Book of Common Prayer
Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet
Aleph
119 [a] Blessed are those whose (A)way is blameless,
who (B)walk in the law of the Lord!
2 Blessed are those who (C)keep his (D)testimonies,
who (E)seek him with their whole heart,
3 who also (F)do no wrong,
but walk in his ways!
4 You have commanded your (G)precepts
to be kept diligently.
5 Oh that my ways may (H)be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6 (I)Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7 I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn (J)your righteous rules.[b]
8 I will keep your statutes;
(K)do not utterly forsake me!
Beth
9 How can (L)a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 (M)With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not (N)wander from your commandments!
11 I have (O)stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
(P)teach me your statutes!
13 With my lips I (Q)declare
all the rules[c] of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I (R)delight
as much as in all (S)riches.
15 I will (T)meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your (U)ways.
16 I will (V)delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 (W)Deal bountifully with your servant,
(X)that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am (Y)a sojourner on the earth;
(Z)hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with (AA)longing
for your rules[d] at all times.
21 You rebuke (AB)the insolent, (AC)accursed ones,
who (AD)wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me (AE)scorn and contempt,
(AF)for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though (AG)princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will (AH)meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my (AI)delight;
they are my (AJ)counselors.
The Faithful Have Vanished
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.[a] A Psalm of David.
12 Save, O Lord, for (A)the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone (B)utters lies to his neighbor;
with (C)flattering lips and (D)a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all (E)flattering lips,
the tongue that makes (F)great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because (G)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
(H)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the (I)safety for which he longs.”
6 (J)The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us[b] from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
How Long, O Lord?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
13 (K)How long, O Lord? Will you (L)forget me forever?
How long will you (M)hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take (N)counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (O)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(P)light up my eyes, lest (Q)I sleep the sleep of death,
4 (R)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am (S)shaken.
5 But I have (T)trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall (U)rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Fool Says, There Is No God
To the choirmaster. Of David.
14 (V)The (W)fool says in his heart, (X)“There is no God.”
They are (Y)corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
(Z)there is none who does good.
2 The Lord (AA)looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,[c]
who (AB)seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become (AC)corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have they no (AD)knowledge, all the evildoers
who (AE)eat up my people as they eat bread
and (AF)do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great terror,
for God is with (AG)the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor,
but[d] the Lord is his (AH)refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord (AI)restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
3 King Zedekiah sent (A)Jehucal the son of (B)Shelemiah, and (C)Zephaniah the priest, the son of (D)Maaseiah, to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “Please (E)pray for us to the Lord our God.” 4 (F)Now Jeremiah was still going in and out among the people, (G)for he had not yet been put in prison. 5 (H)The army of Pharaoh had come out of Egypt. And when (I)the Chaldeans who were besieging Jerusalem heard news about them, (J)they withdrew from Jerusalem.
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Thus shall you say to the king of Judah who (K)sent you to me to inquire of me, ‘Behold, (L)Pharaoh's army that came to help you is about to (M)return to Egypt, to its own land. 8 And (N)the Chaldeans shall come back and fight against this city. (O)They shall capture it and burn it with fire. 9 Thus says the Lord, Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go away. 10 (P)For even if you should defeat the whole army of Chaldeans who are fighting against you, and there remained of them only wounded men, every man in his tent, they would rise up and (Q)burn this city with fire.’”
Jeremiah Imprisoned
11 Now when (R)the Chaldean army had withdrawn from Jerusalem at the approach of Pharaoh's army, 12 Jeremiah set out from Jerusalem to go to (S)the land of Benjamin (T)to receive his portion there (U)among the people. 13 When he was at (V)the Benjamin Gate, a sentry there named Irijah the son of (W)Shelemiah, son of Hananiah, seized Jeremiah the prophet, saying, (X)“You are deserting to the Chaldeans.” 14 And Jeremiah said, “It is a lie; I am not deserting to the Chaldeans.” But Irijah would not listen to him, and seized Jeremiah and brought him to (Y)the officials. 15 And the officials were enraged at Jeremiah, and they beat him (Z)and imprisoned him in the house of Jonathan the secretary, for it had been made a prison.
16 (AA)When Jeremiah had come to the dungeon cells and remained there many days, 17 King Zedekiah sent for him and received him. The king questioned him (AB)secretly in his house and said, “Is there any word from the Lord?” Jeremiah said, “There is.” Then he said, (AC)“You shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.” 18 Jeremiah also said to King Zedekiah, “What wrong have I done to you or your servants or this people, (AD)that you have put me in prison? 19 (AE)Where are your prophets who prophesied to you, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will not come against you and against this land’? 20 Now hear, please, O my lord the king: (AF)let my humble plea come before you and (AG)do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, lest I die there.” 21 So King Zedekiah gave orders, and they committed Jeremiah to (AH)the court of the guard. And a loaf of bread was given him daily from the bakers' street, (AI)until all the bread of the city was gone. So Jeremiah remained in (AJ)the court of the guard.
13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; (A)I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will (B)sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider[a] say (C)“Amen” to (D)your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue.
20 Brothers, (E)do not be children in your thinking. (F)Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be (G)mature. 21 (H)In the Law it is written, (I)“By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then they will not listen to me, says the Lord.” 22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign[b] not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, (J)will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 (K)the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, (L)falling on his face, he will worship God and (M)declare that God is really among you.
24 (A)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[a] above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. (B)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign[b] those of his household.
Have No Fear
26 “So have no fear of them, (C)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on (D)the housetops. 28 And (E)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him (F)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[c] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[d] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (G)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; (H)you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 (I)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but (J)whoever denies me before men, (K)I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.