Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah
4 (G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
7 [d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry out with my voice to the Lord;
With my voice I (B)implore the Lord for compassion.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit felt weak within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me favorably;
[c]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give Your attention to my cry,
For I have been (N)brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)look after me.”
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 Lord, I call upon You; (A)hurry to me!
(B)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)raising of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With people who (I)do wrong;
And (J)may I not taste their delicacies.
5 May the (K)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is (L)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer (M)is still against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [d]Sheol.
Prayer for Help and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For (E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]feels weak within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I (L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)spread out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah
7 (O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)faithfulness (T)in the morning,
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
[c]I take refuge in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [d]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your faithfulness, [e](AE)destroy my enemies,
And (AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
36 (A)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned for eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (B)in accordance with all that his forefathers had done.
Babylon Controls Jehoiakim
24 (C)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and revolted against him. 2 And the Lord sent against him (D)bands of Chaldeans, (E)bands of Arameans, (F)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (G)in accordance with the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. 3 (H)It indeed came upon Judah at the [a]command of the Lord, to remove them from His sight (I)due to the sins of Manasseh, in accordance with everything that he had done, 4 and (J)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord was unwilling to forgive. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Jehoiachin Reigns
6 So (K)Jehoiakim [b]lay down with his fathers, and his son Jehoiachin became king in his place. 7 Now (L)the king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, (M)because the king of Babylon had taken everything that belonged to the king of Egypt from (N)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 (O)Jehoiachin was (P)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned for three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (Q)in accordance with all that his father had done.
Deportation to Babylon
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 Then (R)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he, his mother, his servants, his commanders, and his officials. And (S)the king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign. 13 (T)He also brought out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and he (U)smashed all the articles of gold (V)that Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then (W)he led into exile all the people of Jerusalem and all the commanders and all the valiant warriors, (X)ten thousand exiles, and (Y)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None were left (Z)except the poorest people of the land.
15 So (AA)he led Jehoiachin into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother, the king’s wives, and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And all the valiant men, (AB)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, a thousand, all strong and fit for war, these too the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.
Zedekiah Made King
17 (AC)Then the king of Babylon made [c]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
12 For just (A)as the body is one and yet has many parts, and all the parts of the body, though they are many, are one body, (B)so also is Christ. 13 For [a](C)by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether (D)Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to (E)drink of one Spirit.
14 For (F)the body is not one part, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [b]any less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [c]any less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has (G)arranged the parts, each one of them in the body, (H)just as He desired. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 But now (I)there are many parts, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again, the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, [d]it is much truer that the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those parts of the body which we [e]consider less honorable, [f]on these we bestow greater honor, and our less presentable parts become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable parts have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that part which lacked, 25 so that there may be no [g]division in the body, but that the parts may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one part of the body suffers, all the parts suffer with it; if a part is [h]honored, all the parts rejoice with it.
27 As Jesus went on from there, two men who were blind followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, (A)Son of David!” 28 And after He entered the house, the men who were blind came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “[a]It shall be done for you (B)according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus (C)sternly warned them, saying, “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and (D)spread the news about Him throughout that land.
32 And as they were going out, behold, (E)a (F)demon-possessed man who was unable to speak [b]was brought to Him. 33 And after the demon was cast out, the man who was previously unable to speak talked; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “(G)Nothing like this has ever [c]been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He (H)casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
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