Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 I cried out (A)with all my heart; answer me, Lord!
I will (B)comply with Your statutes.
146 I cried to You; (C)save me
And I shall keep Your testimonies.
147 I [a](D)rise before dawn and cry for help;
I [b]wait for Your words.
148 My eyes anticipate the (E)night watches,
So that I may (F)meditate on Your [c]word.
149 Hear my voice (G)according to Your faithfulness;
(H)Revive me, Lord, according to Your judgments.
150 Those who follow after wickedness approach;
They are far from Your Law.
151 You are (I)near, Lord,
And all Your commandments are (J)truth.
152 From long ago I have (K)known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them (L)forever.
Resh
153 (M)Look at my (N)affliction and rescue me,
For I have not (O)forgotten Your Law.
154 (P)Plead my cause and (Q)redeem me;
Revive me according to Your [d]word.
155 Salvation is (R)far from the wicked,
For they (S)do not seek Your statutes.
156 [e](T)Great are Your mercies, Lord;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my (U)persecutors and my enemies,
Yet I do not (V)turn aside from Your testimonies.
158 I see the (W)treacherous and (X)loathe them,
Because they do not keep Your word.
159 Consider how I (Y)love Your precepts;
(Z)Revive me, Lord, according to Your faithfulness.
160 The (AA)sum of Your word is (AB)truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments (AC)is everlasting.
Shin
161 (AD)Rulers persecute me without cause,
But my heart (AE)stands in awe of Your words.
162 I (AF)rejoice at Your [f]word,
Like one who (AG)finds great plunder.
163 I (AH)hate and loathe falsehood,
But I (AI)love Your Law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You
Because of Your (AJ)righteous judgments.
165 Those who love Your Law have (AK)great peace,
And [g](AL)nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I (AM)hope for Your salvation, Lord,
And do Your commandments.
167 My (AN)soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I (AO)love them exceedingly.
168 I (AP)keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my (AQ)ways are before You.
Tav
169 Let my (AR)cry [h]come before You, Lord;
(AS)Give me understanding (AT)according to Your word.
170 Let my (AU)pleading come before You;
(AV)Save me according to Your [i]word.
171 Let my (AW)lips pour out praise,
For You (AX)teach me Your statutes.
172 Let my (AY)tongue sing about Your [j]word,
For all Your (AZ)commandments are righteousness.
173 Let Your (BA)hand be [k]ready to help me,
For I have (BB)chosen Your precepts.
174 I (BC)long for Your salvation, Lord,
And Your Law is my (BD)delight.
175 Let my (BE)soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your ordinances help me.
176 I have (BF)wandered about like a lost sheep; search for Your servant,
For I do (BG)not forget Your commandments.
Blessedness of the Fear of the Lord.
A Song of Ascents.
128 (A)Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord,
Who (B)walks in His ways.
2 When you (C)eat the (D)fruit of the labor of your hands,
You will be happy and (E)it will go well for you.
3 Your wife will be like a (F)fruitful vine
[a]Within your house,
Your children like (G)olive plants
Around your table.
4 Behold, for so shall a man
Who fears the Lord be blessed.
5 (H)The Lord bless you (I)from Zion,
And may you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 Indeed, may you see your (J)children’s children.
(K)Peace be upon Israel!
Prayer for the Overthrow of Zion’s Enemies.
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[b]Many times they have (L)attacked me from my (M)youth up,”
(N)Let Israel say,
2 “[c]Many times they have attacked me from my youth up;
Yet they have (O)not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 The Lord (P)is righteous;
He has cut up the (Q)ropes of the wicked.
5 May all who (R)hate Zion
Be (S)put to shame and turned backward;
6 May they be like (T)grass upon the housetops,
Which withers before it [d]grows up;
7 With which the harvester does not fill his [e]hand,
Or the binder of sheaves his [f](U)arms;
8 Nor do those who pass by say,
“The (V)blessing of the Lord be upon you;
We bless you in the name of the Lord.”
Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.
A Song of Ascents.
130 Out of the (W)depths I have cried to You, Lord.
2 Lord, (X)hear my voice!
Let (Y)Your ears be attentive
To the (Z)sound of my pleadings.
3 If You, [g]Lord, were to keep account of guilty deeds,
Lord, who could (AA)stand?
4 But there is (AB)forgiveness with You,
So that You may be [h](AC)revered.
