Book of Common Prayer
Zayin.
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
[a]In which You have made me hope.
50 This is my (A)comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has [b]revived me.
51 The arrogant (B)utterly deride me,
Yet I do not (C)turn aside from Your law.
52 I have (D)remembered Your ordinances from [c]of old, O Lord,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning (E)indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who (F)forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my (G)pilgrimage.
55 O Lord, I (H)remember Your name (I)in the night,
And keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
[d]That I (J)observe Your precepts.
Heth.
57 The Lord is my (K)portion;
I have [e]promised to (L)keep Your words.
58 I (M)sought Your favor (N)with all my heart;
(O)Be gracious to me (P)according to Your [f]word.
59 I (Q)considered my ways
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The (R)cords of the wicked have encircled me,
But I have (S)not forgotten Your law.
62 At (T)midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your (U)righteous ordinances.
63 I am a (V)companion of all those who [g]fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 (W)The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord;
(X)Teach me Your statutes.
Teth.
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [h](Y)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (Z)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (AA)good and (AB)do good;
(AC)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [i]have (AD)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (AE)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [j](AF)covered with fat,
But I (AG)delight in Your law.
71 It is (AH)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (AI)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my [b]foes surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No man can by any means (K)redeem his brother
Or give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [c]his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not [d](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The (Q)stupid and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [e](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)called their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his [f]pomp will not endure;
He is like the [g]beasts that [h]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. [i]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for [j]Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [k]Sheol (AA)to consume
[l]So that they have no habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [m]power of [n]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [o]glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he will (AE)carry nothing away;
His [p]glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [q]himself—
And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [r]He shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Man in his [s]pomp, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the [t]beasts that [u]perish.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.
53 (A)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
(B)There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is (C)anyone who [c]understands,
Who (D)seeks after God.
3 (E)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Have the workers of wickedness (F)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great [d]fear (G)where no [e]fear had been;
For God (H)scattered the bones of [f]him who encamped against you;
You (I)put them to shame, because (J)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (K)the salvation of Israel [g]would come out of Zion!
When God [h]restores His captive people,
[i]Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Darius Finds Cyrus’s Decree
6 Then King Darius issued a decree, and (A)search was made in the [a]archives, where the treasures were stored in Babylon. 2 In [b]Ecbatana in the fortress, which is (B)in the province of Media, a scroll was found and there was written in it as follows: “Memorandum— 3 (C)In the first year of King Cyrus, Cyrus the king issued a decree: ‘Concerning the house of God at Jerusalem, let the [c]temple, the place where sacrifices are offered, be rebuilt and let its foundations be [d]retained, its height being 60 cubits and its width 60 cubits; 4 (D)with three layers of huge stones and [e]one layer of timbers. And let the cost be paid from the [f]royal treasury. 5 Also let (E)the gold and silver utensils of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be returned and [g]brought to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; and you shall put them in the house of God.’
6 “Now therefore, (F)Tattenai, governor of the province beyond the [h]River, Shethar-bozenai and [i]your colleagues, the officials of the provinces beyond the [j]River, [k]keep away from there. 7 Leave this work on the house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its site. 8 Moreover, (G)I issue a decree concerning what you are to do for these elders of Judah in the rebuilding of this house of God: the full cost is to be paid to these people from the royal treasury out of the taxes of the provinces beyond the River, and that without delay. 9 Whatever is needed, both young bulls, rams, and lambs for a burnt offering to the God of heaven, and wheat, salt, wine and anointing oil, as the priests in Jerusalem request, it is to be given to them daily without fail, 10 that they may offer [l]acceptable sacrifices to the God of heaven and (H)pray for the life of the king and his sons. 11 And I issued a decree that (I)any man who violates this edict, a timber shall be drawn from his house and he shall be impaled on it and (J)his house shall be made a refuse heap on account of this. 12 May the God who (K)has caused His name to dwell there overthrow any king or people who [m]attempts to change it, so as to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, have issued this decree, let it be carried out with all diligence!”
The Temple Completed and Dedicated
13 Then (L)Tattenai, the governor of the province beyond the River, Shethar-bozenai and their colleagues carried out the decree with all diligence, just as King Darius had sent. 14 And (M)the elders of the Jews [n]were successful in building through the prophesying of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And [o]they finished building according to the command of the God of Israel and the decree (N)of Cyrus, (O)Darius, and (P)Artaxerxes king of Persia. 15 This [p]temple was completed [q]on the third day of the (Q)month Adar; it was the sixth year of the reign of King Darius.
16 And the sons of Israel, the priests, the Levites and the rest of the [r]exiles, (R)celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy. 17 They offered for the dedication of this temple of God 100 bulls, 200 rams, 400 lambs, and as a sin offering for all Israel (S)12 male goats, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel. 18 Then they appointed the priests to (T)their divisions and the Levites in (U)their orders for the service of God [s]in Jerusalem, (V)as it is written in the book of Moses.
The Passover Observed
19 (W)The exiles observed the Passover on (X)the fourteenth of the first month. 20 (Y)For the priests and the Levites had purified themselves together; all of them were pure. Then (Z)they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the exiles, both for their brothers the priests and for themselves. 21 The sons of Israel who returned from exile and (AA)all those who had separated themselves from (AB)the impurity of the nations of the land to join them, to seek the Lord God of Israel, ate the Passover. 22 And (AC)they observed the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days with joy, for the Lord had caused them to rejoice, and (AD)had turned the heart of (AE)the king of Assyria toward them to [t]encourage them in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel.
The Book with Seven Seals
5 I saw [a]in the right hand of Him who (A)sat on the throne a [b](B)book written inside and on the back, (C)sealed up with seven seals. 2 And I saw a (D)strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the [c]book and to break its seals?” 3 And no one (E)in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the [d]book or to look into it. 4 Then I began to weep greatly because no one was found worthy to open the [e]book or to look into it; 5 and one of the elders *said to me, “Stop weeping; behold, the (F)Lion that is (G)from the tribe of Judah, the (H)Root of David, has overcome so as to open the [f]book and its seven seals.”
6 And I saw [g]between the throne (with the four living creatures) and (I)the elders a (J)Lamb standing, as if (K)slain, having seven (L)horns and (M)seven eyes, which are (N)the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth. 7 And He came and took (O)the book out of the right hand of Him who (P)sat on the throne. 8 When He had taken the [h]book, the (Q)four living creatures and the (R)twenty-four elders (S)fell down before the (T)Lamb, each one holding a (U)harp and (V)golden bowls full of incense, which are the (W)prayers of the [i]saints. 9 And they *sang a (X)new song, saying,
An Explanation
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 [a]Jesus answered them, “(A)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 (B)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while (C)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 [b]In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘[c](D)You will keep on hearing, [d]but will not understand;
[e]You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
15 (E)For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’
16 (F)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that (G)many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.