Book of Common Prayer
Book One
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
1 Blessed is the man[a]
who (A)walks not in (B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in (C)the way of sinners,
nor (D)sits in (E)the seat of (F)scoffers;
2 but his (G)delight is in the law[b] of the Lord,
and on his (H)law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like (I)a tree
planted by (J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its (K)leaf does not wither.
(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like (M)chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked (N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in (O)the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord (P)knows (Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Reign of the Lord's Anointed
2 (R)Why do (S)the nations rage[c]
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his (T)Anointed, saying,
3 “Let us (U)burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”
4 He who (V)sits in the heavens (W)laughs;
the Lord holds them in derision.
5 Then he will speak to them in his (X)wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6 “As for me, I have (Y)set my King
on (Z)Zion, my (AA)holy hill.”
7 I will tell of the decree:
The Lord said to me, (AB)“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you.
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and (AC)the ends of the earth your possession.
9 You shall (AD)break[d] them with (AE)a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like (AF)a potter's vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 (AG)Serve the Lord with (AH)fear,
and (AI)rejoice with (AJ)trembling.
12 (AK)Kiss (AL)the Son,
lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
for his (AM)wrath is quickly kindled.
(AN)Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Save Me, O My God
A Psalm of David, (AO)when he fled from Absalom his son.
3 O Lord, (AP)how many are my foes!
Many are (AQ)rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
(AR)“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[e]
3 But you, O Lord, are (AS)a shield (AT)about me,
my glory, and (AU)the lifter of my head.
4 I (AV)cried aloud to the Lord,
and he (AW)answered me from his (AX)holy hill. Selah
5 I (AY)lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I (AZ)will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have (BA)set themselves against me all around.
7 (BB)Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you (BC)strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you (BD)break the teeth of the wicked.
8 (BE)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah
Answer Me When I Call
To the (BF)choirmaster: with (BG)stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
4 Answer me when I call, O God of my (BH)righteousness!
You have (BI)given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
2 O men,[f] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after (BJ)lies? Selah
3 But know that the Lord has (BK)set apart (BL)the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.
4 (BM)Be angry,[g] and do not sin;
(BN)ponder in your own hearts (BO)on your beds, and be silent. Selah
5 Offer (BP)right sacrifices,
and put your (BQ)trust in the Lord.
In You Do I Take Refuge
A (A)Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.
7 O Lord my God, in you do I (B)take refuge;
(C)save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like (D)a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with (E)none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, (F)if I have done this,
if there is (G)wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid (H)my friend[b] with evil
or (I)plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
and let him (J)trample my life to the ground
and lay my glory in the dust. Selah
6 (K)Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
(L)lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
(M)awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.
8 The Lord (N)judges the peoples;
(O)judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
and may you establish the righteous—
you who (P)test (Q)the minds and hearts,[c]
O righteous God!
10 My shield is (R)with God,
who saves (S)the upright in heart.
11 God is (T)a righteous judge,
and a God who feels (U)indignation every day.
12 If a man[d] does not repent, God[e] will (V)whet his sword;
he has (W)bent and (X)readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
making his (Y)arrows (Z)fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man (AA)conceives evil
and is (AB)pregnant with mischief
and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes (AC)a pit, digging it out,
and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His (AD)mischief returns upon his own head,
and on his own skull his violence descends.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
and I will (AE)sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
Wait for the God of Salvation
7 Woe is me! For I have become
(A)as when the summer fruit has been gathered,
as when the grapes have been gleaned:
there is no cluster to eat,
no (B)first-ripe fig that my soul desires.
2 (C)The godly has perished from the earth,
and (D)there is no one upright among mankind;
(E)they all lie in wait for blood,
and (F)each hunts the other with a net.
3 (G)Their hands are on what is evil, to do it well;
(H)the prince and (I)the judge ask for a bribe,
and the great man utters the evil desire of his soul;
thus they weave it together.
4 The best of them is (J)like a brier,
the most upright of them a thorn hedge.
The day of (K)your watchmen, of your punishment, has come;
(L)now their confusion is at hand.
5 (M)Put no trust in a neighbor;
have no confidence in a friend;
guard (N)the doors of your mouth
from her who lies in your arms;[a]
6 for (O)the son treats the father with contempt,
the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
(P)a man's enemies are the men of his own house.
7 But as for me, I will look to the Lord;
(Q)I will wait for the God of my salvation;
my God will hear me.
Paul's Defense Before Agrippa
26 So (A)Agrippa said to Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” Then Paul stretched out his hand and made his defense:
2 “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today (B)against all the accusations of the Jews, 3 especially because you are familiar with all the (C)customs and (D)controversies of the Jews. Therefore I beg you to listen to me patiently.
4 (E)“My manner of life from my youth, spent from the beginning among (F)my own nation and in Jerusalem, is known by all the Jews. 5 They have known for a long time, if they are willing to testify, that (G)according to the strictest (H)party of our (I)religion I have lived as (J)a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in (K)the promise made by God to our fathers, 7 (L)to which (M)our twelve tribes hope to (N)attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope (O)I am accused by Jews, O king! 8 Why is it thought (P)incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?
9 (Q)“I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of (R)Jesus of Nazareth. 10 (S)And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority (T)from the chief priests, but (U)when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And (V)I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them (W)blaspheme, and (X)in raging fury against them I (Y)persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Paul Tells of His Conversion
12 “In this connection (Z)I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. 13 At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me (AA)in the Hebrew language,[a] ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and (AB)stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, (AC)to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, 17 (AD)delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—(AE)to whom I (AF)am sending you 18 (AG)to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from (AH)the power of Satan to God, that they may receive (AI)forgiveness of sins and (AJ)a place among those who are sanctified (AK)by faith in me.’
19 “Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to (AL)the heavenly vision, 20 but declared first (AM)to those in Damascus, (AN)then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also (AO)to the Gentiles, that they should (AP)repent and (AQ)turn to God, performing deeds (AR)in keeping with their repentance. 21 For this reason (AS)the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. 22 (AT)To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so (AU)I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what (AV)the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: 23 (AW)that the Christ (AX)must suffer and that, (AY)by being the first (AZ)to rise from the dead, (BA)he would proclaim (BB)light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”
Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon
26 (A)Then they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,[a] which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus[b] had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house (B)but among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he (C)cried out and fell down before him and said (D)with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, (E)Son of (F)the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon (G)into the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, (H)“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into (I)the abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into (J)the lake and drowned.
34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting (K)at the feet of Jesus, (L)clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed[c] man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes (M)asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and (N)declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.