Book of Common Prayer
The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 (A)Preserve me, O God, for (B)I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I (C)have no good besides You.”
3 As for the [d](D)saints who are in the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones (E)in whom is all my delight.
4 The [f](F)sorrows of those who have [g]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of (G)blood,
Nor will I (H)take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the (I)portion of my inheritance and my (J)cup;
You support my (K)lot.
6 The (L)lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is (M)beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has (N)counseled me;
Indeed, my [h](O)mind instructs me in the night.
8 (P)I have (Q)set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is (R)at my right hand, (S)I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore (T)my heart is glad and (U)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will (V)dwell securely.
10 For You (W)will not abandon my soul to [i]Sheol;
Nor will You [j](X)allow Your [k]Holy One to [l]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me (Y)the path of life;
In (Z)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are (AA)pleasures forever.
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a (AB)just cause, O Lord, (AC)give heed to my cry;
(AD)Give ear to my prayer, which is not from (AE)deceitful lips.
2 Let (AF)my [m]judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with (AG)equity.
3 You have (AH)tried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have (AI)tested me and (AJ)You find [n]nothing;
I have (AK)purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the deeds of men, (AL)by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the (AM)paths of the violent.
5 My (AN)steps have held fast to Your [o]paths.
My (AO)feet have not slipped.
6 I have (AP)called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
(AQ)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 (AR)Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,
O (AS)Savior of those who take refuge [p]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as [q]the (AT)apple of the eye;
Hide me (AU)in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the (AV)wicked who despoil me,
My (AW)deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have (AX)closed their [r]unfeeling heart,
With their mouth they (AY)speak proudly.
11 They have now (AZ)surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes (BA)to cast us down to the ground.
12 He is (BB)like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion (BC)lurking in hiding places.
13 (BD)Arise, O Lord, confront him, (BE)bring him low;
(BF)Deliver my soul from the wicked with (BG)Your sword,
14 From men with (BH)Your hand, O Lord,
From men [s]of the world, (BI)whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You (BJ)fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babes.
15 As for me, I shall (BK)behold Your face in righteousness;
(BL)I will be satisfied [t]with Your (BM)likeness when I awake.
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the choir director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
[b](B)Far from my deliverance are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 O my God, I (D)cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
O You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)delivered them.
5 To You they cried out and were delivered;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a man,
A (K)reproach of men and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me [g](M)sneer at me;
They [h]separate with the lip, they (N)wag the head, saying,
8 “[i]Commit yourself to the Lord; (O)let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon You I was cast (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Be not far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)none to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (AB)my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, (AH)be not far off;
O You my help, (AI)hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
Let your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 [x](BH)Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
Alliance with King Hiram
5 [a](A)Now Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon, when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for (B)Hiram had [b]always been a friend of David. 2 Then (C)Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 3 “You know that (D)David my father was unable to build a house for the name of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put them under the soles of his feet. 4 But now (E)the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor [c]misfortune. 5 Behold, (F)I [d]intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, ‘Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.’ 6 Now therefore, command that they cut for me (G)cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians.”
7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people.” 8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do [e]what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring them down from Lebanon to the sea; and I will make them into rafts to go by sea (H)to the place where you [f]direct me, and I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then (I)you shall accomplish my desire by giving food to my household.” 10 So [g]Hiram [h]gave Solomon [i]as much as he desired of the cedar and cypress timber. 11 (J)Solomon then gave Hiram 20,000 [j]kors of wheat as food for his household, and twenty [k]kors of beaten oil; thus Solomon would give Hiram year by year. 12 (K)The Lord gave wisdom to Solomon, just as He [l]promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a covenant.
Conscription of Laborers
13 Now (L)King Solomon [m]levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers [n]numbered 30,000 men. 14 He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home. And (M)Adoniram was over the forced laborers. 15 Now (N)Solomon had 70,000 [o]transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, 16 (O)besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were over the [p]project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work. 17 Then (P)the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and [q]Hiram’s builders and (Q)the Gebalites [r]cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house.
The Building of the Temple
6 (R)Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the sons of Israel came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv which is the second month, that he [s]began to build the house of the Lord.
Safe at Malta
28 When (A)they had been brought safely through, (B)then we found out that (C)the island was called [a]Malta. 2 (D)The [b]natives showed us extraordinary kindness; for because of the rain that had set in and because of the cold, they kindled a fire and (E)received us all. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out [c]because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When (F)the [d]natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “(G)Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, [e]justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 However (H)he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm. 6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and (I)began to say that he was a god.
7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us courteously three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was lying in bed afflicted with recurrent fever and dysentery; and Paul went in to see him and after he had (J)prayed, he (K)laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this had happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and getting cured. 10 They also honored us with many [f]marks of respect; and when we were setting sail, they [g]supplied us with [h]all we needed.
Paul Arrives at Rome
11 At the end of three months we set sail on (L)an Alexandrian ship which had wintered at the island, and which had [i]the Twin Brothers for its figurehead. 12 After we put in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days. 13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium, and a day later a south wind sprang up, and on the second day we came to Puteoli. 14 [j]There we found some (M)brethren, and were invited to stay with them for seven days; and thus we came to Rome. 15 And the (N)brethren, when they heard about us, came from there as far as the [k]Market of Appius and [l]Three Inns to meet us; and when Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was (O)allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
27 (A)And Jesus *said to them, “You will all [a]fall away, because it is written, ‘(B)I will strike down the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’ 28 But after I have been raised, (C)I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even though all may [b]fall away, yet I will not.” 30 And Jesus *said to him, “Truly I say to you, that [c](D)this very night, before (E)a rooster crows twice, you yourself will deny Me three times.” 31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing also.
Jesus in Gethsemane
32 (F)They *came to a place named Gethsemane; and He *said to His disciples, “Sit here until I have prayed.” 33 And He *took with Him Peter and [d]James and John, and began to be very (G)distressed and troubled. 34 And He *said to them, “(H)My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 And He went a little beyond them, and fell to the ground and began to pray that if it were possible, (I)the hour might [e]pass Him by. 36 And He was saying, “(J)Abba! Father! All things are possible for You; remove this cup from Me; (K)yet not what I will, but what You will.” 37 And He *came and *found them sleeping, and *said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep watch for one hour? 38 (L)Keep watching and praying that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” 39 Again He went away and prayed, saying the same [f]words. 40 And again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to answer Him. 41 And He *came the third time, and *said to them, “[g]Are you still sleeping and resting? It is enough; (M)the hour has come; behold, the Son of Man is being [h]betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”
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