Book of Common Prayer
ז Zayin
49 Remember your word(A) to your servant,
for you have given me hope.(B)
50 My comfort in my suffering is this:
Your promise preserves my life.(C)
51 The arrogant mock me(D) unmercifully,
but I do not turn(E) from your law.
52 I remember,(F) Lord, your ancient laws,
and I find comfort in them.
53 Indignation grips me(G) because of the wicked,
who have forsaken your law.(H)
54 Your decrees are the theme of my song(I)
wherever I lodge.
55 In the night, Lord, I remember(J) your name,
that I may keep your law.(K)
56 This has been my practice:
I obey your precepts.(L)
ח Heth
57 You are my portion,(M) Lord;
I have promised to obey your words.(N)
58 I have sought(O) your face with all my heart;
be gracious to me(P) according to your promise.(Q)
59 I have considered my ways(R)
and have turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hasten and not delay
to obey your commands.(S)
61 Though the wicked bind me with ropes,
I will not forget(T) your law.
62 At midnight(U) I rise to give you thanks
for your righteous laws.(V)
63 I am a friend to all who fear you,(W)
to all who follow your precepts.(X)
64 The earth is filled with your love,(Y) Lord;
teach me your decrees.(Z)
ט Teth
65 Do good(AA) to your servant
according to your word,(AB) Lord.
66 Teach me knowledge(AC) and good judgment,
for I trust your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted(AD) I went astray,(AE)
but now I obey your word.(AF)
68 You are good,(AG) and what you do is good;
teach me your decrees.(AH)
69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies,(AI)
I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are callous(AJ) and unfeeling,
but I delight in your law.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted(AK)
so that I might learn your decrees.
72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me
than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.(AL)
Psalm 49[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear(A) this, all you peoples;(B)
listen, all who live in this world,(C)
2 both low and high,(D)
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;(E)
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.(F)
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;(G)
with the harp(H) I will expound my riddle:(I)
5 Why should I fear(J) when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth(K)
and boast(L) of their great riches?(M)
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom(N) for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—(O)
9 so that they should live on(P) forever
and not see decay.(Q)
10 For all can see that the wise die,(R)
that the foolish and the senseless(S) also perish,
leaving their wealth(T) to others.(U)
11 Their tombs(V) will remain their houses[b] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,(W)
though they had[c] named(X) lands after themselves.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,(AA)
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined(AB) to die;(AC)
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail(AD) over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;(AE)
he will surely take me to himself.(AF)
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing(AG) with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.(AH)
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—(AI)
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,(AJ)
who will never again see the light(AK) of life.
Psalm 53[a](A)
For the director of music. According to mahalath.[b] A maskil[c] of David.
1 The fool(B) says in his heart,
“There is no God.”(C)
They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven(D)
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(E)
any who seek God.(F)
3 Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;
there is no one who does good,
not even one.(G)
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?
They devour my people as though eating bread;
they never call on God.
5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
where there was nothing to dread.(H)
God scattered the bones(I) of those who attacked you;(J)
you put them to shame,(K) for God despised them.(L)
6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores his people,
let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!
13 And the Lord said to me, “I have seen this people(A), and they are a stiff-necked people indeed! 14 Let me alone,(B) so that I may destroy them and blot out(C) their name from under heaven.(D) And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”
15 So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.(E) 16 When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the Lord your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf.(F) You had turned aside quickly from the way that the Lord had commanded you. 17 So I took the two tablets and threw them out of my hands, breaking them to pieces before your eyes.
18 Then once again I fell(G) prostrate before the Lord for forty days and forty nights; I ate no bread and drank no water,(H) because of all the sin you had committed,(I) doing what was evil in the Lord’s sight and so arousing his anger. 19 I feared the anger and wrath of the Lord, for he was angry enough with you to destroy you.(J) But again the Lord listened to me.(K) 20 And the Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him, but at that time I prayed for Aaron too. 21 Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust(L) and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain.(M)
12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God.(A) 13 But encourage one another daily,(B) as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.(C) 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold(D) our original conviction firmly to the very end.(E) 15 As has just been said:
16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt?(G) 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?(H) 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest(I) if not to those who disobeyed?(J) 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.(K)
23 Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival,(A) many people saw the signs(B) he was performing and believed(C) in his name.[a] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 25 He did not need any testimony about mankind,(D) for he knew what was in each person.(E)
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus(F) who was a member of the Jewish ruling council.(G) 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi,(H) we know(I) that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs(J) you are doing if God were not with him.”(K)
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.[b]”(L)
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.(M) 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[c] gives birth to spirit.(N) 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[d] must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”[e](O)
9 “How can this be?”(P) Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,”(Q) said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know,(R) and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.(S) 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven(T) except the one who came from heaven(U)—the Son of Man.[f](V) 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness,(W) so the Son of Man must be lifted up,[g](X) 15 that everyone who believes(Y) may have eternal life in him.”[h](Z)
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