Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.[b]
38 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger.
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury.[c]
2 For your arrows pierce[d] me,
and your hand presses me down.[e]
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;[f]
I am deprived of health because of my sin.[g]
4 For my sins overwhelm me;[h]
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds[i] are infected and starting to smell,[j]
because of my foolish sins.[k]
6 I am dazed[l] and completely humiliated;[m]
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame,[n]
and my whole body is sick.[o]
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;[p]
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.[q]
9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;[r]
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me.
I can hardly see.[s]
11 Because of my condition,[t] even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;[u]
my neighbors stand far away.[v]
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;[w]
those who want to harm me speak destructive words.
All day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man—I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.[x]
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.[y]
15 Yet[z] I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;[aa]
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.[ab]
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.[ac]
18 Yes,[ad] I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;[ae]
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.[af]
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.[ag]
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me,[ah] O Lord, my deliverer.
ד (Dalet)
25 I collapse in the dirt.[a]
Revive me with your word.[b]
26 I told you about my ways[c] and you answered me.
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me to understand what your precepts mean.[d]
Then I can meditate[e] on your marvelous teachings.[f]
28 I collapse[g] from grief.
Sustain me by your word.[h]
29 Remove me from the path of deceit.[i]
Graciously give me[j] your law.
30 I choose the path of faithfulness;
I am committed to[k] your regulations.
31 I hold fast[l] to your rules.
O Lord, do not let me be ashamed.
32 I run along the path of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[m]
ה (He)
33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes,[n]
so that I might observe it continually.[o]
34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart.[p]
35 Guide me[q] in the path of your commands,
for I delight to walk in it.[r]
36 Give me a desire for your rules,[s]
rather than for wealth gained unjustly.[t]
37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless.[u]
Revive me with your word.[v]
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,[w]
which you made to the one who honors you.[x]
39 Take away the insults that I dread.[y]
Indeed,[z] your regulations are good.
40 Look, I long for your precepts.
Revive me with your deliverance.[aa]
ו (Vav)
41 May I experience your loyal love,[ab] O Lord,
and your deliverance,[ac] as you promised.[ad]
42 Then I will have a reply for the one who insults me,[ae]
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony,[af]
for I await your justice.
44 Then I will keep[ag] your law continually
now and for all time.[ah]
45 I will be secure,[ai]
for I seek your precepts.
46 I will speak[aj] about your regulations before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will find delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift my hands to[ak] your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
More Visions and Messages of Judgment
8 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw[a] a basket of summer fruit.[b] 2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end[c] has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins.[d]
3 The women singing in the temple[e] will wail in that day.”
The Sovereign Lord is speaking.
“There will be many corpses littered everywhere![f] Be quiet!”
4 Listen to this, you who trample[g] the needy
and do away with[h] the destitute in the land.
5 You say,
“When will the new moon festival[i] be over,[j] so we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath end,[k] so we can open up the grain bins?[l]
We’re eager[m] to sell less for a higher price,[n]
and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales![o]
6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor,[p]
a pair of sandals[q] for the needy.
We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!”[r]
7 The Lord confirms this oath[s] by the arrogance of Jacob:[t]
“I swear[u] I will never forget all you have done![v]
8 Because of this the earth[w] will quake,[x]
and all who live in it will mourn.
The whole earth[y] will rise like the Nile River,[z]
it will surge upward[aa] and then grow calm,[ab] like the Nile in Egypt.[ac]
9 In that day,” says the Sovereign Lord, “I will make the sun set at noon
and make the earth dark in the middle of the day.[ad]
10 I will turn your festivals into funerals[ae]
and all your songs into funeral dirges.
I will make everyone wear funeral clothes[af]
and cause every head to be shaved bald.[ag]
I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son;[ah]
when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day.[ai]
11 Be certain of this,[aj] the time is[ak] coming,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a shortage of food or water
but an end to divine revelation.[al]
12 People[am] will stagger from sea to sea,[an]
and from the north around to the east.
They will wander about looking for a message from the Lord,
but they will not find any.[ao]
13 In that day your[ap] beautiful young women[aq] and your[ar] young men will faint from thirst.[as]
14 These are the ones who now take oaths[at] in the name of the sinful idol goddess[au] of Samaria.
They vow,[av] ‘As surely as your god[aw] lives, O Dan,’ or, ‘As surely as your beloved one[ax] lives, O Beer Sheba!’
But they will fall down and not get up again.”
17 When[a] I saw him I fell down at his feet as though I were dead, but[b] he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid! I am the first and the last, 18 and the one who lives! I[c] was dead, but look, now I am alive—forever and ever—and I hold the keys of death and of Hades![d] 19 Therefore write what you saw, what is, and what will be after these things.[e] 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands is this:[f] The seven stars are the angels[g] of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
To the Church in Ephesus
2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus, write the following:[h]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[i] the one who has a firm grasp on[j] the seven stars in his right hand[k]—the one who walks among the seven golden[l] lampstands: 2 ‘I know your works as well as your[m] labor and steadfast endurance, and that you cannot tolerate[n] evil. You have even put to the test[o] those who refer to themselves as apostles (but are not), and have discovered that they are false. 3 I am also aware[p] that you have persisted steadfastly,[q] endured much for the sake of my name, and have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you: You have departed[r] from your first love! 5 Therefore, remember from what high state[s] you have fallen and repent! Do[t] the deeds you did at the first;[u] if not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place—that is, if you do not repent.[v] 6 But you do have this going for you:[w] You hate what the Nicolaitans[x] practice[y]—practices I also hate. 7 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,[z] I will permit[aa] him to eat from the tree of life that is[ab] in the paradise of God.’[ac]
Seven Woes
23 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The[a] experts in the law[b] and the Pharisees[c] sit on Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore pay attention to what they tell you and do it. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they teach.[d] 4 They[e] tie up heavy loads, hard to carry, and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing even to lift a finger to move them. 5 They[f] do all their deeds to be seen by people, for they make their phylacteries[g] wide and their tassels[h] long. 6 They[i] love the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues[j] 7 and elaborate greetings[k] in the marketplaces,[l] and to have people call them ‘Rabbi.’ 8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher and you are all brothers. 9 And call no one your ‘father’ on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one teacher, the Christ.[m] 11 The[n] greatest among you will be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
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