Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Salvation in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David.
16 (A)Protect me, God, for (B)I take refuge in You.
2 [b]I said to the Lord, “You are [c]my Lord;
I (C)have nothing good besides You.”
3 As for the [d](D)saints who are on the earth,
[e]They are the majestic ones; (E)all my delight is in them.
4 [f]The (F)pains of those who have acquired another god will be multiplied;
I will 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 measuring (L)lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my inheritance is (M)beautiful to me.
7 I will bless the Lord who has (N)advised me;
Indeed, my [g](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 [h]Sheol;
You will not [i](X)allow Your [j]Holy One to [k]undergo decay.
11 You will make known to me (Y)the way 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, Lord, (AC)give Your attention to my cry;
(AD)Listen to my prayer, which is not from (AE)deceitful lips.
2 Let (AF)my [l]judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with (AG)integrity.
3 You have (AH)put my heart to the test;
You have visited me by night;
You have (AI)sifted me and (AJ)You find [m]nothing;
My (AK)intent is that my mouth will not offend.
4 As for the works of mankind, (AL)by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the (AM)ways of the violent.
5 My (AN)steps have held to Your [n]paths.
My (AO)feet have not slipped.
6 I have (AP)called upon You, for You will answer me, God;
(AQ)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 (AR)Show Your wonderful faithfulness,
(AS)Savior of those who take refuge [o]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as [p]the (AT)apple of the eye;
Hide me (AU)in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the (AV)wicked who deal violently with me,
My (AW)deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have (AX)closed their [q]unfeeling hearts,
With their mouths 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 secret places.
13 (BD)Arise, Lord, confront him, (BE)make him bow down;
(BF)Save my soul from the wicked with (BG)Your sword,
14 From people by (BH)Your hand, Lord,
From people [r]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 babies.
15 As for me, I shall (BK)behold Your face in righteousness;
(BL)I shall be satisfied with Your (BM)likeness when I awake.
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
For the music director; upon [a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.
22 (A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
(B)Far from my [b]help are the words of my [c](C)groaning.
2 My God, I (D)cry out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but [d]I have no rest.
3 Yet (E)You are holy,
You who [e]are enthroned upon (F)the praises of Israel.
4 In You our fathers (G)trusted;
They trusted and You (H)rescued them.
5 To You they cried out and they fled to safety;
(I)In You they trusted and were not [f]disappointed.
6 But I am a (J)worm and not a person,
A (K)disgrace of mankind and (L)despised by the people.
7 All who see me (M)deride me;
They [g]sneer, they (N)shake their heads, saying,
8 “[h]Turn [i]him over to the Lord; (O)let Him save 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 I was cast upon You (Q)from [j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.
11 (R)Do not be far from me, for [k]trouble is near;
For there is (S)no one to help.
12 Many (T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of (U)Bashan have encircled me.
13 They (V)open their mouths wide at me,
As a ravening and 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 piece of pottery,
And (AB)my tongue clings 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 they cast lots for my clothing.
19 But You, Lord, (AH)do not be far away;
You who are my help, (AI)hurry to my assistance.
20 Save 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)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
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 scorned the suffering 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.
May 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 kneel before Him,
Even he who [w](BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
30 A [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.
Job Says There Is No Arbitrator between God and Mankind
9 Then Job responded,
2 “In truth I know that this is so;
But how can a (A)person be in the right with God?
3 If one wished to (B)dispute with Him,
He could not answer Him once in a thousand times.
4 (C)Wise in heart and (D)mighty in strength,
Who has [a](E)defied Him [b]without harm?
5 (F)It is God who removes the mountains, and they do not know how,
When He overturns them in His anger.
6 It is He who (G)shakes the earth from its place,
And its (H)pillars tremble;
7 Who commands the (I)sun [c]not to shine,
And puts a seal on the stars;
8 Who alone (J)stretches out the heavens,
And [d](K)tramples down the waves of the sea;
9 Who makes the (L)Bear, Orion, and the Pleiades,
And the [e](M)constellations of the south.
10 It is He who (N)does great things, [f]the unfathomable,
And wondrous works without number.
11 If He were to pass by me, (O)I would not see Him;
Were He to move past me, I would not perceive Him.
12 If He were to snatch away, who could (P)restrain Him?
Who could say to Him, ‘(Q)What are You doing?’
32 For (A)He is not a man, as I am, that (B)I may answer Him—
That we may go to [a]court together!
33 There is no (C)arbitrator between us,
Who can place his hand upon us both.
34 Let Him (D)remove His rod from me,
And let not the dread of Him terrify me.
35 Then I (E)would speak and not fear Him;
But I am not like that in myself.
Gentiles Hear Good News
34 (A)Opening his mouth, Peter said:
“I most certainly understand now that (B)God is not one to show partiality, 35 but (C)in every nation the one who [a](D)fears Him and [b]does what is right is acceptable to Him. 36 The word which He sent to the sons of Israel, (E)preaching [c](F)peace through Jesus Christ (He is (G)Lord of all)— 37 you yourselves know the thing that happened throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. 38 [d]You know of (H)Jesus of Nazareth, how God (I)anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, [e](J)and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for (K)God was with Him. 39 We are (L)witnesses of all the things that He did both in the [f]country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on [g](M)a cross. 40 (N)God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He [h]be revealed, 41 (O)not to all the people, but to (P)witnesses who had been chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us (Q)who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. 42 And He (R)ordered us to [i]preach to the people, and to (S)testify solemnly that this is the One who has been (T)appointed by God as (U)Judge of the living and the dead. 43 (V)All the prophets testify of Him, that through (W)His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, (X)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the [j]message. 45 (Y)All the [k]Jewish believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had also been (Z)poured out on the Gentiles. 46 For they were hearing them (AA)speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter responded, 47 “(AB)Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized, who (AC)have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” 48 And he (AD)ordered them to be baptized (AE)in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days.
37 Now on (A)the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “(B)If anyone is thirsty, [a]let him come to Me and drink. 38 The one who believes in Me, (C)as the Scripture said, ‘[b]From his innermost being will flow rivers of (D)living water.’” 39 But this He said (E)in reference to the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for (F)the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet (G)glorified.
People’s Division over Jesus
40 Some of the people therefore, after they heard these words, were saying, “This truly is (H)the Prophet.” 41 Others were saying, “This is the [c]Christ.” But others were saying, “(I)Surely the [d]Christ is not coming from Galilee, is He? 42 Has the Scripture not said that the Christ comes from (J)the descendants of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?” 43 So (K)a dissension occurred in the crowd because of Him. 44 And (L)some of them wanted to arrest Him, but no one laid hands on Him.
45 The (M)officers then came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why did you not bring Him?” 46 The (N)officers answered, “(O)Never has a man spoken in this way!” 47 The Pharisees then replied to them, “(P)You have not been led astray too, have you? 48 (Q)Not one of (R)the rulers or Pharisees has believed in Him, has he? 49 But this crowd that does not know the Law is accursed!” 50 (S)Nicodemus (the one who came to Him before, being one of them) *said to them, 51 “(T)Our Law does not judge the person unless it first hears from him and knows what he is doing, does it?” 52 They answered and said to him, “(U)You are not from Galilee as well, are you? Examine the Scriptures, and see that no prophet arises out of Galilee.”
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