Book of Common Prayer
Book 1 (Psalms 1-41)
Psalm 1[a]
1 How blessed[b] is the one[c] who does not follow[d] the advice[e] of the wicked,[f]
or stand in the pathway[g] with sinners,
or sit in the assembly[h] of scoffers.[i]
2 Instead[j] he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands;[k]
he meditates on[l] his commands[m] day and night.
3 He is like[n] a tree planted by flowing streams;[o]
it[p] yields[q] its fruit at the proper time,[r]
and its leaves never fall off.[s]
He succeeds in everything he attempts.[t]
4 Not so with the wicked!
Instead[u] they are like wind-driven chaff.[v]
5 For this reason[w] the wicked cannot withstand[x] judgment,[y]
nor can sinners join the assembly of the godly.[z]
6 Certainly[aa] the Lord guards the way of the godly,[ab]
but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.[ac]
Psalm 2[ad]
2 Why[ae] do the nations rebel?[af]
Why[ag] are the countries[ah] devising[ai] plots that will fail?[aj]
2 The kings of the earth[ak] form a united front;[al]
the rulers collaborate[am]
against the Lord and his anointed king.[an]
3 They say,[ao] “Let’s tear off the shackles they’ve put on us.[ap]
Let’s free ourselves from[aq] their ropes.”
4 The one enthroned[ar] in heaven laughs in disgust;[as]
the Lord taunts[at] them.
5 Then he angrily speaks to them
and terrifies them in his rage,[au] saying,[av]
6 “I myself[aw] have installed[ax] my king
on Zion, my holy hill.”
7 The king says,[ay] “I will announce the Lord’s decree. He said to me:[az]
‘You are my son.[ba] This very day I have become your father.
8 Ask me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,[bb]
the ends of the earth as your personal property.
9 You will break them[bc] with an iron scepter;[bd]
you will smash them like a potter’s jar.’”[be]
10 So now, you kings, do what is wise;[bf]
you rulers of the earth, submit to correction.[bg]
11 Serve[bh] the Lord in fear.
Repent in terror.[bi]
12 Give sincere homage.[bj]
Otherwise he[bk] will be angry,[bl]
and you will die because of your behavior,[bm]
when his anger quickly ignites.[bn]
How blessed[bo] are all who take shelter in him![bp]
Psalm 3[bq]
A psalm of David, written when he fled from his son Absalom.[br]
3 Lord, how[bs] numerous are my enemies!
Many attack me.[bt]
2 Many say about me,
“God will not deliver him.”[bu] (Selah)[bv]
3 But you, Lord, are a shield that protects me;[bw]
you are my glory[bx] and the one who restores me.[by]
4 To the Lord I cried out,[bz]
and he answered me from his holy hill.[ca] (Selah)
5 I rested and slept;
I awoke,[cb] for the Lord protects[cc] me.
6 I am not afraid[cd] of the multitude of people[ce]
who attack me from all directions.[cf]
7 Rise up,[cg] Lord!
Deliver me, my God!
Yes,[ch] you will strike[ci] all my enemies on the jaw;
you will break the teeth[cj] of the wicked.[ck]
8 The Lord delivers;[cl]
you show favor to your people.[cm] (Selah)
Psalm 4[cn]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of David.
4 When I call out, answer me,
O God who vindicates me.[co]
Though I am hemmed in, you will lead me into a wide, open place.[cp]
Have mercy on me[cq] and respond to[cr] my prayer.
2 You men,[cs] how long will you try to turn my honor into shame?[ct]
How long[cu] will you love what is worthless[cv]
and search for what is deceptive?[cw] (Selah)
3 Realize that[cx] the Lord shows the godly special favor;[cy]
the Lord responds[cz] when I cry out to him.
4 Tremble with fear and do not sin.[da]
Meditate as you lie in bed, and repent of your ways.[db] (Selah)
5 Offer the prescribed sacrifices[dc]
and trust in the Lord.[dd]
6 Many say, “Who can show us anything good?”
Smile upon us, Lord![de]
7 You make me happier[df]
than those who have abundant grain and wine.[dg]
8 I will lie down and sleep peacefully,[dh]
for you, Lord, make me safe and secure.[di]
Psalm 7[a]
A musical composition[b] by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning[c] a Benjaminite named Cush.[d]
7 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter.[e]
Deliver me from all who chase me. Rescue me!
