Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Yodh
73 (A)Your hands made me and [a]fashioned me;
(B)Give me understanding, so that I may learn Your commandments.
74 May those who [b]fear You (C)see me and be glad,
Because I [c](D)wait for Your word.
75 I know, Lord, that Your judgments are (E)righteous,
And that You have afflicted me (F)in faithfulness.
76 May Your favor [d]comfort me,
According to Your [e]word to Your servant.
77 May (G)Your compassion come to me so that I may live,
For Your Law is my (H)delight.
78 May (I)the arrogant be put to shame, because they lead me astray (J)with a lie;
But I shall (K)meditate on Your precepts.
79 May those who [f]fear You turn to me,
And those who know Your testimonies.
80 May my heart be [g](L)blameless in Your statutes,
So that I will not (M)be ashamed.
Kaph
81 My (N)soul languishes for Your salvation;
I [h](O)wait for Your word.
82 My (P)eyes fail with longing for Your [i]word,
[j]While I say, “When will You comfort me?”
83 Though I have (Q)become like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do (R)not forget Your statutes.
84 How many are the (S)days of Your servant?
When will You (T)execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The arrogant have (U)dug pits for me,
People who are not in accord with Your Law.
86 All Your commandments are (V)faithful;
They have (W)persecuted me with a lie; (X)help me!
87 They almost destroyed me on earth,
But as for me, I (Y)did not abandon Your precepts.
88 Revive me according to Your faithfulness,
So that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth.
Lamedh
89 (Z)Forever, Lord,
Your word stands in heaven.
90 Your (AA)faithfulness continues [k]throughout generations;
You (AB)established the earth, and it (AC)stands.
91 They stand this day by Your (AD)ordinances,
For (AE)all things are Your servants.
92 If Your Law had not been my (AF)delight,
Then I would have perished (AG)in my misery.
93 I will (AH)never forget Your precepts,
For by them You have [l](AI)revived me.
94 I am Yours, (AJ)save me;
For I have (AK)sought Your precepts.
95 The wicked (AL)wait for me to destroy me;
I will diligently consider Your testimonies.
96 I have seen [m]a limit to all perfection;
Your commandment is exceedingly broad.
Job’s Confession
42 Then Job answered the Lord and said,
2 “I know that (A)You can do all things,
And that no plan is impossible for You.
3 ‘Who is this who (B)conceals advice without knowledge?’
Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand,
Things (C)too wonderful for me, which I do not know.
4 ‘Please listen, and I will speak;
I will (D)ask You, and You instruct me.’
5 I have (E)heard of You by the hearing of the ear;
But now my (F)eye sees You;
6 Therefore I retract,
And I repent, sitting on dust and ashes.”
God Is Displeased with Job’s Friends
7 It came about after the Lord had spoken these words to Job, that the Lord said to Eliphaz the Temanite, “My wrath is kindled against you and against your two friends, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, (G)as My servant Job has. 8 Now therefore, take for yourselves (H)seven bulls and seven rams, and go to My servant Job, and offer up a (I)burnt offering for yourselves, and My servant Job will (J)pray for you. (K)For I will [a]accept him so as not to do with you as your foolishness deserves, because you have not spoken of Me what is trustworthy, as My servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite went and did as the Lord told them; and the Lord [b]accepted Job.
God Restores Job’s Fortunes
10 The Lord also (L)restored the fortunes of Job when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased double all that Job had. 11 Then all his (M)brothers, all his sisters, and all who had known him before came to him, and they ate bread with him in his house; and they (N)sympathized with him and comforted him for all the adversities that the Lord had brought on him. And each one gave him a [c]piece of money, and each a ring of gold. 12 (O)The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; (P)and he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand female donkeys. 13 (Q)He also had seven sons and three daughters. 14 He named the first Jemimah, the second Keziah, and the third Keren-happuch. 15 In all the land no women were found as beautiful as Job’s daughters; and their father gave them inheritances among their brothers. 16 After this, Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons and his grandsons, four generations. 17 (R)And Job died, an old man and full of days.
16 It happened that as we were going to (A)the place of prayer, a slave woman who had (B)a spirit of divination met us, who was bringing great profit to her masters by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and us and cried out repeatedly, saying, “These men are bond-servants of (C)the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation.” 18 Now she continued doing this for many days. But Paul was greatly annoyed, and he turned and said to the spirit, “I command you (D)in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out at that very [a]moment.
19 But when her masters saw that their hope of (E)profit was suddenly gone, they seized (F)Paul and Silas and (G)dragged them into the marketplace before the authorities, 20 and when they had brought them to the chief magistrates, they said, “These men, Jews as they are, are causing our city trouble, 21 and they (H)are proclaiming customs that are not lawful for us to accept or to practice, since we are (I)Romans.”
Paul and Silas Imprisoned
22 The crowd joined in an attack against them, and the chief magistrates tore their [b]robes off them and proceeded to order [c]them to be (J)beaten with rods. 23 When they had struck them with many blows, they threw them into prison, commanding (K)the jailer to guard them securely; 24 [d]and he, having received such a command, threw them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in (L)the [e]stocks.
Greeks Seek Jesus
20 Now there were some (A)Greeks among those who were going up to worship at (B)the feast; 21 these people then came to (C)Philip, who was from (D)Bethsaida of Galilee, and were making a request of him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip *came and *told (E)Andrew; then Andrew and Philip *came and *told Jesus. 23 But Jesus *answered them by saying, “(F)The hour has come for the Son of Man to (G)be glorified. 24 Truly, truly I say to you, (H)unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 (I)The one who loves his [a]life loses it, and the one who (J)hates his [b]life in this world will keep it [c]to eternal life. 26 If anyone [d]serves Me, he must follow Me; and (K)where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone [e]serves Me, the Father will (L)honor him.
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