Book of Common Prayer
The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Deliverer in Death.
A [a]Mikhtam of David [probably intended to record memorable thoughts].
16 Keep and protect me, O God, for in You I have placed my trust and found refuge.
2
I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good besides You.”
3
As for the saints (godly people) who are in the land,
They are the majestic and the noble and the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.
4
The sorrows [pain and suffering] of those who have chosen another god will be multiplied [because of their idolatry];
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.
5
The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, my cup [He is all I need];
You support my lot.
6
The [boundary] lines [of the land] have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.
7
I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my heart (mind) instructs me in the night.
8
I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9
Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my innermost self] rejoices;
My body too will dwell [confidently] in safety,
10
For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.(A)
11
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.(B)
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear the just (righteous) cause, O Lord; listen to my loud [piercing] cry;
Listen to my prayer, that comes from guileless lips.
2
Let my verdict of vindication come from Your presence;
May Your eyes look with equity and behold things that are just.
3
You have tried my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me];
I intend that my mouth will not transgress.
4
Concerning the deeds of men, by the word of Your lips
I have kept away from the paths of the violent.
5
My steps have held closely to Your paths;
My feet have not staggered.
6
I have called upon You, for You, O God, will answer me;
Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7
Wondrously show Your [marvelous and amazing] lovingkindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8
Keep me [in Your affectionate care, protect me] as the [b]apple of Your eye;
Hide me in the [protective] shadow of Your wings
9
From the wicked who despoil and deal violently with me,
My deadly enemies who surround me.
10
They have closed their [c]unfeeling heart [to kindness and compassion];
With their mouths they speak proudly and make presumptuous claims.
11
They track us down and have now surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes to force us to the ground,
12
He is like a lion eager to tear [his prey],
And like a young lion lurking in hiding places.
13
Arise, O Lord, confront him, cast him down;
Save my soul from the wicked with Your sword,
14
From men with Your hand, O Lord,
From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.
15
As for me, I shall see Your face in righteousness;
I will be [fully] satisfied when I awake [to find myself] seeing Your likeness.
A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.
To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] Aijeleth Hashshahar (The Doe of the Dawn). A Psalm of David.
22 [a]My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?(A)
2
O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.
3
But You are holy,
O You who are enthroned in [the holy place where] the praises of Israel [are offered].
4
In You our fathers trusted [leaned on, relied on, and were confident];
They trusted and You rescued them.
5
They cried out to You and were delivered;
They trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed.
6
But I am [treated as] a worm [insignificant and powerless] and not a man;
I am the scorn of men and despised by the people.(B)
7
All who see me laugh at me and mock me;
They [insultingly] open their lips, they shake their head, saying,(C)
8
“He trusted and committed himself to the Lord, let Him save him.
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”(D)
9
Yet You are He who pulled me out of the womb;
You made me trust when on my mother’s breasts.
10
I was cast upon You from birth;
From my mother’s womb You have been my God.
11
Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
And there is no one to help.
12
Many [enemies like] bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.(E)
13
They open wide their mouths against me,
Like a ravening and a roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water,
And all my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax;
It is melted [by anguish] within me.
15
My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery;
And my [dry] tongue clings to my jaws;
And You have laid me in the dust of death.(F)
16
For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me;
A gang of evildoers has encircled me,
They pierced my hands and my feet.(G)
17
I can count all my bones;
They look, they stare at me.(H)
18
They divide my clothing among them
And cast lots for my [b]garment.(I)
19
But You, O Lord, do not be far from me;
O You my help, come quickly to my assistance.
20
Rescue my life from the sword,
My only life from the paw of the dog (the executioner).
21
Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
22
I will tell of Your name to my countrymen;
In the midst of the congregation I will praise You.(J)
23
You who fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence], praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him.
Fear Him [with submissive wonder], all you descendants of Israel.
24
For He has not despised nor detested the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He listened.
25
My praise will be of You in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows [made in the time of trouble] before those who [reverently] fear Him.
26
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!
27
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the families of the nations will bow down and worship before You,
28
For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.
29
All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship;
All those who go down to the dust (the dead) will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30
Posterity will serve Him;
They will tell of the Lord to the next generation.
31
They will come and declare His righteousness
To a people yet to be born—that He has done it [and that it is finished].(K)
Alliance with King Hiram
5 Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend of David. 2 Then Solomon sent word to Hiram, saying, 3 “You know that David my father could not build a house (temple) for the Name (Presence) of the Lord his God because of the wars which surrounded him, until the Lord put his enemies under his feet.(A) 4 But now that the Lord my God has given me rest [from war] on every side, there is neither adversary nor misfortune [confronting me]. 5 Behold, I intend to build a house (temple) to the Name of the Lord my God, just as the Lord said to my father David: ‘Your son whom I will put on your throne in your place shall build the house for My Name and Presence.’ 6 So now, command that they cut cedar trees from Lebanon for me, and my servants will join your servants, and I will give you whatever wages you set for your servants. For you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the men of Sidon.”
