Book of Common Prayer
To the chief Musician. Of David. A Psalm.
40 I waited patiently for Jehovah; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 And he brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock; he hath established my goings:
3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, praise unto our God. Many shall see it, and fear, and shall confide in Jehovah.
4 Blessed is the man that hath made Jehovah his confidence, and turneth not to the proud, and to such as turn aside to lies.
5 Thou, O Jehovah my God, hast multiplied thy marvellous works, and thy thoughts toward us: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee; would I declare and speak [them], they are more than can be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and oblation thou didst not desire: ears hast thou prepared me. Burnt-offering and sin-offering hast thou not demanded;
7 Then said I, Behold, I come, in the volume of the book it is written of me—
8 To do thy good pleasure, my God, is my delight, and thy law is within my heart.
9 I have published righteousness in the great congregation: behold, I have not withheld my lips, Jehovah, *thou* knowest.
10 I have not hidden thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.
11 Withhold not thou, Jehovah, thy tender mercies from me; let thy loving-kindness and thy truth continually preserve me.
12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head: and my heart hath failed me.
13 Be pleased, O Jehovah, to deliver me; Jehovah, make haste to my help.
14 Let them be ashamed and brought to confusion together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be turned backward and confounded that take pleasure in mine adversity;
15 Let them be desolate, because of their shame, that say unto me, Aha! Aha!
16 Let all those that seek thee be glad and rejoice in thee; let such as love thy salvation say continually, Jehovah be magnified!
17 But I am afflicted and needy: the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help and my deliverer: my God, make no delay.
To the chief Musician. On stringed instruments: an instruction. Of David; when the Ziphites came, and said to Saul, Is not David hiding himself with us?
54 O God, by thy name save me, and by thy strength do me justice.
2 O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers are risen up against me, and the violent seek after my life: they have not set God before them. Selah.
4 Behold, God is my helper; the Lord is among them that uphold my soul.
5 He will requite evil to mine enemies: in thy truth cut them off.
6 I will freely sacrifice unto thee; I will praise thy name, O Jehovah, because it is good.
7 For he hath delivered me out of all trouble; and mine eye hath seen [its desire] upon mine enemies.
To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.
51 Be gracious unto me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the abundance of thy tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me fully from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is continually before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in thy sight; that thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, in iniquity was I brought forth, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou wilt have truth in the inward parts; and in the hidden [part] thou wilt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear gladness and joy; [that] the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not the spirit of thy holiness from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and let a willing spirit sustain me.
13 I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners shall return unto thee.
14 Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion; build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then shalt thou have sacrifices of righteousness, burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offering; then shall they offer up bullocks upon thine altar.
20 So Ahab sent to all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel.
21 Then Elijah drew near to all the people, and said, How long do ye halt between two opinions? if Jehovah be God, follow him; and if Baal, follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
22 And Elijah said to the people, I, only I, remain a prophet of Jehovah; and Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
23 Let them therefore give us two bullocks: and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and put it on the wood, and put no fire; and I will sacrifice the other bullock, and put it on the wood, and put no fire.
24 And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of Jehovah; and the god that answers by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, The word is good.
25 And Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, Choose one bullock for yourselves, and sacrifice it first; for ye are the many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire.
26 And they took the bullock which had been given them, and sacrificed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, O Baal, answer us! But there was no voice, and none answered. And they leaped about the altar that had been made.
27 And it came to pass at noon that Elijah mocked them and said, Cry aloud; for he is a god; for he is meditating, or gone aside, or he is on a journey; perhaps he sleeps, and will awake.
28 And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with swords and spears, till the blood gushed out upon them.
29 And it came to pass when midday was past, that they prophesied until the [time] of the offering up of the oblation; but there was neither voice, nor any that answered, nor any attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, Draw near to me. And all the people drew near to him. And he repaired the altar of Jehovah which was broken down.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Jehovah came saying, Israel shall be thy name;
32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of Jehovah, and made a trench round about the altar, of the capacity of two measures of seed;
33 and he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid it on the wood. And he said, Fill four pitchers with water, and pour it on the burnt-offering, and on the wood.
34 And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time.
35 And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water.
36 And it came to pass at [the time of] the offering up of the oblation, that Elijah the prophet drew near, and said, Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things by thy word.
37 Answer me, Jehovah, answer me, that this people may know that thou Jehovah art God, and [that] *thou* hast turned their heart back again.
38 And the fire of Jehovah fell, and consumed the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And all the people saw [it], and they fell on their faces and said, Jehovah, he is God! Jehovah, he is God!
40 And Elijah said to them, Seize the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape! And they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the torrent of Kishon, and slaughtered them there.
3 For the rest, my brethren, rejoice in [the] Lord: to write the same things to you, to me [is] not irksome, and for you safe.
2 See to dogs, see to evil workmen, see to the concision.
3 For *we* are the circumcision, who worship by [the] Spirit of God, and boast in Christ Jesus, and do not trust in flesh.
4 Though *I* have [my] trust even in flesh; if any other think to trust in flesh, *I* rather:
5 as to circumcision, [I received it] the eighth day; of [the] race of Israel, of [the] tribe of Benjamin, Hebrew of Hebrews; as to [the] law, a Pharisee;
6 as to zeal, persecuting the assembly; as to righteousness which [is] in [the] law, found blameless;
7 but what things were gain to me these I counted, on account of Christ, loss.
8 But surely I count also all things to be loss on account of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I have suffered the loss of all, and count them to be filth, that I may gain Christ;
9 and that I may be found in him, not having my righteousness, which [would be] on the principle of law, but that which is by faith of Christ, the righteousness which [is] of God through faith,
10 to know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,
11 if any way I arrive at the resurrection from among [the] dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained [the prize], or am already perfected; but I pursue, if also I may get possession [of it], seeing that also I have been taken possession of by Christ [Jesus].
13 Brethren, *I* do not count to have got possession myself; but one thing—forgetting the things behind, and stretching out to the things before,
14 I pursue, [looking] towards [the] goal, for the prize of the calling on high of God in Christ Jesus.
15 As many therefore as [are] perfect, let us be thus minded; and if ye are any otherwise minded, this also God shall reveal to you.
16 But whereto we have attained, [let us] walk in the same steps.
3 Now in those days comes John the baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
2 and saying, Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn nigh.
3 For this is he who has been spoken of through Esaias the prophet, saying, Voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: prepare ye the way of [the] Lord, make straight his paths.
4 And John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and wild honey.
5 Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and all the country round the Jordan,
6 and were baptised by him in the Jordan, confessing their sins.
7 But seeing many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, Offspring of vipers, who has forewarned you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 Produce therefore fruit worthy of repentance.
9 And do not think to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for [our] father; for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.
10 And already the axe is applied to the root of the trees; every tree therefore not producing good fruit is cut down and cast into the fire.
11 *I* indeed baptise you with water to repentance, but he that comes after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not fit to bear; *he* shall baptise you with [the] Holy Spirit and fire;
12 whose winnowing fan [is] in his hand, and he shall thoroughly purge his threshing-floor, and shall gather his wheat into the garner, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)