Book of Common Prayer
Zayin
Remembering What God Has Said
49 Remember what you said[a] to your servant,
by which you caused me to hope.
50 This is what comforts me in my troubles:
that what you say revives me.
51 Even though the arrogant utterly deride me,
I do not turn away from your instruction.[b]
52 I have remembered your ancient ordinances, Lord,
and I take comfort in them.
53 I burn with indignation because of the wicked
who forsake your instruction.[c]
54 Your statutes are my songs,
no matter where I make my home.[d]
55 In the night I remember your name, Lord,
and keep your instruction.[e]
56 I have made it my personal responsibility
to keep your precepts.
Cheth
Keeping God’s Word
57 The Lord is my inheritance;
I have given my promise to keep your word.
58 I have sought your favor with all of my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59 I examined my lifestyle
and set my feet in the direction of your decrees.
60 I hurried and did not procrastinate
to keep your commands.
61 Though the ropes of the wicked have ensnared me,
I have not forgotten your instruction.[f]
62 At midnight I will get up to thank you
for your righteous ordinances.
63 I am united with all who fear you,
and with everyone who keeps your precepts.
64 Lord, the earth overflows with your gracious love!
Teach me your statutes.
Teth
Praise for God’s Word
65 Lord, you have dealt well with your servant,
according to your word.
66 Teach me both knowledge and appropriate discretion,
because I believe in your commands.
67 Before I was humbled, I wandered away,
but now I observe your words.
68 Lord,[g] you are good[h], and do what is good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant have accused me falsely;
but I will observe your precepts wholeheartedly.
70 Their minds are clogged as with greasy fat,
but I find joy in your instruction.[i]
71 It was for my good that I was humbled;[j]
so that I would learn your statutes.
72 Instruction[k] that comes from you[l] is better for me
than thousands of gold and silver coins.[m]
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Destiny of the Wicked and the Upright
49 Listen to this, all you people!
Pay attention, all you who live in the world,
2 both average people and those of means,[a]
the rich and the poor together.
3 My mouth will speak wisely,
and I will understand what I think about.
4 I will focus my attention on[b] a proverb;
I will use the harp to expound my riddle.
5 Why should I be afraid when evil days come my way,
when the wickedness of those who deceive me surrounds me—
6 those who put confidence in their wealth
and boast about their great riches?
7 No man can redeem the life of another,[c]
nor can he give to God a sufficient payment for him—
8 for it would cost too much to redeem his life,
and the payments would go on forever—
9 that he should go on living
and not see corruption.
10 Indeed, he will see wise people die;
the stupid and the senseless will meet their doom
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inner thoughts are on[d] their homes forever;
their dwellings from generation to generation.
They even name their lands after themselves.
12 But humanity cannot last, despite its conceit;[e]
it will pass away just like the animals.[f]
13 This is the fate of those who are foolish
and of those who correct their words after they speak.
14 Like sheep, they are destined for the realm of the dead,[g]
with death as their shepherd.
The upright will have dominion over them in the morning;
their strength will be consumed in the afterlife,[h]
so that they have no home.
15 God will truly redeem me from the power[i] of Sheol.[j]
He will surely receive me!
16 Don’t be afraid when someone gets rich,
when the glory of his household increases.
17 When he dies, he will not be able to take it all with him[k]—
his possessions[l] will not follow him to the grave,[m]
18 although he considers himself blessed while he’s alive.
Though people praise you for doing well,
19 you will end up like your[n] ancestors’ generation,
never again to see the light of day!
20 Humanity, despite its conceit, does not understand
that it will perish, just like the animals.
To the Director: Upon machalath.[a] A Davidic instruction.[b]
The Fool and God’s Response
53 Fools say to themselves “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and commit iniquity;
not one of them practices what is good.
2 God looks down from the heavens upon humanity[c]
to see if anyone shows discernment as he searches for God.
3 All of them[d] have fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
no one does what is good, not even one.
4 Will those who do evil ever learn?
They devour my people like they devour bread,
and never call on God.
5 There the Israelis[e] were seized with terror,
when there was nothing to fear.
For God scattered the bones of those who laid siege against you[f]—
you put them to shame,[g]
for God rejected them.
6 Would that Israel’s deliverance come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.[h]
The Servant of the Lord
49 “Listen to me, you coastlands!
Pay[a] attention, you people[b] from far away!
