Book of Common Prayer
145 [Koph.] I have called with the whole heart, Answer me, O Jehovah, Thy statutes I keep,
146 I have called Thee, save Thou me, And I do keep Thy testimonies.
147 I have gone forward in the dawn, and I cry, For Thy word I have hoped.
148 Mine eyes have gone before the watches, To meditate in Thy saying.
149 My voice hear, according to Thy kindness, Jehovah, according to Thy judgment quicken me.
150 Near have been my wicked pursuers, From Thy law they have been far off.
151 Near [art] Thou, O Jehovah, And all Thy commands [are] truth.
152 Of old I have known Thy testimonies, That to the age Thou hast founded them!
153 [Resh.] See my affliction, and deliver Thou me, For Thy law I have not forgotten.
154 Plead my plea, and redeem me, According to Thy saying quicken me.
155 Far from the wicked [is] salvation, For Thy statutes they have not sought.
156 Thy mercies [are] many, O Jehovah, According to Thy judgments quicken me.
157 Many [are] my pursuers, and adversaries, From Thy testimonies I have not turned aside.
158 I have seen treacherous ones, And grieve myself, Because Thy saying they have not kept.
159 See, for thy precepts I have loved, Jehovah, According to Thy kindness quicken me.
160 The sum of Thy word [is] truth, And to the age [is] every judgment of Thy righteousness!
161 [Shin.] Princes have pursued me without cause, And because of Thy words was my heart afraid.
162 I do rejoice concerning Thy saying, As one finding abundant spoil.
163 Falsehood I have hated, yea I abominate [it], Thy law I have loved.
164 Seven [times] in a day I have praised Thee, Because of the judgments of Thy righteousness.
165 Abundant peace have those loving Thy law, And they have no stumbling-block.
166 I have waited for Thy salvation, O Jehovah, And Thy commands I have done.
167 Kept hath my soul Thy testimonies, And I do love them exceedingly.
168 I have kept Thy precepts and Thy testimonies, For all my ways are before Thee!
169 [Taw.] My loud cry cometh near before Thee, O Jehovah; According to Thy word cause me to understand.
170 My supplication cometh in before Thee, According to Thy saying deliver Thou me.
171 My lips do utter praise, For Thou dost teach me Thy statutes.
172 My tongue doth sing of Thy saying, For all Thy commands [are] righteous.
173 Thy hand is for a help to me, For Thy commands I have chosen.
174 I have longed for Thy salvation, O Jehovah, And Thy law [is] my delight.
175 My soul liveth, and it doth praise Thee, And Thy judgments do help me.
176 I wandered as a lost sheep, seek Thy servant, For Thy precepts I have not forgotten!
128 A Song of the Ascents. O the happiness of every one fearing Jehovah, Who is walking in His ways.
2 The labour of thy hands thou surely eatest, Happy [art] thou, and good [is] to thee.
3 Thy wife [is] as a fruitful vine in the sides of thy house, Thy sons as olive plants around thy table.
4 Lo, surely thus is the man blessed who is fearing Jehovah.
5 Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, Look, then, on the good of Jerusalem, All the days of thy life,
6 And see the sons of thy sons! Peace on Israel!
129 A Song of the Ascents. Often they distressed me from my youth, Pray, let Israel say:
2 Often they distressed me from my youth, Yet they have not prevailed over me.
3 Over my back have ploughers ploughed, They have made long their furrows.
4 Jehovah [is] righteous, He hath cut asunder cords of the wicked.
5 Confounded and turn backward do all hating Zion.
6 They are as grass of the roofs, That before it was drawn out withereth,
7 That hath not filled the hand of a reaper, And the bosom of a binder of sheaves.
8 And the passers by have not said, `The blessing of Jehovah [is] on you, We blessed you in the Name of Jehovah!'
130 A Song of the Ascents. From depths I have called Thee, Jehovah.
2 Lord, hearken to my voice, Thine ears are attentive to the voice of my supplications.
3 If iniquities Thou dost observe, O Lord, who doth stand?
4 But with Thee [is] forgiveness, that Thou mayest be feared.
5 I hoped [for] Jehovah -- hoped hath my soul, And for His word I have waited.
6 My soul [is] for the Lord, More than those watching for morning, Watching for morning!
7 Israel doth wait on Jehovah, For with Jehovah [is] kindness, And abundant with Him [is] redemption.
8 And He doth redeem Israel from all his iniquities!
2 Wo [to] those devising iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the light of the morning they do it, For their hand is -- to God.
