Book of Common Prayer
102 A Prayer of the afflicted when he is feeble, and before Jehovah poureth out his plaint. O Jehovah, hear my prayer, yea, my cry to Thee cometh.
2 Hide not Thou Thy face from me, In a day of mine adversity, Incline unto me Thine ear, In the day I call, haste, answer me.
3 For consumed in smoke have been my days, And my bones as a fire-brand have burned.
4 Smitten as the herb, and withered, is my heart, For I have forgotten to eat my bread.
5 From the voice of my sighing Hath my bone cleaved to my flesh.
6 I have been like to a pelican of the wilderness, I have been as an owl of the dry places.
7 I have watched, and I am As a bird alone on the roof.
8 All the day mine enemies reproached me, Those mad at me have sworn against me.
9 Because ashes as bread I have eaten, And my drink with weeping have mingled,
10 From Thine indignation and Thy wrath, For Thou hast lifted me up, And dost cast me down.
11 My days as a shadow [are] stretched out, And I -- as the herb I am withered.
12 And Thou, O Jehovah, to the age abidest, And Thy memorial to all generations.
13 Thou -- Thou risest -- Thou pitiest Zion, For the time to favour her, For the appointed time hath come.
14 For Thy servants have been pleased with her stones, And her dust they favour.
15 And nations fear the name of Jehovah, And all kings of the earth Thine honour,
16 For Jehovah hath builded Zion, He hath been seen in His honour,
17 He turned unto the prayer of the destitute, And He hath not despised their prayer.
18 This is written for a later generation, And the people created do praise Jah.
19 For He hath looked From the high place of His sanctuary. Jehovah from heaven unto earth looked attentively,
20 To hear the groan of the prisoner, To loose sons of death,
21 To declare in Zion the name of Jehovah, And His praise in Jerusalem,
22 In the peoples being gathered together, And the kingdoms -- to serve Jehovah.
23 He hath humbled in the way my power, He hath shortened my days.
24 I say, `My God, take me not up in the midst of my days,' Through all generations [are] Thine years.
25 Beforetime the earth Thou didst found, And the work of Thy hands [are] the heavens.
26 They -- They perish, and Thou remainest, And all of them as a garment become old, As clothing Thou changest them, And they are changed.
27 And Thou [art] the same, and Thine years are not finished.
28 The sons of Thy servants do continue, And their seed before Thee is established!
107 `Give ye thanks to Jehovah, For good, for to the age [is] His kindness:'
2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say, Whom He redeemed from the hand of an adversary.
3 And from the lands hath gathered them, From east and from west, From north, and from the sea.
4 They wandered in a wilderness, in a desert by the way, A city of habitation they have not found.
5 Hungry -- yea -- thirsty, Their soul in them becometh feeble,
6 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distress He delivereth them,
7 And causeth them to tread in a right way, To go unto a city of habitation.
8 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men.
9 For He hath satisfied a longing soul, And a hungry soul hath filled [with] goodness.
10 Inhabitants of dark places and death-shade, Prisoners of affliction and of iron,
11 Because they changed the saying of God, And the counsel of the Most High despised.
12 And He humbleth with labour their heart, They have been feeble, and there is no helper.
13 And they cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them.
14 He bringeth them out from the dark place, And death-shade, And their bands He draweth away.
15 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men.
16 For He hath broken doors of brass, And bars of iron He hath cut.
17 Fools, by means of their transgression, And by their iniquities, afflict themselves.
18 All food doth their soul abominate, And they come nigh unto the gates of death,
19 And cry unto Jehovah in their adversity, From their distresses He saveth them,
20 He sendeth His word and healeth them, And delivereth from their destructions.
21 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men,
22 And they sacrifice sacrifices of thanksgiving, And recount His works with singing.
23 Those going down [to] the sea in ships, Doing business in many waters,
24 They have seen the works of Jehovah, And His wonders in the deep.
25 And He saith, and appointeth a tempest, And it lifteth up its billows,
26 They go up [to] the heavens, they go down [to] the depths, Their soul in evil is melted.
27 They reel to and fro, and move as a drunkard, And all their wisdom is swallowed up.
28 And they cry to Jehovah in their adversity, And from their distresses He bringeth them out.
29 He establisheth a whirlwind to a calm, And hushed are their billows.
30 And they rejoice because they are quiet, And He leadeth them to the haven of their desire.
31 They confess to Jehovah His kindness, And His wonders to the sons of men,
32 And they exalt Him in the assembly of the people, And in the seat of the elders praise Him.
10 `An empty vine [is] Israel, Fruit he maketh like to himself, According to the abundance of his fruit, He hath multiplied for the altars, According to the goodness of his land, They have made goodly standing-pillars.
