Book of Common Prayer

78 A psalm for Asaph. O God, the heathens are come into thy inheritance, they have defiled thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit.

² They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for the fowls of the air: the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth.

³ They have poured out their blood as water, round about Jerusalem and there was none to bury them.

⁴ We are become a reproach to our neighbours: a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

⁵ How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever: shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire?

⁶ Pour out thy wrath upon the nations that have not known thee: and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon thy name.

⁷ Because they have devoured Jacob; and have laid waste his place.

⁸ Remember not our former iniquities: let thy mercies speedily prevent us, for we are become exceeding poor.

⁹ Help us, O God, our saviour: and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us: and forgive us our sins for thy name's sake:

¹⁰ Lest they should say among the Gentiles: Where is their God? And let him be made known among the nations before our eyes, By the revenging the blood of thy servants, which hath been shed:

¹¹ Let the sighing of the prisoners come in before thee. According to the greatness of thy arm, take possession of the children of them that have been put to death.

¹² And render to our neighbours sevenfold in their bosom: the reproach wherewith they have reproached thee, O Lord.

¹³ But we thy people, and the sheep of thy pasture, will give thanks to thee for ever. We will shew forth thy praise, unto generation and generation.

²¹ And Elcana her husband went up, and all his house, to offer to the Lord the solemn sacrifice, and his vow.

²² But Anna went not up: for she said to her husband: I will not go till the child be weaned, and till I may carry him, that he may appear before the Lord, and may abide always there.

²³ And Elcana her husband said to her: Do what seemeth good to thee, and stay till thou wean him: and I pray that the Lord may fulfill his word. So the woman stayed at home, and gave her son suck, till she weaned him.

²⁴ And after she had weaned him, she carried him with her, with three calves, and three bushels of flour, and a bottle of wine, and she brought him to the house of the Lord in Silo. Now the child was as yet very young:

²⁵ And they immolated a calf, and offered the child to Heli.

²⁶ And Anna said: I beseech thee, my lord, as thy soul liveth, my lord: I am that woman who stood before thee here praying to the Lord.

²⁷ For this child did I pray, and the Lord hath granted me my petition, which I asked of him.

²⁸ Therefore I also have lent him to the Lord all the days of his life, he shall be lent to the Lord. And they adored the Lord there. And Anna prayed, and said:

2 My heart hath rejoiced in the Lord, and my horn is exalted in my God: my mouth is enlarged over my enemies: because I have joyed in thy salvation.

² There is none holy as the Lord is: for there is no other beside thee, and there is none strong like our God.

³ Do not multiply to speak lofty things, boasting: let old matters depart from your mouth: for the Lord is a God of all knowledge, and to him are thoughts prepared.

⁴ The bow of the mighty is overcome, and the weak are girt with strength.

⁵ They that were full before have hired out themselves for bread: and the hungry are filled, so that the barren hath borne many: and she that had many children is weakened.

⁶ The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth down to hell and bringeth back again.

⁷ The Lord maketh poor and maketh rich, he humbleth and he exalteth.

⁸ He raiseth up the needy from the dust, and lifteth up the poor from the dunghill: that he may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. For the poles of the earth are the Lord's, and upon them he hath set the world.

⁹ He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness, because no man shall prevail by his own strength.

¹⁰ The adversaries of the Lord shall fear him: and upon them shall he thunder in the heavens. The Lord shall judge the ends of the earth, and he shall give empire to his king, and shall exalt the horn of his Christ.

¹¹ And Elcana went to Ramatha, to his house: but the child ministered in the sight of the Lord before the face of Heli the priest.

¹⁵ In those days Peter rising up in the midst of the brethren, said: (now the number of persons together was about an hundred and twenty:)

¹⁶ Men, brethren, the scripture must needs be fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost spoke before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who was the leader of them that apprehended Jesus:

¹⁷ Who was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this ministry.

¹⁸ And he indeed hath possessed a field of the reward of iniquity, and being hanged, burst asunder in the midst: and all his bowels gushed out.

¹⁹ And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem: so that the same field was called in their tongue, Haceldama, that is to say, The field of blood.

²⁰ For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take.

²¹ Wherefore of these men who have companied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus came in and went out among us,

²² Beginning from the baptism of John, until the day wherein he was taken up from us, one of these must be made a witness with us of his resurrection.

²³ And they appointed two, Joseph, called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.

²⁴ And praying, they said: Thou, Lord, who knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast chosen,

²⁵ To take the place of this ministry and apostleship, from which Judas hath by transgression fallen, that he might go to his own place.

²⁶ And they gave them lots, and the lot fell upon Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

¹⁹ And the chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him the same hour: but they feared the people, for they knew that he spoke this parable to them.

²⁰ And being upon the watch, they sent spies, who should feign themselves just, that they might take hold of him in his words, that they might deliver him up to the authority and power of the governor.

²¹ And they asked him, saying: Master, we know that thou speakest and teachest rightly: and thou dost not respect any person, but teachest the way of God in truth.

²² Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or no?

²³ But he considering their guile, said to them: Why tempt you me?

²⁴ shew me a penny. Whose image and inscription hath it? They answering, said to him, Caesar's.

²⁵ And he said to them: Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's: and to God the things that are God's.

²⁶ And they could not reprehend his word before the people: and wondering at his answer, they held their peace.