5 I wait for the Lord, my (AD)soul waits,
And I [i]wait (AE)for His word.
6 My soul waits in hope for the Lord
More than the watchmen (AF)for the morning;
Yes, more than the watchmen for the morning.
7 Israel, (AG)wait for the Lord;
For with the Lord there is (AH)mercy,
And with Him is (AI)abundant redemption.
8 And He will (AJ)redeem Israel
From all his guilty deeds.
Woe to Oppressors
2 Woe to those who (A)devise wrongdoing,
Who practice evil on their beds!
[a](B)When morning comes, they do it,
Because it is in the (C)power of their hands.
2 They (D)covet fields, so they (E)seize them;
And houses, so they take them.
They [b](F)exploit a man and his house,
A person and his inheritance.
3 Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“Behold, I am (G)planning against this (H)family a catastrophe
From which you (I)cannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk (J)haughtily,
For it will be an (K)evil time.
4 On that day they will (L)take up against you a [c]song of mocking
And [d](M)utter a song of mourning and say,
‘We are completely (N)destroyed!
He exchanges the share of my people;
How He removes it from me!
To the apostate He (O)apportions our fields.’
5 Therefore you will have no one [e](P)applying a measuring line
For you by lot in the assembly of the Lord.
6 ‘(Q)Do not prophesy,’ so they prophesy.
But if [f]they do (R)not prophesy about these things,
(S)Insults will not be turned back.
7 Is it being said, house of Jacob:
‘Is the Spirit of the Lord (T)impatient?
Are these His works?’
Do My words not (U)do good
For the one (V)walking rightly?
8 [g]Recently My people have arisen as an (W)enemy—
You (X)strip the robe off the garment
From (Y)unsuspecting passers-by,
From those returned from war.
9 You (Z)evict the women of My people,
Each one from her pleasant house.
From her children you take My (AA)splendor forever.
10 Arise and go,
For this is no place (AB)of rest
Because of the (AC)uncleanness that brings on destruction,
A painful destruction.
11 If someone walking after wind and (AD)falsehood
Had lied and said,
‘I will prophesy to you about (AE)wine and liquor,’
He would become a prophet to (AF)this people.
12 “I will certainly (AG)assemble all of you, Jacob,
I will certainly gather the (AH)remnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in the fold;
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture
They will be noisy with people.
13 The one who breaks through goes up before them;
They break through, pass through the gate, and go out by it.
So their king passes on before them,
And the Lord at their head.”
Paul Moved to Caesarea
23 And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by [a]the third hour of the night to proceed to (A)Caesarea, [b]with seventy horsemen and two hundred [c]spearmen.” 24 They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to (B)Felix the governor. 25 And he wrote a letter [d]with the following content:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the (C)most excellent governor Felix: (D)Greetings.
27 When this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them, (E)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, (F)after learning that he was a Roman. 28 And (G)wanting to ascertain the basis for the charges they were bringing against him, I (H)brought him down to their [e](I)Council; 29 and I found that he was being accused regarding (J)questions in their Law, but [f]was (K)not charged with anything deserving death or [g]imprisonment.
30 When I was (L)informed that there would be (M)a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing (N)his accusers to [h]bring charges against him before you.”
31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 But on the next day they let (O)the horsemen go on with him, and they returned to (P)the barracks. 33 When these horsemen had come to (Q)Caesarea and delivered the letter to (R)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 Now when he had read it, he also asked from what (S)province Paul was, and when he learned that (T)he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your (U)accusers arrive as well,” giving orders for [i]Paul to be (V)kept in Herod’s [j]Praetorium.
The Messengers from John
18 (A)The disciples of John also reported to him about all these things. 19 And after summoning [a]two of his disciples, John sent them to (B)the Lord, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or are we to [b]look for another?” 20 When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, [c]to ask, ‘Are You the Coming One, or are we to [d]look for another?’” 21 At that very [e]time He (C)cured many people of diseases and (D)afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind. 22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were (E)blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and (F)people who are poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is [f]anyone who does not take offense at Me.”
24 When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the [g]wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 [h]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written:
28 I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is [j]least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 When all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they acknowledged (H)God’s justice, (I)having been baptized with (J)the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and the [k](K)lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by [l]John.
31 “To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another, and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not weep.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come neither (L)eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [m]heavy drinker, a friend of tax collectors and [n]sinners!’ 35 And yet wisdom (M)is vindicated by all her children.”
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