Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 God, You know (I)my foolishness,
And (J)my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed because of me, Lord [e]God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my (R)disgrace.
11 When I made (S)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (T)a proverb to them.
12 Those who (U)sit in the gate talk about me,
And (V)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (W)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (X)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [g]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (Y)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (Z)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (AA)depths of water.
15 May the [h](AB)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AC)pit close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for (AD)Your mercy is good;
(AE)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AF)turn to me,
17 And (AG)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AH)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to my soul and (AI)redeem it;
(AJ)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AK)disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are [i]known to You.
20 Disgrace has (AL)broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And (AM)I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for (AN)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [j](AO)a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they (AP)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AQ)their table before them become a snare;
And [k](AR)when they are at peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AS)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AT)hips shake continually.
24 (AU)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [l](AV)camp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
26 For they have (AW)persecuted him whom (AX)You Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AY)You have [m]wounded.
27 Add (AZ)guilt to their guilt,
And (BA)may they not come into (BB)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BC)wiped out of the (BD)book of life,
And may they not be [n](BE)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BF)afflicted and in pain;
[o]May Your salvation, God, (BG)set me safely on high.
30 I will (BH)praise the name of God with song,
And (BI)exalt Him with (BJ)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BK)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BL)humble [p]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BM)let your heart [q]revive.
33 For (BN)the Lord hears the needy,
And (BO)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
34 (BP)Heaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and (BQ)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BR)save Zion and (BS)build the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and (BT)possess it.
36 The [r](BU)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BV)will live in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 God certainly is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they (G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [d]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)mock and [e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [f]against the heavens,
And their tongue [g]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here,
And (N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [i]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long,
And [k](U)punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)thought of understanding this,
It was [l]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the [m](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 You indeed put them on (Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into [n](AA)ruin.
19 How they are [o](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when (AE)stirred, You will (AF)despise their image.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [p]within,
22 Then I was (AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will (AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward (AM)receive me [r]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [s]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who [t](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord [u]God my (AU)refuge,
So that I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
11 I have become (A)foolish; you yourselves compelled me. Actually I should have been commended by you, since I was (B)in no respect inferior to the [a]most eminent apostles, even though (C)I am a nobody. 12 The (D)distinguishing marks [b]of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by [c]signs, wonders, and [d]miracles. 13 For in what respect were you treated as inferior to the rest of the churches, except that (E)I myself did not become a burden to you? Forgive me (F)this wrong!
14 Here (G)for this third time I am ready to come to you, and I (H)will not be a burden to you; for I (I)do not seek what is yours, but (J)you; for (K)children are not responsible to save up for their parents, but (L)parents for their children. 15 I will (M)most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If (N)I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But be that as it may, I (O)did not burden you myself; nevertheless, devious person that I am, I (P)took you in by deceit. 17 (Q)Certainly I have not taken advantage of you through any of those whom I have sent to you, have I? 18 I (R)urged (S)Titus to go, and I sent (T)the brother with him. Titus did not take any advantage of you, did he? Did we not [e]conduct ourselves [f]in the same (U)spirit and walk (V)in the same steps?
19 All this time [g]you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, (W)it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and (X)all for building you up, (Y)beloved. 20 For I am afraid that perhaps (Z)when I come I may find you to be not what I wish, and may be found by you to be not what you wish; that perhaps there will be (AA)strife, jealousy, (AB)angry tempers, (AC)selfishness, (AD)slanders, (AE)gossip, (AF)arrogance, (AG)disturbances; 21 I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have (AH)sinned in the past and not repented of the (AI)impurity, sexual immorality, and indecent behavior which they have practiced.
41 When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and (A)wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known on this day, even you, the conditions for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you [a]when your enemies will (B)put up a [b]barricade against you, and (C)surround you and hem you in on every side, 44 and they will level you to the ground, and throw down your children within you, and (D)they will not leave in you one stone upon [c]another, because you did not recognize (E)the time of your visitation.”
Traders Driven from the Temple
45 (F)And Jesus entered the temple grounds and began to drive out those who were selling, 46 saying to them, “It is written: ‘(G)And My house will be a house of prayer,’ (H)but you have made it a den of robbers.”
47 And (I)He was teaching daily in the temple; but the chief priests and the scribes and the leading men among the people (J)were trying to put Him to death, 48 and yet they could not find [d]anything that they might do, for all the people were hanging on to [e]every word He said.
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