Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 69
For the music leader. According to “The Lilies.” Of David.
69 Save me, God,
because the waters have reached my neck!
2 I have sunk into deep mud.
My feet can’t touch the bottom!
I have entered deep water;
the flood has swept me up.
3 I am tired of crying.
My throat is hoarse.
My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God.
4 More numerous than the hairs on my head
are those who hate me for no reason.
My treacherous enemies,
those who would destroy me, are countless.
Must I now give back
what I didn’t steal in the first place?
5 God, you know my foolishness;
my wrongdoings aren’t hidden from you.
6 Lord God of heavenly forces!—
don’t let those who hope in you
be put to shame because of me.
God of Israel!—
don’t let those who seek you
be disgraced because of me.
7 I am insulted because of you.
Shame covers my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
an immigrant to my mother’s children.
9 Because passion for your house has consumed me,
the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!
10 I wept while I fasted—
even for that I was insulted.
11 When I wore funeral clothes,
people made fun of me.
12 Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me;
drunkards made up rude songs.
13 But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord,
at just the right time.
God, in your great and faithful love,
answer me with your certain salvation!
14 Save me from the mud!
Don’t let me drown!
Let me be saved from those who hate me
and from these watery depths!
15 Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters!
Don’t let the abyss swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!
16 Answer me, Lord, for your faithful love is good!
Turn to me in your great compassion!
17 Don’t hide your face from me, your servant,
because I’m in deep trouble.
Answer me quickly!
18 Come close to me!
Redeem me!
Save me because of my enemies!
19 You know full well the insults I’ve received;
you know my shame and my disgrace.
All my adversaries are right there in front of you.
20 Insults have broken my heart.
I’m sick about it.
I hoped for sympathy,
but there wasn’t any;
I hoped for comforters,
but couldn’t find any.
21 They gave me poison for food.
To quench my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let the table before them become a trap,
their offerings a snare.
23 Let their eyes grow too dim to see;
make their insides tremble constantly.
24 Pour out your anger on them—
let your burning fury catch them.
25 Let their camp be devastated;
let no one dwell in their tents.
26 Because they go after those you’ve already struck;
they talk about the pain of those you’ve already pierced.
27 Pile guilt on top of their guilt!
Don’t let them come into your righteousness!
28 Let them be wiped out of the scroll of life!
Let them not be recorded along with the righteous!
29 And me? I’m afflicted.
I’m full of pain.
Let your salvation keep me safe, God!
30 I will praise God’s name with song;
I will magnify him with thanks
31 because that is more pleasing to the Lord than an ox,
more pleasing than a young bull with full horns and hooves.
32 Let the afflicted see it and be glad!
You who seek God—
let your hearts beat strong again
33 because the Lord listens to the needy
and doesn’t despise his captives.
34 Let heaven and earth praise God,
the oceans too, and all that moves within them!
35 God will most certainly save Zion
and will rebuild Judah’s cities
so that God’s servants can live there and possess it.
36 The offspring of God’s servants will inherit Zion,
and those who love God’s name will dwell there.
BOOK III
(Psalms 73–89)
Psalm 73
A psalm of Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are have a pure heart.
2 But me? My feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped
3 because I envied the arrogant;
I observed how the wicked are well off:
4 They suffer no pain;
their bodies are fit and strong.
5 They are never in trouble;
they aren’t weighed down like other people.
6 That’s why they wear arrogance like a necklace,
why violence covers them like clothes.
7 Their eyes bulge out from eating so well;
their hearts overflow with delusions.
8 They scoff and talk so cruel;
from their privileged positions
they plan oppression.
9 Their mouths dare to speak against heaven!
Their tongues roam the earth!
10 That’s why people keep going back to them,
keep approving what they say.[a]
11 And what they say is this: “How could God possibly know!
Does the Most High know anything at all!”
12 Look at these wicked ones,
always relaxed, piling up the wealth!
13 Meanwhile, I’ve kept my heart pure for no good reason;
I’ve washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
14 I’m weighed down all day long.
I’m punished every morning.
15 If I said, “I will talk about all this,”
I would have been unfaithful to your children.
16 But when I tried to understand these things,
it just seemed like hard work
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary
and understood what would happen to the wicked.
18 You will definitely put them on a slippery path;
you will make them fall into ruin!
19 How quickly they are devastated,
utterly destroyed by terrors!
