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.
Messages about the Kings
13 “Woe to him who builds his house (A)without righteousness
And his [a]upper rooms without justice,
Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay
And (B)does not give him his wages,
14 Who says, ‘I will (C)build myself a roomy house
With spacious [b]upper rooms,
And cut out its windows,
[c]Paneling it with (D)cedar and painting it [d]bright red.’
15 “Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar?
Did not your father eat and drink
And (E)do justice and righteousness?
Then it was (F)well with him.
16 “He pled the cause of the (G)afflicted and needy;
Then it was well.
(H)Is not that what it means to know Me?”
Declares the Lord.
17 “But your eyes and your heart
Are intent only upon your own (I)dishonest gain,
And on (J)shedding innocent blood
And on practicing oppression and extortion.”
18 Therefore thus says the Lord in regard to (K)Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah,
“They will not (L)lament for him:
‘(M)Alas, my brother!’ or, ‘Alas, sister!’
They will not lament for him:
‘Alas for the master!’ or, ‘Alas for his splendor!’
19 “He will be (N)buried with a donkey’s burial,
Dragged off and thrown out beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
20 “Go up to Lebanon and cry out,
And lift up your voice in Bashan;
Cry out also from (O)Abarim,
For all your (P)lovers have been crushed.
21 “I spoke to you in your prosperity;
But (Q)you said, ‘I will not listen!’
(R)This has been your practice (S)from your youth,
That you have not obeyed My voice.
22 “The wind will sweep away all your (T)shepherds,
And your (U)lovers will go into captivity;
Then you will surely be (V)ashamed and humiliated
Because of all your wickedness.
23 “You who dwell in Lebanon,
Nested in the cedars,
How you will groan when pangs come upon you,
(W)Pain like a woman in childbirth!
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for (A)if you are living according to the flesh, you [a]must die; but if by the Spirit you are (B)putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are (C)being led by the Spirit of God, these are (D)sons of God. 15 For you (E)have not received a spirit of slavery [b]leading to fear again, but you (F)have received [c]a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “(G)Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself (H)testifies with our spirit that we are (I)children of God, 17 and if children, (J)heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, (K)if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (L)are not worthy to be compared with the (M)glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the (N)anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for (O)the revealing of the (P)sons of God. 20 For the creation (Q)was subjected to (R)futility, not willingly, but (S)because of Him who subjected it, [d]in hope 21 that (T)the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (U)groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 (V)And not only this, but also we ourselves, having (W)the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves (X)groan within ourselves, (Y)waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, (Z)the redemption of our body. 24 For (AA)in hope we have been saved, but (AB)hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But (AC)if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Our Victory in Christ
26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for (AD)we do not know how to pray as we should, but (AE)the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and (AF)He who searches the hearts knows what (AG)the mind of the Spirit is, because He (AH)intercedes for the [e]saints according to the will of God.
Words to the Jews
41 (A)Therefore the Jews were grumbling about Him, because He said, “I am the bread that (B)came down out of heaven.” 42 They were saying, “(C)Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother (D)we know? How does He now say, ‘(E)I have come down out of heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered and said to them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me (F)draws him; and I will (G)raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written (H)in the prophets, ‘(I)And they shall all be (J)taught of God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me. 46 (K)Not that anyone has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes (L)has eternal life. 48 (M)I am the bread of life. 49 (N)Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread which (O)comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and (P)not die. 51 (Q)I am the living bread that (R)came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, (S)he will live forever; and the bread also which I will give (T)for the life of the world is (U)My flesh.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.