Book of Common Prayer
BOOK 1
The Righteous and the Wicked Contrasted.
1 Blessed is the person who (A)does not walk in the (B)counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the [a](C)path of sinners,
Nor (D)sit in the seat of scoffers!
2 But his (E)delight is (F)in the Law of the Lord,
And on His Law he meditates (G)day and (H)night.
3 He will be like (I)a tree 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 blows away.
5 Therefore (L)the wicked will not stand in the (M)judgment,
Nor sinners in (N)the assembly of the righteous.
6 For the Lord [e](O)knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of (P)the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed.
2 Why are (Q)the [f]nations restless
And the peoples (R)plotting in vain?
2 The (S)kings of the earth take their stand
And the rulers conspire together
(T)Against the Lord and against His [g](U)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let’s (V)tear their shackles apart
And throw their ropes away from us!”
4 He who [h]sits in the heavens (W)laughs,
The Lord (X)scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His (Y)anger
And (Z)terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 “But as for Me, I have installed (AA)My King
Upon Zion, (AB)My holy mountain.”
7 “I will announce the [i]decree of the Lord:
He said to Me, ‘You are (AC)My Son,
Today I have fathered You.
8 Ask it of Me, and (AD)I will certainly give (AE)the [j]nations as Your inheritance,
And the (AF)ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 You shall [k](AG)break them with a [l]rod of iron,
You shall (AH)shatter them like [m]earthenware.’”
10 Now then, you kings, (AI)use insight;
Let yourselves be instructed, you [n]judges of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with [o](AJ)reverence
And rejoice with (AK)trembling.
12 [p]Kiss (AL)the Son, that He not be angry and you perish on the way,
For (AM)His wrath may be kindled quickly.
How blessed are all who (AN)take refuge in Him!
Morning Prayer of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David, when [q]he fled from his son Absalom.
3 Lord, how (AO)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
2 Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no (AP)salvation for him in God.” Selah
3 But You, Lord, are (AQ)a shield around me,
My (AR)glory, and the One who (AS)lifts my head.
4 I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He (AT)answered me from (AU)His holy [r]mountain. Selah
5 [s]I (AV)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
6 I will (AW)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have (AX)set themselves against me all around.
7 (AY)Arise, Lord; (AZ)save me, my God!
For You [t]have (BA)struck all my enemies on the [u]cheek;
You [v]have (BB)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
8 [w](BC)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your (BD)blessing [x]be upon Your people! Selah
Evening Prayer of Trust in God.
[y]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 (BE)Answer me when (BF)I call, God [z]of my righteousness!
You have [aa](BG)relieved me in my distress;
Be (BH)gracious to me and (BI)hear my prayer.
2 You sons of man, how long will (BJ)my [ab]honor be treated as (BK)an insult?
How long will you love (BL)what is worthless and strive for a (BM)lie? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has [ac](BN)set apart the (BO)godly person for Himself;
The Lord (BP)hears when I call to Him.
The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.
A [a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord [b]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
7 O Lord my God, (A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and (B)rescue me,
2 Or he will tear [c]my soul (C)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is (D)injustice in my hands,
4 If I have (E)done evil to [d]my friend,
Or have (F)plundered [e]my enemy for no reason,
5 Let the enemy pursue [f]my soul and overtake [g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 (G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
(H)Raise Yourself against (I)the rage of my enemies,
And (J)stir Yourself [h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the (K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
8 The Lord (L)judges the peoples;
[i](M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
9 Please let (N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but (O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God (P)puts hearts and [j]minds to the test.
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 (T)shows indignation every day.
12 If one (U)does not repent, He will (V)sharpen His sword;
He has (W)bent His bow and taken aim.
13 He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His (X)arrows fiery shafts.
14 Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he (Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
15 He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has (Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
16 His (AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his (AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.
11 Now when (A)Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, 12 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, (C)Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, (D)Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, 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 to the people. 14 Then all the officials sent (F)Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, who was the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah (G)took the scroll in his hand and came to them. 15 And they said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch (H)read it to them. 16 When they had heard all the words, they turned in (I)fear one to another. And they said to Baruch, “We will certainly (J)report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, (K)how did you write all these words? Was it [a]at Jeremiah’s dictation?” 18 And 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 came to the (N)king in the courtyard, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of (O)Elishama the scribe; and they reported all the words to 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 to the king as well as to all the officials who were standing 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 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 of the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24 Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words did (T)not tremble in fear, nor did they (U)tear their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah (V)urged 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)seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the (X)Lord hid them.
The Excellence of Love
13 If I speak with the (A)tongues of mankind and of (B)angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a (C)clanging cymbal. 2 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 away all my possessions to charity, and if I (J)surrender my body so that I may [a]glory, but do not have love, it does me no good.
4 Love (K)is patient, love is kind, it (L)is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not (M)arrogant. 5 It does not act disgracefully, it (N)does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, (O)does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, 6 (P)it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but (Q)rejoices with the truth; 7 it [b](R)keeps every confidence, it 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 with; if there are (T)tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we (U)know in part and prophesy in part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I [d]became a man, I did away with childish things. 12 For now we (V)see in a mirror [e]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 faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but the [f]greatest of these is (Y)love.
5 (A)These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them, saying, “Do not go on a road [a]to Gentiles, and do not enter a city of (B)Samaritans; 6 but rather go to (C)the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And as you go, [b]preach, saying, ‘(D)The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those with leprosy, 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 [c]bag for your journey, or even two [d]tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for (F)the worker is deserving of his [e]support. 11 And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay [f]at his house until you leave that city. 12 As you enter the [g]house, (G)give it your [h]greeting. 13 If the house is worthy, see that your blessing of peace comes upon it. But if it is not worthy, [i]take back your blessing of peace. 14 And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or 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 on (K)the day of judgment, than for that city.
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