20 As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord,
when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.[b]
21 When my heart was bitter,
when I was all cut up inside,
22 I was stupid and ignorant.
I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
23 But I was still always with you!
You held my strong hand!
24 You have guided me with your advice;
later you will receive me with glory.
25 Do I have anyone else in heaven?
There’s nothing on earth I desire except you.
26 My body and my heart fail,
but God is my heart’s rock and my share forever.
27 Look! Those far from you die;
you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
28 But me? It’s good for me to be near God.
I have taken my refuge in you, my Lord God,
so I can talk all about your works!
High Priest Simon
50 Simon, Onias’ son, was
a great high priest.[a]
During his life, he repaired the house
and, in his time,
strengthened the temple’s defenses.
11 When he put on his glorious robe
and clothed himself
with perfect splendor,[a]
when he stepped up to the holy altar,
he brought glory to the courts
of the temple.
12 When he received the portions
of the sacrificial animals[b]
from the priests’ hands,
standing beside the altar’s hearth, surrounded by a wreath of brothers,
he was like a new cedar of Lebanon,
and they surrounded him
like palm-tree trunks.
13 All Aaron’s sons were in their glory,
and they held the Lord’s offering
in their hands
in front of the entire assembly
of Israel.
14 When he was finishing his service
at the altar,
after he had arranged an offering
to the Most High, the almighty,
15 he stretched out his hand
for the cup used for drink offerings
and he poured a libation of wine.[c]
He poured it out at the base
of the altar,
a pleasing aroma to the Most High,
the king of all.
16 Then Aaron’s sons cheered;
they blew trumpets
made of hammered metal
and caused a great sound to be heard
as a reminder before the Most High.
17 Then all at once, all the people
put their faces to the ground,
bowing down to worship their Lord,
the almighty, God Most High.
18 The singers, accompanied by harps,
sang praises with their voices;
they made a sweet melody
with a full-bodied sound.
19 The people of the Lord Most High
offered prayers before the merciful one
until the order of the Lord’s service
was completed,
and they finished their
worship duties to him.
20 Then Simon came down
and raised his hands
over the entire assembly
of the Israelites
to give the Lord’s blessing from his lips
and to glorify his name.
21 And they bowed down to worship
a second time,
to receive the blessing
from the Most High.
22 Now bless the God of all
who everywhere does great things,
who raises us up from our birth
and deals mercifully with us.
23 May he give us gladness in our hearts,
and may there be peace in our time,
in Israel as in times past.
24 May he grant us his mercy,
and may he rescue us in our lifetime.[d]
Babylon and the beast
17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls spoke with me. “Come,” he said, “I will show you the judgment upon the great prostitute, who is seated on deep waters. 2 The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her, and those who live on earth have become drunk with the wine of her whoring.”
3 Then he brought me in a Spirit-inspired trance to a desert. There I saw a woman seated on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names. It had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman wore purple and scarlet clothing, and she glittered with gold and jewels and pearls. In her hand she held a gold cup full of the vile and impure things that came from her activity as a prostitute. 5 A name—a mystery—was written on her forehead: “Babylon the great, the mother of prostitutes and the vile things of the earth.” 6 I saw that the woman was drunk on the blood of the saints and the blood of Jesus’ witnesses. I was completely stunned when I saw her.
7 Then the angel said to me, “Why are you amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and the seven-headed, ten-horned beast that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to destruction. Those who live on earth, whose names haven’t been written in the scroll of life from the time the earth was made, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and will again be present. 9 This calls for an understanding mind. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated. They are also seven kings. 10 Five kings have fallen, the one is, and the other hasn’t yet come. When that king comes, he must remain for only a short time. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is itself an eighth king that belongs to the seven, and it is going to destruction. 12 The ten horns that you saw are ten kings, who haven’t yet received royal power. But they will receive royal authority for an hour, along with the beast. 13 These kings will be of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, but the Lamb will emerge victorious, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings. Those with him are called, chosen, and faithful.”
15 Then he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples, crowds, nations, and languages. 16 As for the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will destroy her and strip her bare. They will devour her flesh and burn her with fire 17 because God moved them to carry out his purposes. That is why they will be of one mind and give their royal power to the beast, until God’s words have been accomplished. 18 The woman whom you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”
Sorrow for Jerusalem
31 At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go! Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work. 33 However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings. But you didn’t want that. 35 Look, your house is abandoned. I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.”[a]
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible