Book of Common Prayer
The Heritage of the Righteous and the Calamity of the Wicked
A Psalm of David.
37 Do(A) not fret because of evildoers,
Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down (B)like the grass,
And wither as the green herb.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
4 (C)Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your (D)heart.
5 (E)Commit[a] your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
6 (F)He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, (G)and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who (H)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 (I)Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
(J)Do not fret—it only causes harm.
9 For evildoers shall be [b]cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall (K)inherit the earth.
10 For (L)yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, (M)you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
11 (N)But the meek shall inherit the earth,
And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,
(O)And gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 (P)The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees that (Q)his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn the sword
And have bent their bow,
To cast down the poor and needy,
To slay those who are of upright conduct.
15 Their sword shall enter their own heart,
And their bows shall be broken.
16 (R)A little that a righteous man has
Is better than the riches of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
But the Lord upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of the upright,
And their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,
And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish;
And the enemies of the Lord,
Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.
Into smoke they shall vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
But (S)the righteous shows mercy and gives.
22 (T)For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,
But those cursed by Him shall be [c]cut off.
23 (U)The steps of a good man are [d]ordered by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
24 (V)Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
For the Lord upholds him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
Nor his descendants begging bread.
26 (W)He is [e]ever merciful, and lends;
And his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good;
And dwell forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
And does not forsake His saints;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 (X)The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.
30 (Y)The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,
And his tongue talks of justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart;
None of his steps shall [f]slide.
32 The wicked (Z)watches the righteous,
And seeks to slay him.
33 The Lord (AA)will not leave him in his hand,
Nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 (AB)Wait on the Lord,
And keep His way,
And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
And spreading himself like a native green tree.
36 Yet [g]he passed away, and behold, he was no more;
Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;
For the future of that man is peace.
38 (AC)But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
The Destruction of Israel
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said:
“Strike the [a]doorposts, that the thresholds may shake,
And (A)break them on the heads of them all.
I will slay the last of them with the sword.
(B)He who flees from them shall not get away,
And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.
2 “Though(C) they dig into [b]hell,
From there My hand shall take them;
(D)Though they climb up to heaven,
From there I will bring them down;
3 And though they (E)hide themselves on top of Carmel,
From there I will search and take them;
Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea,
From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there (F)I will command the sword,
And it shall slay them.
(G)I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”
5 The Lord God of hosts,
He who touches the earth and it (H)melts,
(I)And all who dwell there mourn;
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
And subside like the River of Egypt.
6 He who builds His (J)layers[d] in the sky,
And has founded His strata in the earth;
Who (K)calls for the waters of the sea,
And pours them out on the face of the earth—
(L)The Lord is His name.
7 “Are you not like the [e]people of Ethiopia to Me,
O children of Israel?” says the Lord.
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
The (M)Philistines from (N)Caphtor,[f]
And the Syrians from (O)Kir?
The Persecuted Church
8 “And to the [a]angel of the church in Smyrna write,
‘These things says (A)the First and the Last, who was dead, and came to life: 9 “I know your works, tribulation, and poverty (but you are (B)rich); and I know the blasphemy of (C)those who say they are Jews and are not, (D)but are a [b]synagogue of Satan. 10 (E)Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. (F)Be faithful until death, and I will give you (G)the crown of life.
11 (H)“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by (I)the second death.” ’
The Compromising Church
12 “And to the [c]angel of the church in Pergamos write,
‘These things says (J)He who has the sharp two-edged sword: 13 “I know your works, and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. And you hold fast to My name, and did not deny My faith even in the days in which Antipas was My faithful martyr, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of (K)Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, (L)to eat things sacrificed to idols, (M)and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, [d]which thing I hate. 16 Repent, or else I will come to you quickly and (N)will fight against them with the sword of My mouth.
17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden (O)manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone (P)a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’
13 “But (A)woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 [a]Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (B)For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of [b]hell as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, (C)blind guides, who say, (D)‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold (E)or the temple that [c]sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift (F)or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who [d]swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by (G)Him who [e]dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by (H)the throne of God and by Him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (I)For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and (J)have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! (K)For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and [f]self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.