Book of Common Prayer
ז (Zayin)
49 Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
50 This[a] is what comforts me in my trouble,
for your promise revives me.[b]
51 Arrogant people do nothing but scoff at me.[c]
Yet I do not turn aside from your law.
52 I remember your ancient regulations,[d]
O Lord, and console myself.[e]
53 Rage takes hold of me because of the wicked,
those who reject your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs[f]
in the house where I live.[g]
55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,
and I will keep[h] your law.
56 This[i] has been my practice,
for I observe your precepts.
ח (Khet)
57 The Lord is my source of security.[j]
I have determined[k] to follow your instructions.[l]
58 I seek your favor[m] with all my heart.
Have mercy on me as you promised.[n]
59 I consider my actions[o]
and follow[p] your rules.
60 I keep your commands eagerly
and without delay.[q]
61 The ropes of the wicked tighten around[r] me,
but I do not forget your law.
62 In the middle of the night I arise[s] to thank you
for your just regulations.
63 I am a friend to all your loyal followers,[t]
and to those who keep your precepts.
64 O Lord, your loyal love fills the earth.
Teach me your statutes!
ט (Tet)
65 You are good[u] to your servant,
O Lord, just as you promised.[v]
66 Teach me proper discernment[w] and understanding.
For I consider your commands to be reliable.[x]
67 Before I was afflicted I used to stray off,[y]
but now I keep your instructions.[z]
68 You are good and you do good.
Teach me your statutes.
69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies,[aa]
but I observe your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are calloused,[ab]
but I find delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to suffer,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law you have revealed is more important to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.[ac]
Psalm 49[a]
For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world.[b]
2 Pay attention, all you people,[c]
both rich and poor.
3 I will declare a wise saying;[d]
I will share my profound thoughts.[e]
4 I will learn a song that imparts wisdom;
I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp.[f]
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,[g]
when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me?[h]
6 They trust[i] in their wealth
and boast[j] in their great riches.
7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother;[k]
he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price[l]
8 (the ransom price for a human life[m] is too high,
and people go to their final destiny),[n]
9 so that he might continue to live[o] forever
and not experience death.[p]
10 Surely[q] one sees[r] that even wise people die;[s]
fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away[t]
and leave their wealth to others.[u]
11 Their grave becomes their permanent residence,
their eternal dwelling place.[v]
They name their lands after themselves,[w]
12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last.[x]
They are like animals[y] that perish.[z]
13 This is the destiny of fools,[aa]
and of those who approve of their philosophy.[ab] (Selah)
14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep,[ac]
with death as their shepherd.[ad]
The godly will rule[ae] over them when the day of vindication dawns.[af]
Sheol will consume their bodies, and they will no longer live in impressive houses.[ag]
15 But[ah] God will rescue[ai] my life[aj] from the power[ak] of Sheol;
certainly[al] he will pull me to safety.[am] (Selah)
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich[an]
and his wealth multiplies.[ao]
17 For he will take nothing with him when he dies;
his wealth will not follow him down into the grave.[ap]
18 He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive:
“May men praise you, for you have done well.”
19 But he will join his ancestors;[aq]
they will never again see the light of day.[ar]
20 Wealthy people do not understand;[as]
they are like animals[at] that perish.[au]
Psalm 53[a]
For the music director, according to the machalath style;[b] a well-written song[c] by David.
53 Fools say to themselves,[d] “There is no God.”[e]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[f]
none of them does what is right.[g]
2 God looks down from heaven[h] at the human race,[i]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[j] and seeks God.[k]
3 Everyone rejects God;[l]
they are all morally corrupt.[m]
None of them does what is right,[n]
not even one!
4 All those who behave wickedly[o] do not understand[p]—
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to God.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[q]
even by things that do not normally cause fear.[r]
For God annihilates[s] those who attack you.[t]
You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.[u]
6 I wish the deliverance[v] of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the well-being of his people,[w]
may Jacob rejoice,[x]
may Israel be happy![y]
13 Moreover, he said to me, “I have taken note of these people; they are a stubborn[a] lot! 14 Stand aside[b] and I will destroy them, obliterating their very name from memory,[c] and I will make you into a stronger and more numerous nation than they are.”
15 So I turned and went down the mountain while it[d] was blazing with fire; the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands. 16 When I looked, you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God and had cast for yourselves a metal calf;[e] you had quickly turned aside from the way he[f] had commanded you! 17 I grabbed the two tablets, threw them down,[g] and shattered them before your very eyes. 18 Then I again fell down before the Lord for forty days and nights; I ate and drank nothing because of all the sin you had committed, doing such evil before the Lord as to enrage him. 19 For I was terrified at the Lord’s intense anger[h] that threatened to destroy you. But he[i] listened to me this time as well. 20 The Lord was also angry enough at Aaron to kill him, but at that time I prayed for him[j] too. 21 As for your sinful thing[k] that you had made, the calf, I took it, melted it down,[l] ground it up until it was as fine as dust, and tossed the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
12 See to it,[a] brothers and sisters,[b] that none of you has[c] an evil, unbelieving heart that forsakes[d] the living God.[e] 13 But exhort one another each day, as long as it is called “Today,” that none of you may become hardened by sin’s deception. 14 For we have become partners with Christ, if in fact we hold our initial confidence[f] firm until the end. 15 As it says,[g] “Oh, that today you would listen as he speaks![h] Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”[i] 16 For which ones heard and rebelled? Was it not all who came out of Egypt under Moses’ leadership?[j] 17 And against whom was God[k] provoked for forty years? Was it not those who sinned, whose dead bodies fell in the wilderness?[l] 18 And to whom did he swear they would never enter into his rest, except those who were disobedient? 19 So[m] we see that they could not enter because of unbelief.
Jesus at the Passover Feast
23 Now while Jesus[a] was in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing.[b] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people.[c] 25 He did not need anyone to testify about man,[d] for he knew what was in man.[e]
Conversation with Nicodemus
3 Now a certain man, a Pharisee[f] named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council,[g] 2 came to Jesus[h] at night[i] and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs[j] that you do unless God is with him.” 3 Jesus replied,[k] “I tell you the solemn truth,[l] unless a person is born from above,[m] he cannot see the kingdom of God.”[n] 4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb and be born a second time, can he?”[o]
5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth,[p] unless a person is born of water and spirit,[q] he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 What is born of the flesh is flesh,[r] and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all[s] be born from above.’[t] 8 The wind[u] blows wherever it will, and you hear the sound it makes, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”[v]
9 Nicodemus replied,[w] “How can these things be?”[x] 10 Jesus answered,[y] “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you don’t understand these things?[z] 11 I tell you the solemn truth,[aa] we speak about what we know and testify about what we have seen, but[ab] you people[ac] do not accept our testimony.[ad] 12 If I have told you people[ae] about earthly things and you don’t believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?[af] 13 No one[ag] has ascended[ah] into heaven except the one who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.[ai] 14 Just as[aj] Moses lifted up the serpent[ak] in the wilderness,[al] so must the Son of Man be lifted up,[am] 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.”[an]
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