Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Of David.
1 Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[a](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.(K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land(M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because he sees that his day is coming.(Q)
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[b] bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.(R)
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.(S)
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.(T)
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,(U)
but the Lord supports the righteous.(V)
18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.(W)
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.(X)
20 But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.(Y)
21 The wicked person borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.(Z)
22 Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be destroyed.(AA)
23 A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.(AB)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.(AC)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(AD)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(AE)
27 Turn away from evil, do what is good,
and settle permanently.(AF)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful ones.(AG)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(AH)
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it permanently.(AI)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(AJ)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(AK)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and intends to kill him;(AL)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(AM)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(AN)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
well-rooted,[c] like a flourishing native tree.(AO)
36 Then I[d] passed by and noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(AP)
The Decree of Cyrus
1 In(A) the first year of King Cyrus of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken through Jeremiah,(B) the Lord roused the spirit(C) of King Cyrus to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom and to put it in writing:
2 This is what King Cyrus of Persia says: “The Lord, the God of the heavens, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and has appointed me to build him a house at Jerusalem in Judah.(D) 3 Any of his people among you, may his God be with him, and may he go to Jerusalem in Judah and build the house of the Lord, the God of Israel,(E) the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let every survivor,(F) wherever he resides, be assisted by the men of that region with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, along with a freewill offering for the house of God in Jerusalem.”
Return from Exile
5 So the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, along with the priests and Levites—everyone whose spirit God had roused(G)—prepared to go up and rebuild the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. 6 All their neighbors supported them[a](H) with silver articles, gold, goods, livestock, and valuables, in addition to all that was given as a freewill offering. 7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles of the Lord’s house that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and had placed in the house of his gods.(I) 8 King Cyrus of Persia had them brought out under the supervision of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah.(J) 9 This was the inventory:
30 gold basins, 1,000 silver basins,
29 silver knives, 10 30 gold bowls,
410 various[b] silver bowls, and 1,000 other articles.
11 The gold and silver articles totaled 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them when the exiles went up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
Collection for the Jerusalem Church
16 Now about the collection(A) for the saints: Do the same as I instructed the Galatian(B) churches. 2 On the first day of the week,(C) each of you is to set something aside and save in keeping with how he is prospering, so that no collections will need to be made when I come.(D) 3 When I arrive, I will send with letters(E) those you recommend to carry your gift to Jerusalem.(F) 4 If it is suitable for me to go as well, they will travel with me.
Paul’s Travel Plans
5 I will come to you after I pass through Macedonia(G)—for I will be traveling through Macedonia— 6 and perhaps I will remain with you or even spend the winter, so that you may send me on my way wherever I go. 7 I don’t want to see you now just in passing, since I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows.(H) 8 But I will stay in Ephesus(I) until Pentecost,(J) 9 because a wide door(K) for effective ministry has opened for me[a]—yet many oppose me.
The Servant of the Lord
15 Jesus was aware of this and withdrew. Large crowds[a] followed him, and he healed them all.(A) 16 He warned them not to make him known,(B) 17 so that what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
18 Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.(C)
19 He will not argue or shout,
and no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 He will not break a bruised reed,
and he will not put out a smoldering wick,
until he has led justice to victory.[b]
21 The nations will put their hope in his name.[c](D)
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