Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Deliverance from the Treacherous.
A Song of [a]Ascents.
120 (A)In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from (B)lying lips,
From a (C)deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You (D)deceitful tongue?
4 (E)Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning (F)coals of the broom tree.
5 Woe is me, for I sojourn in (G)Meshech,
For I dwell among the (H)tents of (I)Kedar!
6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who (J)hate peace.
7 I (K)am for peace, but when I speak,
They are (L)for war.
The Lord the Keeper of Israel.
A Song of Ascents.
121 I will (M)lift up my eyes to (N)the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My (O)help comes from the Lord,
Who (P)made heaven and earth.
3 He will not (Q)allow your foot to slip;
He who (R)keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord is your (S)keeper;
The Lord is your (T)shade on your right hand.
6 The (U)sun will not smite you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will [b](V)protect you from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
8 The Lord will [c](W)guard your going out and your coming in
(X)From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
122 I was glad when they said to me,
“Let us (Y)go to the house of the Lord.”
2 Our feet are standing
Within your (Z)gates, O Jerusalem,
3 Jerusalem, that is (AA)built
As a city that is (AB)compact together;
4 To which the tribes (AC)go up, even the tribes of [d]the Lord—
[e]An ordinance for Israel—
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.
5 For there (AD)thrones were set for judgment,
The thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the (AE)peace of Jerusalem:
“May they prosper who (AF)love you.
7 “May peace be within your (AG)walls,
And prosperity within your (AH)palaces.”
8 For the sake of my (AI)brothers and my friends,
I will now say, “(AJ)May peace be within you.”
9 For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will (AK)seek your good.
Prayer for the Lord’s Help.
A Song of Ascents.
123 To You I (AL)lift up my eyes,
O You who (AM)are enthroned in the heavens!
2 Behold, as the eyes of (AN)servants look to the hand of their master,
As the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our (AO)eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious to us.
3 (AP)Be gracious to us, O Lord, be gracious to us,
For we are greatly filled (AQ)with contempt.
4 Our soul is greatly filled
With the (AR)scoffing of (AS)those who are at ease,
And with the (AT)contempt of the proud.
Praise for Rescue from Enemies.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
124 “(AU)Had it not been the Lord who was on our side,”
(AV)Let Israel now say,
2 “Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
When men rose up against us,
3 Then they would have (AW)swallowed us alive,
When their (AX)anger was kindled against us;
4 Then the (AY)waters would have engulfed us,
The stream would have [f]swept over our soul;
5 Then the (AZ)raging waters would have [g]swept over our soul.”
6 Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us [h]to be (BA)torn by their teeth.
7 Our soul has (BB)escaped (BC)as a bird out of the (BD)snare of the trapper;
The snare is broken and we have escaped.
8 Our (BE)help is in the name of the Lord,
Who (BF)made heaven and earth.
The Lord Surrounds His People.
A Song of Ascents.
125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are as Mount Zion, which (BG)cannot be moved but (BH)abides forever.
2 As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (BI)the Lord surrounds His people
(BJ)From this time forth and forever.
3 For the (BK)scepter of wickedness shall not rest upon the [i]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (BL)will not put forth their hands to do wrong.
4 (BM)Do good, O Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are (BN)upright in their hearts.
5 But as for those who (BO)turn aside to their (BP)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with the (BQ)doers of iniquity.
(BR)Peace be upon Israel.
Thanksgiving for Return from Captivity.
A Song of Ascents.
126 When the Lord (BS)brought back [j]the captive ones of Zion,
We were (BT)like those who dream.
2 Then our (BU)mouth was filled with laughter
And our (BV)tongue with joyful shouting;
Then they said among the nations,
“The Lord has (BW)done great things for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things for us;
We are (BX)glad.
4 Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the [k](BY)streams in the [l]South.
5 Those who sow in (BZ)tears shall reap with (CA)joyful shouting.
6 He who goes to and fro weeping, carrying his bag of seed,
Shall indeed come again with a shout of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
Prosperity Comes from the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of Solomon.
127 Unless the Lord (CB)builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord (CC)guards the city,
The watchman keeps awake in vain.
