Book of Common Prayer
131 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Jehovah, my heart hath not been haughty, Nor have mine eyes been high, Nor have I walked in great things, And in things too wonderful for me.
2 Have I not compared, and kept silent my soul, As a weaned one by its mother? As a weaned one by me [is] my soul.
3 Israel doth wait on Jehovah, From henceforth, and unto the age!
132 A Song of the Ascents. Remember, Jehovah, for David, all his afflictions.
2 Who hath sworn to Jehovah. He hath vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 `If I enter into the tent of my house, If I go up on the couch of my bed,
4 If I give sleep to mine eyes, To mine eyelids -- slumber,
5 Till I do find a place for Jehovah, Tabernacles for the Mighty One of Jacob.
6 `Lo, we have heard it in Ephratah, We have found it in the fields of the forest.
7 We come in to His tabernacles, We bow ourselves at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Jehovah, to Thy rest, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength,
9 Thy priests do put on righteousness, And Thy pious ones cry aloud.
10 For the sake of David Thy servant, Turn not back the face of Thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn truth to David, He turneth not back from it: Of the fruit of thy body, I set on the throne for thee.
12 If thy sons keep My covenant, And My testimonies that I teach them, Their sons also for ever and ever, Do sit on the throne for thee.
13 For Jehovah hath fixed on Zion, He hath desired [it] for a seat to Himself,
14 This [is] My rest for ever and ever, Here do I sit, for I have desired it.
15 Her provision I greatly bless, Her needy ones I satisfy [with] bread,
16 And her priests I clothe [with] salvation, And her pious ones do sing aloud.
17 There I cause to spring up a horn for David, I have arranged a lamp for Mine anointed.
18 His enemies I do clothe [with] shame, And upon him doth his crown flourish!
133 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Lo, how good and how pleasant The dwelling of brethren -- even together!
2 As the good oil on the head, Coming down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, That cometh down on the skirt of his robes,
3 As dew of Hermon -- That cometh down on hills of Zion, For there Jehovah commanded the blessing -- Life unto the age!
134 A Song of the Ascents. Lo, bless Jehovah, all servants of Jehovah, Who are standing in the house of Jehovah by night.
2 Lift up your hands [in] the sanctuary, And bless ye Jehovah.
3 Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, The maker of the heavens and earth!
135 Praise ye Jah! Praise ye the name of Jehovah, Praise, ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Who are standing in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jah! for Jehovah [is] good, Sing praise to His name, for [it is] pleasant.
4 For Jacob hath Jah chosen for Himself, Israel for His peculiar treasure.
5 For I have known that great [is] Jehovah, Yea, our Lord [is] above all gods.
6 All that Jehovah pleased He hath done, In the heavens and in earth, In the seas and all deep places,
7 Causing vapours to ascend from the end of the earth, Lightnings for the rain He hath made, Bringing forth wind from His treasures.
8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt, From man unto beast.
9 He sent tokens and wonders into thy midst, O Egypt, On Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10 Who smote many nations, and slew strong kings,
11 Even Sihon king of the Amorite, And Og king of Bashan, And all kingdoms of Canaan.
12 And He gave their land an inheritance, An inheritance to Israel His people,
13 O Jehovah, Thy name [is] to the age, O Jehovah, Thy memorial to all generations.
14 For Jehovah doth judge His people, And for His servants comforteth Himself.
15 The idols of the nations [are] silver and gold, Work of the hands of man.
16 A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not,
17 Ears they have, and they give not ear, Nose -- there is no breath in their mouth!
18 Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah, O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah,
20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah, Those fearing Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed [is] Jehovah from Zion, Inhabiting Jerusalem -- praise ye Jah!
3 And I say, `Hear, I pray you, heads of Jacob, And ye judges of the house of Israel, Is it not for you to know the judgment?
2 Ye who are hating good, and loving evil, Taking violently their skin from off them, And their flesh from off their bones,
3 And who have eaten the flesh of My people, And their skin from off them have stript, And their bones they have broken, And they have spread [them] out as in a pot, And as flesh in the midst of a caldron.
4 Then do they cry unto Jehovah, And He doth not answer them, And hideth His face from them at that time, As they have made evil their doings.
5 Thus said Jehovah concerning the prophets Who are causing My people to err, Who are biting with their teeth, And have cried `Peace,' And he who doth not give unto their mouth, They have sanctified against him war.
