Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Yodh
73 (A)Your hands made me and [a]fashioned me;
(B)Give me understanding, so that I may learn Your commandments.
74 May those who [b]fear You (C)see me and be glad,
Because I [c](D)wait for Your word.
75 I know, Lord, that Your judgments are (E)righteous,
And that You have afflicted me (F)in faithfulness.
76 May Your favor [d]comfort me,
According to Your [e]word to Your servant.
77 May (G)Your compassion come to me so that I may live,
For Your Law is my (H)delight.
78 May (I)the arrogant be put to shame, because they lead me astray (J)with a lie;
But I shall (K)meditate on Your precepts.
79 May those who [f]fear You turn to me,
And those who know Your testimonies.
80 May my heart be [g](L)blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not (M)be ashamed.
Kaph
81 My (N)soul languishes for Your salvation;
I [h](O)wait for Your word.
82 My (P)eyes fail with longing for Your [i]word,
[j]While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I have (Q)become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do (R)not forget Your statutes.
84 How many are the (S)days of Your servant?
When will You (T)execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have (U)dug pits for me,
People who are not in accord with Your Law.
86 All Your commandments are (V)faithful;
They have (W)persecuted me with a lie; (X)help me!
87 They almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I (Y)did not abandon Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your faithfulness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Lamedh
89 (Z)Forever, Lord,
Your word stands in heaven.
90 Your (AA)faithfulness continues [k]throughout generations;
You (AB)established the earth, and it (AC)stands.
91 They stand this day by Your (AD)ordinances,
For (AE)all things are Your servants.
92 If Your Law had not been my (AF)delight,
Then I would have perished (AG)in my misery.
93 I will (AH)never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have [l](AI)revived me.
94 I am Yours, (AJ)save me;
For I have (AK)sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked (AL)wait for me to destroy me;
I will diligently consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen [m]a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Idolatry Forbidden
19 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
2 “Speak to all the congregation of the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘(A)You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. 3 Every one of you (B)shall revere his mother and his father, and you shall keep (C)My Sabbaths; (D)I am the Lord your God. 4 Do not turn to (E)idols or make for yourselves cast metal (F)gods; I am the Lord your God.
5 ‘Now when you offer a sacrifice of peace offerings to the Lord, you shall offer it so that you may be accepted. 6 It shall be eaten on the same day you offer it, and on the next day; but what remains until the third day shall be burned with fire. 7 So if it is eaten at all on the third day, it is unclean; it will not be accepted. 8 And everyone who eats it will bear the consequences for his guilt, because he has profaned the holy thing of the Lord; and that person shall be cut off from his people.
Various Laws
9 ‘(G)Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. 10 And you shall not glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the Lord your God.
11 ‘(H)You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, (I)nor lie to one another. 12 And (J)you shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to (K)profane the name of your God; I am the Lord.
13 ‘(L)You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. (M)The wages of a hired worker are not to remain with you all night until morning. 14 You shall not curse a person who is deaf, nor (N)put a stumbling block before a person who is blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the Lord.
15 ‘(O)You shall not do injustice in judgment; you shall not show partiality to the poor nor give preference to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. 16 You shall not go about as (P)a slanderer among your people; and you are not to [a]jeopardize the [b](Q)life of your neighbor. I am the Lord.
17 ‘You (R)shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you (S)may certainly rebuke your neighbor, but you are not to incur sin because of him. 18 (T)You shall not take vengeance, (U)nor hold any grudge against the sons of your people, but (V)you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.
Christian Conduct
12 But we ask you, brothers and sisters, to (A)recognize those (B)who diligently labor among you and [a](C)are in leadership over you in the Lord, and give you [b]instruction, 13 and that you regard them very highly in love because of their work. (D)Live in peace with one another. 14 We urge you, brothers and sisters, admonish (E)the [c]unruly, encourage (F)the fainthearted, help (G)the weak, be (H)patient with everyone. 15 See that (I)no one repays another with evil for evil, but always (J)seek what is good for one another and for all people. 16 (K)Rejoice always, 17 (L)pray without ceasing, 18 in everything (M)give thanks; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus. 19 (N)Do not quench the Spirit, 20 do not utterly reject [d](O)prophecies, 21 but (P)examine everything; (Q)hold firmly to that which is good, 22 abstain from every [e]form of evil.
23 Now (R)may the God of peace (S)Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your (T)spirit and soul and body be kept complete, (U)without blame at (V)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 (W)Faithful is He who (X)calls you, and He also will do it.
25 Brothers and sisters, (Y)pray for us[f].
26 (Z)Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss. 27 I put you under oath by the Lord to (AA)have this letter read to all the (AB)brothers and sisters.
28 (AC)May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
19 “(A)Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves (B)treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for (C)where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “(D)The eye is the lamp of the body; so then, if your eye is [a]clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if (E)your eye is [b]bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24 “(F)No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and [c](G)wealth.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.