Book of Common Prayer
An Experience of the Captivity.
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat down and (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our [b]harps.
3 For there our captors [c](E)demanded of us [d]songs,
And (F)our tormentors, jubilation, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 How can we sing (G)the Lord’s song
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, Jerusalem,
May my right hand [e]forget its skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [f](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, Lord, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Those who said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare
(L)To its foundation!”
8 Daughter of Babylon, you [g](M)devastated one,
Blessed will be one who (N)repays you
With [h]the retribution with which you have repaid us.
9 Blessed will be one who seizes and (O)dashes your children
Against the rock.
Prayer for Rescue and Prosperity.
A Psalm of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, (A)my rock,
Who (B)trains my hands for war,
And my fingers for battle;
2 My faithfulness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my savior,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 Lord, (G)what is man, that You look after him?
Or a son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like the breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 (J)Bend down Your heavens, Lord, and (K)come down;
(L)Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth (M)lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your (N)arrows and confuse them.
7 Reach out with Your hand (O)from on high;
Rescue me and (P)save me from great waters,
From the hand of (Q)foreigners
8 Whose mouth (R)speaks deceit,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 God, I will sing a (T)new song to You;
On a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)rescues His servant David from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and save me from the hand of (X)foreigners,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks deceit
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 When our sons in their youth are like (AA)growing plants,
And our daughters like (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned for a palace,
13 Our (AC)granaries are full, providing every kind of produce,
And our flocks deliver thousands and ten thousands in our [c]fields;
14 May our (AD)cattle [d]be bred
Without [e](AE)mishap and without [f](AF)loss,
May there be no (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 Blessed are the people who are so situated;
(AH)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
The Lord’s Care over All His Works.
104 (A)Bless the Lord, my soul!
Lord my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Covering Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out heaven like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He makes the (F)clouds His chariot;
[c]He walks on the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes [e](H)the winds His messengers,
[f]Flaming (I)fire His ministers.
5 He (J)established the earth upon its foundations,
So that it will not [g]totter forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep sea as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 They fled from Your (L)rebuke,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose; the valleys sank down
To the (N)place which You established for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary so that they will not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [h]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give drink to every animal of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky (S)dwell [i]beside them;
They [j]lift up their voices from among the branches.
13 [k]He (T)waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [l]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [m]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for the labor of mankind,
So that [n]they may produce [o]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine, which makes a human heart cheerful,
(Z)So that he makes his face gleam with oil,
And [p]food, which (AA)sustains a human heart.
16 The trees of the Lord [q]drink their fill,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
And the (AC)stork, whose home is the juniper trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the (AF)rock hyrax.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness and it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)animals of the forest [r]prowl about.
21 The (AK)young lions roar for their prey
[s]And (AL)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they withdraw,
And they lie down in their (AM)dens.
23 A person goes out to (AN)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 Lord, how (AO)many are Your works!
[t]In (AP)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AQ)earth is full of Your [u]possessions.
25 [v]There is the (AR)sea, great and [w]broad,
In which are swarms without number,
Animals both small and great.
26 The (AS)ships move along there,
And [x](AT)Leviathan, which You have formed to have fun in it.
27 They all (AU)wait for You
To (AV)give them their food in [y]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AW)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AX)hide Your face, they are terrified;
You (AY)take away their breath, they perish
And (AZ)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [z](BA)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 May the (BB)glory of the Lord endure forever;
May the Lord (BC)rejoice in His works;
32 [aa]He (BD)looks at the earth, and it (BE)trembles;
He (BF)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [ab]I will sing to the Lord [ac](BG)as long as I live;
[ad]I will (BH)sing praise to my God [ae]while I have my being.
34 May my (BI)praise be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BJ)rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners be (BK)removed from the earth
And may the (BL)wicked be no more.
(BM)Bless the Lord, my soul.
[af](BN)Praise [ag]the Lord!
12 And Balaam said to Balak, “(A)Did I not in fact tell your messengers whom you had sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not do anything contrary to the [a]command of the Lord, either good or bad, (B)of my own [b]accord. (C)What the Lord speaks, I will [c]speak’? 14 So now, behold, (D)I am going to my people; come, and I will advise you of what this people will do to your people in the [d]days to come.”
15 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“(E)The declaration of Balaam the son of Beor,
And the declaration of the man whose eye is opened,
16 The declaration of him who hears the [e]words of God,
And knows the knowledge of the [f]Most High,
Who sees the vision of [g]the Almighty,
Falling down, yet having his eyes uncovered:
17 I see him, but not now;
I look at him, but not near;
A star shall appear from Jacob,
(F)A scepter shall rise from Israel,
(G)And shall smash the [h]forehead of Moab,
And overcome all the sons of Sheth.
18 (H)And Edom shall be a possession,
(I)Seir, its enemies, also will be a possession,
While Israel performs valiantly.
19 One from Jacob shall rule,
And will eliminate the survivors from the city.”
20 And he looked at Amalek and took up his discourse and said,
21 And he looked at the (K)Kenite, and took up his discourse and said,
“Your dwelling place is enduring,
And your nest is set in the cliff.
22 Nevertheless Kain will suffer devastation;
How long will (L)Asshur [j]keep you captive?”
23 Then he took up his discourse and said,
“Oh, who can live unless God has ordained it?
24 But ships shall come from the coast of (M)Kittim,
And they shall oppress Asshur and oppress (N)Eber;
(O)So they also will come to destruction.”
25 Then Balaam arose, and he departed and returned to (P)his place, and Balak also went on his way.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time (A)are not worthy to be compared with the (B)glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the (C)eagerly awaiting creation waits for (D)the revealing of the (E)sons and daughters of God. 20 For the creation (F)was subjected to (G)futility, not willingly, but (H)because of Him who subjected it, [a]in hope 21 that (I)the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation (J)groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. 23 (K)And not only that, but also we ourselves, having (L)the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves (M)groan within ourselves, (N)waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons and daughters, (O)the redemption of our body. 24 For (P)in hope we have been saved, but (Q)hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees? 25 But (R)if we hope for what we do not see, through perseverance we wait eagerly for it.
Jesus Answers the Sadducees
23 (A)On that day some (B)Sadducees (who say (C)there is no resurrection) came to [a]Jesus and questioned Him, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘(D)If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up [b]children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers among us; and the first married and died, and having no [c]children, he left his wife to his brother. 26 It was the same also with the second brother, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her in marriage.”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, (E)since you do not [d]understand the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither (F)marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘(G)I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, (H)they were astonished at His teaching.
34 (I)But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced (J)the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 And one of them, [e](K)a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him: 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And He said to him, “‘(L)You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the great and [f]foremost commandment. 39 The second is like it, ‘(M)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 (N)Upon these two commandments [g]hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”
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