Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Salvation in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 (A)Protect me, God, for (B)I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I (C)have nothing good besides You.”
3 As for the [d](D)saints who are on the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones; (E)all my delight is in them.
4 [f]The (F)pains of those who have acquired another god will be multiplied;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of (G)blood,
Nor will I (H)take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the (I)portion of my inheritance and my (J)cup;
You support my (K)lot.
6 The measuring (L)lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my inheritance is (M)beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has (N)advised me;
Indeed, my [g](O)mind instructs me in the night.
8 (P)I have (Q)set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is (R)at my right hand, (S)I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore (T)my heart is glad and (U)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will (V)dwell securely.
10 For You (W)will not abandon my soul to [h]Sheol;
You will not [i](X)allow Your [j]Holy One to [k]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me (Y)the way of life;
In (Z)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are (AA)pleasures forever.
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a (AB)just cause, Lord, (AC)give Your attention to my cry;
(AD)Listen to my prayer, which is not from (AE)deceitful lips.
2 Let (AF)my [l]judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with (AG)integrity.
3 You have (AH)put my heart to the test;
You have visited me by night;
You have (AI)sifted me and (AJ)You find [m]nothing;
My (AK)intent is that my mouth will not offend.
4 As for the works of mankind, (AL)by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the (AM)ways of the violent.
5 My (AN)steps have held to Your [n]paths.
My (AO)feet have not slipped.
6 I have (AP)called upon You, for You will answer me, God;
(AQ)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 (AR)Show Your wonderful faithfulness,
(AS)Savior of those who take refuge [o]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as [p]the (AT)apple of the eye;
Hide me (AU)in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the (AV)wicked who deal violently with me,
My (AW)deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have (AX)closed their [q]unfeeling hearts,
With their mouths they (AY)speak proudly.
11 They have now (AZ)surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes (BA)to cast us down to the ground.
12 He is (BB)like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion (BC)lurking in secret places.
13 (BD)Arise, Lord, confront him, (BE)make him bow down;
(BF)Save my soul from the wicked with (BG)Your sword,
14 From people by (BH)Your hand, Lord,
From people [r]of the world, (BI)whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You (BJ)fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babies.
15 As for me, I shall (BK)behold Your face in righteousness;
(BL)I shall be satisfied with Your (BM)likeness when I awake.
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the music director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
(B)Far from my [b]help are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 My God, I (D)cry out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)rescued them.
5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a person,
A (K)disgrace of mankind and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me (M)deride me;
They [g]sneer, they (N)shake their heads, saying,
8 “[h]Turn [i]him over to the Lord; (O)let Him save him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 I was cast upon You (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Do not be far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)no one to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open their mouths wide at me,
As a ravening and roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a piece of pottery,
And (AB)my tongue clings to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And they cast lots for my clothing.
19 But You, Lord, (AH)do not be far away;
You who are my help, (AI)hurry to my assistance.
20 Save my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
May your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A [x](BH)posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
Zedekiah Seeks an Answer from God
14 Then King Zedekiah (A)sent word and [a]had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to (B)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 And Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “(C)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in (D)secret, saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this [b](E)life for us, I certainly will not put you to death, nor will I hand you over to (F)these men who are seeking your [c]life.”
17 So Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord (G)God of armies, the (H)God of Israel says: ‘If you will indeed (I)surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then [d]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will [e]survive. 18 But if you do (J)not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city (K)will be handed over to the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and (L)you yourself will not escape from their hands.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am (M)in fear of the Jews who have (N)deserted to the Chaldeans, for they may hand me over to them, and they will (O)abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not turn you over. Please [f](P)obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, so that it may go (Q)well for you and [g](R)you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to surrender, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Behold, all of the (S)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,
“[h]Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back.”
23 They are also going to bring out all your wives and your (T)sons to the Chaldeans, and (U)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and (V)this city will be burned with fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no one know about these words, and you will not die. 25 But if the (W)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you are to say to them, ‘I was (X)presenting my plea before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they stopped speaking with him, since the [i]conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah (Y)stayed in the courtyard of the guard until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
15 Now (A)I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the (B)gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, (C)in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, (D)if you hold firmly to [a]the word which I preached to you, (E)unless you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I handed down to you [b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died (G)for our sins (H)according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was (I)raised on the third day (J)according to the Scriptures, 5 and that (K)He appeared to [c](L)Cephas, then (M)to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some (N)have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to [d](O)James, then to (P)all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [e]to one untimely born, (Q)He appeared to me also. 9 For I am (R)the least of the apostles, [f]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I (S)persecuted the church of God. 10 But by (T)the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I (U)labored even more than all of them, yet (V)not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
John’s Questions
11 (A)When Jesus had finished [a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there (B)to teach and [b]preach in their cities.
2 (C)Now while in prison, (D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, 3 and said to Him, “Are You (E)the Coming One, or are we to [c]look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the (G)poor have the [d]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is [e]any person who (H)does not [f]take offense at Me.”
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