Book of Common Prayer
The Protection of the Righteous and the Destruction of the Wicked
Of David.[a]
37 Do not fret because of evildoers;
do not be envious of doers of wickedness.
2 For like the grass they will dry up quickly,
and like green vegetation they will wither.
3 Trust Yahweh and do good.
Abide in the land and feed on faithfulness.[b]
4 Take pleasure in Yahweh as well,
and he will give to you the requests of your heart.
5 Commit to[c] Yahweh your way;
Trust also on him and he will act.
6 Then he will bring forth your righteousness like the light,
and your justice like the noonday.
7 Be quiet before Yahweh and wait for him.
Do not fret about one who succeeds in his way,
about a man making plots.
8 Refrain from anger and forsake wrath.
Do not fret; it only brings evil.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who wait for Yahweh—
they will possess the land.
10 And[d] yet a little while and the wicked will not be,
and you will look carefully upon his place, but he will not be.
11 But the afflicted will possess the land,
and they will take pleasure in an abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plans evil against the righteous,
and gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord laughs at him,
for he sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow
to throw down the poor and the needy,
to kill those upright in their way.
15 Their sword will enter into their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
16 The little belonging to the righteous is better
than the wealth of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but Yahweh supports the righteous.
18 Yahweh knows the days of the blameless,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be put to shame in distressing times,[e]
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of Yahweh will be like the splendor of the pastures.
They vanish; in smoke they vanish.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those blessed by him shall possess the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are established by Yahweh,
and he takes pleasure in his way.
24 Though he fall, he will not be cast headlong,
for Yahweh supports him with his hand.
25 I was a youth, but I am now old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children begging for[f] bread.
26 All the day he is gracious and lends,
and his children are a blessing.
27 Turn aside from evil and do good
and so abide forever.
28 For Yahweh loves justice
and will not forsake his faithful ones.
They are protected forever.
But the children of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will possess the land
and abide in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart.
His steps will not slip.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous
and seeks to kill him.
33 Yahweh will not abandon him into his hand,
and he will not let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 Wait for Yahweh and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to possess the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen the wicked acting violently
and spreading himself out
like a luxuriant native tree.
36 Then he passed on[g] and behold, he was not.
And I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Observe the blameless and look at the upright,
for there is a future for a man of peace.
38 But transgressors shall be destroyed altogether.
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 And[h] the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh,
their refuge in the time of trouble.
40 And Yahweh helps them and he rescues them.
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
Solomon’s Foreign Wives
11 King Solomon loved many foreign women: the daughter of Pharaoh, Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, Hittite; 2 from the nations which Yahweh had said to the Israelites,[a] “You shall not marry them,[b] and they shall not marry you.[c] They will certainly turn your heart after other gods.” But Solomon clung to them to love. 3 He had seven hundred princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart.
Solomon’s Apostasy
4 It happened at the time of Solomon’s old age that his wives guided his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully with Yahweh his God as the heart of David his father had been. 5 Solomon went after Ashtoreth the god of the Sidonians and after Molech the abhorrence of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of Yahweh and did not fully follow after Yahweh as David his father. 7 At that time, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, on the mountain which faces[d] Jerusalem and for Molech, the abomination of the Ammonites.[e] 8 Thus he did for all of his foreign wives, offering incense and sacrificing to their gods.
Yahweh’s Judgment on Solomon
9 Yahweh was angry with Solomon, for he had turned his heart from Yahweh, the God of Israel who had appeared to him twice. 10 And he had commanded him concerning this matter not to go after other gods, but he did not keep that which Yahweh commanded. 11 So Yahweh said to Solomon, “Because this was with you, and you did not keep my covenant and my ordinances which I have commanded you, I will certainly tear the kingdom from you, and I will give it to your servant. 12 However, I will not do it in your days, for the sake of David your father; from the hand of your son I will tear it away. 13 Yet all of the kingdom I will not tear away. I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
The Wisdom That Comes Down from Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by his[a] good behavior his works, with the humility of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 15 This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceful, gentle, obedient, full of mercy and good fruits, nonjudgmental, without hypocrisy, 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace among[b] those who make peace.
Subject Yourselves to God
4 From where are conflicts and from where are quarrels among you? Is it not from this, from your pleasures that wage war among your members? 2 You desire and do not have; you murder and are filled with envy, and are not able to obtain; you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, in order that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that in vain the scripture says, “The spirit which he caused to dwell in us desires jealously”?[c] 6 But he gives greater grace. Therefore it says,
“God opposes the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[d]
7 Therefore subject yourselves to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded! 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your[e] joy to gloominess. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. The one who speaks evil of a brother or judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of the law.[f] 12 There is one lawgiver and judge who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your[g] neighbor?
12 So Pilate answered and said to them again, “Then what do you want me to do with the one whom you call the king of the Jews?” 13 And they shouted again, “Crucify him!” 14 And Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 So Pilate, because he[a] wanted to satisfy[b] the crowd, released for them Barabbas. And after[c] he had Jesus flogged, he handed him[d] over so that he could be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 So the soldiers led him away into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) and called together the whole cohort. 17 And they put a purple cloak on him, and after[e] weaving a crown of thorns they placed it[f] on him. 18 And they began to greet him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” 19 And they repeatedly struck[g] him on the head with a reed, and were spitting on him, and they knelt down[h] and[i] did obeisance to him. 20 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes[j] on him, and they led him out so that they could crucify him.
Jesus Is Crucified
21 And they forced a certain man who was passing by, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), who was coming from the country, to carry his cross.
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