Book of Common Prayer
ז (Zayin)
49 Remember your word to your servant,
for you have given me hope.
50 This[a] is what comforts me in my trouble,
for your promise revives me.[b]
51 Arrogant people do nothing but scoff at me.[c]
Yet I do not turn aside from your law.
52 I remember your ancient regulations,[d]
O Lord, and console myself.[e]
53 Rage takes hold of me because of the wicked,
those who reject your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs[f]
in the house where I live.[g]
55 I remember your name during the night, O Lord,
and I will keep[h] your law.
56 This[i] has been my practice,
for I observe your precepts.
ח (Khet)
57 The Lord is my source of security.[j]
I have determined[k] to follow your instructions.[l]
58 I seek your favor[m] with all my heart.
Have mercy on me as you promised.[n]
59 I consider my actions[o]
and follow[p] your rules.
60 I keep your commands eagerly
and without delay.[q]
61 The ropes of the wicked tighten around[r] me,
but I do not forget your law.
62 In the middle of the night I arise[s] to thank you
for your just regulations.
63 I am a friend to all your loyal followers,[t]
and to those who keep your precepts.
64 O Lord, your loyal love fills the earth.
Teach me your statutes!
ט (Tet)
65 You are good[u] to your servant,
O Lord, just as you promised.[v]
66 Teach me proper discernment[w] and understanding.
For I consider your commands to be reliable.[x]
67 Before I was afflicted I used to stray off,[y]
but now I keep your instructions.[z]
68 You are good and you do good.
Teach me your statutes.
69 Arrogant people smear my reputation with lies,[aa]
but I observe your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are calloused,[ab]
but I find delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to suffer,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law you have revealed is more important to me
than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.[ac]
Psalm 49[a]
For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world.[b]
2 Pay attention, all you people,[c]
both rich and poor.
3 I will declare a wise saying;[d]
I will share my profound thoughts.[e]
4 I will learn a song that imparts wisdom;
I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp.[f]
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,[g]
when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me?[h]
6 They trust[i] in their wealth
and boast[j] in their great riches.
7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother;[k]
he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price[l]
8 (the ransom price for a human life[m] is too high,
and people go to their final destiny),[n]
9 so that he might continue to live[o] forever
and not experience death.[p]
10 Surely[q] one sees[r] that even wise people die;[s]
fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away[t]
and leave their wealth to others.[u]
11 Their grave becomes their permanent residence,
their eternal dwelling place.[v]
They name their lands after themselves,[w]
12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last.[x]
They are like animals[y] that perish.[z]
13 This is the destiny of fools,[aa]
and of those who approve of their philosophy.[ab] (Selah)
14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep,[ac]
with death as their shepherd.[ad]
The godly will rule[ae] over them when the day of vindication dawns.[af]
Sheol will consume their bodies, and they will no longer live in impressive houses.[ag]
15 But[ah] God will rescue[ai] my life[aj] from the power[ak] of Sheol;
certainly[al] he will pull me to safety.[am] (Selah)
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich[an]
and his wealth multiplies.[ao]
17 For he will take nothing with him when he dies;
his wealth will not follow him down into the grave.[ap]
18 He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive:
“May men praise you, for you have done well.”
19 But he will join his ancestors;[aq]
they will never again see the light of day.[ar]
20 Wealthy people do not understand;[as]
they are like animals[at] that perish.[au]
Psalm 53[a]
For the music director, according to the machalath style;[b] a well-written song[c] by David.
53 Fools say to themselves,[d] “There is no God.”[e]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[f]
none of them does what is right.[g]
2 God looks down from heaven[h] at the human race,[i]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[j] and seeks God.[k]
3 Everyone rejects God;[l]
they are all morally corrupt.[m]
None of them does what is right,[n]
not even one!
4 All those who behave wickedly[o] do not understand[p]—
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to God.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[q]
even by things that do not normally cause fear.[r]
For God annihilates[s] those who attack you.[t]
You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.[u]
6 I wish the deliverance[v] of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the well-being of his people,[w]
may Jacob rejoice,[x]
may Israel be happy![y]
God’s Judgment Intensifies
8 [a] The Lord[b] decreed judgment[c] on Jacob,
and it fell on Israel.[d]
9 All the people were aware[e] of it,
the people of Ephraim and those living in Samaria.[f]
Yet with pride and an arrogant attitude, they said,[g]
10 “The bricks have fallen,
but we will rebuild with chiseled stone;
the sycamore fig trees have been cut down,
but we will replace them with cedars.”[h]
11 Then the Lord provoked[i] their adversaries to attack them,[j]
he stirred up[k] their enemies—
12 Syria from the east,
and the Philistines from the west;
they gobbled up Israelite territory.[l]
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.[m]
13 The people did not return to the one who struck them,
they did not seek reconciliation[n] with the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
14 So the Lord cut off Israel’s head and tail,
both the shoots and stalk[o] in one day.
15 The leaders and the highly respected people[p] are the head,
the prophets who teach lies are the tail.
16 The leaders of this nation were misleading people,
and the people being led were destroyed.[q]
17 So the Lord was not pleased[r] with their young men,
he took no pity[s] on their orphans and widows;
for the whole nation was godless[t] and did wicked things,[u]
every mouth was speaking disgraceful words.[v]
Despite all this, his anger does not subside,
and his hand is ready to strike again.[w]
The False Teachers’ Ungodly Lifestyle
2 But false prophets arose among the people,[a] just as there will be false teachers among you. These false teachers[b] will[c] infiltrate your midst[d] with destructive heresies,[e] even to the point of[f] denying the Master who bought them. As a result, they will bring[g] swift destruction on themselves. 2 And many will follow their debauched lifestyles.[h] Because of these false teachers,[i] the way of truth will be slandered.[j] 3 And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their[k] condemnation pronounced long ago[l] is not sitting idly by;[m] their[n] destruction is not asleep.
4 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned,[o] but threw them into hell[p] and locked them up[q] in chains[r] in utter darkness,[s] to be kept until the judgment, 5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others,[t] when God[u] brought a flood on an ungodly world,[v] 6 and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction,[w] having appointed[x] them to serve as an example[y] to future generations of the ungodly,[z] 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless[aa] men,[ab] 8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul[ac] by the lawless deeds he saw and heard[ad]) 9 —if so,[ae] then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials,[af] and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment[ag] at the day of judgment, 10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires[ah] and who despise authority.
Brazen and insolent,[ai] they are not afraid to insult[aj] the glorious ones,[ak]
The Ministry of John the Baptist
1 The beginning of the gospel[a] of Jesus Christ,[b] the Son of God.[c] 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah,[d]
“Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way,[e]
3 the voice of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make[f] his paths straight.’”[g]
4 In the wilderness[h] John the baptizer[i] began preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.[j] 5 People[k] from the whole Judean countryside and all of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he was baptizing them[l] in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins. 6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.[m] 7 He proclaimed,[n] “One more powerful than I am is coming after me; I am not worthy[o] to bend down and untie the strap[p] of his sandals. 8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
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