Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.
For the choir director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.
5 (A)Give ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my [b](B)groaning.
2 Heed (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O Lord, [c]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will order my [d]prayer to You and eagerly (F)watch.
4 For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil [e]dwells with You.
5 The (I)boastful shall not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do iniquity.
6 You (L)destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors (M)the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But as for me, (N)by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house,
[f]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.
8 O Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of [g]my foes;
Make Your way [h]straight before me.
9 There is (T)nothing [i]reliable in [j]what they say;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [k]flatter with their tongue.
10 Hold them guilty, O God;
(W)By their own devices let them fall!
In the multitude of their transgressions (X)thrust them out,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.
11 But let all who (Z)take refuge in You (AA)be glad,
Let them ever sing for joy;
And [l]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may exult in You.
12 For it is You who (AD)blesses the righteous man, O Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.
Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.
For the choir director; with stringed instruments, [m]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.
6 O Lord, (AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (AG)pining away;
(AH)Heal me, O Lord, for (AI)my bones are dismayed.
3 And my (AJ)soul is greatly dismayed;
But You, O Lord—(AK)how long?
4 Return, O Lord, (AL)rescue my [n]soul;
Save me because of Your lovingkindness.
5 For (AM)there is no [o]mention of You in death;
In [p]Sheol who will give You thanks?
A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.
10 Why (A)do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why (B)do You hide [a]Yourself in times of trouble?
2 In (C)pride the wicked [b]hotly pursue the afflicted;
[c]Let them be (D)caught in the plots which they have devised.
3 For the wicked (E)boasts of his (F)heart’s desire,
And [d]the greedy man curses and (G)spurns the Lord.
4 The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, (H)does not seek Him.
All his [e]thoughts are, “(I)There is no God.”
5 His ways [f](J)prosper at all times;
Your judgments are on high, (K)out of his sight;
As for all his adversaries, he snorts at them.
6 He says to himself, “(L)I will not be moved;
[g]Throughout all generations (M)I will not be in adversity.”
7 His (N)mouth is full of curses and deceit and (O)oppression;
(P)Under his tongue is mischief and wickedness.
8 He sits in the (Q)lurking places of the villages;
In the hiding places he (R)kills the innocent;
His eyes [h]stealthily watch for the [i](S)unfortunate.
9 He lurks in a hiding place as (T)a lion in his [j]lair;
He (U)lurks to catch (V)the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his (W)net.
10 He [k]crouches, he [l]bows down,
And the [m]unfortunate fall [n]by his mighty ones.
11 He (X)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”
12 Arise, O Lord; O God, (Y)lift up Your hand.
(Z)Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why has the wicked (AA)spurned God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require it.”
14 You have seen it, for You have beheld (AB)mischief and vexation to [o]take it into Your hand.
The [p](AC)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the (AD)helper of the orphan.
15 (AE)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
[q](AF)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.
16 The Lord is (AG)King forever and ever;
(AH)Nations have perished from His land.
17 O Lord, You have heard the (AI)desire of the [r]humble;
You will (AJ)strengthen their heart, (AK)You will incline Your ear
18 To [s]vindicate the (AL)orphan and the (AM)oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer cause (AN)terror.
The Lord a Refuge and Defense.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
11 In the Lord I (AO)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (AP)mountain;
2 For, behold, the wicked (AQ)bend the bow,
They [t](AR)make ready their arrow upon the string
To (AS)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
3 If the (AT)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in His (AU)holy temple; the [u]Lord’s (AV)throne is in heaven;
His (AW)eyes behold, His eyelids test the sons of men.
5 The Lord (AX)tests the righteous and (AY)the wicked,
And the one who loves violence His soul hates.
6 Upon the wicked He will (AZ)rain [v]snares;
(BA)Fire and brimstone and (BB)burning wind will be the portion of (BC)their cup.
7 For the Lord is (BD)righteous, (BE)He loves [w]righteousness;
The upright will (BF)behold His face.
Solomon Anointed King
38 So (A)Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, (B)the Cherethites, and the Pelethites went down and had Solomon ride on King David’s mule, and brought him to (C)Gihon. 39 Zadok the priest then (D)took the horn of oil from the tent and (E)anointed Solomon. Then they (F)blew the trumpet, and all the people said, “(G)Long live King Solomon!” 40 All the people went up after him, and the people [a]were playing on flutes and rejoicing with great joy, so that the earth [b]shook at their noise.
