Book of Common Prayer
ק (Qof)
145 I cried out with all my heart, “Answer me, O Lord!
I will observe your statutes.”
146 I cried out to you, “Deliver me,
so that I can keep[a] your rules.”
147 I am up before dawn crying for help.
I find hope in your word.
148 My eyes anticipate the nighttime hours,
so that I can meditate on your word.
149 Listen to me[b] because of[c] your loyal love.
O Lord, revive me, as you typically do.[d]
150 Those who are eager to do[e] wrong draw near;
they are far from your law.
151 You are near, O Lord,
and all your commands are reliable.[f]
152 I learned long ago that
you ordained your rules to last.[g]
ר (Resh)
153 See my pain and rescue me.
For I do not forget your law.
154 Fight for me[h] and defend me.[i]
Revive me with your word.
155 The wicked have no chance for deliverance,[j]
for they do not seek your statutes.
156 Your compassion is great, O Lord.
Revive me, as you typically do.[k]
157 The enemies who chase me are numerous.[l]
Yet I do not turn aside from your rules.
158 I take note of the treacherous and despise them,
because they do not keep your instructions.[m]
159 See how I love your precepts.
O Lord, revive me with your loyal love.
160 Your instructions are totally reliable;
all your just regulations endure.[n]
שׂ/שׁ (Sin/Shin)
161 Rulers pursue me for no reason,
yet I am more afraid of disobeying your instructions.[o]
162 I rejoice in your instructions,
like one who finds much plunder.[p]
163 I hate and despise deceit;
I love your law.
164 Seven times[q] a day I praise you
because of your just regulations.
165 Those who love your law are completely secure;[r]
nothing causes them to stumble.[s]
166 I hope for your deliverance, O Lord,
and I obey[t] your commands.
167 I keep your rules;
I love them greatly.
168 I keep your precepts and rules,
for you are aware of everything I do.[u]
ת (Tav)
169 Listen to my cry for help,[v] O Lord.
Give me insight by your word.
170 Listen to my appeal for mercy.[w]
Deliver me, as you promised.[x]
171 May praise flow freely from my lips,
for you teach me your statutes.
172 May my tongue sing about your instructions,[y]
for all your commands are just.
173 May your hand help me,
for I choose to obey[z] your precepts.
174 I long for your deliverance, O Lord;
I find delight in your law.
175 May I[aa] live and praise you.
May your regulations help me.[ab]
176 I have wandered off like a lost sheep.[ac]
Come looking for your servant,
for I do not forget your commands.
Psalm 128[a]
A song of ascents.[b]
128 How blessed is every one of the Lord’s loyal followers,[c]
each one who keeps his commands.[d]
2 You[e] will eat what you worked so hard to grow.[f]
You will be blessed and secure.[g]
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine[h]
in the inner rooms of your house;
your children[i] will be like olive branches,
as they sit all around your table.
4 Yes indeed, the man who fears the Lord
will be blessed in this way.[j]
5 May the Lord bless you[k] from Zion,
that you might see[l] Jerusalem prosper
all the days of your life,
6 and that you might see[m] your grandchildren.[n]
May Israel experience peace.[o]
Psalm 129[p]
A song of ascents.[q]
129 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,”
let Israel say.
2 “Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not defeated me.
3 The plowers plowed my back;
they made their furrows long.
4 The Lord is just;
he cut the ropes of the wicked.”[r]
5 May all who hate Zion
be humiliated and turned back.
6 May they be like the grass on the rooftops,
which withers before one can even pull it up,[s]
7 which cannot fill the reaper’s hand,
or the lap of the one who gathers the grain.
8 Those who pass by will not say,[t]
“May you experience the Lord’s blessing!
We pronounce a blessing on you in the name of the Lord.”
Psalm 130[u]
A song of ascents.[v]
130 From the deep water[w] I cry out to you, O Lord.
2 O Lord, listen to me.[x]
Pay attention to[y] my plea for mercy.
