Book of Common Prayer
ק (Qof)
145 I cried out with all my heart, “Answer me, O Lord!
I will observe your statutes.”
146 I cried out to you, “Deliver me,
so that I can keep[a] your rules.”
147 I am up before dawn crying for help.
I find hope in your word.
148 My eyes anticipate the nighttime hours,
so that I can meditate on your word.
149 Listen to me[b] because of[c] your loyal love.
O Lord, revive me, as you typically do.[d]
150 Those who are eager to do[e] wrong draw near;
they are far from your law.
151 You are near, O Lord,
and all your commands are reliable.[f]
152 I learned long ago that
you ordained your rules to last.[g]
ר (Resh)
153 See my pain and rescue me.
For I do not forget your law.
154 Fight for me[h] and defend me.[i]
Revive me with your word.
155 The wicked have no chance for deliverance,[j]
for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Your compassion is great, O Lord.
Revive me, as you typically do.[k]
157 The enemies who chase me are numerous.[l]
Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.
158 I take note of the treacherous and despise them,
because they do not keep your instructions.[m]
159 See how I love your precepts.
O Lord, revive me with your loyal love.
160 Your instructions are totally reliable;
all your just regulations endure.[n]
שׂ/שׁ (Sin/Shin)
161 Rulers pursue me for no reason,
yet I am more afraid of disobeying your instructions.[o]
162 I rejoice in your instructions,
like one who finds much plunder.[p]
163 I hate and despise deceit;
I love your law.
164 Seven times[q] a day I praise you
because of your just regulations.
165 Those who love your law are completely secure;[r]
nothing causes them to stumble.[s]
166 I hope for your deliverance, O Lord,
and I obey[t] your commands.
167 I keep your rules;
I love them greatly.
168 I keep your precepts and rules,
for you are aware of everything I do.[u]
ת (Tav)
169 Listen to my cry for help,[v] O Lord.
Give me insight by your word.
170 Listen to my appeal for mercy.[w]
Deliver me, as you promised.[x]
171 May praise flow freely from my lips,
for you teach me your statutes.
172 May my tongue sing about your instructions,[y]
for all your commands are just.
173 May your hand help me,
for I choose to obey[z] your precepts.
174 I long for your deliverance, O Lord;
I find delight in your law.
175 May I[aa] live and praise you.
May your regulations help me.[ab]
176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep.[ac]
Come looking for your servant,
for I do not forget your commands.
Psalm 128[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
128 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers,[c]
each one who keeps his commands.[d]
2 You[e] will eat what you worked so hard to grow.[f]
You will be blessed and secure.[g]
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine[h]
in the inner rooms of your house;
your children[i] will be like olive branches,
as they sit all around your table.
4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed in this way.[j]
5 May the Lord bless you[k] from Zion,
that you might see[l] Jerusalem prosper
all the days of your life,
6 and that you might see[m] your grandchildren.[n]
May Israel experience peace.[o]
Psalm 129[p]
A song of ascents.[q]
129 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”[r]
5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back.
6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops,
which withers before one can even pull it up,[s]
7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.
8 Those who pass by will not say,[t]
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
Psalm 130[u]
A song of ascents.[v]
130 From the deep water[w] I cry out to you, O Lord.
2 O Lord, listen to me.[x]
Pay attention to[y] my plea for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of[z] sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you?[aa]
4 But[ab] you are willing to forgive,[ac]
so that you might[ad] be honored.[ae]
5 I rely on[af] the Lord.
I rely on him with my whole being;[ag]
I wait for his assuring word.[ah]
6 I yearn for the Lord,[ai]
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.[aj]
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love,[ak]
and is more than willing to deliver.[al]
8 He will deliver[am] Israel
from all their sins.[an]
Land Robbers Will Lose Their Land
2 Beware wicked schemers,[a]
those who devise calamity as they lie in bed.[b]
As soon as morning dawns they carry out their plans,[c]
because they have the power to do so.
2 They confiscate the fields they desire
and seize the houses they want.[d]
They defraud people of their homes[e]
and deprive people of the land they have inherited.[f]
3 Therefore the Lord says this:
“Look, I am devising disaster for this nation![g]
It will be like a yoke from which you cannot free your neck.[h]
You will no longer[i] walk proudly,
for it will be a time of catastrophe.
4 In that day people will sing this taunt song to you—
they will mock you with this lament:[j]
‘We are completely destroyed;
they sell off[k] the property of my people.
