Book of Common Prayer
The majesty of Jehovah.
93 Jehovah reigneth; he is clothed with majesty;
Jehovah is clothed with strength; he hath girded himself therewith:
The world also is established, that it cannot be moved.
2 Thy throne is established of old:
Thou art from everlasting.
3 The floods have lifted up, O Jehovah,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their [a]waves.
4 Above the voices of many waters,
The mighty breakers of the sea,
Jehovah on high is mighty.
5 Thy testimonies are very sure:
Holiness becometh thy house,
O Jehovah, for evermore.
A call to worship Jehovah the Righteous Judge.
96 Oh sing unto Jehovah a new song:
Sing unto Jehovah, all the earth.
2 Sing unto Jehovah, bless his name;
Show forth his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
His marvellous works among all the peoples.
4 For great is Jehovah, and greatly to be praised:
He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are [a]idols;
But Jehovah made the heavens.
6 Honor and majesty are before him:
Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe unto Jehovah, ye kindreds of the peoples,
Ascribe unto Jehovah glory and strength.
8 Ascribe unto Jehovah the glory due unto his name:
Bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9 Oh worship Jehovah [b]in holy array:
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth:
The world also is established that it cannot be moved:
He will judge the peoples with equity.
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof;
12 Let the field exult, and all that is therein;
Then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy
13 Before Jehovah; for he cometh,
For he cometh to judge the earth:
He will judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples [c]with his truth.
Jehovah a provider and deliverer.
A Psalm of David; [a]when he [b]changed his behavior before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.
34 I will bless Jehovah at all times:
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul shall make her boast in Jehovah:
The meek shall hear thereof, and be glad.
3 Oh magnify Jehovah with me,
And let us exalt his name together.
4 I sought Jehovah, and he answered me,
And delivered me from all my fears.
5 They looked unto him, and were radiant;
And their faces shall never be confounded.
6 This poor man cried, and Jehovah heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of Jehovah encampeth round about them that fear him,
And delivereth them.
8 Oh taste and see that Jehovah is good:
Blessed is the man that taketh refuge in him.
9 Oh fear Jehovah, ye his saints;
For there is no want to them that fear him.
10 The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger;
But they that seek Jehovah shall not want any good thing.
11 Come, ye children, hearken unto me:
I will teach you the fear of Jehovah.
12 What man is he that desireth life,
And loveth many days, that he may see good?
13 Keep thy tongue from evil,
And thy lips from speaking guile.
14 Depart from evil, and do good;
Seek peace, and pursue it.
15 The eyes of Jehovah are toward the righteous,
And his ears are open unto their cry.
16 The face of Jehovah is against them that do evil,
To cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17 The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard,
And delivered them out of all their troubles.
18 Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart,
And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit.
19 Many are the afflictions of the righteous;
But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all.
20 He keepeth all his bones:
Not one of them is broken.
21 Evil shall slay the wicked;
And they that hate the righteous shall be [c]condemned.
22 Jehovah redeemeth the soul of his servants;
And none of them that take refuge in him shall be condemned.
10 Now while Ezra prayed and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together unto him out of Israel a very great assembly of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore. 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra, We have trespassed against our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land: yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of [a]my lord, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise; for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee: be of good courage, and do it.
5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they sware. 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib: and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; for he mourned because of the trespass of them of the captivity. 7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8 and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be [b]forfeited, and himself separated from the assembly of the captivity.
9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within the three days (it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month); and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for [c]the great rain. 10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them, Ye have trespassed, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore [d]make confession unto Jehovah, the God of your fathers, and do his pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women. 12 Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, [e]As thou hast said concerning us, so must we do. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without: neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 Let now our princes [f]be appointed for all the assembly, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, [g]until this matter be despatched. 15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah [h]stood up against this matter: and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them.
16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers’ houses, after their fathers’ houses, and all of them by their names, were set apart; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they made an end with all the men that had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.
10 And when the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, Paul answered,
Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I cheerfully make my defence: 11 seeing that thou canst take knowledge that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem: 12 and neither in the temple did they find me disputing with any man or stirring up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to thee the things whereof they now accuse me. 14 But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers, believing all things which are according to the law, and which are written in the prophets; 15 having hope toward God, which these also themselves [a]look for, that there shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust. 16 [b]Herein I also exercise myself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always. 17 Now after some years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings: 18 [c]amidst which they found me purified in the temple, with no crowd, nor yet with tumult: but there were certain Jews from Asia— 19 who ought to have been here before thee, and to make accusation, if they had aught against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrong-doing they found when I stood before the council, 21 except it be for this one voice, that I cried standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called in question before you this day.
12 And he said to him also that had bidden him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, nor thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest haply they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made thee. 13 But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: 14 and thou shalt be blessed; because they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the just.
15 And when one of them that [a]sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God. 16 But he said unto him, A certain man made a great supper; and he bade many: 17 and he sent forth his [b]servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. 18 And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a field, and I must needs go out and see it; I pray thee have me excused. 19 And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them; I pray thee have me excused. 20 And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. 21 And the [c]servant came, and told his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his [d]servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor and maimed and blind and lame. 22 And the [e]servant said, Lord, what thou didst command is done, and yet there is room. 23 And the lord said unto the [f]servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and constrain them to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say unto you, that none of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.
Public Domain (Why are modern Bible translations copyrighted?)