Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Of David.
1 Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[a](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.(K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land(M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because he sees that his day is coming.(Q)
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[b] bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.(R)
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.(S)
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.(T)
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,(U)
but the Lord supports the righteous.(V)
18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.(W)
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.(X)
20 But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.(Y)
21 The wicked person borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.(Z)
22 Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be destroyed.(AA)
23 A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.(AB)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.(AC)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(AD)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(AE)
27 Turn away from evil, do what is good,
and settle permanently.(AF)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful ones.(AG)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(AH)
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it permanently.(AI)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(AJ)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(AK)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and intends to kill him;(AL)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(AM)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(AN)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
well-rooted,[c] like a flourishing native tree.(AO)
36 Then I[d] passed by and noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(AP)
The Message to Ahaz
7 This took place during the reign of Ahaz, son of Jotham, son of Uzziah king of Judah:(A) Aram’s King Rezin and Israel’s King Pekah son of Remaliah went to fight against Jerusalem,(B) but they were not able to conquer it.
2 When it became known to the house of David(C) that Aram had occupied Ephraim,(D) the heart of Ahaz[a] and the hearts of his people trembled like trees of a forest shaking in the wind.
3 The Lord said to Isaiah, “Go out with your son Shear-jashub[b](E) to meet Ahaz at the end of the conduit of the upper pool,(F) by the road to the Launderer’s Field. 4 Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly(G) because of these two smoldering sticks, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah. 5 For Aram, along with Ephraim and the son of Remaliah, has plotted harm against you. They say, 6 ‘Let’s go up against Judah, terrorize it, and conquer it for ourselves. Then we can install Tabeel’s son as king in it.’”
7 This is what the Lord God says:
It will not happen; it will not occur.(H)
8 The chief city of Aram is Damascus,
the chief of Damascus is Rezin
(within sixty-five years
Ephraim will be too shattered to be a people),
9 the chief city of Ephraim is Samaria,
and the chief of Samaria is the son of Remaliah.
If you do not stand firm in your faith,
then you will not stand at all.
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now concerning the coming(A) of our Lord(B) Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him: We ask you, brothers and sisters, 2 not to be easily upset or troubled, either by a prophecy[a](C) or by a message or by a letter supposedly from us, alleging that the day of the Lord[b](D) has come.(E) 3 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way. For that day will not come unless the apostasy[c] comes first and the man of lawlessness[d] is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. 4 He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god(F) or object of worship,(G) so that he sits[e] in God’s temple, proclaiming that he himself is God.
5 Don’t you remember that when I was still with you I used to tell you about this? 6 And you know what currently restrains him, so that he will be revealed in his time.(H) 7 For the mystery of lawlessness(I) is already at work, but the one now restraining will do so until he is out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed. The Lord Jesus will destroy him with the breath of his mouth(J) and will bring him to nothing at the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is based on Satan’s working, with every kind of miracle, both signs and wonders serving the lie,(K) 10 and with every wicked deception among those who are perishing. They perish because they did not accept the love of the truth and so be saved.(L) 11 For this reason God sends them a strong delusion so that they will believe the lie, 12 so that all will be condemned(M)—those who did not believe(N) the truth but delighted in unrighteousness.
The Plot to Kill Jesus
22 The(A) Festival of Unleavened Bread,(B) which is called Passover,(C) was approaching. 2 The chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to put him to death,(D) because they were afraid of the people.(E)
3 Then(F) Satan entered Judas,(G) called Iscariot,(H) who was numbered among the Twelve. 4 He went away and discussed with the chief priests and temple police(I) how he could hand him over(J) to them. 5 They were glad and agreed to give him silver.[a] 6 So he accepted the offer and started looking for a good opportunity to betray him to them when the crowd was not present.
Preparation for Passover
7 Then(K) the Day of Unleavened Bread came when the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.(L) 8 Jesus sent Peter and John,(M) saying, “Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.
10 “Listen,” he said to them, “when you’ve entered the city, a man carrying a water jug will meet you. Follow him into the house he enters. 11 Tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 12 Then he will show you a large, furnished room upstairs.(N) Make the preparations there.”
13 So they went and found it just as he had told them,(O) and they prepared the Passover.
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