Book of Common Prayer
Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.
A Psalm of David.
37 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward wrongdoers.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
3 (E)Trust in the Lord and do good;
(F)Dwell in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (K)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
7 [b]Rest in the Lord and (M)wait [c]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will (R)inherit the land.
10 Yet (S)a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for (T)his place and he will not be there.
11 But (U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (V)abundant prosperity.
12 The wicked (W)plots against the righteous
And (X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (Y)laughs at him,
For He sees (Z)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AA)bent their bow
To cast down the (AB)afflicted and the needy,
To (AC)slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (AD)bows will be broken.
16 (AE)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord (AG)sustains the righteous.
18 The Lord (AH)knows the days of the [d]blameless,
And their (AI)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (AJ)in the days of famine they will have abundance.
20 But the (AK)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the [e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(AL)like smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (AM)is gracious and gives.
22 For (AN)those blessed by Him will (AO)inherit the land,
But those (AP)cursed by Him will be cut off.
23 (AQ)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He (AR)delights in his way.
24 When (AS)he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because (AT)the Lord is the One [f]who holds his hand.
25 I have been young and now I am old,
Yet (AU)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (AV)his [g]descendants begging bread.
26 All day long (AW)he is gracious and lends,
And (AX)his [h]descendants are a blessing.
27 (AY)Depart from evil and do good,
[i]So you will abide (AZ)forever.
28 For the Lord (BA)loves [j]justice
And (BB)does not forsake His godly ones;
They are (BC)preserved forever,
But the [k](BD)descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will (BE)inherit the land
And (BF)dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous (BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (BH)speaks justice.
31 The (BI)law of his God is in his heart;
His (BJ)steps do not slip.
32 The (BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (BL)seeks to kill him.
33 The Lord will (BM)not leave him in his hand
Or (BN)let him be condemned when he is judged.
34 (BO)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (BP)wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [l]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [m]he passed away, and lo, he (BS)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the [n](BT)blameless man, and behold the (BU)upright;
For the man of peace will have a [o](BV)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (BW)destroyed;
The [p]posterity of the wicked will be (BX)cut off.
39 But the (BY)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength (BZ)in time of trouble.
40 (CA)The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He (CB)delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they (CC)take refuge in Him.
16 “My face is flushed from (A)weeping,
(B)And deep darkness is on my eyelids,
17 Although there is no (C)violence in my hands,
And (D)my prayer is pure.
18 “O earth, do not cover my blood,
And let there be no resting place for my cry.
19 “Even now, behold, (E)my witness is in heaven,
And my [a]advocate is (F)on high.
20 “My friends are my scoffers;
(G)My eye [b]weeps to God.
21 “O that a man might plead with God
As a man with his neighbor!
22 “For when a few years are past,
I shall go the way (H)of no return.
Job Says He Has Become a Byword
First Missionary Journey
13 Now there were at (A)Antioch, in the (B)church that was there, (C)prophets and (D)teachers: (E)Barnabas, and Simeon who was called Niger, and Lucius of (F)Cyrene, and Manaen who had been brought up with (G)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, (H)the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me (I)Barnabas and Saul for (J)the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, when they had fasted and (K)prayed and (L)laid their hands on them, (M)they sent them away.
4 So, being (N)sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to (O)Cyprus. 5 When they reached Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in (P)the synagogues of the Jews; and they also had (Q)John as their helper. 6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they found a (R)magician, a Jewish (S)false prophet whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the (T)proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the (U)magician (for so his name is translated) was opposing them, seeking to turn the (V)proconsul away from (W)the faith. 9 But Saul, who was also known as Paul, [a](X)filled with the Holy Spirit, fixed his gaze on him, 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and fraud, you (Y)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to make crooked (Z)the straight ways of the Lord? 11 Now, behold, (AA)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and not see the sun for a time.” And immediately a mist and a darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking those who would lead him by the hand. 12 Then the (AB)proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at (AC)the teaching of the Lord.
Healing the Man Born Blind
9 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, “(A)Rabbi, who sinned, (B)this man or his (C)parents, that he would be born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so (D)that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 We must work the works of Him who sent Me (E)as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am (F)the Light of the world.” 6 When He had said this, He (G)spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and applied the clay to his eyes, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in (H)the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went away and (I)washed, and (J)came back seeing. 8 Therefore the neighbors, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, “Is not this the one who used to (K)sit and beg?” 9 Others were saying, “This is he,” still others were saying, “No, but he is like him.” [a]He kept saying, “I am the one.” 10 So they were saying to him, “How then were your eyes opened?” 11 He answered, “The man who is called Jesus made clay, and anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to (L)Siloam and wash’; so I went away and washed, and I received sight.” 12 They said to him, “Where is He?” He *said, “I do not know.”
Controversy over the Man
13 They *brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. 14 (M)Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 (N)Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, “He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see.” 16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He (O)does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such [b](P)signs?” And (Q)there was a division among them. 17 So they *said to the blind man (R)again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a (S)prophet.”
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