2 And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore, thus said Jehovah: Lo, I am devising against this family evil, From which ye do not remove your necks, Nor walk loftily, for a time of evil it [is].
4 In that day doth [one] take up for you a simile, And he hath wailed a wailing of wo, He hath said, We have been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He doth change, How doth He move toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportioneth.
5 Therefore, thou hast no caster of a line by lot In the assembly of Jehovah.
6 Ye do not prophesy -- they do prophesy, They do not prophesy to these, It doth not remove shame.
7 Doth the house of Jacob say, `Hath the Spirit of Jehovah been shortened? Are these His doings?' Do not My words benefit the people that is walking uprightly?
8 And yesterday My people for an enemy doth raise himself up, From the outer garment the honourable ornament ye strip off, From the confident passers by, Ye who are turning back from war.
9 The women of My people ye cast out from its delightful house, From its sucklings ye take away My honour to the age.
10 Rise and go, for this [is] not the rest, Because of uncleanness it doth corrupt, And corruption is powerful.
11 If one is going [with] the wind, And [with] falsehood hath lied: `I prophesy to thee of wine, and of strong drink,' He hath been the prophet of this people!
12 I do surely gather thee, O Jacob, all of thee, I surely bring together the remnant of Israel, Together I do set it as the flock of Bozrah, As a drove in the midst of its pasture, It maketh a noise because of man.
13 Gone up hath the breaker before them, They have broken through, Yea, they pass through the gate, Yea, they go out through it, And pass on doth their king before them, And Jehovah at their head!
23 and having called near a certain two of the centurions, he said, `Make ready soldiers two hundred, that they may go on unto Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night;
24 beasts also provide, that, having set Paul on, they may bring him safe unto Felix the governor;'
25 he having written a letter after this description:
26 `Claudius Lysias, to the most noble governor Felix, hail:
27 This man having been taken by the Jews, and being about to be killed by them -- having come with the soldiery, I rescued him, having learned that he is a Roman;
28 and, intending to know the cause for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their sanhedrim,
29 whom I found accused concerning questions of their law, and having no accusation worthy of death or bonds;
30 and a plot having been intimated to me against this man -- about to be of the Jews -- at once I sent unto thee, having given command also to the accusers to say the things against him before thee; be strong.'
31 Then, indeed, the soldiers according to that directed them, having taken up Paul, brought him through the night to Antipatris,
32 and on the morrow, having suffered the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to the castle;
33 those having entered into Caesarea, and delivered the letter to the governor, did present also Paul to him.
34 And the governor having read [it], and inquired of what province he is, and understood that [he is] from Cilicia;
35 `I will hear thee -- said he -- when thine accusers also may have come;' he also commanded him to be kept in the praetorium of Herod.
18 And the disciples of John told him about all these things,
19 and John having called near a certain two of his disciples, sent unto Jesus, saying, `Art thou he who is coming, or for another do we look?'
20 And having come near to him, the men said, `John the Baptist sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou he who is coming, or for another do we look?'
21 And in that hour he cured many from sicknesses, and plagues, and evil spirits, and to many blind he granted sight.
22 And Jesus answering said to them, `Having gone on, report to John what ye saw and heard, that blind men do see again, lame do walk, lepers are cleansed, deaf do hear, dead are raised, poor have good news proclaimed;
23 and happy is he whoever may not be stumbled in me.'
24 And the messengers of John having gone away, he began to say unto the multitudes concerning John: `What have ye gone forth to the wilderness to look on? a reed by the wind shaken?
25 but what have ye gone forth to see? a man in soft garments clothed? lo, they in splendid apparellings, and living in luxury, are in the houses of kings!
26 `But what have ye gone forth to see? a prophet? Yes, I say to you, and much more than a prophet:
27 this is he concerning whom it hath been written, Lo, I send my messenger before thy face, who shall prepare thy way before thee;
28 for I say to you, a greater prophet, among those born of women, than John the Baptist there is not; but the least in the reign of God is greater than he.'
29 And all the people having heard, and the tax-gatherers, declared God righteous, having been baptized with the baptism of John,
30 but the Pharisees, and the lawyers, the counsel of God did put away for themselves, not having been baptized by him.
31 And the Lord said, `To what, then, shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like?
32 they are like to children, to those sitting in a market-place, and calling one to another, and saying, We piped to you, and ye did not dance, we mourned to you, and ye did not weep!
33 `For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and ye say, He hath a demon;
34 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and ye say, Lo, a man, a glutton, and a wine drinker, a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners;
35 and the wisdom was justified from all her children.'