Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 I cried out (A)with all my heart; answer me, Lord!
I will (B)comply with Your statutes.
146 I cried to You; (C)save me
And I shall keep Your testimonies.
147 I [a](D)rise before dawn and cry for help;
I [b]wait for Your words.
148 My eyes anticipate the (E)night watches,
So that I may (F)meditate on Your [c]word.
149 Hear my voice (G)according to Your faithfulness;
(H)Revive me, Lord, according to Your judgments.
150 Those who follow after wickedness approach;
They are far from Your Law.
151 You are (I)near, Lord,
And all Your commandments are (J)truth.
152 From long ago I have (K)known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them (L)forever.
Resh
153 (M)Look at my (N)affliction and rescue me,
For I have not (O)forgotten Your Law.
154 (P)Plead my cause and (Q)redeem me;
Revive me according to Your [d]word.
155 Salvation is (R)far from the wicked,
For they (S)do not seek Your statutes.
156 [e](T)Great are Your mercies, Lord;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my (U)persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not (V)turn aside from Your testimonies.
158 I see the (W)treacherous and (X)loathe them,
Because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I (Y)love Your precepts;
(Z)Revive me, Lord, according to Your faithfulness.
160 The (AA)sum of Your word is (AB)truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments (AC)is everlasting.
Shin
161 (AD)Rulers persecute me without cause,
But my heart (AE)stands in awe of Your words.
162 I (AF)rejoice at Your [f]word,
Like one who (AG)finds great plunder.
163 I (AH)hate and loathe falsehood,
But I (AI)love Your Law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You
Because of Your (AJ)righteous judgments.
165 Those who love Your Law have (AK)great peace,
And [g](AL)nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I (AM)hope for Your salvation, Lord,
And do Your commandments.
167 My (AN)soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I (AO)love them exceedingly.
168 I (AP)keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my (AQ)ways are before You.
Tav
169 Let my (AR)cry [h]come before You, Lord;
(AS)Give me understanding (AT)according to Your word.
170 Let my (AU)pleading come before You;
(AV)Save me according to Your [i]word.
171 Let my (AW)lips pour out praise,
For You (AX)teach me Your statutes.
172 Let my (AY)tongue sing about Your [j]word,
For all Your (AZ)commandments are righteousness.
173 Let Your (BA)hand be [k]ready to help me,
For I have (BB)chosen Your precepts.
174 I (BC)long for Your salvation, Lord,
And Your Law is my (BD)delight.
175 Let my (BE)soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your ordinances help me.
176 I have (BF)wandered about like a lost sheep; search for Your servant,
For I do (BG)not forget Your commandments.
Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.
A Song of Ascents.
128 (A)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who (B)walks in His ways.
2 When you (C)eat the (D)fruit of the labor of your hands,
You will be happy and (E)it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a (F)fruitful vine
[a]Within your house,
Your children like (G)olive plants
Around your table.
4 Behold, for so shall a man
Who fears the Lord be blessed.
5 (H)The Lord bless you (I)from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 Indeed, may you see your (J)children’s children.
(K)Peace be upon Israel!
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[b]Many times they have (L)attacked me from my (M)youth up,”
(N)Let Israel say,
2 “[c]Many times they have attacked me from my youth up;
Yet they have (O)not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The Lord (P)is righteous;
He has cut up the (Q)ropes of the wicked.
5 May all who (R)hate Zion
Be (S)put to shame and turned backward;
6 May they be like (T)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it [d]grows up;
7 With which the harvester does not fill his [e]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his [f](U)arms;
8 Nor do those who pass by say,
“The (V)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.
A Song of Ascents.
130 Out of the (W)depths I have cried to You, Lord.
2 Lord, (X)hear my voice!
Let (Y)Your ears be attentive
To the (Z)sound of my pleadings.
3 If You, [g]Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds,
Lord, who could (AA)stand?
4 But there is (AB)forgiveness with You,
So that You may be [h](AC)revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my (AD)soul waits,
And I [i]wait (AE)for His word.
6 My soul waits in hope for the Lord
More than the watchmen (AF)for the morning;
Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, (AG)wait for the Lord;
For with the Lord there is (AH)mercy,
And with Him is (AI)abundant redemption.
8 And He will (AJ)redeem Israel
From all his guilty deeds.
David Is Grief-stricken
19 Then (A)Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said, “Please let me run and bring the king news (B)that the Lord has [a]freed him from the hand of his enemies!” 20 But Joab said to him, “You are not the man to bring news this day, but you shall bring news another day; however, you shall bring no news this day, because the king’s son is dead.” 21 Then Joab said to the Cushite, “Go, tell the king what you have seen.” So the Cushite bowed to Joab and ran. 22 However, Ahimaaz the son of Zadok said once more to Joab, “But whatever happens, please let me also run after the Cushite.” And Joab said, “Why would you run, my son, since (C)you will have no messenger’s reward for going?” 23 “But whatever happens,” he said, “I will run.” So he said to him, “Run.” Then Ahimaaz ran by way of the plain and passed by the Cushite.
Paul Moved to Caesarea
23 And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by [a]the third hour of the night to proceed to (A)Caesarea, [b]with seventy horsemen and two hundred [c]spearmen.” 24 They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to (B)Felix the governor. 25 And he wrote a letter [d]with the following content:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the (C)most excellent governor Felix: (D)Greetings.
27 When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, (E)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, (F)after learning that he was a Roman. 28 And (G)wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I (H)brought him down to their [e](I)Council; 29 and I found that he was being accused regarding (J)questions in their Law, but [f]was (K)not charged with anything deserving death or [g]imprisonment.
30 When I was (L)informed that there would be (M)a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing (N)his accusers to [h]bring charges against him before you.”
31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 But on the next day they let (O)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to (P)the barracks. 33 When these horsemen had come to (Q)Caesarea and delivered the letter to (R)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 Now when he had read it, he also asked from what (S)province Paul was, and when he learned that (T)he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your (U)accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for [i]Paul to be (V)kept in Herod’s [j]Praetorium.
Jesus Answers the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes
13 (A)Then they *sent some of the Pharisees and (B)Herodians to Him in order to (C)trap Him in a statement. 14 They came and *said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and [a]do not care what anyone thinks; for You [b]are not partial to anyone, but You teach the way of God in truth. Is it [c]permissible to pay a [d]poll-tax to Caesar, or not? 15 Are we to pay, or not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a [e]denarius to look at.” 16 And they brought one. And He *said to them, “Whose image and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” 17 And Jesus said to them, “(D)Pay to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were utterly amazed at Him.
18 (E)Some Sadducees (who say that there is no resurrection) *came to [f]Jesus, and began questioning Him, saying, 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that (F)if a man’s brother dies and leaves behind a wife and does not leave a child, his brother is to [g]marry the wife and raise up [h]children for his brother. 20 There were seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and died leaving no children. 21 The second one [i]married her, and died leaving behind no children; and the third likewise; 22 and so the seven together left no children. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, which one’s wife will she be? For each of the seven had her as his wife.” 24 Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not [j]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God? 25 For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 26 But [k]regarding the fact that the dead rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, (G)in the passage about the burning bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘(H)I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? 27 (I)He is not the God [l]of the dead, but of the living; you are greatly mistaken.”
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