Book of Common Prayer
120 A Song of the Ascents. Unto Jehovah in my distress I have called, And He answereth me.
2 O Jehovah, deliver my soul from a lying lip, From a deceitful tongue!
3 What doth He give to thee? And what doth He add to thee? O deceitful tongue!
4 Sharp arrows of a mighty one, with broom-coals.
5 Wo to me, for I have inhabited Mesech, I have dwelt with tents of Kedar.
6 Too much hath my soul dwelt with him who is hating peace.
7 I [am] peace, and when I speak they [are] for war!
121 A Song of the Ascents. I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, Whence doth my help come?
2 My help [is] from Jehovah, maker of heaven and earth,
3 He suffereth not thy foot to be moved, Thy preserver slumbereth not.
4 Lo, He slumbereth not, nor sleepeth, He who is preserving Israel.
5 Jehovah [is] thy preserver, Jehovah [is] thy shade on thy right hand,
6 By day the sun doth not smite thee, Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah preserveth thee from all evil, He doth preserve thy soul.
8 Jehovah preserveth thy going out and thy coming in, From henceforth even unto the age!
122 A Song of the Ascents, by David. I have rejoiced in those saying to me, `To the house of Jehovah we go.'
2 Our feet have been standing in thy gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem -- the builded one -- [Is] as a city that is joined to itself together.
4 For thither have tribes gone up, Tribes of Jah, companies of Israel, To give thanks to the name of Jehovah.
5 For there have sat thrones of judgment, Thrones of the house of David.
6 Ask ye the peace of Jerusalem, At rest are those loving thee.
7 Peace is in thy bulwark, rest in thy high places,
8 For the sake of my brethren and my companions, Let me speak, I pray thee, `Peace [be] in thee.'
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God, I seek good for thee!
123 A Song of the Ascents. Unto Thee I have lifted up mine eyes, O dweller in the heavens.
2 Lo, as eyes of men-servants [Are] unto the hand of their masters, As eyes of a maid-servant [Are] unto the hand of her mistress, So [are] our eyes unto Jehovah our God, Till that He doth favour us.
3 Favour us, O Jehovah, favour us, For greatly have we been filled with contempt,
4 Greatly hath our soul been filled With the scorning of the easy ones, With the contempt of the arrogant!
124 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Save [for] Jehovah -- who hath been for us, (Pray, let Israel say),
2 Save [for] Jehovah -- who hath been for us, In the rising up of man against us,
3 Then alive they had swallowed us up, In the burning of their anger against us,
4 Then the waters had overflowed us, The stream passed over our soul,
5 Then passed over our soul had the proud waters.
6 Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath not given us, A prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul as a bird hath escaped from a snare of fowlers, The snare was broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help [is] in the name of Jehovah, Maker of the heavens and earth!
125 A Song of the Ascents. Those trusting in Jehovah [are] as Mount Zion, It is not moved -- to the age it abideth.
2 Jerusalem! mountains [are] round about her, And Jehovah [is] round about His people, From henceforth even unto the age.
3 For the rod of wickedness resteth not On the lot of the righteous, That the righteous put not forth on iniquity their hands.
4 Do good, O Jehovah, to the good, And to the upright in their hearts.
5 As to those turning [to] their crooked ways, Jehovah causeth them to go with workers of iniquity. Peace on Israel!
126 A Song of the Ascents. In Jehovah's turning back [to] the captivity of Zion, We have been as dreamers.
2 Then filled [with] laughter is our mouth, And our tongue [with] singing, Then do they say among nations, `Jehovah did great things with these.'
3 Jehovah did great things with us, We have been joyful.
4 Turn again, O Jehovah, [to] our captivity, As streams in the south.
5 Those sowing in tears, with singing do reap,
6 Whoso goeth on and weepeth, Bearing the basket of seed, Surely cometh in with singing, bearing his sheaves!
127 A Song of the Ascents, by Solomon. If Jehovah doth not build the house, In vain have its builders laboured at it, If Jehovah doth not watch a city, In vain hath a watchman waked.
2 Vain for you who are rising early, Who delay sitting, eating the bread of griefs, So He giveth to His beloved one sleep.
3 Lo, an inheritance of Jehovah [are] sons, A reward [is] the fruit of the womb.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty one, So [are] the sons of the young men.
5 O the happiness of the man Who hath filled his quiver with them, They are not ashamed, For they speak with enemies in the gate!
9 And Absalom meeteth before the servants of David, and Absalom is riding on the mule, and the mule cometh in under an entangled bough of the great oak, and his head taketh hold on the oak, and he is placed between the heavens and the earth, and the mule that [is] under him hath passed on.
10 And one man seeth, and declareth to Joab, and saith, `Lo, I saw Absalom hanged in an oak.'
11 And Joab saith to the man who is declaring [it] to him, `And lo, thou hast seen -- and wherefore didst thou not smite him there to the earth -- and on me to give to thee ten silverlings and one girdle?'
