Book of Common Prayer
ק Qoph.
145 I have called with my whole heart; answer me, O Jehovah:
I will keep thy statutes.
146 I have called unto thee; save me,
And I shall observe thy testimonies.
147 I anticipated the dawning of the morning, and cried:
I hoped in thy words.
148 Mine eyes anticipated the night-watches,
That I might meditate on thy word.
149 Hear my voice according unto thy lovingkindness:
Quicken me, O Jehovah, [a]according to thine ordinances.
150 They draw nigh [b]that follow after wickedness;
They are far from thy law.
151 Thou art nigh, O Jehovah;
And all thy commandments are truth.
152 Of old have I known from thy testimonies,
That thou hast founded them for ever.
ר Resh.
153 Consider mine affliction, and deliver me;
For I do not forget thy law.
154 Plead thou my cause, and redeem me:
Quicken me according to thy word.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked;
For they seek not thy statutes.
156 Great are thy tender mercies, O Jehovah:
Quicken me according to thine ordinances.
157 Many are my persecutors and mine adversaries;
Yet have I not swerved from thy testimonies.
158 I beheld the treacherous, and [c]was grieved,
Because they observe not thy word.
159 Consider how I love thy precepts:
Quicken me, O Jehovah, according to thy lovingkindness.
160 The sum of thy word is truth;
And every one of thy righteous ordinances endureth for ever.
ש Shin.
161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause;
But my heart standeth in awe of thy words.
162 I rejoice at thy word,
As one that findeth great spoil.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood;
But thy law do I love.
164 Seven times a day do I praise thee,
Because of thy righteous ordinances.
165 Great peace have they that love thy law;
And they have no occasion of stumbling.
166 I have hoped for thy salvation, O Jehovah,
And have done thy commandments.
167 My soul hath observed thy testimonies;
And I love them exceedingly.
168 I have observed thy precepts and thy testimonies;
For all my ways are before thee.
ת Tav.
169 Let my cry come near before thee, O Jehovah:
Give me understanding according to thy word.
170 Let my supplication come before thee:
Deliver me according to thy word.
171 Let my lips utter praise;
For thou teachest me thy statutes.
172 Let my tongue sing of thy word;
For all thy commandments are righteousness.
173 Let thy hand be ready to help me;
For I have chosen thy precepts.
174 I have longed for thy salvation, O Jehovah;
And thy law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, and it shall praise thee;
And let thine ordinances help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
seek thy servant;
For I do not forget thy commandments.
Blessedness of the fear of Jehovah.
A Song of Ascents.
128 Blessed is every one that feareth Jehovah,
That walketh in his ways.
2 For thou shalt eat the labor of thy hands:
Happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
3 Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine,
In the innermost parts of thy house;
Thy children like olive plants,
Round about thy table.
4 Behold, thus shall the man be blessed
That feareth Jehovah.
5 Jehovah bless thee out of Zion:
And see thou the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6 Yea, see thou thy children’s children.
[a]Peace be upon Israel.
Prayer for the overthrow of Zion’s enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
[b]129 Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up,
Let Israel now say,
2 [c]Many a time have they afflicted me from my youth up:
Yet they have not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They made long their furrows.
4 Jehovah is righteous:
He hath cut asunder the cords of the wicked.
5 Let them be put to shame and turned backward,
All they that hate Zion.
6 Let them be as the grass upon the housetops,
Which withereth before it [d]groweth up;
7 Wherewith the reaper filleth not his hand,
Nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosom:
8 Neither do they that go by say,
The blessing of Jehovah be upon you;
We bless you in the name of Jehovah.
Hope in the Lord’s forgiving love.
A Song of Ascents.
130 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Jehovah.
2 Lord, hear my voice:
Let thine ears be attentive
To the voice of my supplications.
3 If thou, [e]Jehovah, shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, who could stand?
4 But there is forgiveness with thee,
That thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for Jehovah, my soul doth wait,
And in his word do I hope.
6 My soul waiteth for the Lord
More than watchmen wait for the morning;
Yea, more than watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, hope in Jehovah;
For with Jehovah there is lovingkindness,
And with him is plenteous redemption.
8 And he will redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
2 Woe to them that devise iniquity and work evil upon their beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the power of their hand. 2 And they covet fields, and seize them; and houses, and take them away: and they oppress a man and his house, even a man and his heritage. 3 Therefore thus saith Jehovah: Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye shall not remove your necks, neither shall ye walk haughtily; for it is an evil time. 4 In that day shall they take up a parable against you, and lament [a]with a doleful lamentation, and say, We are utterly ruined: he changeth the portion of my people: how doth he [b]remove it from me! to the rebellious he divideth our fields. 5 Therefore thou shalt have none that shall cast the line by lot in the assembly of Jehovah.
6 [c]Prophesy ye not, thus they prophesy. They shall not prophesy [d]to these: reproaches shall not depart. 7 [e]Shall it be said, O house of Jacob, Is the Spirit of Jehovah [f]straitened? are these his doings? Do not my words do good to him that walketh uprightly? 8 But [g]of late my people is risen up as an enemy: ye strip the robe from off the garment from them that pass by securely as men averse from war. 9 The women of my people ye cast out from their pleasant houses; from their young children ye take away my glory for ever. 10 Arise ye, and depart; for this is not your resting-place; because of uncleanness that destroyeth, even with a grievous destruction. 11 If a man walking [h]in a spirit of falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people.
12 I will surely assemble, O Jacob, all of thee; I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as a flock in the midst of their pasture; they shall make great noise by reason of the multitude of men. 13 The breaker is gone up before them: they have broken forth and passed on to the gate, and are gone out thereat; and their king is passed on before them, and Jehovah at the head of them.
23 And he called unto him two of the centurions, and said, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night: 24 and he bade them provide beasts, that they might set Paul thereon, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. 25 And he wrote a letter after this form:
26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix, greeting. 27 This man was seized by the Jews, and was about to be slain of them, when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. 28 And desiring to know the cause wherefore they accused him, [a]I brought him down unto their council: 29 whom I found to be accused about questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. 30 And when it was shown to me that there would be a plot [b]against the man, I sent him to thee forthwith, charging his accusers also to speak against him before thee. [c]
31 So the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 But on the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: 33 and they, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul also before him. 34 And when he had read it, he asked of what province he was; and when he understood that he was of Cilicia, 35 I will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s [d]palace.
18 And the disciples of John told him of all these things. 19 And John calling unto him [a]two of his disciples sent them to the Lord, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? 20 And when the men were come unto him, they said, John the Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he that cometh, or look we for another? 21 In that hour he cured many of diseases and [b]plagues and evil spirits; and on many that were blind he bestowed sight. 22 And he answered and said unto them, Go and tell John the things which ye have seen and heard; the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have [c]good tidings preached to them. 23 And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.
24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to behold? a reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out to see? a man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. 26 But what went ye out to see? a prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he of whom it is written,
[d]Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
Who shall prepare thy way before thee.
28 I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there is none greater than John: yet he that is [e]but little in the kingdom of God is greater than he. 29 And all the people when they heard, and the [f]publicans, justified God, [g]being baptized with the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected for themselves the counsel of God, [h]being not baptized of him. 31 Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation, and to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children that sit in the marketplace, and call one to another; who say, We piped unto you, and ye did not dance; we wailed, and ye did not weep. 33 For John the Baptist is come eating no bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a demon. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of [i]publicans and sinners! 35 And wisdom [j]is justified of all her children.
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