Book of Common Prayer
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our [b]harps.
3 For there our captors [c](E)demanded of us [d]songs,
And (F)our tormentors mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing (G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [f](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Raze it, raze it
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [h]the recompense with which you have repaid us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your little ones
Against the rock.
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, (A)my rock,
Who (B)trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My lovingkindness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my deliverer,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 O Lord, (G)what is man, that You take knowledge of him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like a mere breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (J)Bow Your heavens, O Lord, and (K)come down;
(L)Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth (M)lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your (N)arrows and confuse them.
7 Stretch forth Your hand (O)from on high;
Rescue me and (P)deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hand of (Q)aliens
8 Whose mouths (R)speak deceit,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a (T)new song to You, O God;
Upon a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)rescues David His servant from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me out of the hand of (X)aliens,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks deceit
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 Let our sons in their youth be as (AA)grown-up plants,
And our daughters as (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned as for a palace;
13 Let our (AC)garners be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our [c]fields;
14 Let our (AD)cattle [d]bear
Without [e](AE)mishap and without [f](AF)loss,
Let there be no (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people who are so situated;
How (AH)blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [h]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give drink to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 [i]Beside them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They [j]lift up their voices among the branches.
13 [k]He (T)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [l]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [m]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for the [n]labor of man,
So that [o]he may bring forth [p]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)So that he may make his face glisten with oil,
And [q]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [r]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
And the (AC)stork, whose home is the [s]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [t](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest [u]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar after their prey
[v]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw
And lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 O Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[w]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [x]possessions.
25 [y]There is the (AR)sea, great and [z]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 There the (AS)ships move along,
And [aa](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to sport in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [ab]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AW)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AX)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AY)take away their [ac]spirit, they expire
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [ad](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
Let the Lord (BC)be glad in His works;
32 [ae]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [af]I will sing to the Lord [ag](BG)as long as I live;
[ah]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ai]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BI)meditation be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)be glad in the Lord.
35 Let sinners be (BK)consumed from the earth
And let the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, O my soul.
[aj](BN)Praise [ak]the Lord!
12 Balaam said to Balak, “(A)Did I not tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the [a]command of the Lord, either good or bad, (B)of my own [b]accord. (C)What the Lord speaks, that I will speak’? 14 And now, behold, (D)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the [c]days to come.”
15 He took up his discourse and said,
“(E)The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the oracle of the man whose eye is opened,
16 The oracle of him who hears the [d]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [e]Most High,
Who sees the vision of [f]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered.
17 “I see him, but not now;
I behold him, but not near;
A star shall come forth from Jacob,
(F)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(G)And shall crush through the [g]forehead of Moab,
And [h]tear down all the sons of [i]Sheth.
18 “(H)Edom shall be a possession,
(I)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 “One from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will destroy the remnant from the city.”
20 And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
21 And he looked at the (K)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,
“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 “Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will (L)Asshur [k]keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Alas, who can live except God has ordained it?
24 “But ships shall come from the coast of (M)Kittim,
And they shall afflict Asshur and will afflict (N)Eber;
(O)So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose and departed and returned to (P)his place, and Balak also went his way.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (A)are not worthy to be compared with the (B)glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the (C)anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for (D)the revealing of the (E)sons of God. 20 For the creation (F)was subjected to (G)futility, not willingly, but (H)because of Him who subjected it, [a]in hope 21 that (I)the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (J)groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 (K)And not only this, but also we ourselves, having (L)the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves (M)groan within ourselves, (N)waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, (O)the redemption of our body. 24 For (P)in hope we have been saved, but (Q)hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But (R)if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Jesus Answers the Sadducees
23 (A)On that day some (B)Sadducees (who say (C)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘(D)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, (E)not [a]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither (F)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘(G)I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, (H)they were astonished at His teaching.
34 (I)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (J)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 One of them, [b](K)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘(L)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [c]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘(M)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (N)On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.