12 And the man saith unto Joab, `Yea, though I am weighing on my hand a thousand silverlings, I do not put forth my hand unto the son of the king; for in our ears hath the king charged thee, and Abishai, and Ittai, saying, Observe ye who [is] against the youth -- against Absalom;
13 or I had done against my soul a vain thing, and no matter is hid from the king, and thou -- thou dost station thyself over-against.'
14 And Joab saith, `Not right -- I tarry before thee;' and he taketh three darts in his hand, and striketh them into the heart of Absalom, while he [is] alive, in the midst of the oak.
15 And they go round -- ten youths bearing weapons of Joab -- and smite Absalom, and put him to death.
16 And Joab bloweth with a trumpet, and the people turneth back from pursuing after Israel, for Joab hath kept back the people;
17 and they take Absalom and cast him in the forest unto the great pit, and set up over him a very great heap of stones, and all Israel have fled -- each to his tent.
18 And Absalom hath taken, and setteth up for himself in his life, the standing-pillar that [is] in the king's valley, for he said, `I have no son to cause my name to be remembered;' and he calleth the standing-pillar by his own name, and it is called `The monument of Absalom' unto this day.
12 And day having come, certain of the Jews having made a concourse, did anathematize themselves, saying neither to eat nor to drink till they may kill Paul;
13 and they were more than forty who made this conspiracy by oath,
14 who having come near to the chief priests and to the elders said, `With an anathema we did anathematize ourselves -- to taste nothing till we have killed Paul;
15 now, therefore, ye, signify ye to the chief captain, with the sanhedrim, that to-morrow he may bring him down unto you, as being about to know more exactly the things concerning him; and we, before his coming nigh, are ready to put him to death.'
16 And the son of Paul's sister having heard of the lying in wait, having gone and entered into the castle, told Paul,
17 and Paul having called near one of the centurions, said, `This young man lead unto the chief captain, for he hath something to tell him.'
18 He indeed, then, having taken him, brought him unto the chief captain, and saith, `The prisoner Paul, having called me near, asked [me] this young man to bring unto thee, having something to say to thee.'
19 And the chief captain having taken him by the hand, and having withdrawn by themselves, inquired, `What is that which thou hast to tell me?'
20 and he said -- `The Jews agreed to request thee, that to-morrow to the sanhedrim thou mayest bring down Paul, as being about to enquire something more exactly concerning him;
21 thou, therefore, mayest thou not yield to them, for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, who did anathematize themselves -- not to eat nor to drink till they kill him, and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from thee.'
22 The chief captain, then, indeed, let the young man go, having charged [him] to tell no one, `that these things thou didst shew unto me;'
23 and having called near a certain two of the centurions, he said, `Make ready soldiers two hundred, that they may go on unto Caesarea, and horsemen seventy, and spearmen two hundred, from the third hour of the night;
24 beasts also provide, that, having set Paul on, they may bring him safe unto Felix the governor;'
27 And they come again to Jerusalem, and in the temple, as he is walking, there come unto him the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders,
28 and they say to him, `By what authority dost thou these things? and who gave thee this authority that these things thou mayest do?'
29 And Jesus answering said to them, `I will question you -- I also -- one word; and answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things;
30 the baptism of John -- from heaven was it? or from men? answer me.'
31 And they were reasoning with themselves, saying, `If we may say, From heaven, he will say, Wherefore, then, did ye not believe him?
32 But if we may say, From men,' -- they were fearing the people, for all were holding John that he was indeed a prophet;
33 and answering they say to Jesus, `We have not known;' and Jesus answering saith to them, `Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things.'
12 And he began to speak to them in similes: `A man planted a vineyard, and put a hedge around, and digged an under-winevat, and built a tower, and gave it out to husbandmen, and went abroad;
2 and he sent unto the husbandmen at the due time a servant, that from the husbandmen he may receive from the fruit of the vineyard,
3 and they, having taken him, did severely beat [him], and did send him away empty.
4 `And again he sent unto them another servant, and at that one having cast stones, they wounded [him] in the head, and sent away -- dishonoured.
5 `And again he sent another, and that one they killed; and many others, some beating, and some killing.
6 `Having yet therefore one son -- his beloved -- he sent also him unto them last, saying -- They will reverence my son;
7 and those husbandmen said among themselves -- This is the heir, come, we may kill him, and ours shall be the inheritance;
8 and having taken him, they did kill, and cast [him] forth without the vineyard.
9 `What therefore shall the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard to others.
10 And this Writing did ye not read: A stone that the builders rejected, it did become the head of a corner:
11 from the Lord was this, and it is wonderful in our eyes.'
12 And they were seeking to lay hold on him, and they feared the multitude, for they knew that against them he spake the simile, and having left him, they went away;