Book of Common Prayer
The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.
A Psalm of David.
101 I will (A)sing of mercy and [a]justice;
To You, Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will (B)carefully attend to the [b]blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A (F)perverse heart shall leave me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
I will not endure one who has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
One who walks in a [f](I)blameless way is one who will serve me.
7 One who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
One who speaks lies (K)shall not [g]maintain his position before me.
8 (L)Every morning I will [h](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to (N)eliminate from the (O)city of the Lord all those who do injustice.
Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
109 (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a [a]wicked and (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken [b]against me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they act as my accusers;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 So they have [c](H)repaid me evil for good,
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked person over him,
And may an [d](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, may he (K)come out guilty,
And may his (L)prayer become sin.
8 May (M)his days be few;
May (N)another take his office.
9 May his (O)children be fatherless,
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 May his (Q)children wander about and beg;
And may they (R)seek sustenance [e]far from their ruined homes.
11 May (S)the creditor [f]seize everything that he has,
And may (T)strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12 May there be none to [g](U)extend kindness to him,
Nor (V)any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13 May his (W)descendants be [h]eliminated;
May their (X)name be wiped out in a following generation.
14 May (Y)the guilt of his fathers be remembered [i]before the Lord,
And do not let the sin of his mother be (Z)wiped out.
15 May (AA)they be before the Lord continually,
So that He may (AB)eliminate their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted and needy person,
And the (AD)despondent in heart, to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it (AH)entered [j]his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
19 May it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly (AJ)wears around himself.
20 May this be the (AK)reward of my accusers from the Lord,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But You, [k]God, the Lord, deal kindly with me (AM)for the sake of Your name;
Because (AN)Your mercy is good, rescue me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [l]my heart is (AP)wounded within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees [m]are weak from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 I also have become a (AU)disgrace to them;
When they see me, they (AV)shake their head.
26 (AW)Help me, Lord my God;
Save me according to Your mercy.
27 [n]And may they (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, Lord, have done it.
28 (AY)They will curse, but You bless;
When they arise, they will be ashamed,
But Your (AZ)servant will be glad.
29 [o]May (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [p]may they (BB)cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And (BC)I will praise Him in the midst of many.
Ayin
121 I have (A)done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be (B)a guarantor for Your servant for good;
Do not let the arrogant (C)oppress me.
123 My (D)eyes fail with longing for Your salvation,
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your servant (E)according to Your graciousness,
And (F)teach me Your statutes.
125 (G)I am Your servant; (H)give me understanding,
So that I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for the Lord to (I)act,
For they have broken Your Law.
127 Therefore I (J)love Your commandments
Above gold, yes, above pure gold.
128 Therefore I carefully follow all Your (K)precepts concerning everything,
I (L)hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are (M)wonderful;
Therefore my soul (N)complies with them.
130 The (O)unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives (P)understanding to the simple.
131 I (Q)opened my mouth wide and (R)panted,
For I (S)longed for Your commandments.
132 (T)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
As is right for those who love Your name.
133 Establish my (U)footsteps in Your [b]word,
And do not let any [c]wrongdoing (V)have power over me.
134 (W)Redeem me from oppression by man,
So that I may keep Your precepts.
135 (X)Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And (Y)teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes [d]shed (Z)streams of water,
Because they (AA)do not keep Your Law.
Tsadhe
137 (AB)You are righteous, Lord,
And Your judgments are right.
138 You have commanded Your testimonies in (AC)righteousness
And great (AD)faithfulness.
139 My (AE)zeal has [e]consumed me,
Because my enemies have forgotten Your words.
140 Your (AF)word is very [f]pure,
Therefore Your servant (AG)loves it.
141 I am small and (AH)despised,
Yet I do not (AI)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (AJ)Your Law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have [g]come upon me,
Yet Your commandments are my (AK)delight.
144 Your (AL)testimonies are righteous forever;
(AM)Give me understanding that I may live.
