Book of Common Prayer
Zayin
49 Remember (A)your word to your servant,
in which you have made me (B)hope.
50 This is (C)my comfort in my affliction,
that your promise (D)gives me life.
51 (E)The insolent utterly deride me,
but I do not (F)turn away from your law.
52 When I think of your rules from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.
53 (G)Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs
in the house of my (H)sojourning.
55 I (I)remember your name in the night, O Lord,
and keep your law.
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
that (J)I have kept your precepts.
Heth
57 (K)The Lord is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.
58 I (L)entreat your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me (M)according to your promise.
59 When I (N)think on my ways,
I turn my feet to your testimonies;
60 I hasten and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61 Though (O)the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not (P)forget your law.
62 At (Q)midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your (R)righteous rules.
63 (S)I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
64 (T)The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
(U)teach me your statutes!
Teth
65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, (V)according to your word.
66 Teach me (W)good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 (X)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68 (Y)You are good and do good;
(Z)teach me your statutes.
69 (AA)The insolent (AB)smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I (AC)keep your precepts;
70 their heart is unfeeling (AD)like fat,
but I (AE)delight in your law.
71 It is (AF)good for me that I was afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
72 (AG)The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah.
49 (B)Hear this, all peoples!
Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2 (C)both low and high,
rich and poor together!
3 My mouth shall speak (D)wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (E)a proverb;
I will solve my (F)riddle to the music of the lyre.
5 (G)Why should I fear in (H)times of trouble,
when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6 those who (I)trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7 Truly no man (J)can ransom another,
or (K)give to God (L)the price of his life,
8 for (M)the ransom of their life is costly
and can never suffice,
9 that he should live on forever
and (N)never see the pit.
10 For he sees (O)that even the wise die;
(P)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
and (Q)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their (R)graves are their homes forever,[a]
their dwelling places (S)to all generations,
though they (T)called lands by their own names.
12 Man in his pomp (U)will not remain;
(V)he is like the beasts that perish.
13 This is the path of those who have (W)foolish confidence;
yet after them people approve of their boasts.[b] Selah
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright (X)shall rule over them in the morning.
(Y)Their form shall be consumed (Z)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15 But God will (AA)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will (AB)receive me. Selah
16 Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
when the glory of his house increases.
17 (AC)For when he dies he will (AD)carry nothing away;
his glory will not go down after him.
18 For though, while he lives, he counts himself (AE)blessed
—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19 his soul will (AF)go to the generation of his fathers,
who will never again (AG)see light.
20 (AH)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.
There Is None Who Does Good
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Mahalath. A Maskil[a] of David.
53 (B)The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,[b]
who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away;
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have those who work evil no knowledge,
who eat up my people as they eat bread,
and do not call upon God?
5 There they are, in great terror,
(C)where there is no terror!
For God (D)scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
A Time for Everything
3 For everything there is a season, and (A)a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to (B)die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to (C)weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to (D)dance;
5 a time to (E)cast away stones, and a time to (F)gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to (G)refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to (H)lose;
a time to keep, and a time to (I)cast away;
7 a time to (J)tear, and a time to sew;
a time to (K)keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to (L)hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.
The God-Given Task
9 What (M)gain has the worker from his toil? 10 I have seen (N)the business that (O)God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 11 He has (P)made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot (Q)find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. 12 I perceived that there is (R)nothing better for them than to be joyful and to (S)do good as long as they live; 13 also (T)that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is (U)God's gift to man.
14 I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; (V)nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him. 15 That which is, (W)already has been; that which is to be, already has been; and God (X)seeks what has been driven away.[a]
Paul Opposes Peter
11 But (A)when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him (B)to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, (C)he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing (D)the circumcision party.[a] 13 And the rest of the Jews acted hypocritically along with him, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that their (E)conduct was not in step with (F)the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas (G)before them all, “If you, though a Jew, (H)live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Justified by Faith
15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not (I)Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that (J)a person is not justified[b] by works of the law (K)but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, (L)because by works of the law no one will be justified.
17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found (M)to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! 18 For if I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the law I (N)died to the law, so that I might (O)live to God. 20 I have been (P)crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives (Q)in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, (R)who loved me and (S)gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for (T)if righteousness[c] were through the law, (U)then Christ died for no purpose.
The Death of John the Baptist
14 (A)At that time (B)Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, (C)“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 3 For (D)Herod had seized John and bound him and (E)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,[a] 4 because John had been saying to him, (F)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 And though he wanted to put him to death, (G)he feared the people, because they held him to be (H)a prophet. 6 But when Herod's (I)birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, 7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And (J)his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.