Book of Common Prayer
By David.
37 Don’t fret because of evildoers,
neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
3 Trust in Yahweh, and do good.
Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.
4 Also delight yourself in Yahweh,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to Yahweh.
Trust also in him, and he will do this:
6 he will make your righteousness shine out like light,
and your justice as the noon day sun.
7 Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him.
Don’t fret because of him who prospers in his way,
because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.
Don’t fret; it leads only to evildoing.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more.
Yes, though you look for his place, he isn’t there.
11 But the humble shall inherit the land,
and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12 The wicked plots against the just,
and gnashes at him with his teeth.
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,
to kill those who are upright on the path.
15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart.
Their bows shall be broken.
16 Better is a little that the righteous has,
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but Yahweh upholds the righteous.
18 Yahweh knows the days of the perfect.
Their inheritance shall be forever.
19 They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil.
In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20 But the wicked shall perish.
The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields.
They will vanish—
vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked borrow, and don’t pay back,
but the righteous give generously.
22 For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land.
Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.
23 A man’s steps are established by Yahweh.
He delights in his way.
24 Though he stumble, he shall not fall,
for Yahweh holds him up with his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
nor his children begging for bread.
26 All day long he deals graciously, and lends.
His offspring is blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good.
Live securely forever.
28 For Yahweh loves justice,
and doesn’t forsake his saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom.
His tongue speaks justice.
31 The law of his God is in his heart.
None of his steps shall slide.
32 The wicked watch the righteous,
and seek to kill him.
33 Yahweh will not leave him in his hand,
nor condemn him when he is judged.
34 Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35 I have seen the wicked in great power,
spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
36 But he passed away, and behold, he was not.
Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.
37 Mark the perfect man, and see the upright,
for there is a future for the man of peace.
38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together.
The future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39 But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh.
He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40 Yahweh helps them and rescues them.
He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
because they have taken refuge in him.
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake. Break them in pieces on the head of all of them. I will kill the last of them with the sword. Not one of them will flee away. Not one of them will escape. 2 Though they dig into Sheol,[a] there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down. 3 Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out from there; and though they be hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them. 4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good. 5 For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt. 6 It is he who builds his rooms in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth—Yahweh is his name. 7 Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?” says Yahweh. “Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? 8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth, except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh. 9 “For behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’
8 “To the angel of the assembly in Smyrna write:
“The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life says these things:
9 “I know your works, oppression, and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews, and they are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Don’t be afraid of the things which you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested; and you will have oppression for ten days. Be faithful to death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. He who overcomes won’t be harmed by the second death.
12 “To the angel of the assembly in Pergamum write:
“He who has the sharp two-edged sword says these things:
13 “I know your works and where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. You hold firmly to my name, and didn’t deny my faith in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to throw a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 So also you likewise have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[a] 16 Repent therefore, or else I am coming to you quickly and I will make war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the assemblies. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, [b] and I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows but he who receives it.
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation.
14 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don’t enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.[a] 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of Gehenna[b] as yourselves.
16 “Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.’ 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.’ 19 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by him who has been living[c] in it. 22 He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by him who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin,[d] and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.[e] 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that its outside may become clean also.
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