3 If you, O Lord, were to keep track of[z] sins,
O Lord, who could stand before you?[aa]
4 But[ab] you are willing to forgive,[ac]
so that you might[ad] be honored.[ae]
5 I rely on[af] the Lord.
I rely on him with my whole being;[ag]
I wait for his assuring word.[ah]
6 I yearn for the Lord,[ai]
more than watchmen do for the morning,
yes, more than watchmen do for the morning.[aj]
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord,
for the Lord exhibits loyal love,[ak]
and is more than willing to deliver.[al]
8 He will deliver[am] Israel
from all their sins.[an]
8 The Lord said[a] to Moses and Aaron,[b] 9 “When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do[c] a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down[d] before Pharaoh,’ it will become[e] a snake.” 10 When[f] Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, they did so, just as the Lord had commanded them—Aaron threw down[g] his staff before Pharaoh and his servants and it became a snake.[h] 11 Then Pharaoh also summoned wise men and sorcerers,[i] and the magicians[j] of Egypt by their secret arts[k] did the same thing. 12 Each man[l] threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs. 13 Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard,[m] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
Plague One: Water to Blood
14 [n] The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard;[o] he refuses to release[p] the people. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning when[q] he goes out to the water. Position yourself[r] to meet him by the edge of the Nile,[s] and take[t] in your hand the staff[u] that was turned into a snake. 16 Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say,[v] “Release my people, that they may serve me[w] in the wilderness!” But until now[x] you have not listened.[y] 17 This is what the Lord has said: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike[z] the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood.[aa] 18 Fish[ab] in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable[ac] to drink water from the Nile.”’” 19 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, over their canals,[ad] over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs[ae]—so that it becomes[af] blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in[ag] the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.” 20 Moses and Aaron did so,[ah] just as the Lord had commanded. He raised[ai] the staff[aj] and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes[ak] of Pharaoh and his servants,[al] and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.[am] 21 When the fish[an] that were in the Nile died, the Nile began[ao] to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood[ap] everywhere in the land of Egypt! 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same[aq] by their secret arts, and so[ar] Pharaoh’s heart remained hard,[as] and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron[at]—just as the Lord had predicted. 23 And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not pay any attention to this.[au] 24 All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink,[av] because they could not drink the water of the Nile.
Apostolic Ministry
14 But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession[a] in Christ[b] and who makes known[c] through us the fragrance that consists of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For we are a sweet aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing— 16 to the latter an odor[d] from death to death, but to the former a fragrance from life to life. And who is adequate for these things?[e] 17 For we are not like so many others, hucksters who peddle the word of God for profit,[f] but we are speaking in Christ before[g] God as persons of sincerity,[h] as persons sent from God.
A Living Letter
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? We don’t need letters of recommendation to you or from you as some other people do, do we?[i] 2 You yourselves are our letter,[j] written on our hearts, known and read by everyone, 3 revealing[k] that you are a letter of Christ, delivered by us,[l] written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on stone tablets[m] but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Now we have such confidence in God through Christ. 5 Not that we are adequate[n] in ourselves to consider anything as if it were coming from ourselves, but our adequacy[o] is from God, 6 who made us adequate[p] to be servants of a new covenant[q] not based on the letter but on the Spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Divorce
10 Then[a] Jesus[b] left that place and went to the region of Judea and[c] beyond the Jordan River.[d] Again crowds gathered to him, and again, as was his custom, he taught them. 2 Then some Pharisees[e] came, and to test him[f] they asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his[g] wife?”[h] 3 He answered them,[i] “What did Moses command you?” 4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her.”[j] 5 But Jesus said to them, “He wrote this commandment for you because of your hard hearts.[k] 6 But from the beginning of creation he[l] made them male and female.[m] 7 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother,[n] 8 and the two will become one flesh.[o] So they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
10 In the house once again, the disciples asked him about this. 11 So[p] he told them, “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. 12 And if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.”[q]
Jesus and Little Children
13 Now[r] people were bringing little children to him for him to touch,[s] but the disciples scolded those who brought them.[t] 14 But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, “Let the little children come to me and do not try to stop them, for the kingdom of God[u] belongs to such as these.[v] 15 I tell you the truth,[w] whoever does not receive[x] the kingdom of God like a child[y] will never[z] enter it.” 16 After he took the children in his arms, he placed his hands on them and blessed them.
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