Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.
For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, O God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 O God, it is You who knows (I)my folly,
And (J)my wrongs are not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have borne reproach;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made (R)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (S)a byword to them.
12 Those who (T)sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g](U)song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, (V)at an acceptable time;
O God, in the (W)greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the (X)mire and do not let me sink;
May I be (Y)delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j](Z)deep waters.
15 May the [k](AA)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AB)pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, O Lord, for (AC)Your lovingkindness is good;
(AD)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AE)turn to me,
17 And (AF)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AG)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and (AH)redeem it;
(AI)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AJ)reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [l]before You.
20 Reproach has (AK)broken my heart and I am so sick.
And (AL)I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for (AM)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [m](AN)gall [n]for my food
And for my thirst they (AO)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AP)their table before them become a snare;
And [o](AQ)when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AR)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AS)loins shake continually.
24 (AT)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p](AU)camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have (AV)persecuted him whom (AW)You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AX)You have [q]wounded.
27 Add (AY)iniquity to their iniquity,
And (AZ)may they not come into (BA)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BB)blotted out of the (BC)book of life
And may they not be [r](BD)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BE)afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, (BF)set me securely on high.
30 I will (BG)praise the name of God with song
And (BH)magnify Him with (BI)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BJ)please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BK)humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BL)let your heart [u]revive.
33 For (BM)the Lord hears the needy
And (BN)does not despise His who are prisoners.
34 Let (BO)heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and (BP)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BQ)save Zion and (BR)build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and (BS)possess it.
36 The [v](BT)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BU)will dwell in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 Surely God is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their [c]body is fat.
5 They are (F)not [d]in trouble as other [e]men,
Nor are they (G)plagued [f]like mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [g]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart [h]run riot.
8 They (K)mock and [i]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [j]against the heavens,
And their tongue [k]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [l]his people return to this place,
And waters of (N)abundance are [m]drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [n]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [o]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long
And [p](U)chastened every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)pondered to understand this,
It was [q]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I came into the [r](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 Surely You set them in (Z)slippery places;
You cast them down to [s](AA)destruction.
19 How they are [t](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (AE)aroused, You will (AF)despise their [u]form.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [v]within,
22 Then I was (AI)senseless and ignorant;
I was like [w]a (AJ)beast [x]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 With Your counsel You will (AL)guide me,
And afterward (AM)receive me [y]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom have I in heaven but You?
And [z]besides You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [aa]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have [ab]destroyed all those who [ac](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is my good;
I have made the Lord [ad]God my (AU)refuge,
That I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
A Bride for Isaac
24 Now (A)Abraham was old, advanced in age; and the Lord had (B)blessed Abraham in every way. 2 Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his household, who had (C)charge of all that he owned, “(D)Please place your hand under my thigh, 3 and I will make you swear by the Lord, (E)the God of heaven and the God of earth, that you (F)shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of (G)the Canaanites, among whom I live, 4 but you will go to (H)my country and to my relatives, and take a wife for my son Isaac.” 5 The servant said to him, “Suppose the woman is not willing to follow me to this land; should I take your son back to the land from where you came?” 6 Then Abraham said to him, “(I)Beware that you do not take my son back there! 7 (J)The Lord, the God of heaven, who took me from my father’s house and from the land of my birth, and who spoke to me and who swore to me, saying, ‘(K)To your [a]descendants I will give this land,’ He will send (L)His angel before you, and you will take a wife for my son from there. 8 But if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will (M)be free from this my oath; (N)only do not take my son back there.” 9 So the servant (O)placed his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
10 Then the servant took ten camels from the camels of his master, and set out with a variety of (P)good things of his master’s in his hand; and he arose and went to [b]Mesopotamia, to (Q)the city of Nahor. 11 He made the camels kneel down outside the city by (R)the well of water at evening time, (S)the time when women go out to draw water. 12 He said, “(T)O Lord, the God of my master Abraham, please [c](U)grant me success today, and show lovingkindness to my master Abraham. 13 Behold, (V)I am standing by the [d]spring, and the daughters of the men of the city are coming out to draw water; 14 now may it be that the girl to whom I say, ‘Please let down your jar so that I may drink,’ and [e]who answers, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels also’—may she be the one whom You have appointed for Your servant Isaac; and by this I will know that You have shown lovingkindness to my master.”
Rebekah Is Chosen
15 (W)Before he had finished speaking, behold, (X)Rebekah who was born to Bethuel the son of (Y)Milcah, the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor, came out with her jar on her shoulder. 16 The girl was (Z)very beautiful, a virgin, and no man had [f]had relations with her; and she went down to the spring and filled her jar and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her, and said, “(AA)Please let me drink a little water from your jar.” 18 (AB)She said, “Drink, my lord”; and she quickly lowered her jar to her hand, and gave him a drink. 19 Now when she had finished giving him a drink, (AC)she said, “I will draw also for your camels until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough, and ran back to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 (AD)Meanwhile, the man was gazing at her [g]in silence, to know whether the Lord had made his journey successful or not.
22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a (AE)gold ring weighing a half-shekel and two bracelets for her [h]wrists weighing ten shekels in gold, 23 and said, “Whose daughter are you? Please tell me, is there room for us to lodge in your father’s house?” 24 She said to him, “(AF)I am the daughter of Bethuel, the son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 Again she said to him, “We have plenty of both straw and feed, and room to lodge in.” 26 Then the man (AG)bowed low and worshiped the Lord. 27 He said, “(AH)Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken (AI)His lovingkindness and His truth toward my master; as for me, (AJ)the Lord has guided me in the way to the house of my master’s brothers.”
3 For (A)consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary [a](B)and lose heart.
A Father’s Discipline
4 (C)You have not yet resisted [b](D)to the point of shedding blood in your striving against sin; 5 and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons,
“(E)My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
Nor (F)faint when you are reproved by Him;
6 (G)For those (H)whom the Lord loves He disciplines,
And He scourges every son whom He receives.”
7 It is for discipline that you endure; (I)God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 But if you are without discipline, (J)of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we had [c]earthly fathers to discipline us, and we (K)respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to (L)the Father of [d]spirits, and (M)live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, (N)so that we may share His holiness. 11 All discipline (O)for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the (P)peaceful fruit of righteousness.
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
7 After these things Jesus (A)was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because (B)the Jews (C)were seeking to kill Him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews, (D)the Feast of Booths, was near. 3 Therefore His (E)brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your (F)disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret [a]when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For not even His (G)brothers were believing in Him. 6 So Jesus *said to them, “(H)My time is not yet here, but your time is always opportune. 7 (I)The world cannot hate you, but it hates Me because I testify of it, that (J)its deeds are evil. 8 Go up to the feast yourselves; I do not go up to this feast because (K)My time has not yet fully come.” 9 Having said these things to them, He stayed in Galilee.
10 But when His (L)brothers had gone up to the feast, then He Himself also went up, not publicly, but as if, in secret. 11 (M)So the Jews (N)were seeking Him at the feast and were saying, “Where is He?” 12 There was much grumbling among the crowds concerning Him; (O)some were saying, “He is a good man”; others were saying, “No, on the contrary, He leads the people astray.” 13 Yet no one was speaking openly of Him for (P)fear of the Jews.
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