Book of Common Prayer
131 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Jehovah, my heart hath not been haughty, Nor have mine eyes been high, Nor have I walked in great things, And in things too wonderful for me.
2 Have I not compared, and kept silent my soul, As a weaned one by its mother? As a weaned one by me [is] my soul.
3 Israel doth wait on Jehovah, From henceforth, and unto the age!
132 A Song of the Ascents. Remember, Jehovah, for David, all his afflictions.
2 Who hath sworn to Jehovah. He hath vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 `If I enter into the tent of my house, If I go up on the couch of my bed,
4 If I give sleep to mine eyes, To mine eyelids -- slumber,
5 Till I do find a place for Jehovah, Tabernacles for the Mighty One of Jacob.
6 `Lo, we have heard it in Ephratah, We have found it in the fields of the forest.
7 We come in to His tabernacles, We bow ourselves at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Jehovah, to Thy rest, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength,
9 Thy priests do put on righteousness, And Thy pious ones cry aloud.
10 For the sake of David Thy servant, Turn not back the face of Thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn truth to David, He turneth not back from it: Of the fruit of thy body, I set on the throne for thee.
12 If thy sons keep My covenant, And My testimonies that I teach them, Their sons also for ever and ever, Do sit on the throne for thee.
13 For Jehovah hath fixed on Zion, He hath desired [it] for a seat to Himself,
14 This [is] My rest for ever and ever, Here do I sit, for I have desired it.
15 Her provision I greatly bless, Her needy ones I satisfy [with] bread,
16 And her priests I clothe [with] salvation, And her pious ones do sing aloud.
17 There I cause to spring up a horn for David, I have arranged a lamp for Mine anointed.
18 His enemies I do clothe [with] shame, And upon him doth his crown flourish!
133 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Lo, how good and how pleasant The dwelling of brethren -- even together!
2 As the good oil on the head, Coming down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, That cometh down on the skirt of his robes,
3 As dew of Hermon -- That cometh down on hills of Zion, For there Jehovah commanded the blessing -- Life unto the age!
134 A Song of the Ascents. Lo, bless Jehovah, all servants of Jehovah, Who are standing in the house of Jehovah by night.
2 Lift up your hands [in] the sanctuary, And bless ye Jehovah.
3 Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, The maker of the heavens and earth!
135 Praise ye Jah! Praise ye the name of Jehovah, Praise, ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Who are standing in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jah! for Jehovah [is] good, Sing praise to His name, for [it is] pleasant.
4 For Jacob hath Jah chosen for Himself, Israel for His peculiar treasure.
5 For I have known that great [is] Jehovah, Yea, our Lord [is] above all gods.
6 All that Jehovah pleased He hath done, In the heavens and in earth, In the seas and all deep places,
7 Causing vapours to ascend from the end of the earth, Lightnings for the rain He hath made, Bringing forth wind from His treasures.
8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt, From man unto beast.
9 He sent tokens and wonders into thy midst, O Egypt, On Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10 Who smote many nations, and slew strong kings,
11 Even Sihon king of the Amorite, And Og king of Bashan, And all kingdoms of Canaan.
12 And He gave their land an inheritance, An inheritance to Israel His people,
13 O Jehovah, Thy name [is] to the age, O Jehovah, Thy memorial to all generations.
14 For Jehovah doth judge His people, And for His servants comforteth Himself.
15 The idols of the nations [are] silver and gold, Work of the hands of man.
16 A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not,
17 Ears they have, and they give not ear, Nose -- there is no breath in their mouth!
18 Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah, O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah,
20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah, Those fearing Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed [is] Jehovah from Zion, Inhabiting Jerusalem -- praise ye Jah!
14 And Boaz saith to her, `At meal-time come nigh hither, and thou hast eaten of the bread, and dipped thy morsel in the vinegar.' And she sitteth at the side of the reapers, and he reacheth to her roasted corn, and she eateth, and is satisfied, and leaveth.
15 And she riseth to glean, and Boaz chargeth his young men, saying, `Even between the sheaves she doth glean, and ye do not cause her to blush;
16 and also ye do surely cast to her of the handfuls -- and have left, and she hath gleaned, and ye do not push against her.'
17 And she gleaneth in the field till the evening, and beateth out that which she hath gleaned, and it is about an ephah of barley;
18 and she taketh [it] up, and goeth into the city, and her mother-in-law seeth that which she hath gleaned, and she bringeth out and giveth to her that which she left from her satiety.
19 And her mother-in-law saith to her, `Where hast thou gleaned to-day? and where hast thou wrought? may he who is discerning thee be blessed.' And she declareth to her mother-in-law with whom she hath wrought, and saith, `The name of the man with whom I have wrought to-day [is] Boaz.'
20 And Naomi saith to her daughter-in-law, `Blessed [is] he of Jehovah who hath not forsaken His kindness with the living and with the dead;' and Naomi saith to her, `The man is a relation of ours; he [is] of our redeemers.'
21 And Ruth the Moabitess saith, `Also he surely said unto me, Near the young people whom I have thou dost cleave till they have completed the whole of the harvest which I have.'
22 And Naomi saith unto Ruth her daughter-in-law, `Good, my daughter, that thou goest out with his young women, and they come not against thee in another field.'
23 And she cleaveth to the young women of Boaz to glean, till the completion of the barley-harvest, and of the wheat-harvest, and she dwelleth with her mother-in-law.
3 Do we begin again to recommend ourselves, except we need, as some, letters of recommendation unto you, or from you?
2 our letter ye are, having been written in our hearts, known and read by all men,
3 manifested that ye are a letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in the tablets of stone, but in fleshy tablets of the heart,
4 and such trust we have through the Christ toward God,
5 not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency [is] of God,
6 who also made us sufficient [to be] ministrants of a new covenant, not of letter, but of spirit; for the letter doth kill, and the spirit doth make alive.
7 and if the ministration of the death, in letters, engraved in stones, came in glory, so that the sons of Israel were not able to look stedfastly to the face of Moses, because of the glory of his face -- which was being made useless,
8 how shall the ministration of the Spirit not be more in glory?
9 for if the ministration of the condemnation [is] glory, much more doth the ministration of the righteousness abound in glory;
10 for also even that which hath been glorious, hath not been glorious -- in this respect, because of the superior glory;
11 for if that which is being made useless [is] through glory, much more that which is remaining [is] in glory.
12 Having, then, such hope, we use much freedom of speech,
13 and [are] not as Moses, who was putting a vail upon his own face, for the sons of Israel not stedfastly to look to the end of that which is being made useless,
14 but their minds were hardened, for unto this day the same vail at the reading of the Old Covenant doth remain unwithdrawn -- which in Christ is being made useless --
15 but till to-day, when Moses is read, a vail upon their heart doth lie,
16 and whenever they may turn unto the Lord, the vail is taken away.
17 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord [is], there [is] liberty;
18 and we all, with unvailed face, the glory of the Lord beholding in a mirror, to the same image are being transformed, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
27 `Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery;
28 but I -- I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart.
29 `But, if thy right eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.
30 `And, if thy right hand doth cause thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.
31 `And it was said, That whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing of divorce;
32 but I -- I say to you, that whoever may put away his wife, save for the matter of whoredom, doth make her to commit adultery; and whoever may marry her who hath been put away doth commit adultery.
33 `Again, ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt pay to the Lord thine oaths;
34 but I -- I say to you, not to swear at all; neither by the heaven, because it is the throne of God,
35 nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is a city of a great king,
36 nor by thy head mayest thou swear, because thou art not able one hair to make white or black;
37 but let your word be, Yes, Yes, No, No, and that which is more than these is of the evil.