Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Way of the Righteous and Wicked
1 How blessed is the man who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the (C)way of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the law of [a]Yahweh,
And in His law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 And he will be like (I)a tree firmly planted by [b]streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its [c]leaf does not wither;
And [d]in whatever he does, (J)he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
But they are like (K)chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not rise in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the congregation of the righteous.
6 For Yahweh [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of Yahweh’s Anointed
2 Why do (Q)the [f]nations rage
And the peoples (R)meditate on a vain thing?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers take counsel together
(T)Against Yahweh and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (V)tear their fetters apart
And cast away their cords from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)mocks them.
5 Then He speaks to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrifies them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have [i]installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will surely tell of the [j]decree of Yahweh:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
8 Ask of Me, and (AD)I will surely give (AE)the [k]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [l](AG)break them with a [m]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like a potter’s vessel.’”
10 So now, O kings, (AI)show insight;
Take warning, O [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve Yahweh with (AJ)fear
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [o]Kiss (AL)the Son, lest He become angry, and you perish in the way,
For (AM)His [p]wrath may [q]soon be kindled.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Yahweh, Save Me
A Psalm of David. When [r]he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Yahweh, how (AO)my adversaries have become many!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying [s]of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” [t]Selah.
3 But You, O Yahweh, are (AQ)a shield about me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was calling to Yahweh with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [u]mountain. Selah.
5 [v]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for Yahweh sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who all around (AX)have set themselves against me.
7 (AY)Arise, O Yahweh; (AZ)save me, O my God!
For You have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [w]cheek;
You [x]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [y](BC)Salvation belongs to Yahweh;
Your (BD)blessing [z]be upon Your people! Selah.
Yahweh Makes Me Abide in Safety
[aa]For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, O God [ab]of my righteousness!
You have [ac](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 O sons of men, how long will (BJ)my glory become (BK)a reproach?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and seek (BM)falsehood? [ad]Selah.
3 But know that Yahweh has [ae](BN)set apart the (BO)holy one for Himself;
Yahweh (BP)hears when I call to Him.
In You I Have Taken Refuge
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to Yahweh concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.
7 O Yahweh my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)deliver me,
2 Lest he tear [b]my soul (C)like a lion,
Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)rewarded evil to him who [c]is at peace with me,
Or have (F)plundered my adversary without cause,
5 Let the enemy pursue [d]my soul and overtake [e]it;
And let him trample my life down to the ground
And cause my glory to dwell in the dust. [f]Selah.
6 (G)Arise, O Yahweh, in Your anger;
(H)Lift up Yourself against (I)the fury of my adversaries,
And (J)arouse Yourself [g]for me; You have appointed judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And over [h]them return on high.
8 Yahweh (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Give justice to me, O Yahweh, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 O let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)tests the hearts and [j]minds.
10 My (Q)shield is [k]with God,
Who (R)saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a (S)righteous judge,
And a God who has (T)indignation every day.
12 If [l]a man (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and prepared it.
13 He has also prepared [m]for Himself deadly weapons;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, he travails with wickedness,
And he (Y)conceives mischief and gives birth to falsehood.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)mischief will return upon his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend upon [n]his own skull.
11 Then (A)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of Yahweh from the book. 12 And he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—(B)Elishama the scribe, and (C)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and (D)Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 And Micaiah (E)declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book in the hearing of the people. 14 Then all the officials sent (F)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read in the hearing of the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah (G)took the scroll in his hand and went to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch (H)read it in their hearing. 16 Now it happened that when they heard all the words, they turned in (I)dread one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely (J)declare all these words to the king.” 17 And they asked Baruch, saying, “Declare to us, please, (K)how did you write all these words? Was it [a]at his dictation?” 18 Then Baruch said to them, “He (L)dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” 19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, (M)hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.”
The Scroll Is Burned
20 So they went to the (N)king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of (O)Elishama the scribe, and they declared all the words in the hearing of the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi (P)read it in the hearing of the king as well as in the hearing of all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in the (Q)winter house in the (R)ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23 And it happened that when Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and (S)threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll [b]was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24 Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were (T)not in dread, nor did they (U)tear their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah (V)interceded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to (W)take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but (X)Yahweh hid them.
The Excellence of Love
13 If I speak with the (A)tongues of men and of (B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a (C)clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have the gift of (D)prophecy, and know all (E)mysteries and all (F)knowledge; and if I have (G)all faith, so as to (H)remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I (I)give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I (J)surrender my body [a]to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.
4 Love (K)is patient, love is kind, (L)is not jealous, does not brag, is not (M)puffed up; 5 it does not act unbecomingly, (N)does not seek its own, is not provoked, (O)does not take into account a wrong suffered; 6 (P)it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but (Q)rejoices with the truth; 7 [b](R)it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails, but if there are gifts of [c](S)prophecy, they will be done away; if there are (T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. 9 For we (U)know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the [d]perfect comes, the partial will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child. When I [e]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we (V)see in a mirror [f]dimly, but then (W)face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also (X)have been fully known. 13 But now abide faith, hope, love—these three; but the [g]greatest of these is (Y)love.
The Twelve Disciples Sent Out
5 (A)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not [a]go [b]in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the (B)Samaritans; 6 but rather go to (C)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, [c]preach, saying, ‘(D)The kingdom of heaven [d]is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. 9 (E)Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, 10 or a [e]bag for your journey, or even two [f]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for (F)the worker is worthy of his [g]support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay there until you leave. 12 Now as you enter the [h]house, (G)give it your [i]greeting. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it. But if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you leave that house or that city, (H)shake the dust off your feet. 15 Truly I say to you, (I)it will be more tolerable for the land of (J)Sodom and Gomorrah in (K)the day of judgment than for that city.
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