Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
A Psalm of David.
1 Do not fret because of evildoers,
nor be jealous of those who do injustice.
2 For they will quickly wither like the grass,
and fade like the green herbs.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land, and practice faithfulness.
4 Delight yourself in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your judgment as the noonday.
7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
do not fret because of those who prosper in their way,
because of those who make wicked schemes.
8 Let go of anger, and forsake wrath;
do not fret—it surely leads to evil deeds.
9 For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will not be;
you will look diligently for their place, and it will not be.
11 But the meek will inherit the earth,
and will delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous,
and grind their teeth against them.
13 The Lord will laugh at him,
for He sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword
and have bent their bow,
to cast down the poor and needy,
and to slay those on the upright path.
15 Their sword will enter into their own heart,
and their bows will be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord supports the righteous.
18 The Lord knows the days of people of integrity,
and their inheritance will be forever.
19 They will not be ashamed in the evil time,
and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.
20 But the wicked will perish,
and the enemies of the Lord will be like the glory of pastures;
they will waste away, in smoke they will waste away.
21 The wicked borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous is gracious and gives.
22 For those who are blessed of Him will inherit the earth,
but those who are cursed of Him will be cut off.
23 The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord;
He delights in his way.
24 Though he falls, he will not be hurled down,
for the Lord supports him with His hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old;
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor their offspring begging bread.
26 The righteous are gracious and lend,
and their offspring are a source of blessing.
27 Depart from evil and do good,
and abide forevermore.
28 For the Lord loves justice,
and does not forsake His saints;
they are preserved forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and dwell on it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and their tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of their God is in their heart;
none of their steps will slip.
32 The wicked watch the righteous,
and seek to kill them.
33 The Lord will not forsake them to their hand,
nor condemn them when they are judged.
34 Hope in the Lord,
and keep His way,
and He will exalt you to inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
and spreading himself like a luxuriant tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and he was not;
I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the blameless man, and consider the upright,
for the end of that man is peace.
38 But the transgressors will be destroyed together;
the end of the wicked is to be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their refuge in the time of distress.
40 The Lord will help them and deliver them;
He will deliver them from the wicked,
and save them, because they take refuge in Him.
Solomon’s Apostasy
11 But King Solomon loved many foreign women in addition to the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians, and Hittites, 2 from the nations which the Lord warned the children of Israel about, saying, “You shall not go in to them, nor shall they come in to you, for they will surely turn your heart away toward their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love. 3 He had seven hundred wives who were princesses and three hundred concubines, and his wives turned his heart away. 4 For when Solomon was old, his wives turned his heart away after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God as the heart of David his father had been. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Molek, the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not fully follow the Lord as his father David had done.
7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is close to Jerusalem, and for Molek, the abomination of the children of Ammon. 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and sacrificed to their gods.
9 The Lord was angry with Solomon because he turned his heart away from the Lord God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice, 10 and had warned him about this, that he should not follow other gods, but he was disobedient to the Lord’s command. 11 Therefore the Lord said to Solomon, “Since you have done this and have not kept My covenant and statutes, which I commanded you, I will surely take the kingdom from you and give it to your servant. 12 I will not do this in your lifetime for your father David’s sake, but I will tear it out of the hand of your son. 13 However, I will not take the whole kingdom away, but will preserve one tribe for your son for David My servant’s sake and for the sake of Jerusalem which I chose.”
The Wisdom From Above
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show his works by his good life in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, do not boast and do not lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom descends not from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, and devilish. 16 For where there is envying and strife, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
Friendship With the World
4 Where do wars and fights among you come from? Do they not come from your lusts that war in your body? 2 You lust and do not have, so you kill. You desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your passions.
4 You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “He yearns jealously for the spirit that lives in us”[a]? 6 But He gives more grace. For this reason it says:
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[b]
7 Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Grieve and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to dejection. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.
Judging a Brother
11 Do not speak evil of one another, brothers. He who speaks evil of his brother and judges his brother speaks evil of the law and judges the law. If you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law, but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?
12 Pilate answered them again, “What then would you have me do to Him whom you call the King of the Jews?”
13 They again cried out, “Crucify Him!”
14 Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has He done?”
But they cried out even more, “Crucify Him!”
15 So Pilate, resolving to satisfy the people, released Barabbas to them. And when he had scourged Jesus, he handed Him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus(A)
16 The soldiers led Him away to Praetorium Hall, and they called together the entire battalion. 17 They clothed Him with a purple robe. And they wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, 18 and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 19 They struck His head with a staff and spit on Him. And bowing their knees, they worshipped Him. 20 When they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off of Him and put His own garments on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him.
The Crucifixion(B)
21 They compelled a man named Simon from Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was passing through from the country, to bear Jesus’ cross.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.