Book of Common Prayer
First Book—Psalms 1–41
Psalm 1[a]
True Happiness in God’s Law
I
1 Blessed is the man who does not walk
in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the way[b] of sinners,
nor sit in company with scoffers.(A)
2 Rather, the law of the Lord[c] is his joy;
and on his law he meditates day and night.(B)
3 He is like a tree(C)
planted near streams of water,
that yields its fruit in season;
Its leaves never wither;
whatever he does prospers.
II
4 But not so are the wicked,[d] not so!
They are like chaff driven by the wind.(D)
5 Therefore the wicked will not arise at the judgment,
nor will sinners in the assembly of the just.
6 Because the Lord knows the way of the just,(E)
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.
Psalm 2[e]
A Psalm for a Royal Coronation
1 Why do the nations protest
and the peoples conspire in vain?(F)
2 Kings on earth rise up
and princes plot together
against the Lord and against his anointed one:[f](G)
3 “Let us break their shackles
and cast off their chains from us!”(H)
4 The one enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord derides them,(I)
5 Then he speaks to them in his anger,
in his wrath he terrifies them:
6 “I myself have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.”
7 I will proclaim the decree of the Lord,
he said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.(J)
8 Ask it of me,
and I will give you the nations as your inheritance,
and, as your possession, the ends of the earth.
9 With an iron rod you will shepherd them,
like a potter’s vessel you will shatter them.”(K)
10 And now, kings, give heed;
take warning, judges on earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
exult with trembling,
Accept correction
lest he become angry and you perish along the way
when his anger suddenly blazes up.(L)
Blessed are all who take refuge in him!
Psalm 3[g]
Threatened but Trusting
1 A psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.[h](M)
I
2 How many are my foes, Lord!
How many rise against me!
3 [i]How many say of me,
“There is no salvation for him in God.”(N)
Selah
4 But you, Lord, are a shield around me;
my glory, you keep my head high.(O)
II
5 With my own voice I will call out to the Lord,
and he will answer me from his holy mountain.
Selah
6 I lie down and I fall asleep,
[and] I will wake up, for the Lord sustains me.(P)
7 I do not fear, then, thousands of people
arrayed against me on every side.
III
8 Arise, Lord! Save me, my God!
For you strike the cheekbone of all my foes;
you break the teeth of the wicked.(Q)
9 Salvation is from the Lord!
May your blessing be upon your people!(R)
Selah
Psalm 4[j]
Trust in God
1 For the leader;[k] with stringed instruments. A psalm of David.
I
2 Answer me when I call, my saving God.
When troubles hem me in, set me free;
take pity on me, hear my prayer.(S)
II
3 How long, O people, will you be hard of heart?
Why do you love what is worthless, chase after lies?[l](T)
Selah
4 Know that the Lord works wonders for his faithful one;
the Lord hears when I call out to him.
5 Tremble[m] and sin no more;
weep bitterly within your hearts,
wail upon your beds,(U)
6 Offer fitting sacrifices
and trust in the Lord.(V)
III
Psalm 7[a]
God the Vindicator
1 A plaintive song of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, the Benjaminite.
I
2 Lord my God, in you I trusted;
save me; rescue me from all who pursue me,(A)
3 Lest someone maul me like a lion,
tear my soul apart with no one to deliver.
II
4 Lord my God, if I have done this,[b]
if there is guilt on my hands,
5 If I have maltreated someone treating me equitably—
or even despoiled my oppressor without cause—
6 Then let my enemy pursue and overtake my soul,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust.(B)
Selah
III
7 Rise up, Lord, in your anger;
be aroused against the outrages of my oppressors.(C)
Stir up the justice, my God, you have commanded.
8 Have the assembly of the peoples gather about you;
and return on high above them,
9 the Lord will pass judgment on the peoples.
Judge me, Lord, according to my righteousness,
and my integrity.
10 Let the malice of the wicked end.
Uphold the just one,
O just God,(D)
who tries hearts and minds.
IV
11 God is a shield above me
saving the upright of heart.(E)
12 God is a just judge, powerful and patient,[c]
not exercising anger every day.
13 If one does not repent,
God sharpens his sword,
strings and readies the bow,(F)
14 Prepares his deadly shafts,
makes arrows blazing thunderbolts.(G)
V
15 Consider how one conceives iniquity;
is pregnant with mischief,
and gives birth to deception.(H)
16 He digs a hole and bores it deep,
but he falls into the pit he has made.(I)
17 His malice turns back upon his head;
his violence falls on his own skull.
