Book of Common Prayer
The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.
A Psalm of David.
101 I will (A)sing of lovingkindness and [a]justice,
To You, O Lord, I will sing praises.
2 I will [b](B)give heed to the [c]blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [d](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the [e]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not fasten its grip on me.
4 A (F)perverse heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [f]destroy;
No one who has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart will I endure.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
He who walks in a [g](I)blameless way is the one who will minister to me.
7 He who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks falsehood (K)shall not [h]maintain his position before me.
8 (L)Every morning I will [i](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to (N)cut off from the (O)city of the Lord all those who do iniquity.
Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
109 O (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened the [a]wicked and (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken [b]against me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they act as my accusers;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 Thus they have [c](H)repaid me evil for good
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man over him,
And let an [d](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him (K)come forth guilty,
And let his (L)prayer become sin.
8 Let (M)his days be few;
Let (N)another take his office.
9 Let his (O)children be fatherless
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 Let his (Q)children wander about and beg;
And let them (R)seek sustenance [e]far from their ruined homes.
11 Let (S)the creditor [f]seize all that he has,
And let (T)strangers plunder the product of his labor.
12 Let there be none to [g](U)extend lovingkindness to him,
Nor (V)any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
13 Let his (W)posterity be [h]cut off;
In a following generation let their (X)name be blotted out.
14 Let (Y)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered [i]before the Lord,
And do not let the sin of his mother be (Z)blotted out.
15 Let (AA)them be before the Lord continually,
That He may (AB)cut off their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted and needy man,
And the (AD)despondent in heart, to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it (AH)entered into [j]his body like water
And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he covers himself,
And for a belt with which he constantly (AJ)girds himself.
20 [k]Let this be the (AK)reward of my accusers from the Lord,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But You, O [l]God, the Lord, deal kindly with me (AM)for Your name’s sake;
Because (AN)Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [m]my heart is (AP)wounded within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees [n]are weak from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 I also have become a (AU)reproach to them;
When they see me, they (AV)wag their head.
26 (AW)Help me, O Lord my God;
Save me according to Your lovingkindness.
27 [o]And let them (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, Lord, have done it.
28 (AY)Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, they shall be ashamed,
But Your (AZ)servant shall be glad.
29 [p]Let (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [q]let them (BB)cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And in the midst of many (BC)I will praise Him.
Ayin.
121 I have (A)done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be (B)surety for Your servant for good;
Do not let the arrogant (C)oppress me.
123 My (D)eyes fail with longing for Your salvation
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your servant (E)according to Your lovingkindness
And (F)teach me Your statutes.
125 (G)I am Your servant; (H)give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for the Lord to (I)act,
For they have broken Your law.
127 Therefore I (J)love Your commandments
Above gold, yes, above fine gold.
128 Therefore I esteem right all Your (K)precepts concerning everything,
I (L)hate every false way.
Pe.
129 Your testimonies are (M)wonderful;
Therefore my soul (N)observes them.
130 The (O)unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives (P)understanding to the simple.
131 I (Q)opened my mouth wide and (R)panted,
For I (S)longed for Your commandments.
132 (T)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
After Your manner [b]with those who love Your name.
133 Establish my (U)footsteps in Your [c]word,
And do not let any iniquity (V)have dominion over me.
134 (W)Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.
135 (X)Make Your face shine upon Your servant,
And (Y)teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes [d]shed (Z)streams of water,
Because they (AA)do not keep Your law.
Tsadhe.
137 (AB)Righteous are You, O Lord,
And upright are Your judgments.
138 You have commanded Your testimonies in (AC)righteousness
And exceeding (AD)faithfulness.
139 My (AE)zeal has [e]consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
140 Your [f](AF)word is very [g]pure,
Therefore Your servant (AG)loves it.
141 I am small and (AH)despised,
Yet I do not (AI)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (AJ)Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have [h]come upon me,
Yet Your commandments are my (AK)delight.
144 Your (AL)testimonies are righteous forever;
(AM)Give me understanding that I may live.
9 Now in the fourth year of King Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, (A)Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria and besieged it. 10 At the end of three years they captured it; in the sixth year of Hezekiah, which was (B)the ninth year of Hoshea king of Israel, Samaria was captured. 11 Then the king of Assyria carried Israel away into exile to Assyria, and put them in (C)Halah and on the Habor, the river of Gozan, and in the cities of the Medes, 12 because they (D)did not obey the voice of the Lord their God, but transgressed His covenant, even all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded; they would neither listen nor do it.
Invasion of Judah
13 (E)Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them. 14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, “(F)I have done wrong. [a]Withdraw from me; whatever you [b]impose on me I will bear.” So the king of Assyria [c]required of Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold. 15 (G)Hezekiah gave him all the silver which was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasuries of the king’s house. 16 At that time Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the doorposts which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 Then the king of Assyria sent (H)Tartan and Rab-saris and Rabshakeh from Lachish to King Hezekiah with a large army to Jerusalem. So they went up and came to Jerusalem. And when they went up, they came and stood by the (I)conduit of the upper pool, which is on the highway of the [d]fuller’s field. 18 When they called to the king, (J)Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and (K)Shebnah the scribe and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, came out to them.
19 Then Rabshakeh said to them, “Say now to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria, “(L)What is this confidence that you [e]have? 20 You say (but they are [f]only empty words), ‘I have counsel and strength for the war.’ Now on whom do you rely, (M)that you have rebelled against me? 21 Now behold, you [g](N)rely on the staff of this crushed reed, even on Egypt; on which if a man leans, it will go into his [h]hand and pierce it. So is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who rely on him. 22 But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the Lord our God,’ is it not He whose high places and (O)whose altars Hezekiah has taken away, and has said to Judah and to Jerusalem, ‘You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem’? 23 Now therefore, [i]come, make a bargain with my master the king of Assyria, and I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 24 How then can you [j]repulse one [k]official of the least of my master’s servants, and [l]rely on Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 25 Have I now come up [m]without the Lord’s approval against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’”’”
Take Care with Your Liberty
8 Now concerning (A)things sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have (B)knowledge. Knowledge [a](C)makes arrogant, but love (D)edifies. 2 (E)If anyone supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet (F)known as he ought to know; 3 but if anyone loves God, he (G)is known by Him.
4 Therefore concerning the eating of (H)things sacrificed to idols, we know that [b]there is (I)no such thing as an idol in the world, and that (J)there is no God but one. 5 For even if (K)there are so-called gods whether in heaven or on earth, as indeed there are many gods and many lords, 6 yet for us (L)there is but one God, (M)the Father, (N)from whom are all things and we exist for Him; and (O)one Lord, Jesus Christ, (P)by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.
7 However not all men (Q)have this knowledge; but (R)some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat food as if it were sacrificed to an idol; and their conscience being weak is defiled. 8 But (S)food will not [c]commend us to God; we are neither [d]the worse if we do not eat, nor [e]the better if we do eat. 9 But (T)take care that this [f]liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the (U)weak. 10 For if someone sees you, who have (V)knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be strengthened to eat (W)things sacrificed to idols? 11 For through (X)your knowledge he who is weak (Y)is ruined, the brother for whose sake Christ died. 12 (Z)And so, by sinning against the brethren and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin (AA)against Christ. 13 Therefore, (AB)if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.
The Narrow and Wide Gates
13 “(A)Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
A Tree and Its Fruit
15 “Beware of the (B)false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are (C)ravenous wolves. 16 You will [a](D)know them by their fruits. [b]Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So (E)every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 (F)Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will [c]know them (G)by their fruits.
21 “(H)Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.