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.
The Song of Deborah and Barak
5 (A)Then Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam sang on that day, saying,
2 “(B)That [a]the leaders led in Israel,
That (C)the people volunteered,
Bless the Lord!
3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O rulers!
(D)I—to the Lord, I will sing,
I will sing praise to the Lord, the God of Israel.
4 “(E)Lord, when You went out from Seir,
When You marched from the field of Edom,
(F)The earth quaked, the heavens also dripped,
Even the clouds dripped water.
5 “(G)The mountains [b]quaked at the presence of the Lord,
(H)This Sinai, at the presence of the Lord, the God of Israel.
6 “In the days of (I)Shamgar the son of Anath,
In the days of (J)Jael, the highways [c]were deserted,
And travelers [d]went by [e]roundabout ways.
7 “The peasantry ceased, they ceased in Israel,
Until I, Deborah, arose,
Until I arose, a mother in Israel.
8 “(K)New gods were chosen;
Then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or a spear was seen
Among forty thousand in Israel.
9 “My heart goes out to (L)the commanders of Israel,
The volunteers among the people;
Bless the Lord!
10 “(M)You who ride on [f]white donkeys,
You who sit on rich carpets,
And you who travel on the road—[g]sing!
11 “At the sound of those who divide flocks among (N)the watering places,
There they shall recount (O)the righteous deeds of the Lord,
The righteous deeds for His [h]peasantry in Israel.
Then the people of the Lord went down (P)to the gates.
12 “(Q)Awake, awake, Deborah;
Awake, awake, [i]sing a song!
Arise, Barak, and (R)take away your captives, O son of Abinoam.
13 “Then survivors came down to the nobles;
The people of the Lord came down to me as warriors.
14 “From Ephraim those whose root is (S)in Amalek came down,
Following you, Benjamin, with your peoples;
From Machir commanders came down,
And from Zebulun those who wield the staff of [j]office.
15 “And the [k]princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
As was Issachar, so was Barak;
Into the valley they rushed (T)at his [l]heels;
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great resolves of heart.
16 “Why did you sit among (U)the [m]sheepfolds,
To hear the piping for the flocks?
Among the divisions of Reuben
There were great searchings of heart.
17 “(V)Gilead [n]remained across the Jordan;
And why did Dan stay in ships?
Asher sat at the seashore,
And [o]remained by its landings.
18 “(W)Zebulun was a people who despised their lives even to death,
And Naphtali also, on the high places of the field.
The Day of Pentecost
2 When (A)the day of Pentecost [a]had come, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled (B)the whole house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared to them tongues as of fire [b]distributing themselves, and [c]they [d]rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all (C)filled with the Holy Spirit and began to (D)speak with other [e]tongues, as the Spirit was giving them [f]utterance.
5 Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, (E)devout men from every nation under heaven. 6 And when (F)this sound occurred, the crowd came together, and were bewildered because each one of them was hearing them speak in his own [g]language. 7 (G)They were amazed and astonished, saying, “[h]Why, are not all these who are speaking (H)Galileans? 8 And how is it that we each hear them in our own [i]language [j]to which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes and Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and (I)Cappadocia, (J)Pontus and [k](K)Asia, 10 (L)Phrygia and (M)Pamphylia, Egypt and the districts of Libya around (N)Cyrene, and [l](O)visitors from Rome, both Jews and [m](P)proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them in our own tongues speaking of the mighty deeds of God.” 12 And (Q)they all continued in amazement and great perplexity, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others were mocking and saying, “(R)They are full of [n]sweet wine.”
Peter’s Sermon
14 But Peter, [o]taking his stand with (S)the eleven, raised his voice and declared to them: “Men of Judea and all you who live in Jerusalem, let this be known to you and give heed to my words. 15 For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, (T)for it is only the [p]third hour of the day; 16 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel:
17 ‘(U)And it shall be in the last days,’ God says,
‘That I will pour forth of My Spirit on all [q]mankind;
And your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams;
18 Even on My bondslaves, both men and women,
I will in those days pour forth of My Spirit
And they shall prophesy.
19 ‘And I will grant wonders in the sky above
And signs on the earth below,
Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.
20 ‘The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood,
Before the great and glorious day of the Lord shall come.
21 ‘And it shall be that (V)everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’
Jesus Is Risen!
28 (A)Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, (B)Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave. 2 And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for (C)an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away (D)the stone and sat upon it. 3 And (E)his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. 4 The guards shook for fear of him and became like dead men. 5 The angel said to the women, “[a](F)Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. 6 He is not here, for He has risen, (G)just as He said. Come, see the place where He was lying. 7 Go quickly and tell His disciples that He has risen from the dead; and behold, He is going ahead of you (H)into Galilee, there you will see Him; behold, I have told you.”
8 And they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them [b]and greeted them. And they came up and took hold of His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus *said to them, “[c](I)Do not be afraid; go and take word to (J)My brethren to leave (K)for Galilee, and there they will see Me.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.