Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 70[a]
For the music director, by David; written to get God’s attention.[b]
70 O God, please be willing to rescue me.[c]
O Lord, hurry and help me.[d]
2 May those who are trying to take my life
be embarrassed and ashamed.[e]
May those who want to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.[f]
3 May those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
be driven back[g] and disgraced.[h]
4 May all those who seek you be happy and rejoice in you.
May those who love to experience[i] your deliverance say continually,[j]
“May God[k] be praised!”[l]
5 I am oppressed and needy.[m]
O God, hurry to me.[n]
You are my helper and my deliverer.
O Lord,[o] do not delay.
Psalm 71[p]
71 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
2 Vindicate me by rescuing me.[q]
Listen to me.[r] Deliver me.[s]
3 Be my protector and refuge,[t]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[u]
For you are my high ridge[v] and my stronghold.
4 My God, rescue me from the power[w] of the wicked,
from the hand of the cruel oppressor.
5 For you are my hope;
O Sovereign Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young.[x]
6 I have leaned on you since birth;[y]
you pulled me[z] from my mother’s womb.
I praise you continually.[aa]
7 Many are appalled when they see me,[ab]
but you are my secure shelter.
8 I praise you constantly
and speak of your splendor all day long.[ac]
9 Do not reject me in my old age.[ad]
When my strength fails, do not abandon me.
10 For my enemies talk about me;
those waiting for a chance to kill me plot my demise.[ae]
11 They say,[af] “God has abandoned him.
Run and seize him, for there is no one who will rescue him.”
12 O God, do not remain far away from me.
My God, hurry and help me.[ag]
13 May my accusers be humiliated and defeated.
May those who want to harm me[ah] be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14 As for me, I will wait continually,
and will continue to praise you.[ai]
15 I will tell about your justice,
and all day long proclaim your salvation,[aj]
though I cannot fathom its full extent.[ak]
16 I will come and tell about[al] the mighty acts of the Sovereign Lord.
I will proclaim your justice—yours alone.
17 O God, you have taught me since I was young,
and I am still declaring[am] your amazing deeds.
18 Even when I am old and gray,[an]
O God, do not abandon me,
until I tell the next generation about your strength,
and those coming after me about your power.[ao]
19 Your justice, O God, extends to the skies above;[ap]
you have done great things.[aq]
O God, who can compare to you?[ar]
20 Though you have allowed me to experience much trouble and distress,[as]
revive me once again.[at]
Bring me up once again[au] from the depths of the earth.
21 Raise me to a position of great honor.[av]
Turn and comfort me.[aw]
22 I will express my thanks to you with a stringed instrument,
praising[ax] your faithfulness, O my God.
I will sing praises to you accompanied by a harp,
O Holy One of Israel.[ay]
23 My lips will shout for joy. Yes,[az] I will sing your praises.
I will praise you when you rescue me.[ba]
24 All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice,
for those who want to harm me[bb] will be embarrassed and ashamed.[bc]
Psalm 74[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
74 Why, O God, have you permanently rejected us?[c]
Why does your anger burn[d] against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your people[e] whom you acquired in ancient times,
whom you rescued[f] so they could be your very own nation,[g]
as well as Mount Zion, where you dwell.
3 Hurry[h] to the permanent ruins,
and to all the damage the enemy has done to the temple.[i]
4 Your enemies roar[j] in the middle of your sanctuary;[k]
they set up their battle flags.[l]
5 They invade like lumberjacks
swinging their axes in a thick forest.[m]
6 And now[n] they are tearing down[o] all its engravings[p]
with axes[q] and crowbars.[r]
7 They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrate your dwelling place by knocking it to the ground.[s]
8 They say to themselves,[t]
“We will oppress all of them.”[u]
They burn down all the places in the land where people worship God.[v]
9 We do not see any signs of God’s presence;[w]
there are no longer any prophets,[x]
and we have no one to tell us how long this will last.[y]
10 How long, O God, will the adversary hurl insults?
Will the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you remain inactive?
Intervene and destroy him.[z]
12 But God has been my[aa] king from ancient times,
performing acts of deliverance on the earth.[ab]
13 You destroyed[ac] the sea by your strength;
you shattered the heads of the sea monster[ad] in the water.
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;[ae]
you fed[af] him to the people who live along the coast.[ag]
15 You broke open the spring and the stream;[ah]
you dried up perpetually flowing rivers.[ai]
16 You established the cycle of day and night;[aj]
you put the moon[ak] and sun in place.[al]
17 You set up all the boundaries[am] of the earth;
you created the cycle of summer and winter.[an]
18 Remember how[ao] the enemy hurls insults, O Lord,[ap]
and how a foolish nation blasphemes your name.
19 Do not hand the life of your dove[aq] over to a wild animal.
Do not continue to disregard[ar] the lives of your oppressed people.
