Book of Common Prayer

70 To the Overseer, by David. -- `To cause to remember.' O God, to deliver me, O Jehovah, for my help, haste.

² Let them be ashamed and confounded Who are seeking my soul, Let them be turned backward and blush Who are desiring my evil.

³ Let them turn back because of their shame, Who are saying, `Aha, aha.'

⁴ Let all those seeking Thee joy and be glad in Thee, And let those loving Thy salvation Say continually, `God is magnified.'

⁵ And I [am] poor and needy, O God, haste to me, My help and my deliverer [art] Thou, O Jehovah, tarry Thou not!

71 In Thee, O Jehovah, I have trusted, Let me not be ashamed to the age.

² In Thy righteousness Thou dost deliver me, And dost cause me to escape, Incline unto me Thine ear, and save me.

³ Be to me for a rock -- a habitation, To go in continually, Thou hast given command to save me, For my rock and my bulwark [art] Thou.

⁴ O my God, cause me to escape From the hand of the wicked, From the hand of the perverse and violent.

⁵ For Thou [art] my hope, O Lord Jehovah, My trust from my youth.

⁶ By Thee I have been supported from the womb, From my mother's bowels Thou dost cut me out, In Thee [is] my praise continually.

⁷ As a wonder I have been to many, And Thou [art] my strong refuge.

⁸ Filled is my mouth [with] Thy praise, All the day [with] Thy beauty.

⁹ Cast me not off at the time of old age, According to the consumption of my power forsake me not.

¹⁰ For mine enemies have spoken against me, And those watching my soul have taken counsel together,

¹¹ Saying, `God hath forsaken him, Pursue and catch him, for there is no deliverer.'

¹² O God, be not far from me, O my God, for my help make haste.

¹³ They are ashamed, they are consumed, Who are opposing my soul, They are covered [with] reproach and blushing, Who are seeking my evil,

¹⁴ And I continually do wait with hope, And have added unto all Thy praise.

¹⁵ My mouth recounteth Thy righteousness, All the day Thy salvation, For I have not known the numbers.

¹⁶ I come in the might of the Lord Jehovah, I mention Thy righteousness -- Thine only.

¹⁷ God, Thou hast taught me from my youth, And hitherto I declare Thy wonders.

¹⁸ And also unto old age and grey hairs, O God, forsake me not, Till I declare Thy strength to a generation, To every one that cometh Thy might.

¹⁹ And Thy righteousness, O God, [is] unto the heights, Because Thou hast done great things, O God, who [is] like Thee?

²⁰ Because Thou hast showed me many and sad distresses, Thou turnest back -- Thou revivest me, And from the depths of the earth, Thou turnest back -- Thou bringest me up.

²¹ Thou dost increase my greatness, And Thou surroundest -- Thou comfortest me,

²² I also thank Thee with a vessel of psaltery, Thy truth, O my God, I sing to Thee with a harp, O Holy One of Israel,

²³ My lips cry aloud when I sing praise to Thee, And my soul that Thou hast redeemed,

²⁴ My tongue also all the day uttereth Thy righteousness, Because ashamed -- because confounded, Have been those seeking my evil!

74 An Instruction of Asaph. Why, O God, hast Thou cast off for ever? Thine anger smoketh against the flock of Thy pasture.

² Remember Thy company. Thou didst purchase of old, Thou didst redeem the rod of Thy inheritance, This mount Zion -- Thou didst dwell in it.

³ Lift up Thy steps to the perpetual desolations, Everything the enemy did wickedly in the sanctuary.

⁴ Roared have thine adversaries, In the midst of Thy meeting-places, They have set their ensigns as ensigns.

⁵ He is known as one bringing in on high Against a thicket of wood -- axes.

⁶ And now, its carvings together With axe and hatchet they break down,

⁷ They have sent into fire Thy sanctuary, to the earth they polluted the tabernacle of Thy name,

⁸ They said in their hearts, `Let us oppress them together,' They did burn all the meeting-places of God in the land.