How they remove it from me![l]
They assign our fields to the conqueror.’”[m]
5 Therefore no one will assign you land in the Lord’s community.[n]
6 “Don’t preach with such impassioned rhetoric,” they say excitedly.[o]
“These prophets should not preach of such things;
we will not be overtaken by humiliation.”[p]
7 Does the family[q] of Jacob say,[r]
“The Lord’s patience[s] can’t be exhausted—
he would never do such things”?[t]
To be sure, my commands bring a reward
for those who obey them,[u]
8 but you rise up as an enemy against my people.[v]
You steal a robe from a friend,[w]
from those who pass by peacefully as if returning from a war.[x]
9 You wrongly evict widows[y] among my people from their cherished homes.
You defraud their children[z] of their prized inheritance.[aa]
10 But you are the ones who will be forced to leave![ab]
For this land is not secure;[ac]
sin will thoroughly destroy it![ad]
11 If a lying windbag should come and say,[ae]
‘I’ll promise you blessings of wine and beer,’[af]
he would be just the right preacher for these people![ag]
The Lord Will Restore His People
12 “I will certainly gather all of you, O Jacob,
I will certainly assemble those Israelites who remain.[ah]
I will bring them together like sheep in a fold,[ai]
like a flock in the middle of a pasture;[aj]
they will be so numerous that they will make a lot of noise.[ak]
13 The one who can break through barriers will lead them out;[al]
they will break out, pass through the gate, and leave.[am]
Their king will advance[an] before them;
the Lord himself will lead them.”[ao]
23 Then[a] he summoned[b] two of the centurions[c] and said, “Make ready 200 soldiers to go to Caesarea[d] along with 70 horsemen[e] and 200 spearmen[f] by[g] nine o’clock tonight,[h] 24 and provide mounts for Paul to ride[i] so that he may be brought safely to Felix[j] the governor.”[k] 25 He wrote[l] a letter that went like this:[m]
26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency Governor[n] Felix,[o] greetings. 27 This man was seized[p] by the Jews and they were about to kill him,[q] when I came up[r] with the detachment[s] and rescued him, because I had learned that he was[t] a Roman citizen.[u] 28 Since I wanted to know[v] what charge they were accusing him of,[w] I brought him down to their council.[x] 29 I found he[y] was accused with reference to controversial questions[z] about their law, but no charge against him deserved death or imprisonment.[aa] 30 When I was informed[ab] there would be a plot[ac] against this man, I sent him to you at once, also ordering his accusers to state their charges[ad] against him before you.
31 So the soldiers, in accordance with their orders,[ae] took[af] Paul and brought him to Antipatris[ag] during the night. 32 The next day they let[ah] the horsemen[ai] go on with him, and they returned to the barracks.[aj] 33 When the horsemen[ak] came to Caesarea[al] and delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented[am] Paul to him. 34 When the governor[an] had read[ao] the letter,[ap] he asked[aq] what province he was from.[ar] When he learned[as] that he was from Cilicia,[at] 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing[au] when your accusers arrive too.” Then[av] he ordered that Paul[aw] be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.[ax]
Jesus and John the Baptist
18 John’s[a] disciples informed him about all these things. So[b] John called[c] two of his disciples 19 and sent them to Jesus[d] to ask,[e] “Are you the one who is to come,[f] or should we look for another?” 20 When[g] the men came to Jesus,[h] they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you to ask,[i] ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?’”[j] 21 At that very time[k] Jesus[l] cured many people of diseases, sicknesses,[m] and evil spirits, and granted[n] sight to many who were blind. 22 So[o] he answered them,[p] “Go tell[q] John what you have seen and heard:[r] The blind see, the lame walk, lepers[s] are cleansed, the[t] deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news proclaimed to them. 23 Blessed is anyone[u] who takes no offense at me.”
24 When[v] John’s messengers had gone, Jesus[w] began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness[x] to see? A reed shaken by the wind?[y] 25 What[z] did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing?[aa] Look, those who wear soft clothing and live in luxury[ab] are in the royal palaces![ac] 26 What did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more[ad] than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,[ae] who will prepare your way before you.’[af] 28 I tell you, among those born of women no one is greater[ag] than John.[ah] Yet the one who is least[ai] in the kingdom of God[aj] is greater than he is.” 29 (Now[ak] all the people who heard this, even the tax collectors,[al] acknowledged[am] God’s justice, because they had been baptized[an] with John’s baptism. 30 However, the Pharisees[ao] and the experts in religious law[ap] rejected God’s purpose[aq] for themselves, because they had not been baptized[ar] by John.[as])[at]
31 “To what then should I compare the people[au] of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children sitting in the marketplace[av] and calling out to one another,[aw]
‘We played the flute for you, yet you did not dance;[ax]
we wailed in mourning,[ay] yet you did not weep.’
33 For John the Baptist has come[az] eating no bread and drinking no wine,[ba] and you say, ‘He has a demon!’[bb] 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him,[bc] a glutton and a drunk, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’[bd] 35 But wisdom is vindicated[be] by all her children.”[bf]
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