Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119[a]
א (Alef)
119 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless,[b]
who obey[c] the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,
and seek him with all their heart,
3 who, moreover, do no wrong,
but follow in his footsteps.[d]
4 You demand that your precepts
be carefully kept.[e]
5 If only I were predisposed[f]
to keep your statutes.
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
if[g] I were focused on[h] all your commands.
7 I will give you sincere thanks,[i]
when I learn your just regulations.
8 I will keep your statutes.
Do not completely abandon me.[j]
ב (Bet)
9 How can a young person[k] maintain a pure life?[l]
By guarding it according to your instructions.[m]
10 With all my heart I seek you.
Do not allow me to stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I store up[n] your words,[o]
so I might not sin against you.
12 You deserve praise,[p] O Lord.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the regulations you have revealed.[q]
14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules[r]
as if[s] they were riches of all kinds.[t]
15 I will meditate on[u] your precepts
and focus on[v] your behavior.[w]
16 I find delight[x] in your statutes;
I do not forget your instructions.[y]
ג (Gimel)
17 Be kind to your servant.
Then I will live[z] and keep[aa] your instructions.[ab]
18 Open[ac] my eyes so I can truly see[ad]
the marvelous things in your law.
19 I am a resident foreigner in this land.[ae]
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I desperately long to know[af]
your regulations at all times.
21 You reprimand arrogant people.
Those who stray from your commands are doomed.[ag]
22 Spare me[ah] shame and humiliation,
for I observe your rules.
23 Though rulers plot and slander me,[ai]
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;
they give me guidance.[aj]
Psalm 12[a]
For the music director, according to the sheminith style;[b] a psalm of David.
12 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly[c] have disappeared;[d]
people of integrity[e] have vanished.[f]
2 People lie to one another;[g]
they flatter and deceive.[h]
3 May the Lord cut off[i] all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts![j]
4 They say,[k] “We speak persuasively;[l]
we know how to flatter and boast.[m]
Who is our master?”[n]
5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,[o]
because of the painful cries[p] of the needy,
I will spring into action,”[q] says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”[r]
6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.[s]
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.[t]
7 You, Lord, will protect them;[u]
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,[v]
8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,[w]
when people promote evil.[x]
Psalm 13[y]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?[z]
How long will you pay no attention to me?[aa]
2 How long must I worry,[ab]
and suffer in broad daylight?[ac]
How long will my enemy gloat over me?[ad]
3 Look at me![ae] Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me,[af] or else I will die.[ag]
4 Then[ah] my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then[ai] my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I[aj] trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.[ak]
6 I will sing praises[al] to the Lord
when he vindicates me.[am]
Psalm 14[an]
For the music director, by David.
14 Fools say to themselves,[ao] “There is no God.”[ap]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[aq]
none of them does what is right.[ar]
2 The Lord looks down from heaven[as] at the human race,[at]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[au] and seeks God.[av]
3 Everyone rejects God;[aw]
they are all morally corrupt.[ax]
None of them does what is right,[ay]
not even one.
4 All those who behave wickedly[az] do not understand—[ba]
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[bb]
for God defends the godly.[bc]
6 You want to humiliate the oppressed,[bd]
even though[be] the Lord is their[bf] shelter.
7 I wish the deliverance[bg] of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people,[bh]
may Jacob rejoice,[bi]
may Israel be happy![bj]
Job Replies to Eliphaz
6 Then Job responded:[a]
The Brevity of Life
7 “Does not humanity have hard service[a] on earth?
Are not their days also like the days of a hired man?[b]
2 Like a servant[c] longing for the evening shadow,[d]
and like a hired man looking for[e] his wages,[f]
3 thus[g] I have been made to inherit[h]
months of futility,[i]
and nights of sorrow[j]
have been appointed[k] to me.
4 If I lie down, I say,[l] ‘When will I arise?’
And the night stretches on[m]
and I toss and turn restlessly[n]
until the day dawns.
5 My body[o] is clothed with[p] worms[q] and dirty scabs;[r]
my skin is broken[s] and festering.
6 My days[t] are swifter[u] than a weaver’s shuttle[v]
and they come to an end without hope.[w]
7 Remember[x] that my life is but a breath,
that[y] my eyes will never again[z] see happiness.
