Book of Common Prayer
50 A Psalm of Asaph. The God of gods -- Jehovah -- hath spoken, And He calleth to the earth From the rising of the sun unto its going in.
2 From Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shone.
3 Our God cometh, and is not silent, Fire before Him doth devour, And round about him it hath been very tempestuous.
4 He doth call unto the heavens from above, And unto the earth, to judge His people.
5 Gather ye to Me My saints, Making covenant with Me over a sacrifice.
6 And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself [is] judge. Selah.
7 Hear, O My people, and I speak, O Israel, and I testify against thee, God, thy God [am] I.
8 Not for thy sacrifices do I reprove thee, Yea, thy burnt-offerings [Are] before Me continually.
9 I take not from thy house a bullock, From thy folds he goats.
10 For Mine [is] every beast of the forest, The cattle on the hills of oxen.
11 I have known every fowl of the mountains, And the wild beast of the field [is] with Me.
12 If I am hungry I tell not to thee, For Mine [is] the world and its fulness.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls, And drink the blood of he-goats?
14 Sacrifice to God confession, And complete to the Most High thy vows.
15 And call Me in a day of adversity, I deliver thee, and thou honourest Me.
16 And to the wicked hath God said: What to thee -- to recount My statutes? That thou liftest up My covenant on thy mouth?
17 Yea, thou hast hated instruction, And dost cast My words behind thee.
18 If thou hast seen a thief, Then thou art pleased with him, And with adulterers [is] thy portion.
19 Thy mouth thou hast sent forth with evil, And thy tongue joineth deceit together,
20 Thou sittest, against thy brother thou speakest, Against a son of thy mother givest slander.
21 These thou didst, and I kept silent, Thou hast thought that I am like thee, I reprove thee, and set in array before thine eyes.
22 Understand this, I pray you, Ye who are forgetting God, Lest I tear, and there is no deliverer.
23 He who is sacrificing praise honoureth Me, As to him who maketh a way, I cause him to look on the salvation of God!
59 To the Overseer. -- `Destroy not,' by David. -- A secret treasure, in Saul's sending, and they watch the house to put him to death. Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God, From my withstanders set me on high.
2 Deliver me from workers of iniquity, And from men of blood save me.
3 For, lo, they laid wait for my soul, Assembled against me are strong ones, Not my transgression nor my sin, O Jehovah.
4 Without punishment they run and prepare themselves, Stir up to meet me, and see.
5 And Thou, Jehovah, God of Hosts, God of Israel, Awake to inspect all the nations. Favour not any treacherous dealers of iniquity. Selah.
6 They turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And go round about the city.
7 Lo, they belch out with their mouths, Swords [are] in their lips, for `Who heareth?'
8 And Thou, O Jehovah dost laugh at them, Thou dost mock at all the nations.
9 O my Strength, unto Thee I take heed, For God [is] my tower -- the God of my kindness.
10 God doth go before me, He causeth me to look on mine enemies.
11 Slay them not, lest my people forget, Shake them by Thy strength, And bring them down, O Lord our shield.
12 The sin of their mouth [is] a word of their lips, And they are captured in their pride, And from the curse and lying they recount.
13 Consume in fury, consume and they are not, And they know that God is ruling in Jacob, To the ends of the earth. Selah.
14 And they turn back at evening, They make a noise like a dog, And they go round about the city.
15 They -- they wander for food, If they are not satisfied -- then they murmur.
16 And I -- I sing [of] Thy strength, And I sing at morn [of] Thy kindness, For thou hast been a tower to me, And a refuge for me in a day of adversity.
17 O my Strength, unto Thee I sing praise, For God [is] my tower, the God of my kindness!
60 To the Overseer. -- `Concerning the Lily of Testimony,' a secret treasure of David, to teach, in his striving with Aram-Naharaim, and with Aram-Zobah, and Joab turneth back and smiteth Edom in the valley of Salt -- twelve thousand. O God, Thou hadst cast us off, Thou hadst broken us -- hadst been angry! -- Thou dost turn back to us.