2 It is vain for you to rise up early,
To [m]retire late,
To (CD)eat the bread of [n]painful labors;
For He gives to His (CE)beloved (CF)even in his sleep.
3 Behold, (CG)children are a [o]gift of the Lord,
The (CH)fruit of the womb is a reward.
4 Like arrows in the hand of a (CI)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
5 How (CJ)blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
(CK)They will not be ashamed
When they (CL)speak with their enemies (CM)in the gate.
4 Thus says the Lord my God, “Pasture the flock doomed to (A)slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slay them and [a]go (B)unpunished, and each of those who sell them says, ‘Blessed be the Lord, for (C)I have become rich!’ And their (D)own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will (E)no longer have pity on the inhabitants of the land,” declares the Lord; “but behold, I will (F)cause the men to [b]fall, each into another’s [c]power and into the [d]power of his king; and they will strike the land, and I will (G)not deliver them from their [e]power.”
7 So I (H)pastured the flock doomed to slaughter, [f]hence the (I)afflicted of the flock. And I took for myself two (J)staffs: the one I called [g](K)Favor and the other I called [h](L)Union; so I pastured the flock. 8 Then I annihilated the three shepherds in (M)one month, for my soul was impatient with them, and their soul also [i]was weary of me. 9 Then I said, “I will not pasture you. What is to (N)die, [j]let it die, and what is to be annihilated, [k]let it be annihilated; and [l]let those who are left eat one another’s flesh.” 10 I took my staff [m](O)Favor and cut it in pieces, to [n](P)break my covenant which I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was [o]broken on that day, and [p]thus the (Q)afflicted of the flock who were watching me realized that it was the word of the Lord. 12 I said to them, “If it is good in your sight, give me my (R)wages; but if not, [q]never mind!” So they weighed out (S)thirty shekels of silver as my wages. 13 Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the (T)potter, that magnificent price at which I was valued by them.” So I took the thirty shekels of silver and threw them to the potter in the house of the Lord. 14 Then I cut in pieces my second staff [r](U)Union, to (V)break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
15 The Lord said to me, “Take again for yourself the equipment of a [s](W)foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am going to raise up a shepherd in the land who will (X)not care for the perishing, seek the scattered, heal the broken, or sustain the one standing, but will (Y)devour the flesh of the fat sheep and tear off their hoofs.
10 According to (A)the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder (B)I laid a foundation, and (C)another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. 11 For no man can lay a (D)foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, [a]precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 (E)each man’s work will become evident; for (F)the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test [b]the quality of each man’s work. 14 If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will (G)receive a reward. 15 If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet (H)so as through fire.
16 (I)Do you not know that (J)you are a [c]temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the [d]temple of God, God will destroy him, for the [e]temple of God is holy, and [f]that is what you are.
18 (K)Let no man deceive himself. (L)If any man among you thinks that he is wise in (M)this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. 19 For (N)the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is (O)the one who catches the wise in their craftiness”; 20 and again, “(P)The Lord knows the reasonings of the wise, that they are useless.” 21 So then (Q)let no one boast in men. For (R)all things belong to you, 22 (S)whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or (T)life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you, 23 and (U)you belong to Christ; and (V)Christ belongs to God.
31 (A)Then He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, (B)we are going up to Jerusalem, and (C)all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. 32 (D)For He will be [a]handed over to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon, 33 and after they have scourged Him, they will kill Him; and the third day He will rise again.” 34 But (E)the disciples understood none of these things, and the meaning of this statement was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend the things that were said.
Bartimaeus Receives Sight
35 (F)As [b](G)Jesus was approaching Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road begging. 36 Now hearing a crowd going by, he began to inquire what this was. 37 They told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing by. 38 And he called out, saying, “Jesus, (H)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 39 Those who led the way were sternly telling him to be quiet; but he kept crying out all the more, “(I)Son of David, have mercy on me!” 40 And Jesus stopped and commanded that he be brought to Him; and when he came near, He questioned him, 41 “What do you want Me to do for you?” And he said, “Lord, I want to regain my sight!” 42 And Jesus said to him, “[c]Receive your sight; (J)your faith has [d]made you well.” 43 Immediately he regained his sight and began following Him, (K)glorifying God; and when (L)all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.