⁹ Our ensigns we have not seen, There is no more a prophet, Nor with us is one knowing how long.

¹⁰ Till when, O God, doth an adversary reproach? Doth an enemy despise thy name for ever?

¹¹ Why dost Thou turn back Thy hand, Even Thy right hand? From the midst of Thy bosom remove [it].

¹² And God [is] my king of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

¹³ Thou hast broken by Thy strength a sea-[monster], Thou hast shivered Heads of dragons by the waters,

¹⁴ Thou hast broken the heads of leviathan, Thou makest him food, For the people of the dry places.

¹⁵ Thou hast cleaved a fountain and a stream, Thou hast dried up perennial flowings.

¹⁶ Thine [is] the day, also Thine [is] the night, Thou hast prepared a light giver -- the sun.

¹⁷ Thou hast set up all the borders of earth, Summer and winter Thou hast formed them.

¹⁸ Remember this -- an enemy reproached Jehovah, And a foolish people have despised Thy name.

¹⁹ Give not up to a company, The soul of Thy turtle-dove, The company of Thy poor ones forget not for ever.

²⁰ Look attentively to the covenant, For the dark places of earth, Have been full of habitations of violence.

²¹ Let not the oppressed turn back ashamed, Let the poor and needy praise Thy name,

²² Arise, O God, plead Thy plea, Remember Thy reproach from a fool all the day.

²³ Forget not the voice of Thine adversaries, The noise of Thy withstanders is going up continually!

4 And the son of Saul heareth that Abner [is] dead in Hebron, and his hands are feeble, and all Israel have been troubled.

² And two men, heads of troops, have been [to] the son of Saul, the name of the one [is] Baanah, and the name of the second Rechab, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, of the sons of Benjamin, for also Beeroth is reckoned to Benjamin,

³ and the Beerothites flee to Gittaim, and are there sojourners unto this day.

⁴ And to Jonathan son of Saul [is] a son -- lame; he was a son of five years at the coming in of the rumour of [the death of] Saul and Jonathan, out of Jezreel, and his nurse lifteth him up, and fleeth, and it cometh to pass in her hasting to flee, that he falleth, and becometh lame, and his name [is] Mephibosheth.

⁵ And the sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, Rechab and Baanah, go, and come in at the heat of the day unto the house of Ish-Bosheth, and he is lying down -- the lying down of noon;

⁶ and thither they have come, unto the midst of the house, taking wheat, and they smite him unto the fifth [rib], and Rechab and Baanah his brother have escaped;

⁷ yea, they come in to the house, and he is lying on his bed, in the inner part of his bed-chamber, and they smite him, and put him to death, and turn aside his head, and they take his head, and go the way of the plain all the night,

⁸ and bring in the head of Ish-Bosheth unto David in Hebron, and say unto the king, `Lo, the head of Ish-Bosheth, son of Saul, thine enemy, who sought thy life; and Jehovah doth give to my lord the king vengeance this day, of Saul and of his seed.'

⁹ And David answereth Rechab and Baanah his brother, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite, and saith to them, `Jehovah liveth, who hath redeemed my soul out of all adversity,

¹⁰ when one is declaring to me, saying, Lo, Saul is dead, and he was as a bearer of tidings in his own eyes, then I take hold on him, and slay him in Ziklag, instead of my giving to him [for] the tidings.

¹¹ Also -- when wicked men have slain the righteous man in his own house, on his bed; and now, do not I require his blood of your hand, and have taken you away from the earth?'

¹² And David commandeth the young men, and they slay them, and cut off their hands and their feet, and hang [them] over the pool in Hebron, and the head of Ish-Bosheth they have taken, and bury [it] in the burying-place of Abner in Hebron.

