Book of Common Prayer
40 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David. I have diligently expected Jehovah, And He inclineth to me, and heareth my cry,
2 And He doth cause me to come up From a pit of desolation -- from mire of mud, And He raiseth up on a rock my feet, He is establishing my steps.
3 And He putteth in my mouth a new song, `Praise to our God.' Many do see and fear, and trust in Jehovah.
4 O the happiness of the man Who hath made Jehovah his trust, And hath not turned unto the proud, And those turning aside to lies.
5 Much hast Thou done, Jehovah my God; Thy wonders and Thy thoughts toward us, There is none to arrange unto Thee, I declare and speak: They have been more than to be numbered.
6 Sacrifice and present Thou hast not desired, Ears Thou hast prepared for me, Burnt and sin-offering Thou hast not asked.
7 Then said I, `Lo, I have come,' In the roll of the book it is written of me,
8 To do Thy pleasure, my God, I have delighted, And Thy law [is] within my heart.
9 I have proclaimed tidings of righteousness In the great assembly, lo, my lips I restrain not, O Jehovah, Thou hast known.
10 Thy righteousness I have not concealed In the midst of my heart, Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation I have told, I have not hidden Thy kindness and Thy truth, To the great assembly.
11 Thou, O Jehovah, restrainest not Thy mercies from me, Thy kindness and Thy truth do continually keep me.
12 For compassed me have evils innumerable, Overtaken me have mine iniquities, And I have not been able to see; They have been more than the hairs of my head, And my heart hath forsaken me.
13 Be pleased, O Jehovah, to deliver me, O Jehovah, for my help make haste.
14 They are ashamed and confounded together, Who are seeking my soul to destroy it, They are turned backward, And are ashamed, who are desiring my evil.
15 They are desolate because of their shame, Who are saying to me, `Aha, aha.'
16 All seeking Thee rejoice and are glad in Thee, Those loving Thy salvation say continually, `Jehovah is magnified.'
17 And I [am] poor and needy, The Lord doth devise for me. My help and my deliverer [art] Thou, O my God, tarry Thou not.
54 To the Overseer with stringed instruments. -- An instruction, by David, in the coming in of the Ziphim, and they say to Saul, `Is not David hiding himself with us?' O God, by Thy name save me, and by Thy might judge me.
2 O God, hear my prayer, Give ear to the sayings of my mouth,
3 For strangers have risen up against me And terrible ones have sought my soul, They have not set God before them. Selah.
4 Lo, God [is] a helper to me, The Lord [is] with those supporting my soul,
5 Turn back doth the evil thing to mine enemies, In Thy truth cut them off.
6 With a free will-offering I sacrifice to Thee, I thank Thy name, O Jehovah, for [it is] good,
7 For, from all adversity He delivered me, And on mine enemies hath mine eye looked!
51 To the Overseer. -- A Psalm of David, in the coming inn unto him of Nathan the prophet, when he hath gone in unto Bath-Sheba. Favour me, O God, according to Thy kindness, According to the abundance of Thy mercies, Blot out my transgressions.
2 Thoroughly wash me from mine iniquity, And from my sin cleanse me,
3 For my transgressions I do know, And my sin [is] before me continually.
4 Against Thee, Thee only, I have sinned, And done the evil thing in Thine eyes, So that Thou art righteous in Thy words, Thou art pure in Thy judging.
5 Lo, in iniquity I have been brought forth, And in sin doth my mother conceive me.
6 Lo, truth Thou hast desired in the inward parts, And in the hidden part Wisdom Thou causest me to know.
7 Thou cleansest me with hyssop and I am clean, Washest me, and than snow I am whiter.
8 Thou causest me to hear joy and gladness, Thou makest joyful bones Thou hast bruised.
9 Hide Thy face from my sin. And all mine iniquities blot out.
10 A clean heart prepare for me, O God, And a right spirit renew within me.
11 Cast me not forth from Thy presence, And Thy Holy Spirit take not from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, And a willing spirit doth sustain me.
13 I teach transgressors Thy ways, And sinners unto Thee do return.
14 Deliver me from blood, O God, God of my salvation, My tongue singeth of Thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, my lips thou dost open, And my mouth declareth Thy praise.
16 For Thou desirest not sacrifice, or I give [it], Burnt-offering Thou acceptest not.
17 The sacrifices of God [are] a broken spirit, A heart broken and bruised, O God, Thou dost not despise.
18 Do good in Thy good pleasure with Zion, Thou dost build the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then Thou desirest sacrifices of righteousness, Burnt-offering, and whole burnt-offering, Then they offer bullocks on thine altar!
20 And Ahab sendeth among all the sons of Israel, and gathereth the prophets unto the mount of Carmel;
21 and Elijah cometh nigh unto all the people, and saith, `Till when are ye leaping on the two branches? -- if Jehovah [is] God, go after Him; and if Baal, go after him;' and the people have not answered him a word.
