Book of Common Prayer
Prayer of an afflicted one for mercy on himself and on Zion.
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he [a]is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before Jehovah.
102 Hear my prayer, O Jehovah,
And let my cry come unto thee.
2 Hide not thy face from me in the day of my distress:
Incline thine ear unto me;
In the day when I call answer me speedily.
3 For my days consume away [b]like smoke,
And my bones are burned [c]as a firebrand.
4 My heart is smitten like grass, and withered;
For I forget to eat my bread.
5 By reason of the voice of my groaning
My bones cleave to my flesh.
6 I am like a pelican of the wilderness;
I am become as an owl of the waste places.
7 I watch, and am become like a sparrow
That is alone upon the house-top.
8 Mine enemies reproach me all the day;
They that are mad against me do curse by me.
9 For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And mingled my drink with weeping,
10 Because of thine indignation and thy wrath:
For thou hast taken me up, and cast me away.
11 My days are like a shadow that [d]declineth;
And I am withered like grass.
12 But thou, O Jehovah, [e]wilt abide for ever;
And thy memorial name unto all generations.
13 Thou wilt arise, and have mercy upon Zion;
For it is time to have pity upon her,
Yea, the set time is come.
14 For thy servants take pleasure in her stones,
And have pity upon her dust.
15 So the nations shall fear the name of Jehovah,
And all the kings of the earth thy glory.
16 For Jehovah hath built up Zion;
He hath appeared in his glory.
17 He hath regarded the prayer of the destitute,
And hath not despised their prayer.
18 This shall be written for the generation to come;
And a people which shall be created shall praise [f]Jehovah.
19 For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary;
From heaven did Jehovah behold the earth;
20 To hear the sighing of the prisoner;
To loose [g]those that are appointed to death;
21 That men may declare the name of Jehovah in Zion,
And his praise in Jerusalem;
22 When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve Jehovah.
23 He [h]weakened my strength in the way;
He shortened my days.
24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:
Thy years are throughout all generations.
25 Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;
And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure;
Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;
As a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
27 But thou art the same,
And thy years shall have no end.
28 The children of thy servants shall continue,
And their seed shall be established before thee.
Book V
Jehovah delivers men from manifold troubles.
107 Oh give thanks unto Jehovah; for he is good;
For his lovingkindness endureth for ever.
2 Let the redeemed of Jehovah say so,
Whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the adversary,
3 And gathered out of the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and [a]from the south.
4 They wandered in the wilderness in a desert way;
They found no city of habitation.
5 Hungry and thirsty,
Their soul fainted in them.
6 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he delivered them out of their distresses,
7 He led them also by a straight way,
That they might go to a city of habitation.
8 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
9 For he satisfieth the longing soul,
And the hungry soul he filleth with good.
10 Such as sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
Being bound in affliction and iron,
11 Because they rebelled against the words of God,
And contemned the counsel of the Most High:
12 Therefore he brought down their heart with labor;
They fell down, and there was none to help.
13 Then they cried unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he saved them out of their distresses.
14 He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
And brake their bonds in sunder.
15 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
16 For he hath broken the gates of brass,
And cut the bars of iron in sunder.
17 Fools because of [b]their transgression,
And because of their iniquities, are afflicted.
18 Their soul abhorreth all manner of food;
And they draw near unto the gates of death.
19 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he saveth them out of their distresses.
20 He sendeth his word, and healeth them,
And delivereth them from their [c]destructions.
21 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
22 And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And declare his works with singing.
23 They that go down to the sea in ships,
That do business in great waters;
24 These see the works of Jehovah,
And his wonders in the deep.
25 For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
Which lifteth up the waves thereof.
26 They mount up to the heavens, they go down again to the depths:
Their soul melteth away because of trouble.
27 They reel to and fro, and stagger like a drunken man,
And [d]are at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cry unto Jehovah in their trouble,
And he bringeth them out of their distresses.
29 He maketh the storm a calm,
So that the waves thereof are still.
30 Then are they glad because they are quiet;
So he bringeth them unto their desired haven.
31 Oh that men would praise Jehovah for his lovingkindness,
And for his wonderful works to the children of men!
32 Let them exalt him also in the assembly of the people,
And praise him in the seat of the elders.
9 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of [a]valor. 2 And he had a son, whose name was Saul, a [b]young man and a goodly: and there was not among the children of Israel a goodlier person than he: from his shoulders and upward he was higher than any of the people. 3 And the asses of Kish, Saul’s father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses. 4 And he passed through the hill-country of Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalishah, but they found them not: then they passed through the land of Shaalim, and there they were not: and he passed through the land of the Benjamites, but they found them not.
5 When they were come to the land of Zuph, Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come, and let us return, lest my father leave off caring for the asses, and be anxious for us. 6 And he said unto him, Behold now, there is in this city a man of God, and he is a man that is held in honor; all that he saith cometh surely to pass: now let us go thither; peradventure he can tell us concerning our journey whereon we go. 7 Then said Saul to his servant, But, behold, if we go, what shall we bring the man? for the bread is spent in our vessels, and there is not a present to bring to the man of God: what have we? 8 And the servant answered Saul again, and said, Behold, I have in my hand the fourth part of a shekel of silver: that will I give to the man of God, to tell us our way. 9 (Beforetime in Israel, when a man went to inquire of God, thus he said, Come, and let us go to the seer; for he that is now called a Prophet was beforetime called a Seer.) 10 Then said Saul to his servant, Well said; come, let us go. So they went unto the city where the man of God was.
11 As they went up the ascent to the city, they found young maidens going out to draw water, and said unto them, Is the seer here? 12 And they answered them, and said, He is; behold, he is before thee: make haste now, for he is come to-day into the city; for the people have a sacrifice to-day in the high place. 13 As soon as ye are come into the city, ye shall straightway find him, before he goeth up to the high place to eat; for the people will not eat until he come, because he doth bless the sacrifice; and afterwards they eat that are bidden. Now therefore get you up; for at this time ye shall find him. 14 And they went up to the city; and as they came within the city, behold, Samuel came out toward them, to go up to the high place.
17 But as the time of the promise drew nigh which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, 18 till there arose another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. 19 The same dealt craftily with our race, and ill-treated our fathers, that [a]they should cast out their babes to the end they might not [b]live. 20 At which season Moses was born, and was [c]exceeding fair; and he was nourished three months in his father’s house: 21 and when he was cast out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians; and he was mighty in his words and works. 23 But when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting the Egyptian: 25 and he supposed that his brethren understood that God by his hand was giving them [d]deliverance; but they understood not. 26 And the day following he appeared unto them as they strove, and would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are brethren; why do ye wrong one to another? 27 But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made thee a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Wouldest thou kill me, as thou killedst the Egyptian yesterday? 29 And Moses fled at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he begat two sons.
31 Simon, Simon, behold, Satan [a]asked to have you, that he might sift you as wheat: 32 but I made supplication for thee, that thy faith fail not; and do thou, when once thou hast turned again, establish thy brethren. 33 And he said unto him, Lord, with thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death. 34 And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, until thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
35 And he said unto them, When I sent you forth without purse, and wallet, and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they said, Nothing. 36 And he said unto them, But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise a wallet; [b]and he that hath none, let him sell his cloak, and buy a sword. 37 For I say unto you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, [c]And he was reckoned with transgressors: for that which concerneth me hath [d]fulfilment. 38 And they said, Lord, behold, here are two swords. And he said unto them, It is enough.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)