2 Their heart hath been divided, now they are guilty, He doth break down their altars, He doth destroy their standing-pillars.
3 For now they say: We have no king, Because we have not feared Jehovah, And the king -- what doth he for us?
4 They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a field.
5 For the calves of Beth-Aven fear do inhabitants of Samaria, Surely mourned on account of it hath its people, And its priests on account of it leap about, Because of its honour, for it hath removed from it,
6 Also it to Asshur is carried, a present to a warlike king, Shame doth Ephraim receive, And ashamed is Israel of its own counsel.
7 Cut off is Samaria! Its king [is] as a chip on the face of the waters.
8 And destroyed have been high places of Aven, the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their altars, And they have said to hills, Cover us, And to heights, Fall upon us.
9 From the days of Gibeah thou hast sinned, O Israel, There they have stood, Not overtake them in Gibeah doth battle, Because of sons of perverseness.
10 When I desire, then I do bind them, And gathered against them have peoples, When they bind themselves to their two iniquities.
11 And Ephraim [is] a trained heifer -- loving to thresh, And I -- I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, I cause [one] to ride Ephraim, Plough doth Judah, harrow for him doth Jacob.
12 Sow for yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek Jehovah, Till he come and shew righteousness to you.
13 Ye have ploughed wickedness, Perversity ye have reaped, Ye have eaten the fruit of lying, For thou hast trusted in thy way, In the abundance of thy might.
14 And rise doth a tumult among thy people, And all thy fortresses are spoiled, As the spoiling of Shalman of Beth-Arbel, In a day of battle, Mother against sons dashed in pieces.
15 Thus hath Beth-El done to you, Because of the evil of your wickedness, In the dawn cut off utterly is a king of Israel!
37 And Paul being about to be led into the castle, saith to the chief captain, `Is it permitted to me to say anything unto thee?' and he said, `Greek dost thou know?
38 art not thou, then, the Egyptian who before these days made an uprising, and did lead into the desert the four thousand men of the assassins?'
39 And Paul said, `I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, of Tarsus of Cilicia, of no mean city a citizen; and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.'
40 And he having given him leave, Paul having stood upon the stairs, did beckon with the hand to the people, and there having been a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew dialect, saying:
22 `Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;' --
2 and they having heard that in the Hebrew dialect he was speaking to them, gave the more silence, and he saith, --
3 `I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactitude of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all ye are to-day.
4 `And this way I persecuted unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women,
5 as also the chief priest doth testify to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might be punished,
6 and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,
7 I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?
8 `And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute --
9 and they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is speaking to me --
10 and I said, What shall I do, Lord? and the Lord said unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee to do.
11 `And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to Damascus,
12 and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [there],
13 having come unto me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him;
14 and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth,
15 because thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard;
16 and now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.
12 And it came to pass in those days, he went forth to the mountain to pray, and was passing the night in the prayer of God,
13 and when it became day, he called near his disciples, and having chosen from them twelve, whom also he named apostles,
14 (Simon, whom also he named Peter, and Andrew his brother, James and John, Philip and Bartholomew,
15 Matthew and Thomas, James of Alphaeus, and Simon called Zelotes,
16 Judas of James, and Judas Iscariot, who also became betrayer;)
17 and having come down with them, he stood upon a level spot, and a crowd of his disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judea, and Jerusalem, and the maritime Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their sicknesses,
18 and those harassed by unclean spirits, and they were healed,
19 and all the multitude were seeking to touch him, because power from him was going forth, and he was healing all.
20 And he, having lifted up his eyes to his disciples, said: `Happy the poor -- because yours is the reign of God.
21 `Happy those hungering now -- because ye shall be filled. `Happy those weeping now -- because ye shall laugh.
22 `Happy are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you, and shall reproach, and shall cast forth your name as evil, for the Son of Man's sake --
23 rejoice in that day, and leap, for lo, your reward [is] great in the heaven, for according to these things were their fathers doing to the prophets.
24 `But wo to you -- the rich, because ye have got your comfort.
25 `Wo to you who have been filled -- because ye shall hunger. `Wo to you who are laughing now -- because ye shall mourn and weep.
26 `Wo to you when all men shall speak well of you -- for according to these things were their fathers doing to false prophets.