Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, O God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]Let the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]Let them fear You (G)while the sun endures,
And [i]as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 In his days [k]may the (J)righteous flourish,
And (K)abundance of peace till the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea
And from the River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]Let (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]Let the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring presents;
The kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer [o]gifts.
11 [p]And let all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)deliver the needy when he cries for help,
The [q]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And the [r]lives of the needy he will save.
14 He will [s](Y)rescue their [t]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let [u]them pray for him continually;
Let [v]them bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain in the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name [w]increase [x](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And let men (AF)bless themselves by him;
(AG)Let all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen, and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Yodh.
73 (A)Your hands made me and [a]fashioned me;
(B)Give me understanding, that I may learn Your commandments.
74 May those who [b]fear You (C)see me and be glad,
Because I [c](D)wait for Your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are (E)righteous,
And that (F)in faithfulness You have afflicted me.
76 O may Your lovingkindness [d]comfort me,
According to Your [e]word to Your servant.
77 May (G)Your compassion come to me that I may live,
For Your law is my (H)delight.
78 May (I)the arrogant be ashamed, for they subvert me (J)with a lie;
But I shall (K)meditate on Your precepts.
79 May those who [f]fear You turn to me,
Even those who know Your testimonies.
80 May my heart be [g](L)blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not (M)be ashamed.
Kaph.
81 My (N)soul languishes for Your salvation;
I [h](O)wait for Your word.
82 My (P)eyes fail with longing for Your [i]word,
[j]While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I have (Q)become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do (R)not forget Your statutes.
84 How many are the (S)days of Your servant?
When will You (T)execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have (U)dug pits for me,
Men who are not [k]in accord with Your law.
86 All Your commandments are (V)faithful;
They have (W)persecuted me with a lie; (X)help me!
87 They almost destroyed me [l]on earth,
But as for me, I (Y)did not forsake Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your lovingkindness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Lamedh.
89 (Z)Forever, O Lord,
Your word [m]is settled in heaven.
90 Your (AA)faithfulness continues [n]throughout all generations;
You (AB)established the earth, and it (AC)stands.
91 They stand this day according to Your (AD)ordinances,
For (AE)all things are Your servants.
92 If Your law had not been my (AF)delight,
Then I would have perished (AG)in my affliction.
93 I will (AH)never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have [o](AI)revived me.
94 I am Yours, (AJ)save me;
For I have (AK)sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked (AL)wait for me to destroy me;
I shall diligently consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen [p]a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
12 Now the sons of Israel again (A)did evil in the sight of the Lord. So (B)the Lord strengthened Eglon the king of Moab against Israel, because they had done evil in the sight of the Lord. 13 And he gathered to himself the sons of Ammon and Amalek; and he went and [a]defeated Israel, and they possessed (C)the city of the palm trees. 14 The sons of Israel served Eglon the king of Moab eighteen years.
Ehud Delivers from Moab
15 But when the sons of Israel (D)cried to the Lord, the Lord raised up a deliverer for them, Ehud the son of Gera, the Benjamite, a left-handed man. And the sons of Israel sent tribute by [b]him to Eglon the king of Moab. 16 Ehud made himself a sword which had two edges, a cubit in length, and he bound it on his right thigh under his cloak. 17 He presented the tribute to Eglon king of Moab. Now Eglon was a very fat man. 18 It came about when he had finished presenting the tribute, that he sent away the people who had carried the tribute. 19 But he himself turned back from the idols which were at Gilgal, and said, “I have a secret message for you, O king.” And he said, “Keep silence.” And all who attended him left him. 20 Ehud came to him while he was sitting alone in his cool roof chamber. And Ehud said, “I have a message from God for you.” And he arose from his seat. 21 Ehud stretched out his left hand, took the sword from his right thigh and thrust it into his belly. 22 The handle also went in after the blade, and the fat closed over the blade, for he did not draw the sword out of his belly; and the refuse came out. 23 Then Ehud went out into the vestibule and shut the doors of the roof chamber behind him, and locked them.
24 When he had gone out, his servants came and looked, and behold, the doors of the roof chamber were locked; and they said, “(E)He is only [c]relieving himself in the cool room.” 25 They waited until they [d]became anxious; but behold, he did not open the doors of the roof chamber. Therefore they took the key and opened them, and behold, their master had fallen to the [e]floor dead.
26 Now Ehud escaped while they were delaying, and he passed by the idols and escaped to Seirah. 27 It came about when he had arrived, that (F)he blew the trumpet in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel went down with him from the hill country, and he was in front of them. 28 He said to them, “Pursue them, for the Lord has given your enemies the Moabites into your hands.” So they went down after him and seized (G)the fords of the Jordan opposite Moab, and did not allow anyone to cross. 29 They struck down at that time about ten thousand Moabites, all robust and valiant men; and no one escaped. 30 So Moab was subdued that day under the hand of Israel. And the land was undisturbed for eighty years.
Introduction
1 The first account I [a]composed, (A)Theophilus, about all that Jesus (B)began to do and teach, 2 until the day when He (C)was taken up to heaven, after He (D)had [b]by the Holy Spirit given orders to (E)the apostles whom He had (F)chosen. 3 To [c]these (G)He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of (H)the things concerning the kingdom of God. 4 [d]Gathering them together, He commanded them (I)not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for [e](J)what the Father had promised, “Which,” He said, “you heard of from Me; 5 for (K)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized [f]with the Holy Spirit [g](L)not many days from now.”
6 So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying, “Lord, (M)is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which (N)the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you will receive power (O)when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be (P)My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and (Q)Samaria, and even to (R)the remotest part of the earth.”
The Ascension
9 And after He had said these things, (S)He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And as they were gazing intently into [h]the sky while He was going, behold, (T)two men in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They also said, “(U)Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into [i]the sky? This Jesus, who (V)has been taken up from you into heaven, will (W)come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.”
The Upper Room
12 Then they (X)returned to Jerusalem from the [j](Y)mount called [k]Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a [l]Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to (Z)the upper room where they were staying; (AA)that is, Peter and John and [m]James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, [n]James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and (AB)Judas the [o]son of [p]James. 14 These all with one mind (AC)were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with (AD)the women, and Mary the (AE)mother of Jesus, and with His (AF)brothers.
45 (A)Now from the [a]sixth hour darkness [b]fell upon all the land until the [c]ninth hour. 46 About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “(B)Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 47 And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 (C)Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. 49 But the rest of them said, “[d]Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him[e].” 50 And Jesus (D)cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 (E)And behold, (F)the [f]veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and (G)the earth shook and the rocks were split. 52 The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the [g]saints who had (H)fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered (I)the holy city and appeared to many. 54 (J)Now the centurion, and those who were with him (K)keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw (L)the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was [h](M)the Son of God!”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.