Book of Common Prayer
Bless the Lord, O My Soul
Of David.
103 (A)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and all that is within me,
bless his holy name!
2 (B)Bless the Lord, O my soul,
and (C)forget not all his benefits,
3 who (D)forgives all your iniquity,
who (E)heals all your diseases,
4 who (F)redeems your life from the pit,
who (G)crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who (H)satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like (I)the eagle's.
6 The Lord works (J)righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his (K)ways to Moses,
his (L)acts to the people of Israel.
8 The Lord is (M)merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 (N)He will not always chide,
nor will he (O)keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us (P)according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For (Q)as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his (R)steadfast love toward (S)those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he (T)remove our transgressions from us.
13 As (U)a father shows compassion to his children,
so the Lord shows compassion (V)to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;[a]
he (W)remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like (X)grass;
he flourishes like (Y)a flower of the field;
16 for (Z)the wind passes over it, and (AA)it is gone,
and (AB)its place knows it no more.
17 But (AC)the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on (AD)those who fear him,
and his righteousness to (AE)children's children,
18 to those who (AF)keep his covenant
and (AG)remember to do his commandments.
19 The Lord has (AH)established his throne in the heavens,
and his (AI)kingdom rules over all.
Birth of John the Baptist Foretold
5 (A)In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,[a] (B)of (C)the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both (D)righteous before God, walking (E)blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because (F)Elizabeth was barren, and (G)both were advanced in years.
8 Now (H)while he was serving as priest before God when (I)his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot (J)to enter (K)the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people (L)were praying (M)outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of (N)the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and (O)fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for (P)your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and (Q)you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will (R)rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be (S)great before the Lord. And (T)he must not drink wine or strong (U)drink, and (V)he will be (W)filled with the Holy Spirit, (X)even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and (Y)he will go before him (Z)in the spirit and power of Elijah, (AA)to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and (AB)the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, (AC)to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”
18 And Zechariah said to the angel, (AD)“How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am (AE)Gabriel. (AF)I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, (AG)you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in (AH)the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in (AI)the temple. And (AJ)he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And (AK)when his time of (AL)service was ended, he went to his home.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.