Book of Common Prayer
Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
(F)Poison of a viper is under their lips. [a]Selah.
4 (G)Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Preserve me from violent men
Who have [b]purposed to [c](I)trip up my feet.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a (K)net by the [d]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah.
6 I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Give ear, O Lord, to the (O)voice of my supplications.
7 “O [e]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head in the day of [f]battle.
8 “Do not grant, O Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (S)his evil device, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)mischief of their lips cover them.
10 “May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into [g]deep pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 “May a [h]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(X)May evil hunt the violent man [i]speedily.”
Prayer for Help in Trouble.
[a]Maskil of David, when he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 I (A)cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I (B)make supplication with my voice to the Lord.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)trouble before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was overwhelmed within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
For there is (G)no one who regards me;
[d]There is no (H)escape for me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 “(M)Give heed to my cry,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 “(P)Bring my soul out of prison,
So that I may give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will surround me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.
A Psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be [a]counted as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O Lord, [b]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds [c]of wickedness
With men who (I)do iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me [d]in kindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Do not let my head refuse it,
[e]For still my prayer (M)is [f]against their wicked deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of [g]Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O [h]God, the Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not [i]leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me from the [j](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of those who do iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by [k](X)safely.
Prayer for Deliverance and Guidance.
A Psalm of David.
143 Hear my prayer, O Lord,
(A)Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight (E)no man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit [a]is overwhelmed within me;
My heart is [b](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all Your doings;
I (L)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)stretch out my hands to You;
My (N)soul longs for You, as a [c]parched land. [d]Selah.
7 (O)Answer me quickly, O Lord, my (P)spirit fails;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Let me hear Your (S)lovingkindness (T)in the morning;
For I trust (U)in You;
Teach me the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Deliver me, O Lord, from my enemies;
[e]I take refuge in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [f]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, O Lord, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [g](AE)cut off my enemies
And (AF)destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For (AG)I am Your servant.
36 (A)Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (B)according to all that his fathers had done.
Babylon Controls Jehoiakim
24 (C)In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 The Lord sent against him (D)bands of Chaldeans, (E)bands of Arameans, (F)bands of Moabites, and bands of Ammonites. So He sent them against Judah to destroy it, (G)according to the word of the Lord which He had spoken through His servants the prophets. 3 (H)Surely at the [a]command of the Lord it came upon Judah, to remove them from His sight (I)because of the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and (J)also for the innocent blood which he shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood; and the Lord would not forgive. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah?
Jehoiachin Reigns
6 So (K)Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son became king in his place. 7 (L)The king of Egypt did not come out of his land again, (M)for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from (N)the brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates.
8 (O)Jehoiachin was (P)eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 He did evil in the sight of the Lord, (Q)according to all that his father had done.
Deportation to Babylon
10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon went up to Jerusalem, and the city came under siege. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon came to the city, while his servants were besieging it. 12 (R)Jehoiachin the king of Judah went out to the king of Babylon, he and his mother and his servants and his captains and his officials. So (S)the king of Babylon took him captive in the eighth year of his reign. 13 (T)He carried out from there all the treasures of the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king’s house, and (U)cut in pieces all the vessels of gold (V)which Solomon king of Israel had made in the temple of the Lord, just as the Lord had said. 14 Then (W)he led away into exile all Jerusalem and all the captains and all the mighty men of valor, (X)ten thousand captives, and (Y)all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained (Z)except the poorest people of the land.
15 So (AA)he led Jehoiachin away into exile to Babylon; also the king’s mother and the king’s wives and his officials and the leading men of the land, he led away into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 All the men of valor, (AB)seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths, one thousand, all strong and fit for war, and these the king of Babylon brought into exile to Babylon.
Zedekiah Made King
17 (AC)Then the king of Babylon made [b]his uncle Mattaniah king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah.
12 For even (A)as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, (B)so also is Christ. 13 For [a](C)by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether (D)Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to (E)drink of one Spirit.
14 For (F)the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [b]any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason [c]any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has (G)placed the members, each one of them, in the body, (H)just as He desired. 19 If they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now (I)there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, [d]it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary; 23 and those members of the body which we [e]deem less honorable, [f]on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no need of it. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no [g]division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is [h]honored, all the members rejoice with it.
27 As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, (A)Son of David!” 28 When He entered the house, the blind men came up to Him, and Jesus *said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They *said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 29 Then He touched their eyes, saying, “[a]It shall be done to you (B)according to your faith.” 30 And their eyes were opened. And Jesus (C)sternly warned them: “See that no one knows about this!” 31 But they went out and (D)spread the news about Him throughout all that land.
32 As they were going out, (E)a mute, (F)demon-possessed man [b]was brought to Him. 33 After the demon was cast out, the mute man spoke; and the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “(G)Nothing like this has [c]ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees were saying, “He (H)casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.”
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