Book of Common Prayer

88 A Song, a Psalm, by sons of Korah, to the Overseer, `Concerning the Sickness of Afflictions.' -- An instruction, by Heman the Ezrahite. O Jehovah, God of my salvation, Daily I have cried, nightly before Thee,

² My prayer cometh in before Thee, Incline Thine ear to my loud cry,

³ For my soul hath been full of evils, And my life hath come to Sheol.

⁴ I have been reckoned with those going down [to] the pit, I have been as a man without strength.

⁵ Among the dead -- free, As pierced ones lying in the grave, Whom Thou hast not remembered any more, Yea, they by Thy hand have been cut off.

⁶ Thou hast put me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in depths.

⁷ Upon me hath Thy fury lain, And [with] all Thy breakers Thou hast afflicted. Selah.

⁸ Thou hast put mine acquaintance far from me, Thou hast made me an abomination to them, Shut up -- I go not forth.

⁹ Mine eye hath grieved because of affliction, I called Thee, O Jehovah, all the day, I have spread out unto Thee my hands.

¹⁰ To the dead dost Thou do wonders? Do Rephaim rise? do they thank Thee? Selah.

¹¹ Is Thy kindness recounted in the grave? Thy faithfulness in destruction?

¹² Are Thy wonders known in the darkness? And Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³ And I, unto Thee, O Jehovah, I have cried, And in the morning doth my prayer come before Thee.

¹⁴ Why, O Jehovah, castest Thou off my soul? Thou hidest Thy face from me.

¹⁵ I [am] afflicted, and expiring from youth, I have borne Thy terrors -- I pine away.

¹⁶ Over me hath Thy wrath passed, Thy terrors have cut me off,

¹⁷ They have surrounded me as waters all the day, They have gone round against me together,

¹⁸ Thou hast put far from me lover and friend, Mine acquaintance [is] the place of darkness!

91 He who is dwelling In the secret place of the Most High, In the shade of the Mighty lodgeth habitually,

² He is saying of Jehovah, `My refuge, and my bulwark, my God, I trust in Him,'

³ For He delivereth thee from the snare of a fowler, From a calamitous pestilence.

⁴ With His pinion He covereth thee over, And under His wings thou dost trust, A shield and buckler [is] His truth.

⁵ Thou art not afraid of fear by night, Of arrow that flieth by day,

⁶ Of pestilence in thick darkness that walketh, Of destruction that destroyeth at noon,

⁷ There fall at thy side a thousand, And a myriad at thy right hand, Unto thee it cometh not nigh.

⁸ But with thine eyes thou lookest, And the reward of the wicked thou seest,

⁹ (For Thou, O Jehovah, [art] my refuge,) The Most High thou madest thy habitation.

¹⁰ Evil happeneth not unto thee, And a plague cometh not near thy tent,

¹¹ For His messengers He chargeth for thee, To keep thee in all thy ways,

¹² On the hands they bear thee up, Lest thou smite against a stone thy foot.

¹³ On lion and asp thou treadest, Thou trampest young lion and dragon.

¹⁴ Because in Me he hath delighted, I also deliver him -- I set him on high, Because he hath known My name.

¹⁵ He doth call Me, and I answer him, I [am] with him in distress, I deliver him, and honour him.

¹⁶ With length of days I satisfy him, And I cause him to look on My salvation!

92 A Psalm. -- A Song for the sabbath-day. Good to give thanks to Jehovah, And to sing praises to Thy name, O Most High,

² To declare in the morning Thy kindness, And Thy faithfulness in the nights.

³ On ten strings and on psaltery, On higgaion, with harp.

⁴ For Thou hast caused me to rejoice, O Jehovah, in Thy work, Concerning the works of Thy hands I sing.

⁵ How great have been Thy works, O Jehovah, Very deep have been Thy thoughts.

⁶ A brutish man doth not know, And a fool understandeth not this; --

⁷ When the wicked flourish as a herb, And blossom do all workers of iniquity -- For their being destroyed for ever and ever!

⁸ And Thou [art] high to the age, O Jehovah.

⁹ For, lo, Thine enemies, O Jehovah, For, lo, Thine enemies, do perish, Separate themselves do all workers of iniquity.

¹⁰ And Thou exaltest as a reem my horn, I have been anointed with fresh oil.

¹¹ And mine eye looketh on mine enemies, Of those rising up against me, The evil doers, do mine ears hear.

¹² The righteous as a palm-tree flourisheth, As a cedar in Lebanon he groweth.

¹³ Those planted in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of our God do flourish.

¹⁴ Still they bring forth in old age, Fat and flourishing are they,

¹⁵ To declare that upright [is] Jehovah my rock, And there is no perverseness in Him!

12 And Jehovah sendeth Nathan unto David, and he cometh unto him, and saith to him: `Two men have been in one city; One rich and one poor;

² The rich hath flocks and herds very many;

³ And the poor one hath nothing, Except one little ewe-lamb, Which he hath bought, and keepeth alive, And it groweth up with him, And with his sons together; Of his morsel it eateth, And from his cup it drinketh, And in his bosom it lieth, And it is to him as a daughter;

⁴ And there cometh a traveller to the rich man, And he spareth to take Of his own flock, and of his own herd, To prepare for the traveller Who hath come to him, And he taketh the ewe-lamb of the poor man, And prepareth it for the man Who hath come unto him.'

⁵ And the anger of David burneth against the man exceedingly, and he saith unto Nathan, `Jehovah liveth, surely a son of death [is] the man who is doing this,

⁶ and the ewe-lamb he doth repay fourfold, because that he hath done this thing, and because that he had no pity.'