6 Therefore a night ye have without vision, And darkness ye have without divination, And gone in hath the sun on the prophets, And black over them hath been the day.
7 And ashamed have been the seers, And confounded have been the diviners, And covered their lip have all of them, For their is no answer, O God.
8 And yet I have been full of power by the Spirit of Jehovah, And of judgment, and of might, To declare to Jacob his transgression, And to Israel his sin.
24 And after five days came down the chief priest Ananias, with the elders, and a certain orator -- Tertullus, and they made manifest to the governor [the things] against Paul;
2 and he having been called, Tertullus began to accuse [him], saying, `Much peace enjoying through thee, and worthy deeds being done to this nation through thy forethought,
3 always, also, and everywhere we receive it, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness;
4 and that I may not be further tedious to thee, I pray thee to hear us concisely in thy gentleness;
5 for having found this man a pestilence, and moving a dissension to all the Jews through the world -- a ringleader also of the sect of the Nazarenes --
6 who also the temple did try to profane, whom also we took, and according to our law did wish to judge,
7 and Lysias the chief captain having come near, with much violence, out of our hands did take away,
8 having commanded his accusers to come to thee, from whom thou mayest be able, thyself having examined, to know concerning all these things of which we accuse him;'
9 and the Jews also agreed, professing these things to be so.
10 And Paul answered -- the governor having beckoned to him to speak -- `Knowing [that] for many years thou hast been a judge to this nation, the more cheerfully the things concerning myself I do answer;
11 thou being able to know that it is not more than twelve days to me since I went up to worship in Jerusalem,
12 and neither in the temple did they find me reasoning with any one, or making a dissension of the multitude, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city;
13 nor are they able to prove against me the things concerning which they now accuse me.
14 `And I confess this to thee, that, according to the way that they call a sect, so serve I the God of the fathers, believing all things that in the law and the prophets have been written,
15 having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, [that] there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous;
16 and in this I do exercise myself, to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always.
17 `And after many years I came, about to do kind acts to my nation, and offerings,
18 in which certain Jews from Asia did find me purified in the temple, not with multitude, nor with tumult,
19 whom it behoveth to be present before thee, and to accuse, if they had anything against me,
20 or let these same say if they found any unrighteousness in me in my standing before the sanhedrim,
21 except concerning this one voice, in which I cried, standing among them -- Concerning a rising again of the dead I am judged to-day by you.'
22 And having heard these things, Felix delayed them -- having known more exactly of the things concerning the way -- saying, `When Lysias the chief captain may come down, I will know fully the things concerning you;'
23 having given also a direction to the centurion to keep Paul, to let [him] also have liberty, and to forbid none of his own friends to minister or to come near to him.
36 And a certain one of the Pharisees was asking him that he might eat with him, and having gone into the house of the Pharisee he reclined (at meat),
37 and lo, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having known that he reclineth (at meat) in the house of the Pharisee, having provided an alabaster box of ointment,
38 and having stood behind, beside his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with the tears, and with the hairs of her head she was wiping, and was kissing his feet, and was anointing with the ointment.
39 And the Pharisee who did call him, having seen, spake within himself, saying, `This one, if he were a prophet, would have known who and of what kind [is] the woman who doth touch him, that she is a sinner.'
40 And Jesus answering said unto him, `Simon, I have something to say to thee;' and he saith, `Teacher, say on.'
41 `Two debtors were to a certain creditor; the one was owing five hundred denaries, and the other fifty;
42 and they not having [wherewith] to give back, he forgave both; which then of them, say thou, will love him more?'
43 And Simon answering said, `I suppose that to whom he forgave the more;' and he said to him, `Rightly thou didst judge.'
44 And having turned unto the woman, he said to Simon, `Seest thou this woman? I entered into thy house; water for my feet thou didst not give, but this woman with tears did wet my feet, and with the hairs of her head did wipe;
45 a kiss to me thou didst not give, but this woman, from what [time] I came in, did not cease kissing my feet;
46 with oil my head thou didst not anoint, but this woman with ointment did anoint my feet;
47 therefore I say to thee, her many sins have been forgiven, because she did love much; but to whom little is forgiven, little he doth love.'
48 And he said to her, `Thy sins have been forgiven;'
49 and those reclining with him (at meat) began to say within themselves, `Who is this, who also doth forgive sins?'
50 and he said unto the woman, `Thy faith have saved thee, be going on to peace.'