2 Otherwise they will rip[f] me[g] to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me.[h]
3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say,[i]
or am guilty of unjust actions,[j]
4 or have wronged my ally,[k]
or helped his lawless enemy,[l]
5 may an enemy relentlessly chase[m] me[n] and catch me;[o]
may he trample me to death[p]
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust.[q] (Selah)
6 Stand up angrily,[r] Lord.
Rise up with raging fury against my enemies.[s]
Wake up for my sake, and execute the judgment you have decreed for them.[t]
7 The countries are assembled all around you;[u]
take once more your rightful place over them.[v]
8 The Lord judges the nations.[w]
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent,[x]
because I am blameless,[y] O Exalted One.[z]
9 May the evil deeds of the wicked[aa] come to an end.[ab]
But make the innocent[ac] secure,[ad]
O righteous God,
you who examine[ae] inner thoughts and motives.[af]
10 The Exalted God is my shield,[ag]
the one who delivers the morally upright.[ah]
11 God is a just judge;
he is angry throughout the day.[ai]
12 If a person[aj] does not repent, God will wield his sword.[ak]
He has prepared to shoot his bow.[al]
13 He has prepared deadly weapons to use against him;[am]
he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.[an]
14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies—
15 he digs a pit[ao]
and then falls into the hole he has made.[ap]
16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans[aq]—
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.[ar]
17 I will thank the Lord for[as] his justice;
I will sing praises to the Lord Most High![at]
Saul Is Rejected as King
15 Then Samuel said to Saul, “I was the one the Lord sent to anoint you as king over his people Israel. Now listen to what the Lord says.[a] 2 Here is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said: ‘I carefully observed how the Amalekites opposed[b] Israel along the way when Israel[c] came up from Egypt. 3 So go now and strike down the Amalekites. Destroy everything they have. Don’t spare[d] them. Put them to death—man, woman, child, infant, ox, sheep, camel, and donkey alike.’”
7 Then Saul struck down the Amalekites all the way from Havilah to[a] Shur, which is next to Egypt. 8 He captured King Agag of the Amalekites alive, but he executed all Agag’s people[b] with the sword. 9 However, Saul and the army spared Agag, along with the best of the flock, the cattle, the fatlings,[c] and the lambs, as well as everything else that was of value.[d] They were not willing to slaughter them. But they did slaughter everything that was despised[e] and worthless.
10 Then the Lord’s message came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where[f] he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then Samuel left[g] and went down to Gilgal.[h] 13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have fulfilled the Lord’s orders.”[i]
14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case,[j] then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They were brought[k] from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute![l] Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul[m] said to him, “Tell me.” 17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose[n] you as king over Israel. 18 The Lord sent you on a campaign[o] saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you[p] have destroyed them.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed[q] the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.”[r]
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed[s] the Lord! I went on the campaign[t] the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience?[u]
Certainly,[v] obedience[w] is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than[x] the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the Lord’s orders,[y]
he has rejected you from being king.”
19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.
For several days[a] he was with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,[b] saying, “This man is the Son of God.”[c] 21 All[d] who heard him were amazed and were saying, “Is this not[e] the man who in Jerusalem was ravaging[f] those who call on this name, and who had come here to bring them as prisoners[g] to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul became more and more capable,[h] and was causing consternation[i] among the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving[j] that Jesus[k] is the Christ.[l]
Saul’s Escape from Damascus
23 Now after some days had passed, the Jews plotted[m] together to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot against him.[n] They were also watching[o] the city gates[p] day and night so that they could kill him. 25 But his disciples took him at night and let him down through an opening[q] in the wall by lowering him in a basket.[r]
Saul Returns to Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem, he attempted to associate[s] with the disciples, and they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe[t] that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took[u] Saul,[v] brought[w] him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, that[x] the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly[y] in the name of Jesus. 28 So he was staying with them, associating openly with them[z] in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He was speaking and debating[aa] with the Greek-speaking Jews,[ab] but they were trying to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out about this, they brought him down to Caesarea[ac] and sent him away to Tarsus.
31 Then[ad] the church throughout Judea, Galilee,[ae] and Samaria experienced[af] peace and thus was strengthened.[ag] Living[ah] in the fear of the Lord and in the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, the church[ai] increased in numbers.
44 It was now[a] about noon,[b] and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon,[c] 45 because the sun’s light failed.[d] The temple curtain[e] was torn in two. 46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!”[f] And after he said this he breathed his last.
47 Now when the centurion[g] saw what had happened, he praised God and said, “Certainly this man was innocent!”[h] 48 And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.[i] 49 And all those who knew Jesus[j] stood at a distance, and the women who had followed him from Galilee saw[k] these things.
Jesus’ Burial
50 Now[l] there was a man named Joseph who was a member of the council,[m] a good and righteous man. 51 (He[n] had not consented[o] to their plan and action.) He[p] was from the Judean town[q] of Arimathea, and was looking forward to[r] the kingdom of God.[s] 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body[t] of Jesus. 53 Then[u] he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth,[v] and placed it[w] in a tomb cut out of the rock,[x] where no one had yet been buried.[y] 54 It was the day of preparation[z] and the Sabbath was beginning.[aa] 55 The[ab] women who had accompanied Jesus[ac] from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then[ad] they returned and prepared aromatic spices[ae] and perfumes.[af]
On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.[ag]
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