20 Remember your covenant promises,[as]
for the dark regions of the earth are full of places where violence rules.[at]
21 Do not let the afflicted be turned back in shame.
Let the oppressed and poor praise your name.[au]
22 Rise up, O God. Defend your honor.[av]
Remember how fools insult you all day long.[aw]
23 Do not disregard[ax] what your enemies say,[ay]
or the unceasing shouts of those who defy you.[az]
The Arrival of Ezra
7 Now after these things had happened, during the reign of King Artaxerxes[a] of Persia, Ezra came up from Babylon.[b] Ezra was the son of Seraiah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Hilkiah, 2 who was the son of Shallum, who was the son of Zadok, who was the son of Ahitub, 3 who was the son of Amariah, who was the son of Azariah, who was the son of Meraioth, 4 who was the son of Zerahiah, who was the son of Uzzi, who was the son of Bukki, 5 who was the son of Abishua, who was the son of Phinehas, who was the son of Eleazar, who was the son of Aaron the chief priest. 6 This Ezra is the one who came up from Babylon. He was a scribe who was skilled in the law of Moses which the Lord God of Israel had given. The king supplied him with everything he requested, for the hand of the Lord his God was on him. 7 In the seventh year of King Artaxerxes, Ezra brought up[c] to Jerusalem some of the Israelites and some of the priests, the Levites, the attendants, the gatekeepers, and the temple servants. 8 He entered Jerusalem in the fifth month of the seventh year of the king. 9 On the first day of the first month he had determined to make[d] the ascent from Babylon, and on the first day of the fifth month he arrived at Jerusalem,[e] for the good hand of his God was on him. 10 Now Ezra had dedicated himself[f] to the study of the law of the Lord, to its observance, and to teaching[g] its statutes and judgments in Israel.
Artaxerxes Gives Official Endorsement to Ezra’s Mission
11 What follows[h] is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the priestly scribe.[i] Ezra was[j] a scribe in matters pertaining to the commandments of the Lord and his statutes over Israel:
12 [k] “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to Ezra the priest, a scribe of the law of the God of heaven:[l] 13 I have now issued a decree[m] that anyone in my kingdom from the people of Israel—even the priests and Levites—who wishes to do so may go up with you to Jerusalem. 14 You are authorized[n] by the king and his seven advisers to inquire concerning Judah and Jerusalem, according to the law of your God which is in your possession,[o] 15 and to bring silver and gold which the king and his advisers have freely contributed to the God of Israel, who resides in Jerusalem, 16 along with all the silver and gold that you may collect[p] throughout all the province of Babylon and the contributions of the people and the priests for the temple of their God which is in Jerusalem. 17 With this money you should be sure to purchase bulls, rams, and lambs, along with the appropriate[q] meal offerings and libations. You should bring them to the altar of the temple of your God which is in Jerusalem. 18 You may do whatever seems appropriate to you and your colleagues[r] with the rest of the silver and the gold, in keeping with the will of your God. 19 Deliver to[s] the God of Jerusalem the vessels that are given to you for the service of the temple of your God. 20 The rest of the needs for the temple of your God that you may have to supply,[t] you may do so from the royal treasury.
21 “I, King Artaxerxes, hereby issue orders to all the treasurers of[u] Trans-Euphrates, that you precisely execute all that Ezra the priestly scribe of the law of the God of heaven may request of you— 22 up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100 baths of wine, 100 baths of olive oil,[v] and unlimited[w] salt. 23 Everything that the God of heaven has required should be precisely done for the temple of the God of heaven. Why should there be wrath[x] against the empire of the king and his sons? 24 Furthermore, be aware of the fact[y] that you have no authority to impose tax, tribute, or toll on any of the priests, the Levites, the musicians, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or the attendants at the temple of this God.
25 “Now you, Ezra, in keeping with the wisdom of your God which you possess,[z] appoint judges[aa] and court officials who can arbitrate cases on behalf of all the people who are in Trans-Euphrates who know the laws of your God. Those who do not know this law should be taught. 26 Everyone who does not observe both the law of your God and the law of the king will be completely[ab] liable to the appropriate penalty, whether it is death or banishment or confiscation of property or detainment in prison.”
An Interlude: The Song of the 144,000
14 Then[a] I looked, and here was[b] the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with him were 144,000, who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. 2 I also heard a sound[c] coming out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. Now[d] the sound I heard was like that made by harpists playing their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No[e] one was able to learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth.
4 These are the ones who have not defiled themselves[f] with women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These were redeemed from humanity as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb, 5 and no lie was found on their lips;[g] they[h] are blameless.
Three Angels and Three Messages
6 Then[i] I saw another[j] angel flying directly overhead,[k] and he had[l] an eternal gospel to proclaim[m] to those who live[n] on the earth—to every nation, tribe,[o] language, and people. 7 He declared[p] in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”
8 A[q] second[r] angel[s] followed the first,[t] declaring:[u] “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city![v] She made all the nations[w] drink of the wine of her immoral passion.”[x]
9 A[y] third angel[z] followed the first two,[aa] declaring[ab] in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and takes the mark on his forehead or his hand, 10 that person[ac] will also drink of the wine of God’s anger[ad] that has been mixed undiluted in the cup of his wrath, and he will be tortured with fire and sulfur[ae] in front of the holy angels and in front of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke from their[af] torture will go up[ag] forever and ever, and those who worship the beast and his image will have[ah] no rest day or night, along with[ai] anyone who receives the mark of his name.” 12 This requires[aj] the steadfast endurance[ak] of the saints—those who obey[al] God’s commandments and hold to[am] their faith in Jesus.[an]
13 Then[ao] I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write this:
‘Blessed are the dead,
those who die in the Lord from this moment on!’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit, “so they can rest from their hard work,[ap] because their deeds will follow them.”[aq]
The Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time Herod the tetrarch[a] heard reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him,[b] and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, 4 because John had repeatedly told[c] him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”[d] 5 Although[e] Herod[f] wanted to kill John,[g] he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet. 6 But on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so much that he promised[h] with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Instructed by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 Although it grieved the king,[i] because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given. 10 So[j] he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His[k] head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then John’s[l] disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.
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