7 When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, “Blessed be the Lord this day, who has given David a wise son [to be king] over this great people.” 8 So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, “I have heard the message which you sent to me; I will do everything you wish concerning the cedar and cypress timber. 9 My servants will bring the logs down from Lebanon to the [Mediterranean] sea, and I will have them made into rafts to go by sea to the place (port) that you direct me; then I will have them broken up there, and you shall carry them away. Then you shall [a]return the favor by providing food for my household.” 10 So Hiram gave Solomon all the cedar and cypress timber he desired, 11 and Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 [b]kors of wheat as food for his household, and 20 kors of pure [olive] oil. Solomon gave all these to Hiram each year. 12 The Lord gave Solomon wisdom, just as He promised him; and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon, and the two of them made a treaty.
Conscription of Laborers
13 King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men. 14 He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in shifts; one month they were in Lebanon and two months at home. Adoniram was in charge of the forced laborers. 15 Solomon had 70,000 burden bearers (transporters) and 80,000 stonemasons in the hill country [of Judah], 16 besides Solomon’s 3,300 chief deputies who were in charge of the project and who were in charge of the people doing the work. 17 The king gave orders, and they quarried great [c]stones, valuable stones, to lay the foundation of the house (temple) with cut stones. 18 So Solomon’s builders and Hiram’s builders and the men of [d]Gebal cut and chiseled the stones, and prepared the timber and the stones to build the house (temple).
The Building of the Temple
6 [e]Now it came about in the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (April-May) which is the second month, that he began to build the Lord’s house (temple).
7 While it was being built, the house was built of stone prepared and finished (precut) at the quarry, and no hammer, axe, or iron tool of any kind was heard in the house while it was under construction.
Safe at Malta
28 After we were safe [on land], we found out that the island was called [a]Malta. 2 And the [b]natives showed us extraordinary kindness and hospitality; for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all, since it had begun to rain and was cold. 3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a [c]viper crawled out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, Justice [the avenging goddess] has not permitted him to live.” 5 Then Paul [simply] shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 But they stood watching and expecting him to swell up or suddenly drop dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god.
7 In the vicinity of that place there were estates belonging to the leading man of the island, named Publius, who welcomed and entertained us hospitably for three days. 8 And it happened that the father of Publius was sick [in bed] with recurring attacks of fever and dysentery; and Paul went to him, and after he had prayed, he laid his hands on him and healed him. 9 After this occurred, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases were coming to him and being healed. 10 They also gave us many honors [gifts and courtesies expressing respect]; and when we were setting sail, they supplied us with all the things we needed.
Paul Arrives at Rome
11 At the end of three months we set sail on a ship which had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian ship with the [d]Twin Brothers [Castor and Pollux] as its figurehead. 12 We landed at Syracuse [on Sicily] and stayed there three days. 13 From there we sailed around and arrived at Rhegium [on Italy’s southern tip]; and a day later a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at [e]Puteoli. 14 There we found some believers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome. 15 And the brothers and sisters, having heard news about us, came from as far away as the [f]Forum of Appius and [g]Three Inns to meet us. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and was encouraged.
16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself [in rented quarters] with the soldier who was guarding him.
27 Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away [and be ashamed and be afraid to be associated with Me as disciples], because it is written, ‘I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’(A) 28 But after I have been raised [from the dead], I will go ahead of you to Galilee.” 29 But Peter said to Him, “Even if they all fall away [and desert You, ashamed and afraid of being associated with You], yet I will not [do so]!” 30 Jesus said to him, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this very night, before a rooster crows twice, you will deny [that you even know] Me three times.”(B) 31 But Peter kept saying insistently, “If I have to die with You, I will not deny You!” And they all were saying the same thing as well.
Jesus in Gethsemane
32 Then they went to a place called Gethsemane; and Jesus said to His disciples, “Sit down here until I have prayed.”(C) 33 He took Peter and James and John with Him, and He began to be deeply distressed and troubled [extremely anguished at the prospect of what was to come]. 34 And He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved and overwhelmed with sorrow, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch.” 35 After going a little farther, He fell to the ground [distressed by the weight of His spiritual burden] and began to pray that if it were possible [in the Father’s will], the hour [of suffering and death for the sins of mankind] might pass from Him. 36 He was saying, “[a]Abba, Father! All things are possible for You; take this cup [of judgment] away from Me; but not what I will, but what You will.” 37 And He came back and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, “Simon, are you asleep? Were you unable to keep watch for one hour? 38 Keep [actively] watching and praying so that you do not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the [b]body is weak.” 39 He went away again and prayed, saying the same words. 40 And again He came back and found them sleeping, because their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know how to answer Him. 41 He came back a third time and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Enough [of that]! The hour has come. Look, the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Get up, let us go. Look, my betrayer is near!”
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