Book of Common Prayer
ק Qof
145 I call with all my heart; answer me, Lord.
I will obey Your statutes.(A)
146 I call to You; save me,
and I will keep Your decrees.(B)
147 I rise before dawn and cry out for help;(C)
I put my hope in Your word.
148 I am awake through each watch of the night
to meditate on Your promise.(D)
149 In keeping with Your faithful love, hear my voice.
Lord, give me life in keeping with Your justice.(E)
150 Those who pursue evil plans[a](F) come near;
they are far from Your instruction.
151 You are near, Lord,(G)
and all Your commands are true.(H)
152 Long ago I learned from Your decrees
that You have established them forever.(I)
ר Resh
153 Consider my affliction and rescue me,(J)
for I have not forgotten Your instruction.(K)
154 Defend my cause and redeem me;(L)
give me life as You promised.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked
because they do not seek Your statutes.(M)
156 Your compassions are many, Lord;(N)
give me life according to Your judgments.
157 My persecutors and foes are many.(O)
I have not turned from Your decrees.(P)
158 I have seen the disloyal(Q) and feel disgust(R)
because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I love Your precepts;
Lord, give me life according to Your faithful love.(S)
160 The entirety of Your word is truth,
and all Your righteous judgments endure forever.(T)
שׂ Sin/ שׁ Shin
161 Princes have persecuted me without cause,
but my heart fears only Your word.(U)
162 I rejoice over Your promise(V)
like one who finds vast treasure.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood,(W)
but I love Your instruction.(X)
164 I praise You seven times a day
for Your righteous judgments.(Y)
165 Abundant peace belongs to those(Z)
who love Your instruction;
nothing makes them stumble.(AA)
166 Lord, I hope for Your salvation(AB)
and carry out Your commands.
167 I obey Your decrees
and love them greatly.(AC)
168 I obey Your precepts and decrees,
for all my ways are before You.(AD)
ת Tav
169 Let my cry reach You, Lord;(AE)
give me understanding according to Your word.(AF)
170 Let my plea reach You;(AG)
rescue me according to Your promise.(AH)
171 My lips pour out praise,(AI)
for You teach me Your statutes.(AJ)
172 My tongue sings about Your promise,(AK)
for all Your commands are righteous.(AL)
173 May Your hand be ready to help me,(AM)
for I have chosen Your precepts.(AN)
174 I long for Your salvation, Lord,
and Your instruction is my delight.(AO)
175 Let me live, and I will praise You;(AP)
may Your judgments help me.
176 I wander like a lost sheep;(AQ)
seek Your servant,(AR)
for I do not forget Your commands.(AS)
Psalm 128
Blessings for Those Who Fear God
A song of ascents.
1 How happy is everyone who fears the Lord,
who walks in His ways!(A)
2 You will surely eat
what your hands have worked for.(B)
You will be happy,
and it will go well for you.(C)
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine
within your house,
your sons, like young olive trees
around your table.(D)
4 In this very way
the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed.(E)
5 May the Lord bless you from Zion,
so that you will see the prosperity of Jerusalem
all the days of your life(F)
6 and will see your children’s children!
Peace be with Israel.(G)
Psalm 129
Protection of the Oppressed
A song of ascents.
1 Since my youth they have often attacked me—
let Israel say—
2 Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.(H)
3 Plowmen plowed over my back;
they made their furrows long.(I)
4 The Lord is righteous;
He has cut the ropes of the wicked.(J)
5 Let all who hate Zion
be driven back in disgrace.(K)
6 Let them be like grass on the rooftops,
which withers before it grows up[a](L)
7 and can’t even fill the hands of the reaper
or the arms of the one who binds sheaves.(M)
8 Then none who pass by will say,
“May the Lord’s blessing be on you.”
We bless you in the name of Yahweh.(N)
Psalm 130
Awaiting Redemption
A song of ascents.
1 Out of the depths I call to You, Yahweh!(O)
2 Lord, listen to my voice;
let Your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.(P)
3 Yahweh, if You considered sins,
Lord, who could stand?(Q)
4 But with You there is forgiveness,
so that You may be revered.(R)
Judgment on the Whole World
30 “As for you, you are to prophesy all these things to them, and say to them:
The Lord roars from heaven;
He raises His voice from His holy dwelling.(A)
He roars loudly over His grazing land;
He calls out with a shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
31 The tumult reaches to the ends of the earth
because the Lord brings a case against(B) the nations.
He enters into judgment with all flesh.
As for the wicked, He hands them over to the sword—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
32 “This is what the Lord of Hosts says:
Pay attention! Disaster spreads
from nation to nation.
A great storm is stirred up
from the ends of the earth.”(C)
33 Those slain by the Lord(D) on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned,(E) gathered, or buried. They will be like manure on the surface of the ground.
34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry out.
Roll in the dust,[a](F) you leaders of the flock.
Because the days of your slaughter have come,
you will fall and become shattered like a precious vase.
35 Flight will be impossible for the shepherds,
and escape, for the leaders of the flock.
36 Hear the sound of the shepherds’ cry,
the wail of the leaders of the flock,
for the Lord is destroying their pasture.
37 Peaceful grazing land will become lifeless
because of the Lord’s burning anger.(G)
38 He has left His den like a lion,
for their land has become a desolation
because of the sword[b] of the oppressor,(H)
because of His burning anger.
Israel’s Rejection of the Message
14 But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him?(A) And how can they hear without a preacher?(B) 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful[a] are the feet of those[b] who announce the gospel of good things!(C)[c] 16 But all did not obey the gospel.(D) For Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed our message?(E)[d] 17 So faith comes from what is heard,(F) and what is heard comes through the message about Christ.[e](G) 18 But I ask, “Did they not hear?” Yes, they did:
19 But I ask, “Did Israel not understand?” First, Moses said:
I will make you jealous
of those who are not a nation;(I)
I will make you angry by a nation
that lacks understanding.(J)[g]
20 And Isaiah says boldly:
I was found
by those who were not looking for Me;
I revealed Myself
to those who were not asking for Me.(K)[h]
21 But to Israel he says: All day long I have spread out My hands to a disobedient and defiant people.(L)[i]
The Ideal Shepherd
10 “I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.(A) 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd(B) of the sheep.(C) 3 The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand(D) what He was telling them.
The Good Shepherd
7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am(E) the door of the sheep.(F) 8 All who came before Me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes only to steal(G) and to kill and to destroy.(H) I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
11 “I am the good shepherd.(I) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(J) 12 The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them[b] and runs away when he sees a wolf(K) coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, 15 as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father.(L) I lay down My life(M) for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep(N) that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.(O) 17 This is why the Father loves Me,(P) because I am laying down My life(Q) so I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”(R)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.