Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A Song of [a]Ascents. Of David.
1 Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me.
2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting].
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord from this time forth and forever.
Psalm 132
A Song of [b]Ascents.
1 Lord, [earnestly] remember to David’s credit all his humiliations and hardships and endurance—
2 How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 Surely I will not enter my dwelling house or get into my bed—
4 I will not permit my eyes to sleep or my eyelids to slumber,
5 Until I have found a place for the Lord, a habitation for the Mighty One of Jacob.(A)
6 Behold, at Ephratah we [first] heard of [the discovered ark]; we found it in the fields of the wood [at Kiriath-jearim].(B)
7 Let us go into His tabernacle; let us worship at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Lord, to Your resting-place, You and the ark [the symbol] of Your strength.
9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness (right living and right standing with God); and let Your saints shout for joy!
10 For Your servant David’s sake, turn not away the face of Your anointed and reject not Your own king.
11 The Lord swore to David in truth; He will not turn back from it: One of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.(C)
12 If your children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His habitation:
14 This is My resting-place forever [says the Lord]; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will surely and abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her priests also will I clothe with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.
17 There will I make a horn spring forth and bud for David; I have ordained and prepared a lamp for My anointed [fulfilling the promises of old].(D)
18 His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon himself shall his crown flourish.
Psalm 133
A Song of [c]Ascents. Of David.
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment poured on the head, that ran down on the beard, even the beard of Aaron [the first high priest], that came down upon the collar and skirts of his garments [consecrating the whole body].(E)
3 It is like the dew of [lofty] Mount Hermon and the dew that comes on the hills of Zion; for there the Lord has commanded the blessing, even life forevermore [upon the high and the lowly].
Psalm 134
A Song of [d]Ascents.
1 Behold, bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, [singers] who by night stand in the house of the Lord.(F)
2 Lift up your hands in holiness and to the sanctuary and bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]!
3 The Lord bless you out of Zion, even He Who made heaven and earth.
Psalm 135
1 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!) Praise the name of the Lord; praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise the Lord! For the Lord is good; sing praises to His name, for He is gracious and lovely!
4 For the Lord has chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself, Israel for His peculiar possession and treasure.(G)
5 For I know that the Lord is great and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 Whatever the Lord pleases, that has He done in the heavens and on earth, in the seas and all deeps—
7 Who causes the vapors to arise from the ends of the earth, Who makes lightnings for the rain, Who brings the wind out of His storehouses;
8 Who smote the firstborn of Egypt, both of man and beast;(H)
9 Who sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt, upon Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 Who smote nations many and great and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites, Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 [The Lord] gave their land as a heritage, a heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever, Your fame, O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 For the Lord will judge and vindicate His people, and He will delay His judgments [manifesting His righteousness and mercy] and take into favor His servants [those who meet His terms of separation unto Him].(I)
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
16 [Idols] have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not;
17 They have ears, but they hear not, nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make [idols] are like them; so is everyone who trusts in and relies on them.(J)
19 Bless (affectionately and gratefully praise) the Lord, O house of Israel; bless the Lord, O house of Aaron [God’s ministers].
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi [the dedicated tribe]; you who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord, bless the Lord [affectionately and gratefully praise Him]!(K)
21 Blessed out of Zion be the Lord, Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem! Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
7 My son, keep my words; lay up within you my commandments [for use when needed] and treasure them.
2 Keep my commandments and live, and keep my law and teaching as the apple (the pupil) of your eye.
3 Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to skillful and godly Wisdom, You are my sister, and regard understanding or insight as your intimate friend—
5 That they may keep you from the loose woman, from the adventuress who flatters with and makes smooth her words.
6 For at the window of my house I looked out through my lattice.
7 And among the simple (empty-headed and emptyhearted) ones, I perceived among the youths a young man void of good sense,
8 Sauntering through the street near the [loose woman’s] corner; and he went the way to her house
9 In the twilight, in the evening; night black and dense was falling [over the young man’s life].
10 And behold, there met him a woman, dressed as a harlot and sly and cunning of heart.
11 She is turbulent and willful; her feet stay not in her house;
12 Now in the streets, now in the marketplaces, she sets her ambush at every corner.
13 So she caught him and kissed him and with impudent face she said to him,
14 Sacrifices of peace offerings were due from me; this day I paid my vows.
15 So I came forth to meet you [that you might share with me the feast from my offering]; diligently I sought your face, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with rugs and cushions of tapestry, with striped sheets of fine linen of Egypt.
17 I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us console and delight ourselves with love.
19 For the man is not at home; he is gone on a long journey;
20 He has taken a bag of money with him and will come home at the day appointed [at the full moon].
21 With much justifying and enticing argument she persuades him, with the allurements of her lips she leads him [to overcome his conscience and his fears] and forces him along.
22 Suddenly he [yields and] follows her reluctantly like an ox moving to the slaughter, like one in fetters going to the correction [to be given] to a fool or [a]like a dog enticed by food to the muzzle
23 Till a dart [of passion] pierces and inflames his vitals; then like a bird fluttering straight into the net [he hastens], not knowing that it will cost him his life.
24 Listen to me now therefore, O you sons, and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart incline toward her ways, do not stray into her paths.
26 For she has cast down many wounded; indeed, all her slain are a mighty host.(A)
27 Her house is the way to Sheol (Hades, the place of the dead), going down to the chambers of death.
13 I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in [a]the peculiar services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, [b]yes, eternal life.
14 And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us.
15 And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
16 If anyone sees his brother [believer] committing a sin that does not [lead to] death (the extinguishing of life), he will pray and [God] will give him life [yes, He will grant life to all those whose sin is not one leading to death]. There is a sin [that leads] to death; I do not say that one should pray for that.
17 All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin which does not [involve] death [that may be repented of and forgiven].
18 We know [absolutely] that anyone born of God does not [deliberately and knowingly] practice committing sin, but the One Who was begotten of God carefully watches over and protects him [Christ’s divine presence within him preserves him against the evil], and the wicked one does not lay hold (get a grip) on him or touch [him].
19 We know [positively] that we are of God, and the whole world [around us] is under the power of the evil one.
20 And we [have seen and] know [positively] that the Son of God has [actually] come to this world and has given us understanding and insight [progressively] to perceive (recognize) and come to know better and more clearly Him Who is true; and we are in Him Who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ (the Messiah). This [Man] is the true God and Life eternal.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols (false gods)—[from anything and everything that would occupy the place in your heart due to God, from any sort of substitute for Him that would take first place in your life]. Amen (so let it be).
55 Now the Jewish Passover was at hand, and many from the country went up to Jerusalem in order that they might purify and consecrate themselves before the Passover.
56 So they kept looking for Jesus and questioned among themselves as they were standing about in the temple [[a]area], What do you think? Will He not come to the Feast at all?
57 Now the chief priests and Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it to them, so that they might arrest Him.
12 So six days before the Passover Feast, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, who had died and whom He had raised from the dead.
2 So they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those at the table with Him.
3 Mary took a pound of ointment of pure liquid nard [a rare perfume] that was very expensive, and she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the whole house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4 But Judas Iscariot, the one of His disciples who was about to betray Him, said,
5 Why was this perfume not sold for 300 denarii [a year’s wages for an ordinary workman] and that [money] given to the poor (the destitute)?
6 Now he did not say this because he cared for the poor but because he was a thief; and having the bag (the money box, the purse of the Twelve), he took for himself what was put into it [pilfering the collections].
7 But Jesus said, Let her alone. It was [intended] that she should keep it for the time of My preparation for burial. [She has kept it that she might have it for the time of My [b]embalming.]
8 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me.
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