⁷ And Nathan saith unto David, `Thou [art] the man! Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, I anointed thee for king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

⁸ and I give to thee the house of thy lord, and the wives of thy lord, into thy bosom, and I give to thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if little, then I add to thee such and such [things].

⁹ `Wherefore hast thou despised the word of Jehovah, to do the evil thing in His eyes? Uriah the Hittite thou hast smitten by the sword, and his wife thou hast taken to thee for a wife, and him thou hast slain by the sword of the Bene-Ammon.

¹⁰ `And now, the sword doth not turn aside from thy house unto the age, because thou hast despised Me, and dost take the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be to thee for a wife;

¹¹ thus said Jehovah, Lo, I am raising up against thee evil, out of thy house, and have taken thy wives before thine eyes, and given to thy neighbour, and he hath lain with thy wives before the eyes of this sun;

¹² for thou hast done [it] in secret, and I do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'

¹³ And David saith unto Nathan, `I have sinned against Jehovah.' And Nathan saith unto David, `Also -- Jehovah hath caused thy sin to pass away; thou dost not die;

¹⁴ only, because thou hast caused the enemies of Jehovah greatly to despise by this thing, also the son who is born to thee doth surely die.'

²¹ And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in the Spirit, having gone through Macedonia and Achaia, to go on to Jerusalem, saying -- `After my being there, it behoveth me also to see Rome;'

²² and having sent to Macedonia two of those ministering to him -- Timotheus and Erastus -- he himself stayed a time in Asia.

²³ And there came, at that time, not a little stir about the way,

²⁴ for a certain one, Demetrius by name, a worker in silver, making silver sanctuaries of Artemis, was bringing to the artificers gain not a little,

²⁵ whom, having brought in a crowd together, and those who did work about such things, he said, `Men, ye know that by this work we have our wealth;

²⁶ and ye see and hear, that not only at Ephesus, but almost in all Asia, this Paul, having persuaded, did turn away a great multitude, saying, that they are not gods who are made by hands;

²⁷ and not only is this department in danger for us of coming into disregard, but also, that of the great goddess Artemis the temple is to be reckoned for nothing, and also her greatness is about to be brought down, whom all Asia and the world doth worship.'

²⁸ And they having heard, and having become full of wrath, were crying out, saying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'

²⁹ and the whole city was filled with confusion, they rushed also with one accord into the theatre, having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's fellow-travellers.

³⁰ And on Paul's purposing to enter in unto the populace, the disciples were not suffering him,

³¹ and certain also of the chief men of Asia, being his friends, having sent unto him, were entreating him not to venture himself into the theatre.

³² Some indeed, therefore, were calling out one thing, and some another, for the assembly was confused, and the greater part did not know for what they were come together;

³³ and out of the multitude they put forward Alexander -- the Jews thrusting him forward -- and Alexander having beckoned with the hand, wished to make defence to the populace,

³⁴ and having known that he is a Jew, one voice came out of all, for about two hours, crying, `Great [is] the Artemis of the Ephesians!'

³⁵ And the public clerk having quieted the multitude, saith, `Men, Ephesians, why, who is the man that doth not know that the city of the Ephesians is a devotee of the great goddess Artemis, and of that which fell down from Zeus?

³⁶ these things, then, not being to be gainsaid, it is necessary for you to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.

³⁷ `For ye brought these men, who are neither temple-robbers nor speaking evil of your goddess;

³⁸ if indeed, therefore, Demetrius and the artificers with him with any one have a matter, court [days] are held, and there are proconsuls; let them accuse one another.

³⁹ `And if ye seek after anything concerning other matters, in the legal assembly it shall be determined;

⁴⁰ for we are also in peril of being accused of insurrection in regard to this day, there being no occasion by which we shall be able to give an account of this concourse;'

⁴¹ and these things having said, he dismissed the assembly.

¹⁴ And having come unto the disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and scribes questioning with them,

¹⁵ and immediately, all the multitude having seen him, were amazed, and running near, were saluting him.

¹⁶ And he questioned the scribes, `What dispute ye with them?'

¹⁷ and one out of the multitude answering said, `Teacher, I brought my son unto thee, having a dumb spirit;

¹⁸ and wherever it doth seize him, it doth tear him, and he foameth, and gnasheth his teeth, and pineth away; and I spake to thy disciples that they may cast it out, and they were not able.'

¹⁹ And he answering him, said, `O generation unbelieving, till when shall I be with you? till when shall I suffer you? bring him unto me;'

²⁰ and they brought him unto him, and he having seen him, immediately the spirit tare him, and he, having fallen upon the earth, was wallowing -- foaming.

²¹ And he questioned his father, `How long time is it since this came to him?' and he said, `From childhood,

²² and many times also it cast him into fire, and into water, that it might destroy him; but if thou art able to do anything, help us, having compassion on us.'

²³ And Jesus said to him, `If thou art able to believe! all things are possible to the one that is believing;'

²⁴ and immediately the father of the child, having cried out, with tears said, `I believe, sir; be helping mine unbelief.'

²⁵ Jesus having seen that a multitude doth run together, rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, `Spirit -- dumb and deaf -- I charge thee, come forth out of him, and no more thou mayest enter into him;'

²⁶ and having cried, and rent him much, it came forth, and he became as dead, so that many said that he was dead,

²⁷ but Jesus, having taken him by the hand, lifted him up, and he arose.

²⁸ And he having come into the house, his disciples were questioning him by himself -- `Why were we not able to cast it forth?'

²⁹ And he said to them, `This kind is able to come forth with nothing except with prayer and fasting.'