Book of Common Prayer
Zayin.
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
[a]In which You have made me hope.
50 This is my (A)comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has [b]revived me.
51 The arrogant (B)utterly deride me,
Yet I do not (C)turn aside from Your law.
52 I have (D)remembered Your ordinances from [c]of old, O Lord,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning (E)indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who (F)forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my (G)pilgrimage.
55 O Lord, I (H)remember Your name (I)in the night,
And keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
[d]That I (J)observe Your precepts.
Heth.
57 The Lord is my (K)portion;
I have [e]promised to (L)keep Your words.
58 I (M)sought Your favor (N)with all my heart;
(O)Be gracious to me (P)according to Your [f]word.
59 I (Q)considered my ways
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The (R)cords of the wicked have encircled me,
But I have (S)not forgotten Your law.
62 At (T)midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your (U)righteous ordinances.
63 I am a (V)companion of all those who [g]fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 (W)The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord;
(X)Teach me Your statutes.
Teth.
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [h](Y)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (Z)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (AA)good and (AB)do good;
(AC)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [i]have (AD)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (AE)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [j](AF)covered with fat,
But I (AG)delight in Your law.
71 It is (AH)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (AI)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my [b]foes surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No man can by any means (K)redeem his brother
Or give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [c]his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not [d](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The (Q)stupid and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [e](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)called their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his [f]pomp will not endure;
He is like the [g]beasts that [h]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. [i]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for [j]Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [k]Sheol (AA)to consume
[l]So that they have no habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [m]power of [n]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [o]glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he will (AE)carry nothing away;
His [p]glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [q]himself—
And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [r]He shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Man in his [s]pomp, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the [t]beasts that [u]perish.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.
53 (A)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
(B)There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is (C)anyone who [c]understands,
Who (D)seeks after God.
3 (E)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Have the workers of wickedness (F)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great [d]fear (G)where no [e]fear had been;
For God (H)scattered the bones of [f]him who encamped against you;
You (I)put them to shame, because (J)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (K)the salvation of Israel [g]would come out of Zion!
When God [h]restores His captive people,
[i]Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Job’s Past Was Glorious
29 And Job again took up his (A)discourse and said,
Job’s Present State Is Humiliating
30 “But now those younger than I (A)mock me,
Whose fathers I disdained to put with the dogs of my flock.
2 “Indeed, what good was the strength of their hands to me?
Vigor had perished from them.
16 “And now (A)my soul is poured out [a]within me;
Days of affliction have seized me.
17 “At night it pierces (B)my bones [b]within me,
And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18 “By a great force my garment is (C)distorted;
It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19 “He has cast me into the (D)mire,
And I have become like dust and ashes.
20 “I (E)cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;
I stand up, and You turn Your attention against me.
21 “You have [c]become cruel to me;
With the might of Your hand You (F)persecute me.
22 “You (G)lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride;
And You dissolve me in a storm.
23 “For I know that You (H)will bring me to death
And to the (I)house of meeting for all living.
24 “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,
Or in his disaster therefore (J)cry out for help?
25 “Have I not (K)wept for the [d]one whose life is hard?
Was not my soul grieved for (L)the needy?
26 “When I (M)expected good, then evil came;
When I waited for light, (N)then darkness came.
27 “[e]I am seething (O)within and cannot relax;
Days of affliction confront me.
28 “I go about [f](P)mourning without comfort;
I stand up in the assembly and (Q)cry out for help.
29 “I have become a brother to (R)jackals
And a companion of ostriches.
30 “My (S)skin turns black [g]on me,
And my (T)bones burn with [h]fever.
31 “Therefore my (U)harp [i]is turned to mourning,
And my flute to the sound of those who weep.
19 But (A)Jews came from (B)Antioch and (C)Iconium, and having won over the crowds, they (D)stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 But while (E)the disciples stood around him, he got up and entered the city. The next day he went away with Barnabas to (F)Derbe. 21 After they had (G)preached the gospel to that city and had (H)made many disciples, they returned to (I)Lystra and to (J)Iconium and to (K)Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of (L)the disciples, encouraging them to continue in (M)the faith, and saying, “(N)Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” 23 When (O)they had appointed (P)elders for them in every church, having (Q)prayed with fasting, they (R)commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
24 They passed through (S)Pisidia and came into (T)Pamphylia. 25 When they had spoken the word in (U)Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26 From there they sailed to (V)Antioch, from (W)which they had been (X)commended to the grace of God for the work that they had [a]accomplished. 27 When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to (Y)report all things that God had done with them and [b]how He had opened a (Z)door of faith to the Gentiles. 28 And they spent [c]a long time with (AA)the disciples.
The Death and Resurrection of Lazarus
11 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of (A)Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister (B)Martha. 2 It was the Mary who (C)anointed (D)the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “(E)Lord, behold, (F)he whom You love is sick.” 4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for (G)the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.” 5 Now Jesus loved (H)Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was. 7 Then after this He *said to the disciples, “(I)Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples *said to Him, “(J)Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking (K)to stone You, and are You going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “(L)Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 This He said, and after that He *said to them, “Our (M)friend Lazarus (N)has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.” 12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will [a]recover.” 13 Now (O)Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of [b]literal sleep. 14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.” 16 (P)Therefore Thomas, who is called [c](Q)Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, so that we may die with Him.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.