Book of Common Prayer
Aleph[a]
119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of Yahweh.
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies;
they seek him with a whole heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded[b] your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast,
to keep your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I look to all your commands.
7 I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will heed your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By taking heed according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought you;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I have hidden your word,[c]
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Yahweh.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced
as I would over all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and look at[d] your ways.
16 I will take delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live
and heed your word.
18 Uncover my eyes, that I may look at[e]
wonderful things from your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;[f]
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, the accursed,
who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from[g] me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and speak against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight,
my counselors.[h]
Human Faithlessness and God’s Faithfulness
For the music director; on the Sheminith.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
12 Save, O Yahweh, for the pious have ceased to be;
for the faithful have vanished
from among the children of humankind.
2 They speak falseness to each other.[c]
With flattering lips,
with a double heart[d] they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue speaking great boasts—
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are on our side.
Who is master over us?”
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” Yahweh says.
“I shall put them in the safety for which they[e] long.”
6 The words of Yahweh are pure words
like silver refined in the crucible on the ground,
refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will protect them.
You will preserve him[f]
from this generation always.
8 The wicked prowl about
when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
Trust in the Salvation of Yahweh
For the music director. A psalm of David.[g]
13 How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel[h] in my soul,
and sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider[i] and answer me, O Yahweh my God.
Give light to my eyes
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 and lest my enemy should say, “I have overcome him,”
lest my enemies rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But as for me, I have trusted in your steadfast love.[j]
My heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 [k] I will sing to Yahweh
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Folly of the Godless and God’s Final Triumph
For the music director. Of David.[l]
14 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt.
They do abominable deeds.
There is none who does good.
2 Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind
to see whether there is one who has insight,
one who cares about God.
3 All have gone astray;
they are altogether corrupt.
There is not one who does good;
there is not even one.
4 All who do evil—do they not know,
they who eat my people as though they were eating bread?
They do not call on Yahweh.
5 There they are very fearful[m]
because God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
because[n] Yahweh is his refuge.
7 Oh that from Zion[o] would come salvation for Israel!
When Yahweh returns the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.
Jonah Is Swallowed by a Fish and Prays to Yahweh
17 [a] And Yahweh provided a large fish to swallow up Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
2 And Jonah prayed to Yahweh his God from the belly of the fish 2 and said,
“I called from my distress[b] to Yahweh,
and he answered me;
from the belly of Sheol[c] I cried for help—
you heard my voice.
3 And you threw me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the sea currents surrounded me;
all your breakers and your surging waves
passed over me.
4 And I said, ‘I am banished[d]
from your sight;
how[e] will I continue to look[f]
on your holy temple?’[g]
5 The waters encompassed me up to my neck;
the deep surrounded me;
seaweed was wrapped around my head.
6 I went down to the foundations of the mountains;
the Underworld—its bars were around me forever.
But you brought up my life from the pit,
Yahweh my God.
7 When my life was ebbing away from me,
I remembered Yahweh,
and my prayer came to you,
to your holy temple.[h]
8 Those who worship vain idols
forsake their loyal love.[i]
9 But I, with a voice of thanksgiving,
will sacrifice to you;
I will fulfill what I have vowed.
Deliverance[j] belongs to Yahweh!”
10 And Yahweh spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out on the dry land.
9 And because[a] considerable time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast[b] was already over, Paul strongly recommended, 10 saying to them, “Men, I perceive that the voyage is going to end[c] with disaster and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives!” 11 But the centurion was convinced even more by the shipmaster and the shipowner than by what was said by Paul. 12 And because[d] the harbor was unsuitable for spending the winter in, the majority decided on a plan to put out to sea from there, if somehow they could arrive at Phoenix, a harbor of Crete facing toward the southwest and toward the northwest, to spend the winter there.[e]
A Violent Storm at Sea
13 And when[f] a southwest wind began to blow gently, because they[g] thought they could accomplish their purpose, they weighed anchor and[h] sailed close along Crete. 14 But not long afterward a wind like a hurricane, called the northeaster,[i] rushed down from it.[j] 15 And when[k] the ship was caught and was not able to head into the wind, we gave way and[l] were driven along. 16 And running under the lee of a certain small island called Cauda, we were able with difficulty to get the ship’s boat under control. 17 After[m] hoisting it up,[n] they made use of supports to undergird the ship. And because they[o] were afraid lest they run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and[p] thus were driven along. 18 And because[q] we were violently battered by the storm, on the next day they began[r] jettisoning the cargo,[s] 19 and on the third day they threw overboard the gear of the ship with their own hands. 20 But when[t] neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and with not a little bad weather confronting us,[u] finally all hope was abandoned that we would be saved.
21 And because[v] many were experiencing lack of appetite, at that time Paul stood up in their midst and[w] said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice not to put out to sea from Crete, and thus avoided this damage and loss! 22 And now I urge you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life from among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve came to me, 24 saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul! It is necessary for you to stand before Caesar, and behold, God has graciously granted you all who are sailing with you.’ 25 Therefore keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that it will be like this—according to the[x] way it was told to me. 26 But it is necessary that we run aground on some island.”
The Twelve Commissioned and Sent Out
9 And summoning the twelve, he gave them power and authority over all the demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And he said to them, “Take along nothing for the journey—neither a staff, nor a traveler’s bag, nor bread, nor money, nor to have two tunics apiece. 4 And into whatever house you enter, stay there and depart from there. 5 And as for all those who do not welcome you—when you[a] depart from that town, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony against them.” 6 So they departed and[b] went throughout the villages, proclaiming the good news and healing everywhere.
Herod Perplexed About Jesus
7 Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was happening, and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John has been raised from the dead, 8 and by some that Elijah had appeared, and others that some prophet of ancient times had risen. 9 And Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this about whom I hear such things?” And he was wanting to see him.
The Feeding of Five Thousand
10 And when they[c] returned, the apostles described to him all that they had done. And he took them along and[d] withdrew privately to a town called Bethsaida. 11 But when[e] the crowds found out, they followed him, and welcoming them, he began to speak[f] to them about the kingdom of God, and he cured those who had need of healing. 12 Now the day began to be far spent, and the twelve came up and[g] said to him, “Send away the crowd so that they can go into the surrounding villages and farms to obtain lodging and find provisions, because we are here in a desolate place. 13 But he said to them, “You give them something to eat!” And they said, “We have no[h] more than five loaves and two fish, unless perhaps we go and[i] purchase food for all these people.” 14 (For there were about five thousand men.) So he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty each.” 15 And they did so, and had them all sit down. 16 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, and[j] looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke them and began giving[k] them[l] to the disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And they all ate and were satisfied, and what was left over was picked up by them—twelve baskets of broken pieces.
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