Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
By David.
37 Do not fret[b] when wicked men seem to succeed.[c]
Do not envy evildoers.
2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,
and wither away like plants.[d]
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right.
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity.[e]
4 Then you will take delight in the Lord,[f]
and he will answer your prayers.[g]
5 Commit your future to the Lord.[h]
Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.[i]
6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,
and publicly defend your just cause.[j]
7 Wait patiently for the Lord![k]
Wait confidently[l] for him!
Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner,[m]
a man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Do not be angry and frustrated.[n]
Do not fret. That only leads to trouble.
9 Wicked men[o] will be wiped out,[p]
but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land.[q]
10 Evil men will soon disappear;[r]
you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone.[s]
11 But the oppressed will possess the land
and enjoy great prosperity.[t]
12 Evil men plot against the godly[u]
and viciously attack them.[v]
13 The Lord laughs in disgust[w] at them,
for he knows that their day is coming.[x]
14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down[y] the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly.[z]
15 Their swords will pierce[aa] their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than
the wealth of many evil men,[ab]
17 for evil men will lose their power,[ac]
but the Lord sustains[ad] the godly.
18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day,[ae]
and they possess a permanent inheritance.[af]
19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come;[ag]
when famine comes they will have enough to eat.[ah]
20 But[ai] evil men will die;
the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated[aj]—
they will go up in smoke.[ak]
21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,
but the godly show compassion and are generous.[al]
22 Surely[am] those favored by the Lord[an] will possess the land,
but those rejected[ao] by him will be wiped out.[ap]
23 The Lord grants success to the one
whose behavior he finds commendable.[aq]
24 Even if[ar] he trips, he will not fall headlong,[as]
for the Lord holds[at] his hand.
25 I was once young, now I am old.
I have never seen the godly abandoned,
or their children[au] forced to search for food.[av]
26 All day long they show compassion and lend to others,[aw]
and their children[ax] are blessed.
27 Turn away from evil. Do what is right.[ay]
Then you will enjoy lasting security.[az]
28 For the Lord promotes[ba] justice,
and never abandons[bb] his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure,[bc]
but the children[bd] of the wicked are wiped out.[be]
29 The godly will possess the land
and will dwell in it permanently.
30 The godly speak wise words
and promote justice.[bf]
31 The law of their God controls their thinking;[bg]
their[bh] feet do not slip.
32 The wicked set an ambush for the godly
and try to kill them.[bi]
33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law.[bj]
34 Rely[bk] on the Lord. Obey his commands.[bl]
Then he will permit you[bm] to possess the land;
you will see the demise of the wicked.[bn]
35 I have seen ruthless, wicked people[bo]
growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.[bp]
36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared.[bq]
I looked for them, but they could not be found.
37 Take note of the one who has integrity. Observe the upright.
For the one who promotes peace has a future.[br]
38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed;[bs]
the wicked have no future.[bt]
39 But the Lord delivers the godly;[bu]
he protects them in times of trouble.[bv]
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,[bw]
for they seek his protection.
30 There is no wisdom and there is no understanding,
and there is no counsel against[a] the Lord.[b]
31 A horse is prepared for the day of battle,
but the victory is from the Lord.[c]
22 A good name[d] is to be chosen[e] rather than great wealth,
good favor[f] more than silver or gold.
2 The rich and the poor are met together;[g]
the Lord is the Creator of them both.[h]
3 A shrewd person[i] saw[j] danger[k] and hid[l] himself,
but the naive passed on by and paid for it.[m]
4 The reward[n] for humility[o] and fearing the Lord[p]
is riches and honor and life.
5 Thorns and snares[q] are in the path of the perverse,
but the one who guards himself keeps far from them.
6 Train[r] a child[s] in the way that he should go,[t]
and when he is old he will not turn from it.[u]
Timothy’s Ministry in the Later Times
4 Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the later times some will desert the faith and occupy themselves[a] with deceiving spirits and demonic teachings,[b] 2 influenced by the hypocrisy of liars[c] whose consciences are seared.[d] 3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For every creation of God is good and no food[e] is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving. 5 For it is sanctified by God’s word and by prayer.
6 By pointing out such things to the brothers and sisters,[f] you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, having nourished yourself on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.[g] 7 But reject those myths[h] fit only for the godless and gullible,[i] and train yourself for godliness. 8 For “physical exercise[j] has some value, but godliness is valuable in every way. It holds promise for the present life and for the life to come.” 9 This saying[k] is trustworthy and deserves full acceptance. 10 In fact this is why[l] we work hard and struggle,[m] because we have set our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people,[n] especially of believers.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 Let no one look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in your speech, conduct, love, faithfulness,[o] and purity. 13 Until I come, give attention to the public reading of scripture,[p] to exhortation, to teaching. 14 Do not neglect the spiritual gift you have,[q] given to you and confirmed by prophetic words[r] when the elders laid hands on you.[s] 15 Take pains with these things; be absorbed in them, so that everyone will see your progress.[t] 16 Be conscientious about how you live and what you teach.[u] Persevere in this, because by doing so you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He presented them with another parable:[a] “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel[b] among the wheat and went away. 26 When[c] the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared. 27 So the slaves[d] of the landowner[e] came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’ 28 He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So[f] the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At[g] harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather[h] the wheat into my barn.”’”
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