Book of Common Prayer
Zayin.
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
[a]In which You have made me hope.
50 This is my (A)comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has [b]revived me.
51 The arrogant (B)utterly deride me,
Yet I do not (C)turn aside from Your law.
52 I have (D)remembered Your ordinances from [c]of old, O Lord,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning (E)indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who (F)forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my (G)pilgrimage.
55 O Lord, I (H)remember Your name (I)in the night,
And keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
[d]That I (J)observe Your precepts.
Heth.
57 The Lord is my (K)portion;
I have [e]promised to (L)keep Your words.
58 I (M)sought Your favor (N)with all my heart;
(O)Be gracious to me (P)according to Your [f]word.
59 I (Q)considered my ways
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The (R)cords of the wicked have encircled me,
But I have (S)not forgotten Your law.
62 At (T)midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your (U)righteous ordinances.
63 I am a (V)companion of all those who [g]fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 (W)The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord;
(X)Teach me Your statutes.
Teth.
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [h](Y)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (Z)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (AA)good and (AB)do good;
(AC)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [i]have (AD)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (AE)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [j](AF)covered with fat,
But I (AG)delight in Your law.
71 It is (AH)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (AI)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my [b]foes surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No man can by any means (K)redeem his brother
Or give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [c]his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not [d](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The (Q)stupid and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [e](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)called their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his [f]pomp will not endure;
He is like the [g]beasts that [h]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. [i]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for [j]Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [k]Sheol (AA)to consume
[l]So that they have no habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [m]power of [n]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [o]glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he will (AE)carry nothing away;
His [p]glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [q]himself—
And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [r]He shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Man in his [s]pomp, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the [t]beasts that [u]perish.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.
53 (A)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
(B)There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is (C)anyone who [c]understands,
Who (D)seeks after God.
3 (E)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Have the workers of wickedness (F)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great [d]fear (G)where no [e]fear had been;
For God (H)scattered the bones of [f]him who encamped against you;
You (I)put them to shame, because (J)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (K)the salvation of Israel [g]would come out of Zion!
When God [h]restores His captive people,
[i]Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Salvation Reaches to the End of the Earth
49 Listen to Me, O (A)islands,
And pay attention, you peoples from afar.
(B)The Lord called Me from the womb;
From the [a]body of My mother He named Me.
2 He has made My (C)mouth like a sharp sword,
In the (D)shadow of His hand He has concealed Me;
And He has also made Me a [b]select (E)arrow,
He has hidden Me in His quiver.
3 He said to Me, “(F)You are My Servant, Israel,
(G)In Whom I will [c]show My glory.”
4 But I said, “I have (H)toiled in vain,
I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity;
Yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord,
And My (I)reward with My God.”
5 And now says (J)the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that (K)Israel might be gathered to Him
(For I am (L)honored in the sight of the Lord,
And My God is My (M)strength),
6 He says, “It is too [d]small a thing that You should be My Servant
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the (N)preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a (O)light [e]of the nations
So that My salvation may [f]reach to the (P)end of the earth.”
7 Thus says the Lord, the (Q)Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One,
To the (R)despised One,
To the One abhorred by the nation,
To the Servant of rulers,
“(S)Kings will see and arise,
Princes will also (T)bow down,
Because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You.”
8 Thus says the Lord,
“In a (U)favorable time I have answered You,
And in a day of salvation I have helped You;
And I will (V)keep You and (W)give You for a covenant of the people,
To [g](X)restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages;
9 Saying to those who are (Y)bound, ‘Go forth,’
To those who are in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’
Along the roads they will feed,
And their pasture will be on all (Z)bare heights.
10 “They will (AA)not hunger or thirst,
Nor will the scorching (AB)heat or sun strike them down;
For (AC)He who has compassion on them will (AD)lead them
And will guide them to (AE)springs of water.
11 “I will make all (AF)My mountains a road,
And My (AG)highways will be raised up.
12 “Behold, these will come (AH)from afar;
And lo, these will come from the (AI)north and from the west,
And these from the land of Sinim.”
Peter (Cephas) Opposed by Paul
11 But when (A)Cephas came to (B)Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he [a]stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from [b](C)James, he used to (D)eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, (E)fearing [c]the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even (F)Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they (G)were not [d]straightforward about (H)the truth of the gospel, I said to (I)Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, (J)live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? [e]
15 “We are (K)Jews by nature and not (L)sinners from among the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless knowing that (M)a man is not justified by the works of [f]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by (N)faith in Christ and not by the works of [g]the Law; since (O)by the works of [h]the Law no [i]flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found (P)sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? (Q)May it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I (R)prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through [j]the Law I (S)died to [k]the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been (T)crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but (U)Christ lives in me; and [l]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in (V)the Son of God, who (W)loved me and (X)gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for (Y)if righteousness comes through [m]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
13 And they were casting out many demons and (A)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
John’s Fate Recalled
14 (B)And King Herod heard of it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “(C)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is (D)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is (E)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of (F)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 (H)Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death and could not do so; 20 for (I)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; [a]but he [b]used to enjoy listening to him. 21 A strategic day came when Herod on his birthday (J)gave a banquet for his lords and [c]military commanders and the leading men (K)of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of (L)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and [d]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to (M)half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 Immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of [e]his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and had him beheaded in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
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