Book of Common Prayer
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Dwell in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (K)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and (M)wait [c]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
10 Yet (S)a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for (T)his place and he will not be there.
11 But (U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (V)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (W)plots against the righteous
And (X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (Y)laughs at him,
For He sees (Z)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AA)bent their bow
To cast down the (AB)afflicted and the needy,
To (AC)slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (AD)bows will be broken.
16 (AE)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (AG)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (AH)knows the days of the [d]blameless,
And their (AI)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (AJ)in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the (AK)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(AL)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (AM)is gracious and gives.
22 For (AN)those blessed by Him will (AO)inherit the land,
But those (AP)cursed by Him will be cut off.
23 (AQ)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (AR)delights in his way.
24 When (AS)he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because (AT)the Lord is the One [f]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (AU)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (AV)his [g]descendants begging bread.
26 All day long (AW)he is gracious and lends,
And (AX)his [h]descendants are a blessing.
27 (AY)Depart from evil and do good,
[i]So you will abide (AZ)forever.
28 For the Lord (BA)loves [j]justice
And (BB)does not forsake His godly ones;
They are (BC)preserved forever,
But the [k](BD)descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will (BE)inherit the land
And (BF)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (BH)speaks justice.
31 The (BI)law of his God is in his heart;
His (BJ)steps do not slip.
32 The (BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (BL)seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will (BM)not leave him in his hand
Or (BN)let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 (BO)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (BP)wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [l]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [m]he passed away, and lo, he (BS)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [n](BT)blameless man, and behold the (BU)upright;
For the man of peace will have a [o](BV)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (BW)destroyed;
The [p]posterity of the wicked will be (BX)cut off.
39 But the (BY)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength (BZ)in time of trouble.
40 (CA)The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He (CB)delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (CC)take refuge in Him.
Solomon Turns from God
11 Now (A)King Solomon loved many foreign women along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women, 2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the sons of Israel, “(B)You shall not [a]associate with them, nor shall they [b]associate with you, for they will surely turn your heart away after their gods.” Solomon held fast to these in love. 3 (C)He had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods; and (D)his heart was not [c]wholly devoted to the Lord his God, as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after (E)Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians and after [d](F)Milcom the detestable idol of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, and did not follow the Lord fully, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for (G)Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is [e]east of Jerusalem, and for (H)Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon. 8 Thus also he did for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 Now (I)the Lord was angry with Solomon (J)because his heart was turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, (K)who had appeared to him twice, 10 and (L)had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods; but he did not observe what the Lord had commanded. 11 So the Lord said to Solomon, “Because [f]you have done this, and you have not kept My covenant and My statutes, which I have commanded you, (M)I will surely tear the kingdom from you, and will give it to your servant. 12 Nevertheless I will not do it in your days for the sake of your father David, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, (N)I will not tear away all the kingdom, but (O)I will give one tribe to your son for the sake of My servant David and (P)for the sake of Jerusalem which I have chosen.”
Wisdom from Above
13 Who among you is wise and understanding? (A)Let him show by his (B)good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter (C)jealousy and [a]selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against (D)the truth. 15 This wisdom is not that which comes down (E)from above, but is (F)earthly, [b](G)natural, (H)demonic. 16 For where (I)jealousy and [c]selfish ambition exist, [d]there is disorder and every evil thing. 17 But the wisdom (J)from above is first (K)pure, then (L)peaceable, (M)gentle, [e]reasonable, (N)full of mercy and good fruits, (O)unwavering, without (P)hypocrisy. 18 And the [f](Q)seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace [g]by those who make peace.
Things to Avoid
4 [h]What is the source of quarrels and (R)conflicts among you? [i]Is not the source your pleasures that wage (S)war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have; so you (T)commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and (U)do not receive, because you ask [j]with wrong motives, so that you may spend it [k]on your pleasures. 4 You (V)adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with (W)the world is (X)hostility toward God? (Y)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think that the Scripture (Z)speaks to no purpose: “[l]He [m]jealously desires (AA)the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? 6 But (AB)He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “(AC)God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7 (AD)Submit therefore to God. (AE)Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 (AF)Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. (AG)Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and (AH)purify your hearts, you (AI)double-minded. 9 (AJ)Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 (AK)Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.
11 (AL)Do not speak against one another, (AM)brethren. He who speaks against a brother or (AN)judges his brother, speaks against (AO)the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not (AP)a doer of the law but a judge of it. 12 There is only one (AQ)Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is (AR)able to save and to destroy; but (AS)who are you who judge your neighbor?
12 Answering again, Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?” 13 They shouted [a]back, “Crucify Him!” 14 But Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Crucify Him!” 15 Wishing to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them, and after having Jesus (A)scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.
Jesus Is Mocked
16 (B)The soldiers took Him away into (C)the [b]palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they *called together the whole Roman [c](D)cohort. 17 They *dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him; 18 and they began to acclaim Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They kept beating His head with a [d]reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. 20 After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.
21 (E)They *pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and (F)Rufus), to bear His cross.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.