Book of Common Prayer
55 To the Overseer with stringed instruments. -- An instruction, by David. Give ear, O God, [to] my prayer, And hide not from my supplication.
2 Attend to me, and answer me, I mourn in my meditation, and make a noise,
3 Because of the voice of an enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked, For they cause sorrow to move against me, And in anger they hate me.
4 My heart is pained within me, And terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling come in to me, And horror doth cover me.
6 And I say, `Who doth give to me a pinion as a dove? I fly away and rest,
7 Lo, I move far off, I lodge in a wilderness. Selah.
8 I hasten escape for myself, From a rushing wind, from a whirlwind.
9 Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue, For I saw violence and strife in a city.
10 By day and by night they go round it, on its walls. Both iniquity and perverseness [are] in its midst,
11 Mischiefs [are] in its midst. Fraud and deceit depart not from its street.
12 For an enemy reproacheth me not, or I bear [it], He who is hating me Hath not magnified himself against me, Or I hide from him.
13 But thou, a man -- as mine equal, My familiar friend, and mine acquaintance.
14 When together we sweeten counsel, Into the house of God we walk in company.
15 Desolations [are] upon them, They go down [to] Sheol -- alive, For wickedness [is] in their dwelling, in their midst.
16 I -- to God I call, and Jehovah saveth me.
17 Evening, and morning, and noon, I meditate, and make a noise, and He heareth my voice,
18 He hath ransomed in peace my soul From him who is near to me, For with the multitude they were with me.
19 God doth hear and afflict them, And He sitteth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, and fear not God,
20 He hath sent forth his hands against his well-wishers, He hath polluted his covenant.
21 Sweeter than honey hath been his mouth, And his heart [is] war! Softer have been his words than oil, And they [are] drawn [swords].
22 Cast on Jehovah that which He hath given thee, And He doth sustain thee, He doth not suffer for ever the moving of the righteous.
23 And Thou, O God, dost bring them down To a pit of destruction, Men of blood and deceit reach not to half their days, And I -- I do trust in Thee!
138 By David. I confess Thee, with all my heart, Before the gods I do praise Thee.
2 I bow myself toward Thy holy temple, And I confess Thy name, For Thy kindness, and for Thy truth, For Thou hast made great Thy saying above all Thy name.
3 In the day I called, when Thou dost answer me, Thou dost strengthen me in my soul [with] strength.
4 O Jehovah, all kings of earth confess Thee, When they have heard the sayings of Thy mouth.
5 And they sing in the ways of Jehovah, For great [is] the honour of Jehovah.
6 For high [is] Jehovah, and the lowly He seeth, And the haughty from afar He knoweth.
7 If I walk in the midst of distress Thou quickenest me, Against the anger of mine enemies Thou sendest forth Thy hand, And Thy right hand doth save me.
8 Jehovah doth perfect for me, O Jehovah, Thy kindness [is] to the age, The works of Thy hands let not fall!
139 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm by David. Jehovah, Thou hast searched me, and knowest.
2 Thou -- Thou hast known my sitting down, And my rising up, Thou hast attended to my thoughts from afar.
3 My path and my couch Thou hast fanned, And [with] all my ways hast been acquainted.
4 For there is not a word in my tongue, Lo, O Jehovah, Thou hast known it all!
5 Behind and before Thou hast besieged me, And Thou dost place on me Thy hand.
6 Knowledge too wonderful for me, It hath been set on high, I am not able for it.
7 Whither do I go from Thy Spirit? And whither from Thy face do I flee?
8 If I ascend the heavens -- there Thou [art], And spread out a couch in Sheol, lo, Thee!
9 I take the wings of morning, I dwell in the uttermost part of the sea,
10 Also there Thy hand doth lead me, And Thy right hand doth hold me.
11 And I say, `Surely darkness bruiseth me, Then night [is] light to me.
12 Also darkness hideth not from Thee, And night as day shineth, as [is] darkness so [is] light.
13 For Thou -- Thou hast possessed my reins, Thou dost cover me in my mother's belly.
14 I confess Thee, because that [with] wonders I have been distinguished. Wonderful [are] Thy works, And my soul is knowing [it] well.
15 My substance was not hid from Thee, When I was made in secret, Curiously wrought in the lower part of earth.
16 Mine unformed substance Thine eyes saw, And on Thy book all of them are written, The days they were formed -- And not one among them.
