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 misery,
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 judgments from [c]of old, Lord,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning (E)indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who (F)abandon Your Law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my (G)pilgrimage.
55 Lord, I (H)remember Your name (I)in the night,
And keep Your Law.
56 This has become mine,
[d]That I (J)comply with 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 hurried and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The (R)snares of the wicked have surrounded me,
But I have (S)not forgotten Your Law.
62 At (T)midnight I will rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your (U)righteous judgments.
63 I am a (V)companion to all those who [g]fear You,
And to those who keep Your precepts.
64 (W)The earth is full of Your goodness, Lord;
(X)Teach me Your statutes.
Teth
65 You have treated Your servant well,
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 You (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)comply with Your precepts.
70 Their heart is (AF)insensitive, like fat,
But I (AG)delight in Your Law.
71 It is (AH)good for me that I was afflicted,
So 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 Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.
For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, 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 injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
6 Those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No one can by any means (K)redeem another
Or give God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
9 That he might (N)live on eternally,
That he might not [c](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise people die;
The (Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [d](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)named their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that [e]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. Selah
14 Like sheep they sink down (Y)to [f]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [g]Sheol (AA)to consume
[h]So that they have no lofty home.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [i]power of [j]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies, he will (AE)take nothing with him;
His [k]wealth will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [l]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [m]He will (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the animals that [n]perish.
Foolishness and Wickedness of People.
For the music 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 mankind
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 injustice (F)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people like they ate bread,
And have not called upon God?
5 They were in great [d]fear there, (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 would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.
24 (A)Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh (B)I am supplementing what is lacking [a]in Christ’s afflictions in behalf of (C)His body, which is the church. 25 (D)I [b]was made a minister of this church according to the (E)commission from God granted to me for your benefit, so that I might [c]fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, 26 that is, (F)the mystery which had been hidden from the past ages and generations, but now has been revealed to His [d]saints, 27 to whom (G)God willed to make known what (H)the wealth of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles is, the mystery that is (I)Christ in you, the (J)hope of glory. 28 We proclaim Him, (K)admonishing every person and teaching every person [e]with all (L)wisdom, so that we may (M)present every person [f](N)complete in Christ. 29 For this purpose I also (O)labor, (P)striving (Q)according to His [g]power which [h]works mightily within me.
You Are Built Up in Christ
2 For I want you to know how great a (R)struggle I have in your behalf and for those who are at (S)Laodicea, and for all those who have not [i]personally seen my face, 2 that their (T)hearts may be encouraged, having been (U)knit together in love, and that they would attain to all (V)the wealth [j]that comes from the full assurance of understanding, resulting in a (W)true knowledge of (X)God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, 3 in whom are hidden all (Y)the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 (Z)I say this so that no one will deceive you with (AA)persuasive arguments. 5 For even though I am (AB)absent in body, I am nevertheless with you in spirit, rejoicing [k]to see [l]your (AC)orderly manner and the (AD)stability of your faith in Christ.
6 Therefore, as you have received (AE)Christ Jesus the Lord, so [m](AF)walk in Him, 7 having been firmly (AG)rooted and now being (AH)built up in Him and (AI)established [n]in [o]your faith, just as you (AJ)were instructed, and overflowing [p]with gratitude.
27 “But I say to you who hear, (A)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, (B)pray for those who are abusive to you. 29 (C)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your [a]cloak, do not withhold your [b]tunic from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 [c](D)Treat people the same way you want them to [d]treat you. 32 (E)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 (F)And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But (G)love your enemies and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be (H)sons of (I)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil people. 36 [e]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “(J)Do not [f]judge, and you will not be judged; and do not [g]condemn, and you will not be condemned; [h](K)pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will [i]pour (L)into your lap a (M)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
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