The Lord called me from the womb;
while I was still in my mother’s body,
he pronounced my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharp sword;
he hid me in the shadow of his hands.[c]
He made me like a polished arrow
and hid me away in his quivers.[d]
3 He said to me: ‘You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will glorify myself.’
4 “I[e] said: ‘I’ve labored for nothing.
I’ve exhausted my strength on futility and on[f] emptiness.’
Yet surely my recompense is with the Lord,
and my reward is with my God.
5 “And now, says the Lord,
who formed you[g] from the womb as his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
so that Israel might be gathered[h] to him—
and I am honored in the Lord’s sight
and my God has been my help[i]—
6 he says: “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Israel[j]
and bring back those of Jacob[k] I have preserved.
I’ll also make you as a light to the nations,
to be my salvation to the ends[l] of the earth.
7 “This is what my Lord[m] says—
the Lord your Redeemer, O Israel,[n]
and his Holy One—
to one despised by people,[o]
to those abhorred[p] as a nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings see[q] and arise,
and princes[r] will bow down,
because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel,
the one who has[s] chosen you.”
The Restoration of Israel
8 “This what the Lord says:
“I’ll answer[t] you in a time of favor,
and on a day of salvation I’ll help[u] you.
I have watched over you,
and given you as a covenant for the people,
to restore the land,
to reassign the inheritances that have been devastated;
9 saying to captives, ‘Come out!’
and[v] to those who are in darkness, ‘Be free!’[w]
“They will feed on all the mountains,[x]
and their pasture will be on all the barren hills.
10 They won’t hunger or thirst,
nor will the desert heat or sun beat upon them;
for the one who has compassion on them will drive them
and guide them alongside springs of water.
11 I’ll turn all my mountains into a road,
and my highways will be raised up.
12 “Watch! They’ll come from far away—
some from the north and from the west,
and others from the region of China.”[y]
Paul Confronts Cephas in Antioch
11 But when Cephas[a] came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly wrong.[b] 12 Until some men arrived from James, he was in the habit of eating with the gentiles, but after those men[c] came, he withdrew from the gentiles[d] and would not associate with them any longer, because he was afraid of the circumcision party. 13 The other Jews also joined him in this hypocritical behavior, to the extent that even Barnabas was caught up in their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas[e] in front of everyone, “Though you are a Jew, you have been living like a gentile and not like a Jew. So how can you insist that the gentiles must live like Jews?”
Jews, Like Gentiles, are Saved by Faith
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth, and not gentile sinners, 16 yet we know that a person is not justified by doing what the Law requires,[f] but rather by the faithfulness of Jesus[g] the Messiah.[h] We, too, have believed in the Messiah[i] Jesus so that we might be justified by the faithfulness of[j] the Messiah[k] and not by doing what the Law requires, for no human being[l] will be justified by doing what the Law requires. 17 Now if we, while trying to be justified by the Messiah,[m] have been found to be sinners, does that mean that the Messiah[n] is serving the interests of sin? Of course not! 18 For if I rebuild something that I tore down, I demonstrate that I am a wrongdoer. 19 For through the Law I died to the Law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with the Messiah.[o] 20 I no longer live, but the Messiah[p] lives in me, and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God,[q] who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not misapply God’s grace, for if righteousness comes about by doing what the Law requires, then the Messiah[r] died for nothing.
13 They also kept driving out many demons and anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.
The Death of John the Baptist(A)
14 King Herod heard about this, because Jesus’[a] name had become well-known. He was[b] saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That’s why he is able to do these miracles.”
15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah.”
Still others were saying, “He is a prophet like one of the other[c] prophets.”
16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised,” 17 because Herod himself had sent men who arrested[d] John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom Herod[e] had married.
18 John had been telling Herod, “It’s not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias bore a grudge against John[f] and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t do it 20 because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that John[g] was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John,[h] he did much of what he said.[i] In fact, he liked listening to him.
21 An opportunity came during Herod’s birthday celebration, when he gave a banquet for his top officials, military officers, and the most important people of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias[j] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. So the king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 He swore with an oath to her, “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother[k] replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
25 Immediately the girl[l] hurried back to the king with her request, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. 27 So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’s[m] head. The soldier[n] went and beheaded him in prison. 28 Then he brought John’s[o] head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s[p] disciples heard about this, they came and carried off his body and laid it in a tomb.
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