Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 137[a]
137 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep[b]
when we remember Zion.
2 On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs;[c]
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:[d]
“Sing for us a song about Zion!”[e]
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled.[f]
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy.[g]
7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.[h]
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,[i]
right to its very foundation!”
8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated,[j]
how blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us.[k]
9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock.[l]
Psalm 144[a]
By David.
144 The Lord, my Protector,[b] deserves praise[c]—
the one who trains my hands for battle,[d]
and my fingers for war,
2 who loves me[e] and is my stronghold,
my refuge[f] and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me.[g]
3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race,[h] that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind,[i] that you should be concerned about them?[j]
4 People[k] are like a vapor,
their days like a shadow that disappears.[l]
5 O Lord, make the sky sink[m] and come down.[n]
Touch the mountains and make them smolder.[o]
6 Hurl lightning bolts and scatter the enemy.
Shoot your arrows and rout them.[p]
7 Reach down[q] from above.
Grab me and rescue me from the surging water,[r]
from the power of foreigners,[s]
8 who speak lies,
and make false promises.[t]
9 O God, I will sing a new song to you.
Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,
10 the one who delivers[u] kings,
and rescued David his servant from a deadly[v] sword.
11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners,[w]
who speak lies,
and make false promises.[x]
12 Then[y] our sons will be like plants,
that quickly grow to full size.[z]
Our daughters will be like corner pillars,[aa]
carved like those in a palace.[ab]
13 Our storehouses[ac] will be full,
providing all kinds of food.[ad]
Our sheep will multiply by the thousands
and fill[ae] our pastures.[af]
14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce.[ag]
No one will break through our walls,
no one will be taken captive,
and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares.[ah]
15 How blessed are the people who experience these things.[ai]
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 104[a]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[b]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[c]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[d]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[e]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[f] like a garment;
the waters reached[g] above the mountains.[h]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[i]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[j]
10 He turns springs into streams;[k]
they flow between the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes.[l]
13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;[m]
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.[n]
14 He provides grass[o] for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate,[p]
so they can produce food from the ground,[q]
15 as well as wine that makes people glad,[r]
and olive oil to make their faces shine,[s]
as well as bread that sustains them.[t]
16 The trees of the Lord[u] receive all the rain they need,[v]
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live.[w]
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains;[x]
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
19 He made the moon to mark the months,[y]
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.[z]
20 You make it dark and night comes,[aa]
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.[ab]
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep[ac] in their dens.
23 People then go out to do their work,
and they labor until evening.[ad]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![ae]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[af]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[ag]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[ah]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[ai] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[aj] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[ak]
28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.[al]
29 When you ignore them, they panic.[am]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
31 May the splendor of the Lord endure.[an]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.[ao]
32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.[ap]
34 May my thoughts[aq] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners disappear[ar] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
II. Job’s Dialogue With His Friends (3:1-27:23)[a]
Job Regrets His Birth
3 After this Job opened his mouth[b] and cursed[c] the day he was born.[d] 2 Job spoke up[e] and said:
3 “Let the day on which[f] I was born[g] perish,
and the night that said,[h]
‘A man[i] has been conceived!’[j]
4 That day[k]—let it be darkness;[l]
let not God on high regard[m] it,
nor let light shine[n] on it!
5 Let darkness and the deepest shadow[o] claim it;[p]
let a cloud settle on it;
let whatever blackens the day[q] terrify it.
6 That night—let darkness seize[r] it;
let it not be included[s] among the days of the year;
let it not enter among the number of the months![t]
7 Indeed,[u] let that night be barren;[v]
let no shout of joy[w] penetrate[x] it!
8 Let those who curse the day[y] curse it[z]—
those who are prepared to rouse[aa] Leviathan.[ab]
9 Let its morning stars[ac] be darkened;
let it wait[ad] for daylight but find none,[ae]
nor let it see the first rays[af] of dawn,
10 because it[ag] did not shut the doors[ah] of my mother’s womb on me,[ai]
nor did it hide trouble[aj] from my eyes.
Job Wishes He Had Died at Birth[ak]
11 “Why did I not[al] die[am] at birth,[an]
and why did I not expire
as[ao] I came out of the womb?
12 Why did the knees welcome me,[ap]
and why were there[aq] two breasts[ar]
that I might nurse at them?[as]
13 For now[at] I would be lying down
and[au] would be quiet,[av]
I would be asleep and then at peace[aw]
14 with kings and counselors of the earth
who built for themselves places now desolate,[ax]
15 or with princes who possessed gold,[ay]
who filled their palaces[az] with silver.
16 Or why[ba] was[bb] I not buried[bc]
like a stillborn infant,[bd]
like infants[be] who have never seen the light?[bf]
17 There[bg] the wicked[bh] cease[bi] from turmoil,[bj]
and there the weary[bk] are at rest.
18 There[bl] the prisoners[bm] relax[bn] together;[bo]
they do not hear the voice of the oppressor.[bp]
19 Small and great are[bq] there,
and the slave is free[br] from his master.[bs]
Longing for Death[bt]
20 “Why does God[bu] give[bv] light to one who is in misery,[bw]
and life to those[bx] whose soul is bitter,
21 to[by] those who wait[bz] for death that[ca] does not come,
and search for it[cb]
more than for hidden treasures,
22 who rejoice[cc] even to jubilation,[cd]
and are exultant[ce] when[cf] they find the grave?[cg]
23 Why is light given[ch] to a man[ci]
whose way is hidden,[cj]
and whom God has hedged in?[ck]
24 For my sighing comes in place of[cl] my food,[cm]
and my groanings[cn] flow forth like water.[co]
25 For the very thing I dreaded[cp] has happened[cq] to me,
and what I feared has come upon me.[cr]
26 I have no ease,[cs] I have no quietness;
I cannot rest;[ct] turmoil has come upon me.”[cu]
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The[a] Lord[b] said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am,[c] Lord.” 11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’[d] and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision[e] a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 13 But Ananias replied,[f] “Lord, I have heard from many people[g] about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison[h] all who call on your name!”[i] 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument[j] to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.[k] 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”[l] 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed[m] his hands on Saul[n] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here,[o] has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”[p] 18 Immediately[q] something like scales[r] fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He[s] got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.
For several days[t] he was with the disciples in Damascus,
41 Then the Jews who were hostile to Jesus[a] began complaining about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,” 42 and they said, “Isn’t this Jesus the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus replied,[b] “Do not complain about me to one another.[c] 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him,[d] and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’[e] Everyone who hears and learns from the Father[f] comes to me. 46 (Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God—he[g] has seen the Father.)[h] 47 I tell you the solemn truth,[i] the one who believes[j] has eternal life.[k] 48 I am the bread of life.[l] 49 Your ancestors[m] ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This[n] is the bread that has come down from heaven, so that a person[o] may eat from it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this bread he will live forever. The bread[p] that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
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