²⁵ And at midnight Paul and Silas praying, were singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were hearing them,

²⁶ and suddenly a great earthquake came, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken, opened also presently were all the doors, and of all -- the bands were loosed;

²⁷ and the jailor having come out of sleep, and having seen the doors of the prison open, having drawn a sword, was about to kill himself, supposing the prisoners to be fled,

²⁸ and Paul cried out with a loud voice, saying, `Thou mayest not do thyself any harm, for we are all here.'

²⁹ And, having asked for a light, he sprang in, and trembling he fell down before Paul and Silas,

³⁰ and having brought them forth, said, `Sirs, what must I do -- that I may be saved?'

³¹ and they said, `Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved -- thou and thy house;'

³² and they spake to him the word of the Lord, and to all those in his household;

³³ and having taken them, in that hour of the night, he did bathe [them] from the blows, and was baptized, himself and all his presently,

³⁴ having brought them also into his house, he set food before [them], and was glad with all the household, he having believed in God.

³⁵ And day having come, the magistrates sent the rod-bearers, saying, `Let those men go;'

³⁶ and the jailor told these words unto Paul -- `The magistrates have sent, that ye may be let go; now, therefore, having gone forth go on in peace;'

³⁷ and Paul said to them, `Having beaten us publicly uncondemned -- men, Romans being -- they did cast [us] to prison, and now privately do they cast us forth! why no! but having come themselves, let them bring us forth.'

³⁸ And the rod-bearers told to the magistrates these sayings, and they were afraid, having heard that they are Romans,

³⁹ and having come, they besought them, and having brought [them] forth, they were asking [them] to go forth from the city;

⁴⁰ and they, having gone forth out of the prison, entered into [the house of] Lydia, and having seen the brethren, they comforted them, and went forth.

7 And gathered together unto him are the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, having come from Jerusalem,

² and having seen certain of his disciples with defiled hands -- that is, unwashed -- eating bread, they found fault;

³ for the Pharisees, and all the Jews, if they do not wash the hands to the wrist, do not eat, holding the tradition of the elders,

⁴ and, [coming] from the market-place, if they do not baptize themselves, they do not eat; and many other things there are that they received to hold, baptisms of cups, and pots, and brazen vessels, and couches.

⁵ Then question him do the Pharisees and the scribes, `Wherefore do thy disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but with unwashed hands do eat the bread?'

⁶ and he answering said to them -- `Well did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, hypocrites, as it hath been written, This people with the lips doth honor Me, and their heart is far from Me;

⁷ and in vain do they worship Me, teaching teachings, commands of men;

⁸ for, having put away the command of God, ye hold the tradition of men, baptisms of pots and cups; and many other such like things ye do.'

⁹ And he said to them, `Well do ye put away the command of God that your tradition ye may keep;

¹⁰ for Moses said, Honour thy father and thy mother; and, He who is speaking evil of father or mother -- let him die the death;

¹¹ and ye say, If a man may say to father or to mother, Korban (that is, a gift), [is] whatever thou mayest be profited out of mine,

¹² and no more do ye suffer him to do anything for his father or for his mother,

¹³ setting aside the word of God for your tradition that ye delivered; and many such like things ye do.'

¹⁴ And having called near all the multitude, he said to them, `Hearken to me, ye all, and understand;

¹⁵ there is nothing from without the man entering into him that is able to defile him, but the things coming out from him, those are the things defiling the man.

¹⁶ If any hath ears to hear -- let him hear.'

¹⁷ And when he entered into a house from the multitude, his disciples were questioning him about the simile,

¹⁸ and he saith to them, `So also ye are without understanding! Do ye not perceive that nothing from without entering into the man is able to defile him?

¹⁹ because it doth not enter into his heart, but into the belly, and into the drain it doth go out, purifying all the meats.'

²⁰ And he said -- `That which is coming out from the man, that doth defile the man;

²¹ for from within, out of the heart of men, the evil reasonings do come forth, adulteries, whoredoms, murders,

²² thefts, covetous desires, wickedness, deceit, arrogance, an evil eye, evil speaking, pride, foolishness;

²³ all these evils do come forth from within, and they defile the man.'