Book of Common Prayer
We Wept When We Remembered Zion
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat and also (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our lyres.
3 For there our captors (E)asked us about the words of a song,
And (F)our tormentors asked joyfully, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of (G)Yahweh
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [b]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 [c](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Tear it down! Tear it down
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you (M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [d]the recompense with which you have recompensed us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your infants
Against the cliff.
Blessed Be Yahweh, My Rock
Of David.
144 Blessed be Yahweh, (A)my rock,
Who (B)trains my hands for war,
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 Yahweh, (G)what is man, that You know him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like a breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 O Yahweh, (J)bow Your heavens, 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 Send forth Your hand (O)from on high;
Set me free and (P)deliver me out of many waters,
Out of the hand of (Q)foreigners
8 Whose mouth (R)speaks worthlessness,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of lying.
9 O God, I will sing a (T)new song to You;
Upon a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)sets David His servant free from the evil sword.
11 Set me free and deliver me out of the hand of the sons of a (X)foreigner,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks worthlessness
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of lying.
12 That our sons would be as (AA)grown-up plants in their youth,
And our daughters as (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned as for a palace;
13 That our (AC)granaries would be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks would bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields outside;
14 That our (AD)cattle would [c]bear
Without [d](AE)mishap and without [e](AF)loss,
And without (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people for whom this is so;
How (AH)blessed are the people for whom God is Yahweh!
The Glory of Yahweh Endures Forever
104 (A)Bless Yahweh, O my soul!
O Yahweh my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Wrapping Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out the heavens like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He sets up the (F)clouds to be His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes His [e]angels (H)the winds,
His ministers flaming (I)fire.
5 He (J)founded the earth upon its place,
So that it will not [f]shake 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 in alarm.
8 The mountains went up; the valleys went down
To the (N)place which You founded 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 [g]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give water to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Above them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They give forth their voices among the branches.
13 [h]He (T)gives water to the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [i]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [j]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for man’s [k]cultivation,
To bring forth [l]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)To make his face glisten more than oil,
And [m]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of Yahweh are satisfied,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
The (AC)stork’s home is in the [n]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [o](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 so that it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest (AK)creep about.
21 The (AL)young lions roar to go after their prey
And to (AM)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they gather together
And lie down in their (AN)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AO)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 How (AP)numerous are Your works, O Yahweh!
[p]In (AQ)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AR)earth is full of Your [q]possessions.
25 This is the (AS)sea, great and [r]broad,
There the creeping things are without number,
Creatures both small and great.
26 There the (AT)ships move along,
And [s](AU)Leviathan, which You have formed to play in it.
27 They all (AV)wait for You
To (AW)give them their food in [t]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AX)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AY)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AZ)take away their [u]spirit, they breathe their last
And (BA)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [v](BB)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BC)glory of Yahweh endure forever;
Let Yahweh (BD)be glad in His works;
32 [w]He (BE)looks at the earth, and it (BF)trembles;
He (BG)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [x]I will sing to Yahweh (BH)throughout my life;
[y]I will (BI)sing praise to my God [z]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BJ)musing be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BK)be glad in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners be (BL)consumed from the earth
And let the (BM)wicked be no more.
(BN)Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
[aa](BO)Praise Yah!
12 And 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 to trespass the [a]command of Yahweh, either good or bad, (B)of my own [b]accord. (C)What Yahweh speaks, that I will speak’? 14 So 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 last days.”
Oracle of Balaam
15 Then 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 uncovered,
16 The oracle of him who hears the [c]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [d]Most High,
Who beholds the vision of the [e]Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes opened.
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 [f]forehead of Moab,
And [g]tear down all the sons of [h]Sheth.
18 (H)And Edom shall be a possession,
(I)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 And one from Jacob shall have dominion,
And will make the survivor perish from the city.”
20 Then he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
21 Then he looked at the (K)Kenite and took up his discourse and said,
“Your habitation is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will be consumed;
How long will (L)Asshur [j]keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Woe, who can live except when 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 went and returned to (P)his place, and Balak also went his way.
Present Suffering and Future Glory
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 eagerly waits 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, in hope 21 [a]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)eagerly waiting for our adoption as sons, (O)the redemption of our body. 24 For (P)in hope we were 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 eagerly wait for it.
The Sadducees and the Resurrection
23 (A)On that day some (B)Sadducees (who say (C)there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and asked Him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘(D)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up a seed for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no [a]seed, he left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 And 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 [b]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, saying, 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 And when the crowds heard this, (H)they were astonished at His teaching.
The Foremost Commandment
34 (I)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (J)the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. 35 And one of them, (K)a scholar of the Law, 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 [c]Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [d]foremost commandment. 39 And the second is like it, ‘(M)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (N)On these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.