Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119[a]
א (Alef)
119 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless,[b]
who obey[c] the law of the Lord.
2 How blessed are those who observe his rules,
and seek him with all their heart,
3 who, moreover, do no wrong,
but follow in his footsteps.[d]
4 You demand that your precepts
be carefully kept.[e]
5 If only I were predisposed[f]
to keep your statutes.
6 Then I would not be ashamed,
if[g] I were focused on[h] all your commands.
7 I will give you sincere thanks,[i]
when I learn your just regulations.
8 I will keep your statutes.
Do not completely abandon me.[j]
ב (Bet)
9 How can a young person[k] maintain a pure life?[l]
By guarding it according to your instructions.[m]
10 With all my heart I seek you.
Do not allow me to stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I store up[n] your words,[o]
so I might not sin against you.
12 You deserve praise,[p] O Lord.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I proclaim
all the regulations you have revealed.[q]
14 I rejoice in the lifestyle prescribed by your rules[r]
as if[s] they were riches of all kinds.[t]
15 I will meditate on[u] your precepts
and focus on[v] your behavior.[w]
16 I find delight[x] in your statutes;
I do not forget your instructions.[y]
ג (Gimel)
17 Be kind to your servant.
Then I will live[z] and keep[aa] your instructions.[ab]
18 Open[ac] my eyes so I can truly see[ad]
the marvelous things in your law.
19 I am a resident foreigner in this land.[ae]
Do not hide your commands from me.
20 I desperately long to know[af]
your regulations at all times.
21 You reprimand arrogant people.
Those who stray from your commands are doomed.[ag]
22 Spare me[ah] shame and humiliation,
for I observe your rules.
23 Though rulers plot and slander me,[ai]
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Yes, I find delight in your rules;
they give me guidance.[aj]
Psalm 12[a]
For the music director, according to the sheminith style;[b] a psalm of David.
12 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly[c] have disappeared;[d]
people of integrity[e] have vanished.[f]
2 People lie to one another;[g]
they flatter and deceive.[h]
3 May the Lord cut off[i] all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts![j]
4 They say,[k] “We speak persuasively;[l]
we know how to flatter and boast.[m]
Who is our master?”[n]
5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,[o]
because of the painful cries[p] of the needy,
I will spring into action,”[q] says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”[r]
6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.[s]
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.[t]
7 You, Lord, will protect them;[u]
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,[v]
8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,[w]
when people promote evil.[x]
Psalm 13[y]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
13 How long, Lord, will you continue to ignore me?[z]
How long will you pay no attention to me?[aa]
2 How long must I worry,[ab]
and suffer in broad daylight?[ac]
How long will my enemy gloat over me?[ad]
3 Look at me![ae] Answer me, O Lord my God!
Revive me,[af] or else I will die.[ag]
4 Then[ah] my enemy will say, “I have defeated him.”
Then[ai] my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But I[aj] trust in your faithfulness.
May I rejoice because of your deliverance.[ak]
6 I will sing praises[al] to the Lord
when he vindicates me.[am]
Psalm 14[an]
For the music director, by David.
14 Fools say to themselves,[ao] “There is no God.”[ap]
They sin and commit evil deeds;[aq]
none of them does what is right.[ar]
2 The Lord looks down from heaven[as] at the human race,[at]
to see if there is anyone who is wise[au] and seeks God.[av]
3 Everyone rejects God;[aw]
they are all morally corrupt.[ax]
None of them does what is right,[ay]
not even one.
4 All those who behave wickedly[az] do not understand—[ba]
those who devour my people as if they were eating bread,
and do not call out to the Lord.
5 They are absolutely terrified,[bb]
for God defends the godly.[bc]
6 You want to humiliate the oppressed,[bd]
even though[be] the Lord is their[bf] shelter.
7 I wish the deliverance[bg] of Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the well-being of his people,[bh]
may Jacob rejoice,[bi]
may Israel be happy![bj]
The Story of Cain and Abel
4 Now[a] the man was intimate with[b] his wife Eve, and she became pregnant[c] and gave birth to Cain. Then she said, “I have created[d] a man just as the Lord did!”[e] 2 Then she gave birth[f] to his brother Abel.[g] Abel took care of the flocks, while Cain cultivated the ground.[h]
3 At the designated time[i] Cain brought some of the fruit of the ground for an offering[j] to the Lord. 4 But Abel brought[k] some of the firstborn of his flock—even the fattest[l] of them. And the Lord was pleased with[m] Abel and his offering, 5 but with Cain and his offering he was not pleased.[n] So Cain became very angry,[o] and his expression was downcast.[p]
6 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your expression downcast? 7 Is it not true[q] that if you do what is right, you will be fine?[r] But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching[s] at the door. It desires to dominate you, but you must subdue it.”[t]
8 Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.”[u] While they were in the field, Cain attacked[v] his brother[w] Abel and killed him.
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”[x] And he replied, “I don’t know! Am I my brother’s guardian?”[y] 10 But the Lord said, “What have you done?[z] The voice[aa] of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground! 11 So now you are banished[ab] from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12 When you try to cultivate[ac] the ground it will no longer yield[ad] its best[ae] for you. You will be a homeless wanderer[af] on the earth.”
13 Then Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment[ag] is too great to endure![ah] 14 Look, you are driving me off the land[ai] today, and I must hide from your presence.[aj] I will be a homeless wanderer on the earth; whoever finds me will kill me!” 15 But the Lord said to him, “All right then,[ak] if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much.”[al] Then the Lord put a special mark[am] on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down.[an] 16 So Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and lived in the land of Nod,[ao] east of Eden.
11 For indeed he who makes holy and those being made holy all have the same origin,[a] and so[b] he is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters,[c] 12 saying, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers;[d] in the midst of the assembly I will praise you.”[e] 13 Again he says,[f] “I will be confident in him,” and again, “Here I am,[g] with[h] the children God has given me.”[i] 14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, he likewise shared in[j] their humanity,[k] so that through death he could destroy[l] the one who holds the power of death (that is, the devil), 15 and set free those who were held in slavery all their lives by their fear of death. 16 For surely his concern is not for angels, but he is concerned for Abraham’s descendants. 17 Therefore he had[m] to be made like his brothers and sisters[n] in every respect, so that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make atonement[o] for the sins of the people. 18 For since he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
29 On the next day John[a] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God[b] who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is the one about whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who is greater than I am,[c] because he existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize[d] him, but I came baptizing with water so that he could be revealed to Israel.”[e]
32 Then[f] John testified,[g] “I saw the Spirit descending like a dove[h] from heaven,[i] and it remained on him.[j] 33 And I did not recognize him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining—this is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I have both seen and testified that this man is the Chosen One of God.”[k]
35 Again the next day John[l] was standing there[m] with two of his disciples. 36 Gazing at Jesus as he walked by, he said, “Look, the Lamb of God!”[n] 37 When John’s[o] two disciples heard him say this,[p] they followed Jesus.[q] 38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?”[r] So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher),[s] “where are you staying?” 39 Jesus[t] answered,[u] “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day. Now it was about four o’clock in the afternoon.[v]
Andrew’s Declaration
40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two disciples who heard what John said[w] and followed Jesus.[x] 41 He first[y] found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”[z] (which is translated Christ).[aa] 42 Andrew brought Simon[ab] to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon, the son of John.[ac] You will be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).[ad]
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