Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be jealous of those who do injustice.
2 For they will quickly wither like the grass,
and fade like the green herbs.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land, and practice faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret because of those who prosper in their way,
because of those who make wicked schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and forsake wrath;
do not fret—it surely leads to evil deeds.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will not be;
you will look diligently for their place, and it will not be.
11 But the meek will inherit the earth,
and will delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous,
and grind their teeth against them.
13 The Lord will laugh at him,
for He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword
and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay those on the upright path.
15 Their sword will enter into their own heart,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of people of integrity,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the evil time,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of pastures;
they will waste away, in smoke they will waste away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those who are blessed of Him will inherit the earth,
but those who are cursed of Him will be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord;
He delights in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not be hurled down,
for the Lord supports him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor their offspring begging bread.
26 The righteous are gracious and lend,
and their offspring are a source of blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good,
and abide forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and does not forsake His saints;
they are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and dwell on it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and their tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of their God is in their heart;
none of their steps will slip.
32 The wicked watch the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
33 The Lord will not forsake them to their hand,
nor condemn them when they are judged.
34 Hope in the Lord,
and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
and spreading himself like a luxuriant tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and he was not;
I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and consider the upright,
for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors will be destroyed together;
the end of the wicked is to be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their refuge in the time of distress.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
He will deliver them from the wicked,
and save them, because they take refuge in Him.
16 My face is inflamed with weeping,
and on my eyelids is the shadow of death,
17 though not for any violence in my hands,
and my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
and let my cry have no resting place.
19 Also now, look, my witness is in heaven,
and my record is on high.
20 My friends scorn me;
my eyes pour out tears unto God.
21 Oh, that one might plead for a man with God,
as a man pleads for his neighbor!
22 “For when a few years have passed,
I will go the way from which I will not return.
Job Prays for Relief
17 “My spirit is broken,
my days are extinguished,
the grave is ready for me.
13 If I wait, the grave is my house;
I have made my bed in the darkness.
14 I have said to the pit, ‘You are my father’;
to the worm, ‘You are my mother and my sister.’
15 Where now is my hope?
As for my hope, who will see it?
16 Will they go down to the gates of Sheol?
Will we descend together in the dust?”
Barnabas and Saul Commissioned
13 In the church that was in Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 As they worshipped the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
The Apostles Preach in Cyprus
4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John as an assistant.
6 When they had gone through the whole island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (which is his name by interpretation) opposed them, trying to divert the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, stared at him and said, 10 “You son of the devil, enemy of all righteousness, full of deceit and of all fraud, will you not cease perverting the right ways of the Lord? 11 Now, look! The hand of the Lord is against you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”
Immediately mist and darkness fell on him, and he went about seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed and was astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
The Healing of a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But it happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 I must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away and washed, and returned seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had previously seen that he was blind said, “Is this not he who sat and begged?” 9 Some said, “This is he.”
Others said, “He is like him.”
But he said, “I am he.”
10 So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “A Man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received my sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath day.”
Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” So there was division among them.
17 Then they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.