Book of Common Prayer
1 [a]Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in accord with the law[b] of the Lord.
2 Blessed are those who observe his statutes
and seek him with their whole heart.[c]
3 They do nothing wrong;
they walk in his ways.[d]
4 [e]You have ordained
that your commands be diligently observed.
5 May my ways be steadfast
in the observance of your decrees.
6 Then I will never be put to shame
when I take note of all your precepts.
7 I will praise you in sincerity of heart
as I ponder your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your decrees;
do not forsake me completely.
Beth
9 [f]How can a young man lead a spotless life?
By living according to your word.
10 I seek you with all my heart;[g]
do not let me stray from your precepts.
11 I treasure your word in my heart[h]
for fear that I may sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your decrees.
13 With my lips I recite
all the judgments you have announced.
14 I rejoice in following your statutes
more than I would rejoice in endless riches.
15 I will meditate on your commands
and respect your ways.
16 I find my delight in your decrees;
I will never forget your word.
Gimel
17 [i]Be good to your servant
so that I may live[j] and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes so that I may clearly see
the wonders to be found in your law.
19 I am only a wayfarer on earth,
but do not hide your precepts from me.[k]
20 My soul is ever consumed
with longing for your judgments.
21 You rebuke the arrogant,[l] the accursed,
who stray from your precepts.
22 Set me free from scorn and contempt,
for I have observed your statutes.
23 Even though princes assemble and slander me,
your servant meditates on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight,
for they offer me counsel.
Daleth
Psalm 12[a]
Prayer against the Arrogance of Sinners
1 For the director.[b] “Upon the eighth.” A psalm of David.
2 Help, O Lord, for there are no godly left;
the faithful have vanished from the human race.
3 Neighbors utter lies to each other;
they speak with flattering lips and deceitful hearts.[c]
4 May the Lord destroy all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue,
5 those who say, “We will prevail by our tongues;
with our lips as our ally,
who can lord it over us?”
6 “The poor have been oppressed,
and those who are needy groan.
Therefore, I will rise up now,” says the Lord;
“I will grant them the safety
for which they long.”
7 And the promises of the Lord are certain;
they are like silver refined in a furnace
and purified seven times.[d]
8 [e]You, O Lord, will watch over us
and preserve us from this generation forever.
9 For the wicked prowl on every side,
and what is vile is exalted by mankind.
Psalm 13[f]
Prayer of One in Sorrow
1 For the director.[g] A psalm of David.
2 How long,[h] O Lord—will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
3 How long must I suffer anguish in my soul
and sorrow in my heart[i] day and night?
How long will my enemy lord it over me?
4 Look upon me, O Lord, my God, and answer me;
enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death,
5 lest my enemy say, “I have defeated him,”
and my foes exult in my collapse.
6 As for me, I trust in your kindness;[j]
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
7 I will sing to the Lord
because he has been good to me.[k]
Psalm 14[l]
Corruption and Punishment of the Godless
1 For the director.[m] Of David.
The fool says in his heart,[n]
“There is no God.”
People are depraved and their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does what is right.
2 The Lord[o] looks down from heaven
upon the entire human race,
to see if there are any who act with wisdom,
if even a single one seeks God.
3 But they have all left the right path;
all alike are corrupt.
There is no one who does what is right,
not even one.[p]
4 Have all these evildoers[q] no understanding?
They devour my people as they eat bread,
and they never call upon the Lord.
5 But later they will be filled with terror,
for God is on the side of the righteous.[r]
6 They sought to crush the hopes of the poor,[s]
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Who will accomplish the salvation of Israel
that is to come out of Zion?[t]
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will exult.
The Internal Decadence of a People
Chapter 2
Jerusalem, the Religious Center.[a] 1 This is the vision seen by Isaiah, the son of Amoz, concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 In days to come
the mountain of the Lord’s house
will be established as the highest mountain
and raised high above the hills.
Then all the nations will stream toward it;
3 many peoples will come to it and say,
“Come, let us ascend the mountain of the Lord,
to the house of the God of Jacob,
so that he may teach us his ways
and we may walk in his paths.”
For from Zion will go forth instruction,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
4 He will judge between the nations
and serve as an arbiter for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
and their spears into pruning hooks.
One nation will not lift up a sword against another,
nor will they ever again be trained for war.
The Lord’s Triumph Will Come[b]
5 Come, O house of Jacob,
let us walk in the light of the Lord.
6 For you, O Lord, have abandoned your people,
the house of Jacob.
They are surrounded by fortune tellers
and by soothsayers like the Philistines,
and they are allying themselves with foreigners.[c]
7 Their land is full of silver and gold,
and their treasures are without limit.
Their land is filled with horses,
and there is no end to their chariots.[d]
8 Their land is full of idols;
they bow down before the work of their hands,
before what their own fingers have fashioned.
9 Therefore human nature has been humbled
and mankind has been brought low;
do not forgive them.
10 Let them conceal themselves among the rocks
and hide in the dust
in their terror of the Lord
and from the splendor of his majesty.
11 The haughty looks of men will be brought low
and human arrogance will be humbled;
the Lord alone will be exalted
on that day.
13 The Word of God Is at Work.[a] We also unceasingly give thanks to God because, when we handed on the word of God to you, you accepted it not as a human word but as what it truly is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. 14 Indeed, brethren, you have become imitators of the Churches of God that are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you have suffered the same treatment from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and the Prophets and also persecuted us.
They displease God and have become enemies of the entire human race 16 by trying to prevent us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved. In this way, they constantly reach the full measure of their sins. The wrath of God has begun to overtake them at last.
17 The Glory and Joy of the Apostles.[b] Brethren, when we were separated from you for a brief time—in body but not in heart—we had an intense longing to see you again face to face. 18 Therefore, we were determined to come to visit you—I, Paul, on more than one occasion—but Satan thwarted us.[c] 19 For what is our hope or our joy or our crown of honor in the presence of our Lord Jesus upon his return? Is it not you yourselves? 20 You truly are our glory and our joy.[d]
19 The scribes and the chief priests realized that this parable was directed at them, and they wanted to seize him at that very hour, but they feared the people.
20 God or Caesar.[a] So they watched him closely and sent spies who pretended to be honorable men. They intended to trap Jesus in something he might say so that they could hand him over to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor. 21 They posed this question to him: “Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right. Moreover, you show no partiality to anyone but teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. 22 Is it lawful or not for us to pay taxes to Caesar?”
23 Jesus saw through their duplicity and said to them, 24 “Show me a coin.[b] Whose image is this, and whose inscription?” They replied, “Caesar’s.” 25 He said to them, “Give to Caesar what is due to Caesar, and to God what is due to God.” 26 They found they could not trap him by anything he said in the presence of the people, and, stunned at his reply, they fell silent.
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