8 The eye of him who sees me now will see me no more;[aa]
your eyes will look for me, but I will be gone.[ab]
9 As[ac] a cloud is dispersed and then disappears,[ad]
so the one who goes down to the grave[ae]
does not come up again.[af]
10 He returns no more to his house,
nor does his place of residence[ag] know him[ah] anymore.
Job Remonstrates with God
11 “Therefore,[ai] I will not refrain my mouth;[aj]
I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;
I will complain[ak] in the bitterness of my soul.
12 Am I the sea, or the creature of the deep,[al]
that you must put[am] me under guard?[an]
13 If[ao] I say,[ap] ‘My bed will comfort me,[aq]
my couch will ease[ar] my complaint,’
14 then you scare me[as] with dreams
and terrify[at] me with[au] visions,
15 so that I[av] would prefer[aw] strangling,[ax]
and[ay] death[az] more[ba] than life.[bb]
16 I loathe[bc] it;[bd] I do not want to live forever;
leave me alone,[be] for my days are a vapor![bf]
Insignificance of Humans
17 “What is mankind[bg] that you make so much of them,[bh]
and that you pay attention[bi] to them?
18 And that you visit[bj] them every morning,
and try[bk] them every moment?[bl]
19 Will you never[bm] look away from me,[bn]
will you not let me alone[bo]
long enough to swallow my spittle?
20 If[bp] I have sinned—what have I done to you,[bq]
O watcher of men?[br]
Why have you set me as your target?[bs]
Have I become a burden to you?[bt]
21 And why do you not pardon my transgression,
and take away my iniquity?
For now I will lie down in the dust,[bu]
and you will seek me diligently,[bv]
but I will be gone.”
Peter Visits Cornelius
10 Now there was a man in Caesarea[a] named Cornelius, a centurion[b] of what was known as the Italian Cohort.[c] 2 He[d] was a devout, God-fearing man,[e] as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people[f] and prayed to God regularly. 3 About three o’clock one afternoon[g] he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God[h] who came in[i] and said to him, “Cornelius.” 4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius[j] replied,[k] “What is it, Lord?” The angel[l] said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity[m] have gone up as a memorial[n] before God. 5 Now[o] send men to Joppa[p] and summon a man named Simon,[q] who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner,[r] whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius[s] called two of his personal servants[t] and a devout soldier from among those who served him,[u] 8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 About noon[v] the next day, while they were on their way and approaching[w] the city, Peter went up on the roof[x] to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him.[y] 11 He[z] saw heaven[aa] opened[ab] and an object something like a large sheet[ac] descending,[ad] being let down to earth[ae] by its four corners. 12 In it[af] were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles[ag] of the earth and wild birds.[ah] 13 Then[ai] a voice said[aj] to him, “Get up, Peter; slaughter[ak] and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!”[al] 15 The voice[am] spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider[an] ritually unclean!”[ao] 16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.[ap]
The Feast of Shelters
7 After this[a] Jesus traveled throughout Galilee.[b] He[c] stayed out of Judea[d] because the Jewish leaders[e] wanted[f] to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish Feast of Shelters[g] was near.[h] 3 So Jesus’ brothers[i] advised him, “Leave here and go to Judea so your disciples may see your miracles that you are performing.[j] 4 For no one who seeks to make a reputation for himself[k] does anything in secret.[l] If you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 (For not even his own brothers believed in him.)[m]
6 So Jesus replied,[n] “My time[o] has not yet arrived,[p] but you are ready at any opportunity![q] 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it that its deeds are evil. 8 You go up[r] to the feast yourselves. I am not going up to this feast[s] because my time[t] has not yet fully arrived.”[u] 9 When he had said this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then Jesus[v] himself also went up, not openly but in secret. 11 So the Jewish leaders[w] were looking for him at the feast, asking, “Where is he?”[x] 12 There was[y] a lot of grumbling[z] about him among the crowds.[aa] Some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others, “He deceives the common people.”[ab] 13 However, no one spoke openly about him for fear of the Jewish leaders.[ac]
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