Book of Common Prayer
How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song?
137 By the waters of Babylon,
there we sat down and wept,
when we remembered Zion.
2 On the willows[a] there
we hung up our lyres.
3 For there our captors
required of us songs,
and our tormentors, mirth, saying,
“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”
4 (A)How shall we sing the Lord's song
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
(B)let my right hand forget its skill!
6 Let my (C)tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy!
7 Remember, O Lord, against the (D)Edomites
(E)the day of Jerusalem,
how they said, (F)“Lay it bare, lay it bare,
down to its foundations!”
8 O daughter of Babylon, (G)doomed to be destroyed,
blessed shall he be who (H)repays you
with what you have done to us!
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones
and (I)dashes them against the rock!
My Rock and My Fortress
Of David.
144 Blessed be the Lord, my (A)rock,
(B)who trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my (C)steadfast love and my (D)fortress,
my (E)stronghold and my deliverer,
my (F)shield and he in whom I take refuge,
who (G)subdues peoples[a] under me.
3 O Lord, (H)what is man that you (I)regard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 (J)Man is like a breath;
his days are like (K)a passing (L)shadow.
5 (M)Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
(N)Touch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 (O)Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;
(P)send out your arrows and rout them!
7 (Q)Stretch out your hand from on high;
(R)rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand (S)of foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak (T)lies
and whose right hand is (U)a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing (V)a new song to you, O God;
upon (W)a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who (X)rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand (Y)of foreigners,
whose mouths speak (Z)lies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like (AA)plants full grown,
our daughters like (AB)corner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 (AC)may our granaries be full,
(AD)providing all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;[b]
may there be no (AE)cry of distress in our streets!
15 (AF)Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
(AG)Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
O Lord My God, You Are Very Great
104 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are (B)very great!
(C)You are clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 covering yourself with light as with a garment,
(D)stretching out the heavens (E)like a tent.
3 He (F)lays the beams of his (G)chambers on the waters;
he makes (H)the clouds his chariot;
he rides on (I)the wings of the wind;
4 he (J)makes his messengers winds,
his (K)ministers (L)a flaming fire.
5 He (M)set the earth on its foundations,
so that it should never be moved.
6 You (N)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At (O)your rebuke they fled;
at (P)the sound of your thunder they (Q)took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you (R)appointed for them.
9 You set (S)a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they (T)might not again cover the earth.
10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
they flow between the hills;
11 they (U)give drink to every beast of the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
they sing among the branches.
13 (V)From your lofty abode you (W)water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14 You cause (X)the grass to grow for the livestock
and (Y)plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth (Z)food from the earth
15 and (AA)wine to gladden the heart of man,
(AB)oil to make his face shine
and bread to (AC)strengthen man's heart.
16 The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,
(AD)the cedars of Lebanon (AE)that he planted.
17 In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has her home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for (AF)the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for (AG)the rock badgers.
19 He made the moon to mark the (AH)seasons;[a]
the sun knows its time for setting.
20 (AI)You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the beasts of the forest creep about.
21 (AJ)The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22 When the sun rises, they steal away
and lie down in their (AK)dens.
23 (AL)Man goes out to his work
and to his labor until the evening.
24 O Lord, how manifold are your works!
In (AM)wisdom have you made them all;
the earth is full of your creatures.
25 Here is the sea, great and wide,
(AN)which teems with creatures innumerable,
living things both small and great.
26 There go the ships,
and (AO)Leviathan, which you formed to (AP)play in it.[b]
27 These (AQ)all look to you,
to (AR)give them their food in due season.
28 When you give it to them, they gather it up;
when you (AS)open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29 When you (AT)hide your face, they are (AU)dismayed;
when you (AV)take away their breath, they die
and (AW)return to their dust.
30 When you (AX)send forth your Spirit,[c] they are created,
and you (AY)renew the face of the ground.
31 May the glory of the Lord (AZ)endure forever;
may the Lord (BA)rejoice in his works,
32 who looks on the earth and it (BB)trembles,
who (BC)touches the mountains and they smoke!
33 I will sing to the Lord (BD)as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34 May my (BE)meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the Lord.
35 Let (BF)sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more!
(BG)Bless the Lord, O my soul!
(BH)Praise the Lord!
The Ruler to Be Born in Bethlehem
5 [a] Now muster your troops, O daughter[b] of troops;
siege is laid against us;
with a rod (A)they strike the judge of Israel
on the cheek.
2 [c] (B)But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
who are too little to be among the clans of (C)Judah,
from you shall come forth for me
one who is to be (D)ruler in Israel,
(E)whose coming forth is (F)from of old,
from ancient days.
3 Therefore he shall give them up (G)until the time
when she who is in labor has given birth;
then (H)the rest of his brothers shall return
to the people of Israel.
4 And he shall stand (I)and shepherd his flock (J)in the strength of the Lord,
in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God.
And they shall dwell secure, for now (K)he shall be great
to the ends of the earth.
10 And (A)in that day, declares the Lord,
(B)I will cut off your horses from among you
and will destroy your chariots;
11 (C)and I will cut off the cities of your land
and throw down all your strongholds;
12 and I will cut off (D)sorceries from your hand,
and (E)you shall have no more tellers of fortunes;
13 and (F)I will cut off your carved images
and (G)your pillars from among you,
(H)and you shall bow down no more
to the work of your hands;
14 and I will root out your (I)Asherah images from among you
(J)and destroy your cities.
15 And in anger and wrath (K)I will execute vengeance
on the nations that did not obey.
Paul Before Agrippa and Bernice
13 Now when some days had passed, Agrippa the king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea and greeted Festus. 14 And as they stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul's case before the king, saying, (A)“There is a man left prisoner by Felix, 15 and when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the Jews laid out their case (B)against him, asking for a sentence of condemnation against him. 16 (C)I answered them that it was not the custom of the Romans to give up anyone (D)before the accused met the accusers face to face and had opportunity to make his defense concerning the charge laid against him. 17 (E)So when they came together here, I made no delay, but on the next day took my seat on (F)the tribunal and ordered the man to be brought. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no charge in his case of such evils as I supposed. 19 Rather they (G)had certain points of dispute with him about their own religion and about (H)a certain Jesus, who was dead, but whom Paul asserted to be alive. 20 Being at a loss how to investigate these questions, I (I)asked whether he wanted to go to Jerusalem and be tried there regarding them. 21 But (J)when Paul had appealed to be kept in custody for the decision of (K)the emperor, I ordered him to be held until I could send him to Caesar.” 22 Then (L)Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear the man myself.” “Tomorrow,” said he, “you will hear him.”
23 So on the next day (M)Agrippa and Bernice came with great pomp, and they entered the audience hall with the military tribunes and the prominent men of the city. Then, at the command of Festus, Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said, “King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom (N)the whole Jewish people petitioned me, both in Jerusalem and here, (O)shouting that he ought not to live any longer. 25 But I found that (P)he had done nothing deserving death. And (Q)as he himself appealed to (R)the emperor, I decided to go ahead and send him. 26 But I have nothing definite to write to my lord about him. Therefore I have brought him before you all, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that, after we have examined him, I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me unreasonable, in sending a prisoner, not to indicate the charges against him.”
A Lamp Under a Jar
16 (A)(B)“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 (C)For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 (D)Take care then how you hear, (E)for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Jesus' Mother and Brothers
19 (F)Then his mother and (G)his brothers[a] came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those (H)who hear the word of God and do it.”
Jesus Calms a Storm
22 (I)One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of (J)the lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on (K)the lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and (L)rebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, (M)and there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they (N)were afraid, and they (O)marveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that (P)he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.