41 Now Adonijah and all the guests who were with him heard it as they finished eating. When Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, “Why [c]is the city making such an uproar?” 42 While he was still speaking, behold, (H)Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came. Then Adonijah said, “Come in, for (I)you are a valiant man and bring good news.” 43 But Jonathan replied to Adonijah, “No! Our lord King David has made Solomon king. 44 The king has also sent with him Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, the Cherethites, and the Pelethites; and they have made him ride on the king’s mule. 45 Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon, and they have come up from there rejoicing, (J)so that the city is in an uproar. This is the noise which you have heard. 46 Besides, (K)Solomon has even taken his seat on the throne of the kingdom. 47 Moreover, the king’s servants came to bless our lord King David, saying, ‘May (L)your God make the name of Solomon better than your name and his throne greater than your throne!’ And (M)the king bowed himself on the bed. 48 The king has also said thus, ‘Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who (N)has granted one to sit on my throne today while my own eyes see it.’”
49 Then all the guests of Adonijah were terrified; and they arose and each went on his way. 50 And Adonijah was afraid of Solomon, and he arose, went and (O)took hold of the horns of the altar. 51 Now it was told Solomon, saying, “Behold, Adonijah is afraid of King Solomon, for behold, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘Let King Solomon swear to me today that he will not put his servant to death with the sword.’” 52 Solomon said, “If he is a worthy man, (P)not one of his hairs will fall to the ground; but if wickedness is found in him, he will die.” 53 So King Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and prostrated himself [d]before King Solomon, and Solomon said to him, “Go to your house.”
David’s Charge to Solomon
2 As David’s [e](Q)time to die drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, 2 “(R)I am going the way of all the earth. (S)Be strong, therefore, and [f]show yourself a man. 3 Keep the charge of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, (T)according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that (U)you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, 4 so that (V)the Lord may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, ‘(W)If your sons are careful of their way, (X)to walk before Me in [g]truth with all their heart and with all their soul, [h](Y)you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.’
24 While Paul was saying this in his defense, Festus *said in a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind! [a]Your great (A)learning is [b]driving you mad.” 25 But Paul *said, “I am not out of my mind, (B)most excellent Festus, but I utter words [c]of sober truth. 26 For the king [d](C)knows about these matters, and I speak to him also with confidence, since I am persuaded that none of these things escape his notice; for this has not been done in a [e]corner. 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the Prophets? I know that you [f]do.” 28 Agrippa replied to Paul, “[g]In a short time you [h]will persuade me to [i]become a (D)Christian.” 29 And Paul said, “[j]I would wish to God, that whether [k]in a short or long time, not only you, but also all who hear me this day, might become such as I am, except for these (E)chains.”
30 (F)The king stood up and the governor and Bernice, and those who were sitting with them, 31 and when they had gone aside, they began talking to one another, saying, “(G)This man is not doing anything worthy of death or [l]imprisonment.” 32 And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man might have been (H)set free if he had not (I)appealed to Caesar.”
Paul Is Sent to Rome
27 When it was decided that (J)we (K)would sail for (L)Italy, they proceeded to deliver Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan [m](M)cohort named Julius. 2 And embarking in an Adramyttian ship, which was about to sail to the regions along the coast of [n](N)Asia, we put out to sea accompanied by (O)Aristarchus, a (P)Macedonian of (Q)Thessalonica. 3 The next day we put in at (R)Sidon; and Julius (S)treated Paul with consideration and (T)allowed him to go to his friends and receive care. 4 From there we put out to sea and sailed under the shelter of (U)Cyprus because (V)the winds were contrary. 5 When we had sailed through the sea along the coast of (W)Cilicia and (X)Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an (Y)Alexandrian ship sailing for (Z)Italy, and he put us aboard it. 7 When we had sailed slowly for a good many days, and with difficulty had arrived off Cnidus, (AA)since the wind did not permit us to go farther, we sailed under the shelter of (AB)Crete, off Salmone; 8 and with difficulty (AC)sailing past it we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea.
28 “Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, you too, when you see these things happening, [a]recognize that [b]He is near, right at the [c]door. 30 Truly I say to you, this [d]generation will not pass away until all these things take place. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. 32 (A)But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
33 “Take heed, (B)keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time [e]will come. 34 (C)It is like a man away on a journey, who upon leaving his house and [f]putting his slaves in charge, assigning to each one his task, also commanded the doorkeeper to stay on the alert. 35 Therefore, (D)be on the alert—for you do not know when the [g]master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, at midnight, or (E)when the rooster crows, or (F)in the morning— 36 in case he should come suddenly and find you (G)asleep. 37 What I say to you I say to all, ‘(H)Be on the alert!’”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.