Book of Common Prayer
Deliver Me, O Lord
A Song of (A)Ascents.
120 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you,
(B)and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 (C)A warrior's (D)sharp arrows,
with glowing (E)coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in (F)Meshech,
that I dwell among (G)the tents of (H)Kedar!
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 (I)I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!
My Help Comes from the Lord
A Song of (J)Ascents.
121 I (K)lift up my eyes to (L)the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 (M)My help comes from the Lord,
who (N)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (O)let your foot be moved;
he who (P)keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your keeper;
the Lord is your (Q)shade on your (R)right hand.
6 (S)The sun shall not (T)strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will (U)keep you from all evil;
he will (V)keep your life.
8 The Lord will keep
your (W)going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.
Let Us Go to the House of the Lord
A Song of (X)Ascents. Of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
(Y)“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”
2 Our feet have been standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem—(Z)built as a city
that is (AA)bound firmly together,
4 to which the tribes (AB)go up,
the tribes of the Lord,
as was (AC)decreed for[a] Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 There (AD)thrones for judgment were set,
the thrones of the house of David.
6 (AE)Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!
“May they be secure who love you!
7 Peace be within your (AF)walls
and security within your (AG)towers!”
8 For my brothers and companions' sake
I will say, (AH)“Peace be within you!”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AI)seek your good.
Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
A Song of (AJ)Ascents.
123 To you I (AK)lift up my eyes,
O you who are (AL)enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maidservant
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the Lord our God,
till he has mercy upon us.
3 (AM)Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,
for we have had more than enough of (AN)contempt.
4 Our soul has had more than enough
of (AO)the scorn of (AP)those who are at ease,
of the contempt of (AQ)the proud.
Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord
A Song of (AR)Ascents. Of David.
124 (AS)If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
(AT)let Israel now say—
2 if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3 then they would have (AU)swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4 then (AV)the flood would have (AW)swept us away,
the torrent would have gone (AX)over us;
5 then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6 Blessed be the Lord,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7 We have escaped like a bird
from (AY)the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!
8 (AZ)Our help is in the name of the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People
A Song of (BA)Ascents.
125 Those who (BB)trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,
which (BC)cannot be moved, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so (BD)the Lord surrounds his people,
from this time forth and forevermore.
3 For (BE)the scepter of wickedness shall not (BF)rest
on (BG)the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous (BH)stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4 (BI)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,
and to those who are (BJ)upright in their hearts!
5 But those who (BK)turn aside to their (BL)crooked ways
the Lord will lead away with (BM)evildoers!
(BN)Peace be upon Israel!
Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord
A Song of (BO)Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BP)restored the fortunes of Zion,
we were like those who (BQ)dream.
2 Then our (BR)mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then they said among the nations,
(BS)“The Lord has done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
we are glad.
4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,
like streams in the Negeb!
5 (BT)Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
6 He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.
Unless the Lord Builds the House
A Song of (BU)Ascents. Of Solomon.
Saul Defeats the Ammonites
11 (A)Then Nahash the Ammonite went up and besieged (B)Jabesh-gilead, and all the men of Jabesh said to Nahash, (C)“Make a treaty with us, and we will serve you.” 2 But Nahash the Ammonite said to them, “On this condition I will make a treaty with you, (D)that I gouge out all your right eyes, and thus (E)bring disgrace on all Israel.” 3 The elders of Jabesh said to him, “Give us seven days' respite that we may send messengers through all the territory of Israel. Then, if there is no one to save us, we will give ourselves up to you.” 4 When the messengers came to (F)Gibeah of Saul, they reported the matter in the ears of the people, (G)and all the people wept aloud.
5 Now, behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen. And Saul said, “What is wrong with the people, that they are weeping?” So they told him the news of the men of Jabesh. 6 (H)And the Spirit of God rushed upon Saul when he heard these words, and his anger was greatly kindled. 7 He took a yoke of oxen (I)and cut them in pieces and sent them throughout all the territory of Israel by the hand of the messengers, saying, (J)“Whoever does not come out after Saul and Samuel, so shall it be done to his oxen!” Then the dread of the Lord fell upon the people, and they came out (K)as one man. 8 When he mustered them at (L)Bezek, (M)the people of Israel were three hundred thousand, and the men of Judah thirty thousand. 9 And they said to the messengers who had come, “Thus shall you say to the men of Jabesh-gilead: ‘Tomorrow, by the time the sun is hot, you shall have (N)salvation.’” When the messengers came and told the men of Jabesh, they were glad. 10 Therefore the men of Jabesh said, (O)“Tomorrow we will give ourselves up to you, and you may do to us whatever seems good to you.” 11 (P)And the next day Saul put the people (Q)in three companies. And they came into the midst of the camp in the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. And those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.
The Kingdom Is Renewed
12 Then the people said to Samuel, (R)“Who is it that said, ‘Shall Saul reign over us?’ (S)Bring the men, that we may put them to death.” 13 But Saul said, (T)“Not a man shall be put to death this day, for today (U)the Lord has worked (V)salvation in Israel.” 14 Then Samuel said to the people, “Come, let us go to Gilgal and there renew the kingdom.” 15 So all the people went to (W)Gilgal, and there they made Saul king (X)before the Lord in Gilgal. There (Y)they sacrificed peace offerings before the Lord, and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
Saul Ravages the Church
8 And (A)Saul (B)approved of his execution.
And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and (C)they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But (D)Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he (E)dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4 Now (F)those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 (G)Philip went down to the city[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 (H)And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him (I)and saw the signs that he did. 7 For (J)unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So (K)there was much joy in that city.
Simon the Magician Believes
9 But there was a man named Simon, (L)who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, (M)saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, (N)“This man is the power of God that is called (O)Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had (P)amazed them with his magic. 12 But when (Q)they believed Philip as he preached good news (R)about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, (S)they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And (T)seeing signs and (U)great miracles[b] performed, (V)he was amazed.
Jesus Is Mocked
63 (A)Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. 64 (B)They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, (C)“Prophesy! (D)Who is it that struck you?” 65 And they said many other things against him, (E)blaspheming him.
Jesus Before the Council
66 (F)When day came, (G)the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their (H)council, and they (I)said, 67 (J)“If you are (K)the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe, 68 and if I ask you, you will not answer. 69 But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated (L)at the right hand of the power of God.” 70 So they all said, “Are you (M)the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, (N)“You say that I am.” 71 Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.