Book of Common Prayer
The Lord the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 (A)Preserve me, O God, for (B)I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I (C)have no good besides You.”
3 As for the [d](D)saints who are in the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones (E)in whom is all my delight.
4 The [f](F)sorrows of those who have [g]bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of (G)blood,
Nor will I (H)take their names upon my lips.
5 The Lord is the (I)portion of my inheritance and my (J)cup;
You support my (K)lot.
6 The (L)lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is (M)beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has (N)counseled me;
Indeed, my [h](O)mind instructs me in the night.
8 (P)I have (Q)set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is (R)at my right hand, (S)I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore (T)my heart is glad and (U)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will (V)dwell securely.
10 For You (W)will not abandon my soul to [i]Sheol;
Nor will You [j](X)allow Your [k]Holy One to [l]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me (Y)the path of life;
In (Z)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are (AA)pleasures forever.
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a (AB)just cause, O Lord, (AC)give heed to my cry;
(AD)Give ear to my prayer, which is not from (AE)deceitful lips.
2 Let (AF)my [m]judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with (AG)equity.
3 You have (AH)tried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have (AI)tested me and (AJ)You find [n]nothing;
I have (AK)purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the deeds of men, (AL)by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the (AM)paths of the violent.
5 My (AN)steps have held fast to Your [o]paths.
My (AO)feet have not slipped.
6 I have (AP)called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
(AQ)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 (AR)Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,
O (AS)Savior of those who take refuge [p]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as [q]the (AT)apple of the eye;
Hide me (AU)in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the (AV)wicked who despoil me,
My (AW)deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have (AX)closed their [r]unfeeling heart,
With their mouth they (AY)speak proudly.
11 They have now (AZ)surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes (BA)to cast us down to the ground.
12 He is (BB)like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion (BC)lurking in hiding places.
13 (BD)Arise, O Lord, confront him, (BE)bring him low;
(BF)Deliver my soul from the wicked with (BG)Your sword,
14 From men with (BH)Your hand, O Lord,
From men [s]of the world, (BI)whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You (BJ)fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babes.
15 As for me, I shall (BK)behold Your face in righteousness;
(BL)I will be satisfied [t]with Your (BM)likeness when I awake.
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the choir director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
[b](B)Far from my deliverance are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 O my God, I (D)cry by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
O You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)delivered them.
5 To You they cried out and were delivered;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a man,
A (K)reproach of men and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me [g](M)sneer at me;
They [h]separate with the lip, they (N)wag the head, saying,
8 “[i]Commit yourself to the Lord; (O)let Him deliver him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”
9 Yet You are He who (P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
10 Upon You I was cast (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Be not far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)none to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open wide their mouth at me,
As a ravening and a roaring (W)lion.
14 I am (X)poured out like water,
And all my (Y)bones are out of joint;
My (Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within [l]me.
15 My (AA)strength is dried up like a potsherd,
And (AB)my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
And You (AC)lay me [m]in the dust of death.
16 For (AD)dogs have surrounded me;
[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
[o]They (AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones.
(AF)They look, they stare at me;
18 They (AG)divide my garments among them,
And for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But You, O Lord, (AH)be not far off;
O You my help, (AI)hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my [p]soul from (AJ)the sword,
My (AK)only life from the [q]power of the dog.
21 Save me from the (AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the (AM)wild oxen You (AN)answer me.
22 I will (AO)tell of Your name to my brethren;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
23 (AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you [r]descendants of Jacob, (AQ)glorify Him,
And (AR)stand in awe of Him, all you [s]descendants of Israel.
24 For He has (AS)not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He (AT)hidden His face from him;
But (AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From You comes (AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall (AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The [t]afflicted will eat and (AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will (AY)praise the Lord.
Let your (AZ)heart live forever!
27 All the (BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the (BB)families of the nations will worship before [u]You.
28 For the (BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He (BD)rules over the nations.
29 All the [v](BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who (BF)go down to the dust will bow before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 [x](BH)Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to (BI)the coming generation.
31 They will come and (BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people (BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.
14 Then King Zedekiah (A)sent and [a]had Jeremiah the prophet brought to him at the third entrance that is in the house of the Lord; and the king said to Jeremiah, “I am going to (B)ask you something; do not hide anything from me.” 15 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “(C)If I tell you, will you not certainly put me to death? Besides, if I give you advice, you will not listen to me.” 16 But King Zedekiah swore to Jeremiah in (D)secret saying, “As the Lord lives, who made this [b](E)life for us, surely I will not put you to death nor will I give you over to the hand of (F)these men who are seeking your [c]life.”
Interview with Zedekiah
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “Thus says the Lord (G)God of hosts, the (H)God of Israel, ‘If you will indeed (I)go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then [d]you will live, this city will not be burned with fire, and you and your household will [e]survive. 18 But if you will (J)not go out to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city (K)will be given over to the hand of the Chaldeans; and they will burn it with fire, and (L)you yourself will not escape from their hand.’” 19 Then King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I (M)dread the Jews who have [f](N)gone over to the Chaldeans, for they may give me over into their hand and they will (O)abuse me.” 20 But Jeremiah said, “They will not give you over. Please [g](P)obey the Lord in what I am saying to you, that it may go (Q)well with you and [h](R)you may live. 21 But if you keep refusing to go out, this is the word which the Lord has shown me: 22 ‘Then behold, all of the (S)women who have been left in the palace of the king of Judah are going to be brought out to the [i]officers of the king of Babylon; and those women will say,
“[j]Your close friends
Have misled and overpowered you;
While your feet were sunk in the mire,
They turned back.”
23 They will also bring out all your wives and your (T)sons to the Chaldeans, and (U)you yourself will not escape from their hand, but will be seized by the hand of the king of Babylon, and (V)this city will be burned with fire.’”
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Let no man know about these words and you will not die. 25 But if the (W)officials hear that I have talked with you and come to you and say to you, ‘Tell us now what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us and we will not put you to death,’ 26 then you are to say to them, ‘I was (X)presenting my petition before the king, not to make me return to the house of Jonathan to die there.’” 27 Then all the officials came to Jeremiah and questioned him. So he reported to them in accordance with all these words which the king had commanded; and they ceased speaking with him, since the [k]conversation had not been overheard. 28 So Jeremiah (Y)stayed in the court of the guardhouse until the day that Jerusalem was captured.
The Fact of Christ’s Resurrection
15 Now (A)I make known to you, brethren, the (B)gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, (C)in which also you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, (D)if you hold fast [a]the word which I preached to you, (E)unless you believed in vain.
3 For (F)I delivered to you [b]as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died (G)for our sins (H)according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was (I)raised on the third day (J)according to the Scriptures, 5 and that (K)He appeared to (L)Cephas, then (M)to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some (N)have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to [c](O)James, then to (P)all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as [d]to one untimely born, (Q)He appeared to me also. 9 For I am (R)the least of the apostles, [e]and not fit to be called an apostle, because I (S)persecuted the church of God. 10 But by (T)the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I (U)labored even more than all of them, yet (V)not I, but the grace of God with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
John’s Questions
11 (A)When Jesus had finished [a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there (B)to teach and [b]preach in their cities.
2 (C)Now when (D)John, [c]while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You (E)the [d]Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (F)the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the (G)poor have the [e]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he [f]who (H)does not [g]take offense at Me.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.