Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Way of the Righteous and Wicked
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the (C)way of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of [a]Yahweh,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 And he will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not rise in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Yahweh [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of Yahweh’s Anointed
2 Why do (Q)the [f]nations rage
And the peoples (R)meditate on a vain thing?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(T)Against Yahweh and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (V)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)mocks them.
5 Then He speaks to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrifies them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [i]installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the [j]decree of Yahweh:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and (AD)I will surely give (AE)the [k]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [l](AG)break them with a [m]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 So now, O kings, (AI)show insight;
Take warning, O [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with (AJ)fear
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [o]Kiss (AL)the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (AM)His [p]wrath may [q]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Yahweh, Save Me
A Psalm of David. When [r]he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Yahweh, how (AO)my adversaries have become many!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [s]of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” [t]Selah.
3 But You, O Yahweh, are (AQ)a shield about me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was calling to Yahweh with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [u]mountain. Selah.
5 [v]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who all around (AX)have set themselves against me.
7 (AY)Arise, O Yahweh; (AZ)save me, O my God!
For You have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [w]cheek;
You [x]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [y](BC)Salvation belongs to Yahweh;
Your (BD)blessing [z]be upon Your people! Selah.
Yahweh Makes Me Abide in Safety
[aa]For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, O God [ab]of my righteousness!
You have [ac](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 O sons of men, how long will (BJ)my glory become (BK)a reproach?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and seek (BM)falsehood? [ad]Selah.
3 But know that Yahweh has [ae](BN)set apart the (BO)holy one for Himself;
Yahweh (BP)hears when I call to Him.
In You I Have Taken Refuge
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Yahweh my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Lest he tear [b]my soul (C)like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to him who [c]is at peace with me,
Or have (F)plundered my adversary without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue [d]my soul and overtake [e]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. [f]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the fury of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [g]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [h]them return on high.
8 Yahweh (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tests the hearts and [j]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [l]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and prepared it.
13 He has also prepared [m]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [n]his own skull.
Saul’s Disobedience
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “(A)Yahweh sent me to anoint you as king over His people, over Israel; so now, [a]obey the voice of the words of Yahweh. 2 Thus says Yahweh of hosts, ‘I will [b]punish Amalek (B)for what he did to Israel, how he set himself against him on the way while he was coming up from Egypt. 3 Now go and strike Amalek and (C)devote to destruction all that he has, and do not spare him; but (D)put to death both man and woman, infant and nursing baby, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.’”
7 So (A)Saul struck the Amalekites, from (B)Havilah as you go to (C)Shur, which is [a]east of Egypt. 8 And he seized (D)Agag the king of the Amalekites alive and (E)devoted to destruction all the people with the edge of the sword. 9 But Saul and the people (F)spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and they were not willing to devote them to destruction; but everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed.
Yahweh Regrets He Made Saul King
10 Then the word of Yahweh came to Samuel, saying, 11 “(G)I regret that I have made Saul king, for (H)he has turned back from [b]following Me and has not established My words.” And Samuel became angry and (I)cried out to Yahweh all night. 12 Then Samuel rose early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was told to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to (J)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on [c]down to (K)Gilgal.” 13 And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “(L)Blessed are you of Yahweh! I have established the word of Yahweh.” 14 But Samuel said, “(M)What then is this sound of the sheep in my ears and the sound of the oxen which I am hearing?” 15 And Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for (N)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God; but the rest we have devoted to destruction.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait, and let me tell you what Yahweh spoke to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”
17 And Samuel said, “Is it not true, (O)though you were little in your own eyes, you were made the head of the tribes of Israel? And Yahweh anointed you king over Israel, 18 and Yahweh sent you on a [d]mission and said, ‘(P)Go and devote to destruction the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ 19 Why then did you not [e]obey the voice of Yahweh, (Q)but rushed upon the spoil and did what was evil in the eyes of Yahweh?”
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(R)I did [f]obey the voice of Yahweh and went on the way on which Yahweh sent me and have brought back Agag the king of Amalek and have devoted the Amalekites to destruction. 21 But (S)the people took some of the spoil, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things devoted to destruction, to sacrifice to Yahweh your God at Gilgal.” 22 And Samuel said,
“(T)Has Yahweh as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of Yahweh?
Behold, (U)to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as the sin of (V)divination,
And insubordination is as (W)wickedness and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh,
(X)He has also rejected you from being king.”
19 and he took food and was strengthened.
Saul Begins to Preach Christ
Now (A)for several days he was with (B)the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus (C)in the synagogues, [a]saying, “He is (D)the Son of God.” 21 And all those hearing him continued to be astounded, and were saying, “Is this not the one who in Jerusalem (E)destroyed those that (F)called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul kept increasing in strength and confounding the Jews who lived at Damascus by proving that this One is the [b]Christ.
23 And when (G)many days had elapsed, (H)the Jews plotted together to put him to death, 24 but (I)their plot became known to Saul. (J)They were also watching the gates day and night so that they might put him to death; 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a large basket.
26 (K)And when he came to Jerusalem, he was trying to associate with the disciples, [c]but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 But (L)Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and recounted to them how he had (M)seen the Lord on the road, and that He had talked to him, and how (N)at Damascus he had (O)spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was with them, [d]moving about freely in Jerusalem, (P)speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he was talking and arguing with the [e](Q)Hellenistic Jews, but they were attempting to put him to death. 30 But when (R)the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to (S)Caesarea and (T)sent him away to (U)Tarsus.
31 So (V)the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria was having peace, being built up. And going on in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it continued to multiply.
44 (A)And it was now about [a](B)the sixth hour, and darkness [b]fell over the whole land until [c]the ninth hour, 45 [d]because the sun was obscured. And (C)the veil of the [e]sanctuary was torn [f]in two. 46 And Jesus, (D)crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, (E)into Your hands I commit My spirit.” Having said this, He breathed His last. 47 (F)Now when the centurion saw what had happened, he began (G)praising God, saying, “Certainly this man was righteous.” 48 And all the crowds who came together for this spectacle, when they observed what had happened, were returning, [g](H)beating their chests. 49 (I)And all His acquaintances and (J)the women who accompanied Him from Galilee were standing at a distance, watching these things.
Jesus Is Buried
50 (K)And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a (L)Council member, a good and righteous man 51 (he had not consented to their counsel and action), a man from Arimathea, a city of the Jews, who was (M)waiting for the kingdom of God; 52 this man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain. 54 It was [h](N)Preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to [i]begin. 55 Now (O)the women, who had come with Him from Galilee, followed and beheld the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then after they returned, they (P)prepared spices and perfumes.
And (Q)on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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