Book of Common Prayer
Childlike trust in Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
131 Jehovah, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty;
Neither do I [a]exercise myself in great matters,
Or in things too wonderful for me.
2 Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child with his mother,
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 O Israel, hope in Jehovah
From this time forth and for evermore.
Prayer for Jehovah’s blessing upon the sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Jehovah, remember for David
All his affliction;
2 How he sware unto Jehovah,
And vowed unto the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 Surely I will not come into the [b]tabernacle of my house,
Nor go up into [c]my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to mine eyes,
Or slumber to mine eyelids;
5 Until I find out a place for Jehovah,
[d]A tabernacle for the Mighty One of Jacob.
6 Lo, we heard of it in [e]Ephrathah:
We found it in the field of [f]the wood.
7 We will go into his tabernacles;
We will worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Jehovah, into thy resting-place;
Thou, and the ark of thy strength.
9 Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
And let thy saints shout for joy.
10 For thy servant David’s sake
Turn not away the face of thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn unto David in truth;
He will not turn from it:
Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne.
12 If thy children will keep my covenant
And my testimony that I shall teach them,
Their children also shall sit upon thy throne for evermore.
13 For Jehovah hath chosen Zion;
He hath desired it for his habitation.
14 This is my resting-place for ever:
Here will I dwell; for I have desired it.
15 I will [g]abundantly bless her provision:
I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests also will I clothe with salvation;
And her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make [h]the horn of David to bud:
I have [i]ordained a lamp for mine anointed.
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame;
But upon himself shall his crown flourish.
The excellency of brotherly unity.
A Song of Ascents; of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
That ran down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard;
That came down upon the [j]skirt of his garments;
3 Like the dew of Hermon,
That cometh down upon the mountains of Zion:
For there Jehovah commanded the blessing,
Even life for evermore.
Greetings of night-watchers.
A Song of Ascents.
134 Behold, bless ye Jehovah, all ye servants of Jehovah,
That by night stand in the house of Jehovah.
2 Lift up your hands [k]to the sanctuary,
And bless ye Jehovah.
3 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion;
Even he that made heaven and earth.
Praise for Jehovah’s wonderful works. Vanity of idols.
[l]135 Praise ye Jehovah.
Praise ye the name of Jehovah;
Praise him, O ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Ye that stand in the house of Jehovah,
In the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jehovah; for Jehovah is good:
Sing praises unto his name; for it is pleasant.
4 For [m]Jehovah hath chosen Jacob unto himself,
And Israel for his own possession.
5 For I know that Jehovah is great,
And that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatsoever Jehovah pleased, that hath he done,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps;
7 Who causeth the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who maketh lightnings for the rain;
Who bringeth forth the wind out of his treasuries;
8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt,
Both of man and beast;
9 Who sent signs and wonders into the midst of thee, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh, and upon all his servants;
10 Who smote many [n]nations,
And slew mighty kings,
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
And Og king of Bashan,
And all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 And gave their land for a heritage,
A heritage unto Israel his people.
13 Thy name, O Jehovah, endureth for ever;
Thy memorial name, O Jehovah, throughout all generations.
14 For Jehovah will judge his people,
And repent himself concerning his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they speak not;
Eyes have they, but they see not;
17 They have ears, but they hear not;
Neither is there any breath in their mouths.
18 They that make them shall be like unto them;
Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah:
O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah:
20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah:
Ye that fear Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed be Jehovah out of Zion,
Who dwelleth at Jerusalem.
[o]Praise ye Jehovah.
19 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mourneth for Absalom. 2 And the [a]victory that day was turned into mourning unto all the people; for the people heard say that day, The king grieveth for his son. 3 And the people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people that are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. 4 And the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son! 5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, who this day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of thy concubines; 6 in that thou lovest them that hate thee, and hatest them that love thee. For thou hast declared this day, that princes and servants are nought unto thee: for this day I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died this day, then it had pleased thee well. 7 Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak comfortably unto thy servants; for I swear by Jehovah, if thou go not forth, there will not tarry a man with thee this night: and that will be worse unto thee than all the evil that hath befallen thee from thy youth until now. 8 Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king is sitting in the gate: and all the people came before the king.
Now Israel had fled every man to his tent. 9 And all the people were at strife throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, and he saved us out of the hand of the Philistines; and now he is fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 And Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why speak ye not a word of bringing the king back?
11 And king David sent to Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, saying, Speak unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye the last to bring the king back to his house? seeing the speech of all Israel is come to the king, to bring him to his house. 12 Ye are my brethren, ye are my bone and my flesh: wherefore then are ye the last to bring back the king? 13 And say ye to Amasa, Art thou not my bone and my flesh? God do so to me, and more also, if thou be not captain of the host before me continually in the room of Joab. 14 And he bowed the heart of all the men of Judah, even as the heart of one man; so that they sent unto the king, saying, Return thou, and all thy servants. 15 So the king returned, and came to the Jordan. And Judah came to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan.
16 And Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite, who was of Bahurim, hasted and came down with the men of Judah to meet king David. 17 And there were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, and Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they went through the Jordan in the presence of the king. 18 And there went over [b]a ferry-boat to bring over the king’s household, and to do what he thought good. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, when he [c]was come over the Jordan. 19 And he said unto the king, Let not my lord impute iniquity unto me, neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely the day that my lord the king went out of Jerusalem, that the king should take it to his heart. 20 For thy servant doth know that I have sinned: therefore, behold, I am come this day the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.
21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered and said, Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because he cursed Jehovah’s anointed? 22 And David said, What have I to do with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries unto me? shall there any man be put to death this day in Israel? for do not I know that I am this day king over Israel? 23 And the king said unto Shimei, Thou shalt not die. And the king sware unto him.
24 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with certain elders, and with an orator, one Tertullus; and they informed the governor against Paul. 2 And when he was called, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,
Seeing that by thee we enjoy much peace, and that by thy providence evils are corrected for this nation, 3 we accept it in all ways and in all places, most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. 4 But, that I be not further tedious unto thee, I entreat thee to hear us of thy clemency a few words. 5 For we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of insurrections among all the Jews throughout [a]the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes: 6 who moreover assayed to profane the temple: on whom also we laid hold: [b] 8 from whom thou wilt be able, by examining him thyself, to take knowledge of all these things whereof we accuse him. 9 And the Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that these things were so.
10 And when the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, Paul answered,
Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I cheerfully make my defence: 11 seeing that thou canst take knowledge that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem: 12 and neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any man or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to thee the things whereof they now accuse me. 14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets; 15 having hope toward God, which these also themselves [c]look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust. 16 [d]Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always. 17 Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings: 18 [e]amidst which they found me purified in the temple, with no crowd, nor yet with tumult: but there were certain Jews from Asia— 19 who ought to have been here before thee, and to make accusation, if they had aught against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrong-doing they found when I stood before the council, 21 except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question before you this day.
22 But Felix, having more exact knowledge concerning the Way, deferred them, saying, When Lysias the [f]chief captain shall come down, I will determine your matter. 23 And he gave order to the centurion that he should be kept in charge, and should have indulgence; and not to forbid any of his friends to minister unto him.
28 And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all? 29 Jesus answered, The first is, [a]Hear, O Israel; [b]The Lord our God, the Lord is one: 30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God [c]with all thy heart, and [d]with all thy soul, and [e]with all thy mind, and [f]with all thy strength. 31 The second is this, [g]Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. 32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he: 33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)