Book of Common Prayer
ZAYIN
49 Remember your word to your servant,
because you gave me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction,
for your word has revived me.
51 The arrogant mock me excessively,
but I don’t swerve from your law.
52 I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh,
and have comforted myself.
53 Indignation has taken hold on me,
because of the wicked who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs
in the house where I live.
55 I have remembered your name, Yahweh, in the night,
and I obey your law.
56 This is my way,
that I keep your precepts.
HETH
57 Yahweh is my portion.
I promised to obey your words.
58 I sought your favor with my whole heart.
Be merciful to me according to your word.
59 I considered my ways,
and turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hurry, and not delay,
to obey your commandments.
61 The ropes of the wicked bind me,
but I won’t forget your law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you,
because of your righteous ordinances.
63 I am a friend of all those who fear you,
of those who observe your precepts.
64 The earth is full of your loving kindness, Yahweh.
Teach me your statutes.
TETH
65 You have treated your servant well,
according to your word, Yahweh.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray;
but now I observe your word.
68 You are good, and do good.
Teach me your statutes.
69 The proud have smeared a lie upon me.
With my whole heart, I will keep your precepts.
70 Their heart is as callous as the fat,
but I delight in your law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all you peoples.
Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom.
My heart will utter understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb.
I will solve my riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I fear in the days of evil,
when iniquity at my heels surrounds me?
6 Those who trust in their wealth,
and boast in the multitude of their riches—
7 none of them can by any means redeem his brother,
nor give God a ransom for him.
8 For the redemption of their life is costly,
no payment is ever enough,
9 that he should live on forever,
that he should not see corruption.
10 For he sees that wise men die;
likewise the fool and the senseless perish,
and leave their wealth to others.
11 Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever,
and their dwelling places to all generations.
They name their lands after themselves.
12 But man, despite his riches, doesn’t endure.
He is like the animals that perish.
13 This is the destiny of those who are foolish,
and of those who approve their sayings. Selah.
14 They are appointed as a flock for Sheol.[a]
Death shall be their shepherd.
The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.
Their beauty shall decay in Sheol,[b]
far from their mansion.
15 But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,[c]
for he will receive me. Selah.
16 Don’t be afraid when a man is made rich,
when the glory of his house is increased;
17 for when he dies he will carry nothing away.
His glory won’t descend after him.
18 Though while he lived he blessed his soul—
and men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 he shall go to the generation of his fathers.
They shall never see the light.
20 A man who has riches without understanding,
is like the animals that perish.
For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Mahalath.” A contemplation by David.
53 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on the children of men,
to see if there are any who understood,
who seek after God.
3 Every one of them has gone back.
They have become filthy together.
There is no one who does good, no, not one.
4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and don’t call on God?
5 There they were in great fear, where no fear was,
for God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you.
You have put them to shame,
because God has rejected them.
6 Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God brings back his people from captivity,
then Jacob shall rejoice,
and Israel shall be glad.
13 If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, “Let’s go after other gods” (which you have not known) “and let’s serve them,” 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet, or to that dreamer of dreams; for Yahweh your God is testing you, to know whether you love Yahweh your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after Yahweh your God, fear him, keep his commandments, and obey his voice. You shall serve him, and cling to him. 5 That prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death, because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to draw you aside out of the way which Yahweh your God commanded you to walk in. So you shall remove the evil from among you.
6 If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son, or your daughter, or the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, entices you secretly, saying, “Let’s go and serve other gods”—which you have not known, you, nor your fathers; 7 of the gods of the peoples who are around you, near to you, or far off from you, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth— 8 you shall not consent to him nor listen to him; neither shall your eye pity him, neither shall you spare, neither shall you conceal him; 9 but you shall surely kill him. Your hand shall be first on him to put him to death, and afterwards the hands of all the people. 10 You shall stone him to death with stones, because he has sought to draw you away from Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 11 All Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall not do any more wickedness like this among you.
2 Open your hearts to us. We wronged no one. We corrupted no one. We took advantage of no one. 3 I say this not to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and live together. 4 Great is my boldness of speech toward you. Great is my boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort. I overflow with joy in all our affliction.
5 For even when we had come into Macedonia, our flesh had no relief, but we were afflicted on every side. Fightings were outside. Fear was inside. 6 Nevertheless, he who comforts the lowly, God, comforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not by his coming only, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you while he told us of your longing, your mourning, and your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more.
8 For though I grieved you with my letter, I do not regret it, though I did regret it. For I see that my letter made you grieve, though just for a while. 9 I now rejoice, not that you were grieved, but that you were grieved to repentance. For you were grieved in a godly way, that you might suffer loss by us in nothing. 10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, which brings no regret. But the sorrow of the world produces death. 11 For behold, this same thing, that you were grieved in a godly way, what earnest care it worked in you. Yes, what defense, indignation, fear, longing, zeal, and vindication! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be pure in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, I wrote not for his cause that did the wrong, nor for his cause that suffered the wrong, but that your earnest care for us might be revealed in you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore we have been comforted. In our comfort we rejoiced the more exceedingly for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. 14 For if in anything I have boasted to him on your behalf, I was not disappointed. But as we spoke all things to you in truth, so our glorying also which I made before Titus was found to be truth. 15 His affection is more abundantly toward you, while he remembers all of your obedience, how with fear and trembling you received him. 16 I rejoice that in everything I am confident concerning you.
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; 21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.”
22 He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them, 24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 As it was in the days of Noah, even so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left. 35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.” 36 [a]
37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?”
He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”
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