22 And Elijah saith unto the people, `I -- I have been left a prophet of Jehovah -- by myself; and the prophets of Baal [are] four hundred and fifty men;
23 and let them give to us two bullocks, and they choose for themselves the one bullock, and cut it in pieces, and place [it] on the wood, and place no fire; and I -- I prepare the other bullock, and have put [it] on the wood, and fire I do not place; --
24 and ye have called in the name of your god, and I -- I call in the name of Jehovah, and it hath been, the god who answereth by fire -- He [is] the God.' And all the people answer and say, `Good [is] the word.'
25 And Elijah saith to the prophets of Baal, `Choose for you the one bullock, and prepare first, for ye [are] the multitude, and call ye in the name of your god, and place no fire.'
26 And they take the bullock that [one] gave to them, and prepare, and call in the name of Baal from the morning even till the noon, saying, `O Baal, answer us!' and there is no voice, and there is none answering; and they leap on the altar that one had made.
27 And it cometh to pass, at noon, that Elijah playeth on them, and saith, `Call with a loud voice, for he [is] a god, for he is meditating, or pursuing, or on a journey; it may be he is asleep, an doth awake.'
28 And they call with a loud voice, and cut themselves, according to their ordinance, with swords and with spears, till a flowing of blood [is] on them;
29 and it cometh to pass, at the passing by of the noon, that they feign themselves prophets till the going up of the present, and there is no voice, and there is none answering, and there is none attending.
30 And Elijah saith to all the people, `Come nigh unto me;' and all the people come nigh unto him, and he repaireth the altar of Jehovah that is broken down;
31 and Elijah taketh twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of Jehovah was, saying, `Israel is thy name;'
32 and he buildeth with the stones an altar, in the name of Jehovah, and maketh a trench, as about the space of two measures of seed, round about the altar.
33 And he arrangeth the wood, and cutteth in pieces the bullock, and placeth [it] on the wood, and saith, `Fill ye four pitchers of water, and pour on the burnt-offering, and on the wood;
34 and he saith, `Do [it] a second time;' and they do [it] a second time; and he saith, `Do [it] a third time;' and they do [it] a third time;
35 and the water goeth round about the altar, and also, the trench he hath filled with water.
36 And it cometh to pass, at the going up of the [evening-]present, that Elijah the prophet cometh nigh and saith, `Jehovah, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, to-day let it be known that Thou [art] God in Israel, and I Thy servant, that by Thy word I have done the whole of these things;
37 answer me, O Jehovah, answer me, and this people doth know that Thou [art] Jehovah God; and Thou hast turned their heart backward.'
38 And there falleth a fire of Jehovah, and consumeth the burnt-offering, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and the water that [is] in the trench it hath licked up.
39 And all the people see, and fall on their faces, and say, `Jehovah, He [is] the God, Jehovah, He [is] the God.'
40 And Elijah saith to them, `Catch ye the prophets of Baal; let not a man escape of them;' and they catch them, and Elijah bringeth them down unto the stream Kishon, and doth slaughter them there.
3 As to the rest, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord; the same things to write to you to me indeed is not tiresome, and for you [is] sure;
2 look to the dogs, look to the evil-workers, look to the concision;
3 for we are the circumcision, who by the Spirit are serving God, and glorying in Christ Jesus, and in flesh having no trust,
4 though I also have [cause of] trust in flesh. If any other one doth think to have trust in flesh, I more;
5 circumcision on the eighth day! of the race of Israel! of the tribe of Benjamin! a Hebrew of Hebrews! according to law a Pharisee!
6 according to zeal persecuting the assembly! according to righteousness that is in law becoming blameless!
7 But what things were to me gains, these I have counted, because of the Christ, loss;
8 yes, indeed, and I count all things to be loss, because of the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, because of whom of the all things I suffered loss, and do count them to be refuse, that Christ I may gain, and be found in him,
9 not having my righteousness, which [is] of law, but that which [is] through faith of Christ -- the righteousness that is of God by the faith,
10 to know him, and the power of his rising again, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death,
11 if anyhow I may attain to the rising again of the dead.
12 Not that I did already obtain, or have been already perfected; but I pursue, if also I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by the Christ Jesus;
13 brethren, I do not reckon myself to have laid hold; and one thing -- the things behind indeed forgetting, and to the things before stretching forth --
14 to the mark I pursue for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15 As many, therefore, as [are] perfect -- let us think this, and if [in] anything ye think otherwise, this also shall God reveal to you,
16 but to what we have come -- by the same rule walk, the same thing think;
3 And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, `Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,'
3 for this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, `A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths.'
4 And this John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field.
5 Then were going forth unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan,
6 and they were baptized in the Jordan by him, confessing their sins.
7 And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, `Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation,
9 and do not think to say in yourselves, A father we have -- Abraham, for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham,
10 and now also, the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree therefore not bearing good fruit is hewn down, and to fire is cast.
11 `I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,
12 whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather his wheat to the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.'