Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38
A Psalm of David. To bring remembrance.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your wrath,
nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
2 For Your arrows pierce me,
and Your hand presses down on me.
3 There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation,
nor is there health in my bones because of my sin.
4 For my iniquities have passed over my head;
as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.
5 My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness.
6 I am bent, I am bowed down greatly;
I go mourning all the day long.
7 For my sides are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8 I am numb and completely crushed;
I have roared because of the groaning of my heart.
9 Lord, all my desire is before You,
and my sighing is not hidden from You.
10 My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me.
11 My friends and my companions stand back because of my affliction,
and those close to me stand at a distance.
12 The people who seek my life strike at me;
those who seek my harm speak destruction,
and plan treacheries all the day long.
13 But I, like a deaf man, did not hear;
and like a dumb man, did not open my mouth.
14 Thus I was as a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no reproofs.
15 For in You, O Lord, do I hope;
You will answer, O Lord my God.
16 For I said, “Lest otherwise they should rejoice over me.
When my foot slips, they magnify themselves against me.”
17 For I am ready to stumble,
and my pain is continually before me.
18 For I will declare my iniquity;
I am anxious because of my sin.
19 But my enemies are lively, and they are strong;
and those who wrongfully hate me are many.
20 Those also who repay evil for good are my adversaries,
because I pursue good.
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord;
O my God, do not be far from me.
22 Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.
ד Daleth
25 My soul clings to the dust;
revive me according to Your word.
26 I have declared my ways, and You heard me;
teach me Your statutes.
27 Make me to understand the way of Your precepts;
then I shall contemplate on Your wondrous works.
28 My soul collapses on account of grief;
strengthen me according to Your word.
29 Remove from me the way of falsehood,
and graciously grant me Your law.
30 I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
Your judgments I have laid before me.
31 I have stayed with Your testimonies, O Lord;
may I not be put to shame.
32 I will run in the way of Your commandments,
when You set my heart free.
ה He
33 Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes,
and I shall keep it to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I shall keep Your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35 Lead me in the path of Your commandments,
for I delight in them.
36 Incline my heart unto Your testimonies,
and not for unjust gain.
37 Turn away my eyes from beholding worthlessness,
and revive me in Your way.
38 Establish Your word to Your servant,
so that You are feared.
39 Turn away my reproach that I dread,
for Your judgments are good.
40 Behold, I have a longing for Your precepts;
revive me in Your righteousness.
ו Waw
41 Let Your mercies come to me, O Lord,
even Your deliverance according to Your word.
42 So I shall have an answer for him who reproaches me,
for I trust in Your word.
43 Do not take the word of truth out of my mouth,
for I have hoped in Your judgments.
44 So I shall keep Your law continually,
forever and ever.
45 I will walk in an open space,
for I seek Your precepts.
46 I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings
and will not be ashamed.
47 I will delight in Your commandments,
which I have loved.
48 My hands I will lift up unto Your commandments, which I have loved;
I will meditate on Your statutes.
24 But Pharaoh’s daughter moved out of the City of David to her house which Solomon had built for her, and he then built Millo.
25 Three times a year Solomon offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on the altar that he built to the Lord, and he burned incense on the altar that was before the Lord. So he finished the house.
26 King Solomon built a fleet of ships in Ezion Geber, which is beside Elath on the shore of the Red Sea in the land of Edom. 27 Hiram sent shipmen who had knowledge of the sea to serve alongside Solomon’s men. 28 They went to Ophir and acquired four hundred and twenty talents[a] of gold there and brought it to King Solomon.
The Queen of Sheba(A)
10 Now when the queen of Sheba heard of Solomon’s fame connected to the name of the Lord, she came to test him with hard questions. 2 She came to Jerusalem with a very great retinue, with camels bearing spices, and very much gold, and precious stones; and when she came to Solomon, she told him all that was on her mind. 3 Solomon answered all her questions; there was not anything too difficult for the king which he could not answer. 4 When the queen of Sheba observed Solomon’s wisdom and the house he had built 5 and the meat of his table and the sitting of his servants and the attendance of his ministers and their clothing and his cupbearers and his entryway by which he went up to the house of the Lord, it took her breath away.
6 She said to the king, “What I heard in my own land about your acts and your wisdom was true! 7 I did not believe it until I came and saw it with my own eyes! In fact, I was not even told half. Your wisdom and prosperity are greater than the stories I heard! 8 Happy are your men, and happy are these your servants who stand continually before you and hear your wisdom! 9 Blessed be the Lord your God, who delighted in you and set you on the throne of Israel, because the Lord loved Israel forever; therefore He made you king in order to execute judgment and justice.”
10 She gave the king a hundred and twenty talents[b] of gold and a great amount of spices and precious stones. No one gave as many spices as the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.
11 The ships of Hiram, which brought gold from Ophir, also brought from Ophir a large quantity of almug wood and precious stones. 12 The king made pillars for the house of the Lord out of the almug trees and harps also and psalteries for singers for the king’s house. Never before had such almug wood been brought, nor has any such been seen to this day.
13 King Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all she desired, no matter what she asked for, in addition to what Solomon gave her from his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants.
The Tongue
3 My brothers, not many of you should become teachers, knowing that we shall receive the greater judgment. 2 We all err in many ways. But if any man does not err in word, he is a perfect man and able also to control the whole body.
3 See how we put bits in the mouths of horses that they may obey us, and we control their whole bodies. 4 And observe ships. Though they are so great and are driven by fierce winds, yet they are directed with a very small rudder wherever the captain pleases. 5 Even so, the tongue is a little part of the body and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles. 6 The tongue is a fire, a world of evil. The tongue is among the parts of the body, defiling the whole body, and setting the course of nature on fire, and it is set on fire by hell.
7 All kinds of beasts, and birds, and serpents, and things in the sea are tamed or have been tamed by mankind. 8 But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in the image of God. 10 Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. 11 Does a spring yield at the same opening sweet and bitter water? 12 Can the fig tree, my brothers, bear olives, or a vine, figs? So no spring can yield both salt water and fresh water.
Jesus Before Pilate(A)
15 Early in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole Sanhedrin. And they bound Jesus and took Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.
2 Pilate asked Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”
He answered him, “You have said so.”
3 The chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing. 4 So Pilate asked Him again, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You.”
5 But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate was astonished.
Jesus Sentenced to Die(B)
6 Now at the feast he always released to them one prisoner, whomever they requested. 7 There was one named Barabbas, who had committed murder in the insurrection and was bound with the rebels. 8 The crowd began crying aloud, asking Pilate to do as he had always done for them.
9 He answered them, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 10 For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over out of envy. 11 But the chief priests stirred the people, so that he should instead release Barabbas to them.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.