Book of Common Prayer
Mem
97 Oh how I (A)love Your law!
It is my (B)meditation all the day.
98 Your (C)commandments make me wiser than my enemies,
For they are [a]mine forever.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers,
For Your testimonies are my (D)meditation.
100 I perceive (E)more than the aged,
Because I have (F)observed Your precepts.
101 I have (G)restrained my feet from every evil way,
That I may keep Your word.
102 I have not (H)turned aside from Your judgments,
For You Yourself have taught me.
103 How (I)sweet is Your [b]word to my [c]taste!
Sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 From Your precepts I (J)get perception;
Therefore I (K)hate every false way.
Nun
105 Your word is a (L)lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
106 I have (M)sworn and I have confirmed,
To keep Your righteous judgments.
107 I am exceedingly (N)afflicted;
O Yahweh, [d](O)revive me according to Your word.
108 Oh be pleased with the (P)freewill offerings of my mouth, O Yahweh,
And (Q)teach me Your judgments.
109 My (R)soul is continually [e]in my hand,
Yet I do not (S)forget Your law.
110 The wicked have (T)laid a snare for me,
Yet I have not (U)wandered from Your precepts.
111 I have (V)inherited Your testimonies forever,
For they are the (W)joy of my heart.
112 I have (X)inclined my heart to do Your statutes
Forever, (Y)to the end.
Samekh
113 I hate those who are (Z)double-minded,
But I love Your (AA)law.
114 You are my (AB)hiding place and my (AC)shield;
I [f](AD)wait for Your word.
115 (AE)Depart from me, evildoers,
That I may (AF)observe the commandments of my God.
116 (AG)Sustain me according to Your [g]word, that I may live;
And (AH)do not put me to shame because of my hope.
117 Uphold me that I may be (AI)saved,
That I may (AJ)have regard for Your statutes continually.
118 You have [h]rejected all those (AK)who stray from Your statutes,
For their deceitfulness is a lie.
119 You [i]remove all the wicked of the earth like (AL)dross;
Therefore I (AM)love Your testimonies.
120 My flesh [j](AN)quakes for dread of You,
And I am (AO)afraid of Your judgments.
Oh That My People Would Listen to Me
For the choir director. According to the Gittith. Of Asaph.
81 (A)Sing for joy to God our (B)strength;
Make a loud (C)shout to the (D)God of Jacob.
2 Lift up a song of praise, strike (E)the tambourine,
The sweet sounding (F)lyre with the (G)harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at the (H)new moon,
At the full moon, on our (I)feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
(J)A judgment of the God of Jacob.
5 He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When he (K)went forth over the land of Egypt.
I heard a (L)language that I did not know:
6 “I [a](M)relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the [b]basket.
7 You (N)called in distress and I rescued you;
I (O)answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I tested you at the (P)waters of Meribah. [c]Selah.
8 (Q)Hear, O My people, and I will testify against you;
O Israel, if you (R)would listen to Me!
9 Let there be no (S)strange god among you;
And you shall not worship a foreign god.
10 (T)I am Yahweh your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
(U)Open your mouth wide and I will (V)fill it.
11 “But My people (W)did not listen to My voice,
And Israel was not willing to obey Me.
12 So I (X)released [d]them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
That they would walk in their own devices.
13 Oh that My people (Y)would listen to Me,
That Israel would (Z)walk in My ways!
14 I would quickly (AA)subdue their enemies
And I would (AB)turn My hand against their adversaries.
15 (AC)Those who hate Yahweh would (AD)cower before Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
16 [e]But I would feed you with the [f](AE)finest of the wheat,
And with (AF)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
God Stands in Judgment
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes His (AG)stand in the congregation of [g]God;
He (AH)judges in the midst of [h](AI)gods.
2 How long will you (AJ)judge unrighteously
And (AK)show partiality to the wicked? [i]Selah.
3 (AL)Give justice to the poor and the orphan;
Justify the afflicted and destitute.
4 (AM)Protect the poor and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They (AN)do not know and do not understand;
They (AO)walk about in darkness;
All the (AP)foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 [j]I (AQ)said, “You are gods,
And all of you are (AR)sons of the Most High.
7 Nevertheless (AS)you will die like men
And you will fall like any (AT)one of the princes.”