17 And to me how precious have been Thy thoughts, O God, how great hath been their sum!
18 I recount them! than the sand they are more, I have waked, and I am still with Thee.
19 Dost Thou slay, O God, the wicked? Then, men of blood, turn aside from me!
20 Who exchange Thee for wickedness, Lifted up to vanity [are] Thine enemies.
21 Do not I hate, Jehovah, those hating Thee? And with Thy withstanders grieve myself?
22 [With] perfect hatred I have hated them, Enemies they have become to me.
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart, Try me, and know my thoughts,
51 Hearken unto Me, ye pursuing righteousness, Seeking Jehovah, Look attentively unto the rock -- ye have been hewn, And unto the hole of the pit -- ye have been digged.
2 Look attentively unto Abraham your father, And unto Sarah -- she bringeth you forth, For -- one -- I have called him, And I bless him, and multiply him.
3 For Jehovah hath comforted Zion, He hath comforted all her wastes, And He setteth her wilderness as Eden, And her desert as a garden of Jehovah, Joy, yea, gladness is found in her, Confession, and the voice of song.
4 Attend unto Me, O My people, And, O My nation, unto Me give ear. For a law from Me goeth out, And My judgment to the light, Peoples I do cause to rest.
5 Near [is] My righteousness, Gone out hath My salvation and Mine arms, Peoples they judge, on Me isles do wait, Yea, on Mine arm they do wait with hope.
6 Lift ye up to the heavens your eyes, And look attentively unto the earth beneath, For the heavens as smoke have vanished, And the earth as a garment weareth out, And its inhabitants as gnats do die, And My salvation is to the age, And My righteousness is not broken.
7 Hearken unto Me, ye who know righteousness, A people, in whose heart [is] My law, Fear ye not the reproach of men, And for their reviling be not affrighted,
8 For as a garment eat them doth a moth, And as wool eat them doth a worm, And My righteousness is to the age, And My salvation to all generations.
23 And before the coming of the faith, under law we were being kept, shut up to the faith about to be revealed,
24 so that the law became our child-conductor -- to Christ, that by faith we may be declared righteous,
25 and the faith having come, no more under a child-conductor are we,
26 for ye are all sons of God through the faith in Christ Jesus,
27 for as many as to Christ were baptized did put on Christ;
28 there is not here Jew or Greek, there is not here servant nor freeman, there is not here male and female, for all ye are one in Christ Jesus;
29 and if ye [are] of Christ then of Abraham ye are seed, and according to promise -- heirs.
7 And gathered together unto him are the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, having come from Jerusalem,
2 and having seen certain of his disciples with defiled hands -- that is, unwashed -- eating bread, they found fault;
3 for the Pharisees, and all the Jews, if they do not wash the hands to the wrist, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders,
4 and, [coming] from the market-place, if they do not baptize themselves, they do not eat; and many other things there are that they received to hold, baptisms of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels, and couches.
5 Then question him do the Pharisees and the scribes, `Wherefore do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but with unwashed hands do eat the bread?'
6 and he answering said to them -- `Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, hypocrites, as it hath been written, This people with the lips doth honor Me, and their heart is far from Me;
7 and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings, commands of men;
8 for, having put away the command of God, ye hold the tradition of men, baptisms of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye do.'
9 And he said to them, `Well do ye put away the command of God that your tradition ye may keep;
10 for Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death;
11 and ye say, If a man may say to father or to mother, Korban (that is, a gift), [is] whatever thou mayest be profited out of mine,
12 and no more do ye suffer him to do anything for his father or for his mother,
13 setting aside the word of God for your tradition that ye delivered; and many such like things ye do.'
14 And having called near all the multitude, he said to them, `Hearken to me, ye all, and understand;
15 there is nothing from without the man entering into him that is able to defile him, but the things coming out from him, those are the things defiling the man.
16 If any hath ears to hear -- let him hear.'
17 And when he entered into a house from the multitude, his disciples were questioning him about the simile,
18 and he saith to them, `So also ye are without understanding! Do ye not perceive that nothing from without entering into the man is able to defile him?
19 because it doth not enter into his heart, but into the belly, and into the drain it doth go out, purifying all the meats.'
20 And he said -- `That which is coming out from the man, that doth defile the man;
21 for from within, out of the heart of men, the evil reasonings do come forth, adulteries, whoredoms, murders,
22 thefts, covetous desires, wickedness, deceit, arrogance, an evil eye, evil speaking, pride, foolishness;
23 all these evils do come forth from within, and they defile the man.'