2 Thou hast caused the land to tremble, Thou hast broken it, Heal its breaches, for it hath moved.
3 Thou hast shewn Thy people a hard thing, Thou hast caused us to drink wine of trembling.
4 Thou hast given to those fearing thee an ensign. To be lifted up as an ensign Because of truth. Selah.
5 That Thy beloved ones may be drawn out, Save [with] Thy right hand, and answer us.
6 God hath spoken in His holiness: I exult -- I apportion Shechem, And the valley of Succoth I measure,
7 Mine [is] Gilead, and mine [is] Manasseh, And Ephraim [is] the strength of my head, Judah [is] my lawgiver,
8 Moab [is] my pot for washing, over Edom I cast my shoe, Shout, concerning me, O Philistia.
9 Who doth bring me [to] a city of bulwarks? Who hath led me unto Edom?
10 Is it not Thou, O God? hast Thou cast us off? And dost Thou not go forth, O God, with our hosts!
11 Give to us help from adversity, And vain [is] the deliverance of man.
12 In God we do mightily, And He treadeth down our adversaries!
33 Sing, ye righteous, in Jehovah, For upright ones praise [is] comely.
2 Give ye thanks to Jehovah with a harp, With psaltery of ten strings sing praise to Him,
3 Sing ye to Him a new song, Play skilfully with shouting.
4 For upright [is] the word of Jehovah, And all His work [is] in faithfulness.
5 Loving righteousness and judgment, Of the kindness of Jehovah is the earth full.
6 By the word of Jehovah The heavens have been made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host.
7 Gathering as a heap the waters of the sea, Putting in treasuries the depths.
8 Afraid of Jehovah are all the earth, Of Him are all the inhabitants of the world afraid.
9 For He hath said, and it is, He hath commanded, and it standeth.
10 Jehovah made void the counsel of nations, He disallowed the thoughts of the peoples.
11 The counsel of Jehovah to the age standeth, The thoughts of His heart to all generations.
12 O the happiness of the nation whose God [is] Jehovah, Of the people He did choose, For an inheritance to Him.
13 From the heavens hath Jehovah looked, He hath seen all the sons of men.
14 From the fixed place of His dwelling, He looked unto all inhabitants of the earth;
15 Who is forming their hearts together, Who is attending unto all their works.
16 The king is not saved by the multitude of a force. A mighty man is not delivered, By abundance of power.
17 A false thing [is] the horse for safety, And by the abundance of his strength He doth not deliver.
18 Lo, the eye of Jehovah [is] to those fearing Him, To those waiting for His kindness,
19 To deliver from death their soul, And to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul hath waited for Jehovah, Our help and our shield [is] He,
21 For in Him doth our heart rejoice, For in His holy name we have trusted.
22 Let Thy kindness, O Jehovah, be upon us, As we have waited for Thee!
18 For burned as a fire hath wickedness, Brier and thorn it devoureth, And it kindleth in thickets of the forest, And they lift themselves up, an exaltation of smoke!
19 In the wrath of Jehovah of Hosts Hath the land been consumed, And the people is as fuel of fire; A man on his brother hath no pity,
20 And cutteth down on the right, and hath been hungry, And he devoureth on the left, And they have not been satisfied, Each the flesh of his own arm they devour.
21 Manasseh -- Ephraim, and Ephraim -- Manasseh, Together they [are] against Judah, With all this not turned back hath His anger. And still His hand is stretched out!
10 Wo [to] those decreeing decrees of iniquity, And writers who have prescribed perverseness.
2 To turn aside from judgment the poor, And to take violently away the judgment Of the afflicted of My people, That widows may be their prey, That the fatherless they may spoil.
3 And what do ye at a day of inspection? And at desolation? -- from afar it cometh. Near whom do ye flee for help? And where do ye leave your honour?
4 Without Me it hath bowed down In the place of a bound one, And in the place of the slain they fall. With all this not turned back hath His anger, And still His hand is stretched out.
10 and chiefly those going behind the flesh in desire of uncleanness, and lordship despising; presumptuous, self-complacent, dignities they are not afraid to speak evil of,
11 whereas messengers, in strength and power being greater, do not bear against them before the Lord an evil speaking judgment;
12 and these, as irrational natural beasts, made to be caught and destroyed -- in what things they are ignorant of, speaking evil -- in their destruction shall be destroyed,
13 about to receive a reward of unrighteousness, pleasures counting the luxury in the day, spots and blemishes, luxuriating in their deceits, feasting with you,
14 having eyes full of adultery, and unable to cease from sin, enticing unstable souls, having an heart exercised in covetousnesses, children of a curse,
15 having forsaken a right way, they did go astray, having followed in the way of Balaam the [son] of Bosor, who a reward of unrighteousness did love,
16 and had a rebuke of his own iniquity -- a dumb ass, in man's voice having spoken, did forbid the madness of the prophet.
3 And in those days cometh John the Baptist, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea,
2 and saying, `Reform, for come nigh hath the reign of the heavens,'
3 for this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, `A voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, straight make ye His paths.'
4 And this John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field.
5 Then were going forth unto him Jerusalem, and all Judea, and all the region round about the Jordan,
6 and they were baptized in the Jordan by him, confessing their sins.
7 And having seen many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming about his baptism, he said to them, `Brood of vipers! who did shew you to flee from the coming wrath?
8 bear, therefore, fruits worthy of the reformation,
9 and do not think to say in yourselves, A father we have -- Abraham, for I say to you, that God is able out of these stones to raise children to Abraham,
10 and now also, the axe unto the root of the trees is laid, every tree therefore not bearing good fruit is hewn down, and to fire is cast.
11 `I indeed do baptize you with water to reformation, but he who after me is coming is mightier than I, of whom I am not worthy to bear the sandals, he shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire,
12 whose fan [is] in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his floor, and will gather his wheat to the storehouse, but the chaff he will burn with fire unquenchable.'