and they come forth?'
37 and there was going forth a fame concerning him to every place of the region round about.