Book of Common Prayer
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
5 God, You know (I)my foolishness,
And (J)my guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not (K)be ashamed because of me, Lord [e]God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
7 Because (L)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become (N)estranged [f]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For (O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And (P)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept (Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my (R)disgrace.
11 When I made (S)sackcloth my clothing,
I became (T)a proverb to them.
12 Those who (U)sit in the gate talk about me,
And (V)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, (W)at an acceptable time;
God, in the (X)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with [g]Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the (Y)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be (Z)rescued from those who hate me, and from the (AA)depths of water.
15 May the [h](AB)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the (AC)pit close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, for (AD)Your mercy is good;
(AE)According to the greatness of Your compassion, (AF)turn to me,
17 And (AG)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am (AH)in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to my soul and (AI)redeem it;
(AJ)Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my (AK)disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are [i]known to You.
20 Disgrace has (AL)broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And (AM)I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for (AN)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [j](AO)a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they (AP)gave me vinegar to drink.
22 May (AQ)their table before them become a snare;
And [k](AR)when they are at peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their (AS)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their (AT)hips shake continually.
24 (AU)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [l](AV)camp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
26 For they have (AW)persecuted him whom (AX)You Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom (AY)You have [m]wounded.
27 Add (AZ)guilt to their guilt,
And (BA)may they not come into (BB)Your righteousness.
28 May they be (BC)wiped out of the (BD)book of life,
And may they not be [n](BE)recorded with the righteous.
29 But I am (BF)afflicted and in pain;
[o]May Your salvation, God, (BG)set me safely on high.
30 I will (BH)praise the name of God with song,
And (BI)exalt Him with (BJ)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (BK)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (BL)humble [p]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (BM)let your heart [q]revive.
33 For (BN)the Lord hears the needy,
And (BO)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
34 (BP)Heaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and (BQ)everything that moves in them.
35 For God will (BR)save Zion and (BS)build the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and (BT)possess it.
36 The [r](BU)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name (BV)will live in it.
BOOK 3
The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.
A Psalm of Asaph.
73 God certainly is (A)good to Israel,
To those who are (B)pure in heart!
2 But as for me, (C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps [a]had almost slipped.
3 For I was (D)envious of the [b]arrogant
As I saw the (E)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
5 They are (F)not [c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they (G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore arrogance is (H)their necklace;
The (I)garment of violence covers them.
7 Their eye [d]bulges from (J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
8 They (K)mock and [e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They (L)speak from on high.
9 They have (M)set their mouth [f]against the heavens,
And their tongue [g]parades through the earth.
10 Therefore [h]his people return here,
And (N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
11 They say, “(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge [i]with the Most High?”
12 Behold, (P)these are the wicked;
And always (Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
13 Surely (R)in vain I have [j]kept my heart pure
And (S)washed my hands in innocence;
14 For I have been stricken (T)all day long,
And [k](U)punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the (V)generation of Your children.
16 When I (W)thought of understanding this,
It was [l]troublesome in my sight
17 Until I entered the [m](X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their (Y)end.
18 You indeed put them on (Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into [n](AA)ruin.
19 How they are [o](AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by (AC)sudden terrors!
20 Like a (AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when (AE)stirred, You will (AF)despise their image.
21 When my (AG)heart was embittered
And I was (AH)pierced [p]within,
22 Then I was (AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an (AJ)animal [q]before You.
23 Nevertheless (AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
24 You will (AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward (AM)receive me [r]to glory.
25 (AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
26 My (AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the [s]strength of my heart and my (AP)portion forever.
27 For, behold, (AQ)those who are far from You will (AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who [t](AS)are unfaithful to You.
28 But as for me, (AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord [u]God my (AU)refuge,
So that I may (AV)tell of all Your works.
The King’s Kindness
27 Blessed be the Lord, the God of our fathers, (A)who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to glorify the house of the Lord which is in Jerusalem, 28 and (B)has extended favor to me before the king and his counselors and before all the king’s mighty officials. So I was strengthened according to (C)the hand of the Lord my God that was upon me, and I gathered [a]leading men from Israel to go up with me.