Absalom Returns
21 Then the king said to Joab, “Behold now, (A)I [a]will certainly do this thing; go then, bring back the young man Absalom.” 22 And Joab fell on his face to the ground, prostrated himself, and blessed the king; then Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, in that the king has performed the [b]request of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose and went to (B)Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 However, the king said, “He shall return to (C)his own house, but he shall not see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house and did not see the king’s face.
25 Now in all Israel there was no one as handsome as Absalom, so highly praised; (D)from the sole of his foot to the top of his head there was no impairment in him. 26 And when he (E)cut the hair of his head (and it was at the end of every year that he cut it, because it was heavy on him, so he cut it), he weighed the hair of his head at [c]two hundred shekels by the king’s weight. 27 And (F)to Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter whose name was (G)Tamar; she was a woman of beautiful appearance.
28 Now Absalom lived two full years in Jerusalem, (H)yet he did not see the king’s face. 29 Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but he would not come to him. So he sent word again a second time, but he would not come. 30 Therefore he said to his servants, “See, (I)Joab’s plot is next to mine, and he has barley there; go and set it on fire.” So Absalom’s servants set the plot on fire. 31 Then Joab got up, came to Absalom at his house, and said to him, “Why have your servants set my plot on fire?” 32 Absalom [d]answered Joab, “Behold, I sent for you, saying, ‘Come here, so that I may send you to the king, to say, “Why have I come from Geshur? It would be better for me still to be there.”’ Now then, let me see the king’s face, (J)and if there is guilt in me, he can have me executed.” 33 So when Joab came to the king and told him, he summoned Absalom. Then Absalom came to the king and prostrated himself [e]with his face to the ground before the king; and (K)the king kissed Absalom.
Paul in Jerusalem
15 After these days we got ready and (A)started on our way up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of (B)the disciples from (C)Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Mnason of (D)Cyprus, a (E)disciple of long standing with whom we were to stay.
17 After we arrived in Jerusalem, (F)the brothers and sisters received us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to [a](G)James, and all (H)the elders were present. 19 After he had greeted them, he (I)began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his (J)ministry. 20 And when they heard about them, they began (K)glorifying God; and they said to him, “You see, brother, how many [b]thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all (L)zealous for the Law; 21 and they have been told about you, that you are (M)teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to abandon Moses, telling them (N)not to circumcise their children nor to [c]walk according to (O)the customs. 22 So what is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Therefore, do [d]as we tell you: we have four men who (P)have a [e]vow upon themselves; 24 take them along and (Q)purify yourself together with them, and [f]pay their expenses so that they may (R)shave their [g]heads; and then everyone will know that there is nothing to what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also conform, keeping the Law. 25 But regarding the Gentiles who have believed, we sent a letter, (S)having decided that they should abstain from [h]meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and what is [i]strangled, and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul [j]took along the men, and the next day, after (T)purifying himself together with them, he (U)went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.
The Rich Young Ruler
17 (A)As He was setting out on a journey, a man ran up to Him and (B)knelt before Him, and asked Him, “Good Teacher, what shall I do so that I may (C)inherit eternal life?” 18 But Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘(D)Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not give false testimony, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” 20 And he said to Him, “Teacher, I have kept (E)all these things from my youth.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus showed love to him and said to him, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have (F)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 But he [a]was deeply dismayed by [b]these words, and he went away grieving; for he was one who owned much property.
23 And Jesus, looking around, *said to His disciples, “(G)How hard it will be for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” 24 And the disciples (H)were amazed at His words. But Jesus responded again and *said to them, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 (I)It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 And they were even more astonished, and said to Him, “[c]Then who can be saved?” 27 Looking at them, Jesus *said, “(J)With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.”
28 (K)Peter began to say to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and have followed You.” 29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, (L)there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, 30 [d]but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in [e]the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in (M)the age to come, eternal life. 31 But (N)many who are first will be last, and the last, first.”
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