VI
18 I will thank the Lord in accordance with his justice;
I will sing the name of the Lord Most High.(J)
Chapter 15[a]
Disobedience of Saul. 1 Samuel said to Saul: “It was I the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the message of the Lord.(A) 2 Thus says the Lord of hosts: I will punish what Amalek did to the Israelites when he barred their way as they came up from Egypt.(B) 3 Go, now, attack Amalek, and put under the ban[b] everything he has. Do not spare him; kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and donkeys.”(C)
7 Saul routed Amalek from Havilah to the approaches of Shur, on the frontier of Egypt.(A) 8 He took Agag, king of Amalek, alive, but the rest of the people he destroyed by the sword, putting them under the ban. 9 He and his troops spared Agag and the best of the fat sheep and oxen, and the lambs. They refused to put under the ban anything that was worthwhile, destroying only what was worthless and of no account.
Samuel Rebukes Saul. 10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel: 11 I regret having made Saul king, for he has turned from me and has not kept my command. At this Samuel grew angry and cried out to the Lord all night.(B) 12 Early in the morning he went to meet Saul, but was informed that Saul had gone to Carmel, where he set up a monument in his own honor, and that on his return he had gone down to Gilgal. 13 When Samuel came to him, Saul greeted him: “The Lord bless you! I have kept the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel asked, “What, then, is this bleating of sheep that comes to my ears, the lowing of oxen that I hear?” 15 Saul replied: “They were brought from Amalek. The people spared the best sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord, your God; but the rest we destroyed, putting them under the ban.” 16 Samuel said to Saul: “Stop! Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” “Speak!” he replied. 17 Samuel then said: “Though little in your own eyes, are you not chief of the tribes of Israel? The Lord anointed you king of Israel(C) 18 and sent you on a mission, saying: Go and put the sinful Amalekites under a ban of destruction. Fight against them until you have exterminated them.(D) 19 Why then have you disobeyed the Lord? You have pounced on the spoil, thus doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight.”(E) 20 Saul explained to Samuel: “I did indeed obey the Lord and fulfill the mission on which the Lord sent me. I have brought back Agag, the king of Amalek, and, carrying out the ban, I have destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But from the spoil the army took sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”(F) 22 (G)But Samuel said:
“Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as in obedience to the Lord’s command?
Obedience is better than sacrifice,
to listen, better than the fat of rams.[a]
23 For a sin of divination is rebellion,
and arrogance, the crime of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
the Lord in turn has rejected you as king.”(H)
19 and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.[a]
Saul Preaches in Damascus. He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus, 20 and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.[b] 21 All who heard him were astounded and said, “Is not this the man who in Jerusalem ravaged those who call upon this name, and came here expressly to take them back in chains to the chief priests?” 22 But Saul grew all the stronger and confounded [the] Jews who lived in Damascus, proving that this is the Messiah.
Saul Visits Jerusalem. 23 After a long time had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 (A)but their plot became known to Saul. Now they were keeping watch on the gates day and night so as to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him one night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
26 (B)When he arrived in Jerusalem[c] he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 Then Barnabas took charge of him and brought him to the apostles, and he reported to them how on the way he had seen the Lord and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken out boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 He moved about freely with them in Jerusalem, and spoke out boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He also spoke and debated with the Hellenists,[d] but they tried to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him on his way to Tarsus.(C)
The Church at Peace. 31 [e]The church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria was at peace. It was being built up and walked in the fear of the Lord, and with the consolation of the holy Spirit it grew in numbers.
44 [a]It was now about noon(A) and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon 45 because of an eclipse of the sun. Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.(B) 46 Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit”; and when he had said this he breathed his last.(C) 47 The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said, “This man was innocent[b] beyond doubt.” 48 When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle saw what had happened, they returned home beating their breasts;(D) 49 but all his acquaintances stood at a distance, including the women who had followed him from Galilee and saw these events.(E)
The Burial of Jesus.(F) 50 Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who, though he was a member of the council, 51 had not consented to their plan of action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea and was awaiting the kingdom of God.(G) 52 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 53 After he had taken the body down, he wrapped it in a linen cloth and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb in which no one had yet been buried.(H) 54 It was the day of preparation, and the sabbath was about to begin. 55 The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind, and when they had seen the tomb and the way in which his body was laid in it,(I) 56 they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils. Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.(J)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.