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.
24 (A)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (B)I [a]do my share on behalf of (C)His body, which is the church, in filling up what is lacking [b]in Christ’s afflictions. 25 (D)Of this church I [c]was made a minister according to the (E)stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might [d]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, (F)the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His [e]saints, 27 to whom (G)God willed to make known what is (H)the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is (I)Christ in you, the (J)hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, (K)admonishing every man and teaching every man [f]with all (L)wisdom, so that we may (M)present every man [g](N)complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose also I (O)labor, (P)striving (Q)according to His [h]power, which [i]mightily works within me.
You Are Built Up in Christ
2 For I want you to know how great a (R)struggle I have on your behalf and for those who are at (S)Laodicea, and for all those who have not [j]personally seen my face, 2 that their (T)hearts may be encouraged, having been (U)knit together in love, and attaining to all (V)the wealth [k]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a (W)true knowledge of (X)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all (Y)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 (Z)I say this so that no one will delude you with (AA)persuasive argument. 5 For even though I am (AB)absent in body, nevertheless I am with you in spirit, rejoicing [l]to see [m]your (AC)good discipline and the (AD)stability of your faith in Christ.
6 Therefore as you have received (AE)Christ Jesus the Lord, so [n](AF)walk in Him, 7 having been firmly (AG)rooted and now being (AH)built up in Him and (AI)established [o]in your faith, just as you (AJ)were instructed, and overflowing [p]with gratitude.
27 “But I say to you who hear, (A)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, (B)pray for those who [a]mistreat you. 29 (C)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your [b]coat, do not withhold your [c]shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 [d](D)Treat others the same way you want [e]them to treat you. 32 (E)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 (F)If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But (G)love your enemies, and do good, and lend, [f]expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be (H)sons of (I)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 [g]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “(J)Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; [h](K)pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will [i]pour (L)into your lap a (M)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.