Protection of God Invoked
21 Then I proclaimed (A)a fast there at (B)the river of Ahava, to (C)humble ourselves before our God, to seek from Him a [a]safe journey for us, our little ones, and all our possessions. 22 For I was ashamed to request from the king troops and horsemen to [b]protect us from the enemy on the way, because we had said to the king, “(D)The hand of our God is [c]favorably disposed to all who seek Him, but (E)His power and His anger are against all those who (F)abandon Him.” 23 So we fasted and sought our God concerning this matter, and He [d](G)listened to our pleading.
24 Then I selected twelve of the leading priests: (H)Sherebiah, Hashabiah, and with them ten of their brothers; 25 and I (I)weighed out to them (J)the silver, the gold, and the utensils, the offering for the house of our God which the king, (K)his counselors, his officials, and all Israel who were present there had contributed. 26 (L)So I weighed into their hands [e]650 talents of silver, and silver utensils worth [f]a hundred talents, and a hundred gold talents, 27 and twenty gold bowls worth a thousand [g]darics, and two utensils of fine shiny bronze, precious as gold. 28 Then I said to them, “(M)You are holy to the Lord, and the (N)utensils are holy; and the silver and the gold are a [h]voluntary offering to the Lord God of your fathers. 29 Watch and keep them (O)until you weigh them before the leading priests, the Levites, and the leaders of the fathers’ households of Israel in Jerusalem, in the chambers of the house of the Lord.” 30 So the priests and the Levites (P)accepted the weight of silver and gold and the utensils, to bring them to Jerusalem to the house of our God.
31 Then we journeyed from (Q)the river Ahava on (R)the twelfth of the first month to go to Jerusalem; and (S)the hand of our God was upon us, and He rescued us from the hand of the enemy and the ambushes by the road. 32 (T)So we came to Jerusalem and remained there for three days.
Treasure Placed in the Temple
33 And on the fourth day the silver, the gold, and the utensils (U)were weighed out in the house of our God into the hand of (V)Meremoth the son of Uriah the priest, and with him was Eleazar the son of Phinehas; and with them were the Levites, Jozabad the son of Jeshua and Noadiah the son of Binnui. 34 A notation was made for everything by number and weight, and all the weight was recorded at that time.
35 (W)The exiles who had come from the captivity offered burnt offerings to the God of Israel: (X)twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, twelve male goats for a sin offering, all as a burnt offering to the Lord. 36 Then (Y)they delivered the king’s edicts to (Z)the king’s satraps and the governors in the provinces beyond the Euphrates River, and they supported the people and the house of God.
A Scene of Heaven
15 Then I saw (A)another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, (B)seven angels who had (C)seven plagues, which are (D)the last, because in them the wrath of God is finished.
2 And I saw something like a (E)sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who (F)were victorious [a]over the (G)beast and (H)his image and the (I)number of his name, standing on the (J)sea of glass, holding (K)harps of God. 3 And they *sang the (L)song of Moses, (M)the bond-servant of God, and the (N)song of the Lamb, saying,
“(O)Great and marvelous are Your works,
(P)Lord God, the Almighty;
Righteous and true are Your ways,
(Q)King of the [b]nations!
4 (R)Who will not fear You, Lord, and glorify Your name?
For You alone are holy;
For (S)all the nations will come and worship before You,
For Your [c](T)righteous acts have been revealed.”
5 After these things I looked, and (U)the [d]temple of the (V)tabernacle of testimony in heaven was opened, 6 and the (W)seven angels who had the seven plagues (X)came out of the [e]temple, clothed in [f]linen, clean and bright, and (Y)their chests wrapped with golden sashes. 7 And one of the (Z)four living creatures gave the (AA)seven angels seven (AB)golden bowls full of the (AC)wrath of God, who (AD)lives forever and ever. 8 And the [g]temple was filled with (AE)smoke from the glory of God and from His power; and no one was able to enter the [h]temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were finished.
Five Thousand Men Fed
13 (A)Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the [a]people heard about this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14 When He came [b]ashore, He (B)saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and (C)healed their sick.
15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, “This place is secluded and the hour is already past to eat; send the crowds away, so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go; you give them something to eat!” 17 They *said to Him, “We have nothing here except (D)five loaves and two fish.” 18 And He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19 And ordering the crowds to [c]sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looked up toward heaven. He (E)blessed the food and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces: twelve full (F)baskets. 21 There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.
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