Book of Common Prayer
Delight Yourself in Yahweh
Of David.
Aleph
37 (A)Do not fret because of evildoers,
Be not (B)envious toward doers of unrighteousness.
2 For they will (C)wither quickly like the grass
And (D)fade like the green herb.
Beth
3 (E)Trust in Yahweh and do good;
(F)Dwell in the land and [a](G)cultivate faithfulness.
4 (H)Delight yourself in Yahweh;
And He will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
Gimel
5 (J)Commit your way to Yahweh,
Trust in Him, and He will do it.
6 He will bring forth (K)your righteousness as the light
And your judgment (L)as the noonday.
Daleth
7 Be still in Yahweh and (M)wait [b]patiently for Him;
(N)Do not fret because of him who (O)prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out schemes of wickedness.
He
8 Cease from anger and (P)forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For (Q)evildoers will be cut off,
But those who hope for Yahweh, they will (R)inherit the land.
Vav
10 Yet (S)a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
You will look carefully at (T)his place, and he will not be there.
11 But (U)the lowly will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in (V)abundant peace.
Zayin
12 The wicked (W)schemes against the righteous
And (X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
13 The Lord (Y)laughs at him,
For He sees that (Z)his day is coming.
Heth
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and (AA)bent their bow
To cast down the (AB)afflicted and the needy,
To (AC)slay those who are upright in conduct.
15 Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their (AD)bows will be broken.
Teth
16 (AE)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the (AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But Yahweh (AG)sustains the righteous.
Yodh
18 Yahweh (AH)knows the days of the [c]blameless,
And their (AI)inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And (AJ)in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
Kaph
20 But the (AK)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of Yahweh will be like the [d]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—(AL)in smoke they vanish away.
Lamedh
21 The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous (AM)is gracious and gives.
22 For (AN)those blessed by Him will (AO)inherit the land,
But those (AP)cursed by Him will be cut off.
Mem
23 (AQ)The footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh,
And He (AR)delights in his way.
24 When (AS)he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because (AT)Yahweh is the One [e]who sustains his hand.
Nun
25 I was young and now I am old,
Yet (AU)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or (AV)his seed begging bread.
26 All day long (AW)he is gracious and lends,
And (AX)his seed is a blessing.
Samekh
Ayin
28 For Yahweh (BA)loves [f]justice
And (BB)will not forsake His holy ones;
They are (BC)kept forever,
But the (BD)seed of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will (BE)inherit the land
And (BF)dwell in it forever.
Pe
30 The mouth of the righteous (BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue (BH)speaks justice.
31 The (BI)law of his God is in his heart;
His (BJ)steps do not slip.
Tsadhe
32 The (BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And (BL)seeks to put him to death.
33 Yahweh will (BM)not forsake him in his hand;
(BN)He will not condemn him when he is judged.
Qoph
34 (BO)Hope for Yahweh and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the (BP)wicked are cut off, you will see it.
Resh
35 I have (BQ)seen a wicked, ruthless man
Spreading himself like a (BR)luxuriant [g]tree in its native soil.
36 Then [h]he passed away, and behold, he (BS)was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
Shin
37 Observe the [i](BT)blameless man, and behold the (BU)upright;
For the man of peace will have [j]a (BV)posterity.
38 But transgressors will be altogether (BW)destroyed;
The [k]posterity of the wicked will be (BX)cut off.
Tav
30 There is (A)no wisdom, there is no discernment
And there is no counsel against Yahweh.
31 The (B)horse is set for the day of battle,
But (C)salvation belongs to Yahweh.
Yahweh Is the Maker of All
22 A (D)good name is to be chosen over great wealth,
Favor is better than silver and gold.
2 The rich and the poor meet together in this—
Yahweh is the (E)Maker of them all.
3 A (F)prudent man sees evil and hides,
But the simple pass on, and are punished.
4 The reward of humility—the [a]fear of Yahweh—
Is riches, glory, and life.
5 (G)Thorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;
He who keeps his soul will be far from them.
6 [b](H)Train up a child [c]according to his way,
Even when he is old he will not [d]depart from it.
Some Will Fall Away
4 But (A)the Spirit explicitly says that (B)in later times some will [a]fall away from the faith, paying attention to (C)deceitful spirits and (D)doctrines of demons, 2 by the hypocrisy of liars, who have been (E)seared in their own conscience, 3 who (F)forbid marriage and advocate (G)abstaining from foods which (H)God created to be shared in (I)with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For (J)everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is (K)received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is sanctified by (L)the word of God and prayer.
A Good Minister’s Discipline
6 In pointing out these things to (M)the brothers, you will be a good (N)servant of Christ Jesus, being nourished on the words of the faith and of the [b](O)sound doctrine which you (P)have been following. 7 But refuse (Q)godless (R)myths fit only for old women. On the other hand, train yourself for the purpose of (S)godliness, 8 for (T)bodily training is only of little profit, but (U)godliness is profitable for all things, since it (V)holds promise for the (W)present life and also for the life to come. 9 (X)It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full acceptance. 10 For it is for this we labor and strive, because we have fixed (Y)our hope on (Z)the living God, who is (AA)the Savior of all men, especially of believers.
11 (AB)Command and teach these things. 12 (AC)Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but show yourself as (AD)a model to those who believe in word, conduct, (AE)love, faith, and purity. 13 (AF)Until I come, give attention to the public (AG)reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching. 14 Do not neglect the gift within you, which was given to you through (AH)prophetic utterance with (AI)the laying on of hands by the (AJ)council of elders. 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that your progress will be evident to all. 16 (AK)Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this you will (AL)save both yourself and those who hear you.
The Parable of Tares Among Wheat
24 He presented another parable to them, saying, “(A)The kingdom of heaven [a]may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed [b]tares among the wheat, and went away. 26 But when the [c]wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? [d]How then does it have tares?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An [e]enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but (B)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
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