Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And (J)my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g](U)song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [k](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [l]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [m](AN)gall [n]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [o](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins shake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AX)You have [q]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [r](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BJ)please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [u]revive.
33 For (BM)the Lord hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
34 Let (BO)heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and (BP)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BQ)save Zion and (BR)build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and (BS)possess it.
36 The [v](BT)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BU)will dwell in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
8 They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [v]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [w]a (AJ)beast [x]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)guide me,
And afterward (AM)receive me [y]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [z]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [aa]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [ab]destroyed all those who [ac](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [ad]God my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
Rewards for Obedience to God
56 Thus says the Lord,
“(A)Preserve justice and do righteousness,
For My (B)salvation is about to come
And My righteousness to be revealed.
2 “How (C)blessed is the man who does this,
And the son of man who (D)takes hold of it;
Who (E)keeps from profaning the sabbath,
And keeps his hand from doing any evil.”
3 Let not the (F)foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say,
“The Lord will surely separate me from His people.”
Nor let the (G)eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.”
4 For thus says the Lord,
“To the eunuchs who (H)keep My sabbaths,
And choose what pleases Me,
And (I)hold fast My covenant,
5 To them I will give in My (J)house and within My (K)walls a memorial,
And a name better than that of sons and daughters;
I will give [a]them an everlasting (L)name which (M)will not be cut off.
6 “Also the (N)foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
To minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord,
To be His servants, every one who (O)keeps from profaning the sabbath
And holds fast My covenant;
7 Even (P)those I will bring to My (Q)holy mountain
And (R)make them joyful in My house of prayer.
Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on (S)My altar;
For (T)My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.”
8 The Lord [b]God, who (U)gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares,
“Yet (V)others I will gather to [c]them, to those already gathered.”
16 But I say, (A)walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out (B)the desire of the flesh. 17 For (C)the flesh [a]sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, (D)so that you may not do the things that you [b]please. 18 But if you are (E)led by the Spirit, (F)you are not under the Law. 19 Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: [c](G)immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, (H)sorcery, enmities, (I)strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, (J)disputes, dissensions, [d](K)factions, 21 envying, (L)drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not (M)inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But (N)the fruit of the Spirit is (O)love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, (P)self-control; against such things (Q)there is no law. 24 Now those who [e]belong to (R)Christ Jesus have (S)crucified the flesh with its passions and (T)desires.
2 (A)Six days later, Jesus *took with Him (B)Peter and [a]James and John, and *brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and (C)His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter *said to Jesus, “(D)Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; (E)let us make three [b]tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud [c]formed, overshadowing them, and (F)a voice [d]came out of the cloud, “(G)This is My beloved Son, [e]listen to Him!” 8 All at once they looked around and saw no one with them anymore, except Jesus alone.
9 (H)As they were coming down from the mountain, He (I)gave them orders not to relate to anyone what they had seen, [f]until the Son of Man rose from the dead. 10 They [g]seized upon [h]that statement, discussing with one another [i]what rising from the dead meant. 11 They asked Him, saying, “Why is it that the scribes say that (J)Elijah must come first?” 12 And He said to them, “Elijah does first come and restore all things. And yet how is it written of (K)the Son of Man that (L)He will suffer many things and be treated with contempt? 13 But I say to you that Elijah has [j]indeed come, and they did to him whatever they wished, just as it is written of him.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.