8 (AU)Arise, O God, (AV)judge the earth!
For it is You who (AW)will inherit all the nations.
The Axe Head Floats
6 And (A)the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Behold now, the place before you where we are living is too limited for us. 2 Please let us go to the Jordan and each of us take from there a beam, and let us make a place there for ourselves where we may live.” So he said, “Go.” 3 Then one said, “Please be willing to go with your servants.” And he [a]answered, “I shall go.” 4 So he went with them; and they came to the Jordan and cut down trees. 5 Now it happened that as one was felling a beam, [b]the axe head fell into the water; and he cried out and said, “Alas, my master! For it was borrowed.” 6 Then the man of God said, “Where did it fall?” And when he showed him the place, (B)he cut off a stick and threw it in there and made the iron float. 7 And he said, “Take it up for yourself.” So he sent forth his hand and took it.
Horses and Chariots of Fire Around Elisha
8 Now the king of Aram was warring against Israel; and he [c]counseled with his servants saying, “In such and such a place shall be my camp.” 9 (C)And the man of God sent word to the king of Israel saying, “Beware that you do not pass this place, for the Arameans are coming down there.” 10 And the king of Israel sent to the place about which the man of God had told him; thus he warned him, so that he guarded himself there, [d]more than once or twice.
11 Then the heart of the king of Aram was enraged over this thing; and he called his servants and said to them, “Will you not tell me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 12 And one of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 13 So he said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and take him.” And it was told to him, saying, “Behold, he is in (D)Dothan.” 14 So he sent horses and chariots and a heavy military force there, and they came by night and surrounded the city.
15 Then the attendant of the man of God arose early and went out, and behold, a military force with horses and chariots was all around the city. And his young man said to him, “Alas, my master! [e]What shall we do?” 16 So he said, “(E)Do not fear, for (F)those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” 17 Then Elisha prayed and said, “(G)O Yahweh, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.” And Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of (H)horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 18 And they came down to him, and Elisha prayed to Yahweh and said, “Strike this [f]people with blindness, I pray.” So He (I)struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 19 Then Elisha said to them, “This is not the way, and this is not the city; walk after me and I will walk you over to the man whom you seek.” And he walked them over to Samaria.
20 Now it happened that when they had come into Samaria, Elisha said, “O (J)Yahweh, open the eyes of these men, that they may see.” So Yahweh opened their eyes and they saw; and behold, they were in the midst of Samaria. 21 Then the king of Israel when he saw them, said to Elisha, “(K)My father, shall I strike them down? Shall I strike them down?” 22 And he said, “You shall not strike them down. Would you (L)strike down those you have taken captive with your sword and with your bow? (M)Set bread and water before them, that they may eat and drink and walk back to their master.” 23 So he prepared a great feast for them; and when they had eaten and drunk, he sent them away, and they went to their master. And (N)the marauding bands of Arameans did not come again into the land of Israel.
9 I wrote you in my letter (A)not to associate with sexually immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the greedy and swindlers, or with (B)idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But now I am writing to you not to associate [a]with any so-called (C)brother if he is a sexually immoral person, or greedy, or (D)an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging (E)outsiders? (F)Are you not to judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God will judge. (G)Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.
Lawsuits Among Believers
6 Does any one of you, when he has a [b]case against another, dare to be tried before the unrighteous and (H)not before the [c]saints? 2 Or (I)do you not know that (J)the [d]saints will judge (K)the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not worthy to [e]constitute the smallest law courts? 3 (L)Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? 4 So if you have law courts dealing with matters of this life, do you appoint those who are of no account in the church as judges? 5 (M)I say this to your shame. Is it really this way: there is not one wise man among you who will be able to pass judgment between his (N)brothers? 6 On the contrary, brother is tried with brother, and that before (O)unbelievers!
7 Actually, then, it is already a failure for you, that you have lawsuits with one another. (P)Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your (Q)brothers.
38 “(A)You have heard that it was said, ‘(B)An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but (C)whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your [a]tunic, let him have your [b]garment also. 41 And whoever [c]forces you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 (D)Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43 “(E)You have heard that it was said, ‘(F)You shall love your neighbor (G)and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, (H)love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may [d]be (I)sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For (J)if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 Therefore [e](K)you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.