Book of Common Prayer
Zayin
49 Remember your word to your servant
by which you give me hope.
50 This is my comfort in affliction,
your promise that gives me life.
51 Though the arrogant utterly scorn me,
I do not turn from your law.
52 When I recite your judgments of old
I am comforted, Lord.
53 Rage seizes me because of the wicked;
they forsake your law.
54 Your statutes become my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 Even at night I remember your name
in observance of your law, Lord.
56 This is my good fortune,
for I have kept your precepts.
Heth
57 My portion is the Lord;
I promise to observe your words.
58 I entreat you with all my heart:
have mercy on me in accord with your promise.
59 I have examined my ways
and turned my steps to your testimonies.
60 I am prompt, I do not hesitate
in observing your commandments.
61 Though the snares of the wicked surround me,
your law I do not forget.
62 At midnight I rise to praise you
because of your righteous judgments.
63 I am the friend of all who fear you,
of all who observe your precepts.
64 The earth, Lord, is filled with your mercy;(A)
teach me your statutes.
Teth
65 You have treated your servant well,
according to your word, O Lord.
66 Teach me wisdom and knowledge,
for in your commandments I trust.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.
68 You are good and do what is good;
teach me your statutes.
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but I keep your precepts with all my heart.
70 Their hearts are gross and fat;(B)
as for me, your law is my delight.
71 It was good for me to be afflicted,
in order to learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is more precious to me
than heaps of silver and gold.
Psalm 49[a]
Confidence in God Rather than in Riches
1 For the leader. A psalm of the Korahites.[b]
2 Hear this, all you peoples!
Give ear, all who inhabit the world,
3 You of lowly birth or high estate,
rich and poor together.
4 My mouth shall speak words of wisdom,
my heart shall offer insights.(A)
5 I will turn my ear to a riddle,[c]
expound my question on a lyre.
I
6 Why should I fear in evil days,
with the iniquity of my assailants surrounding me,
7 Of those who trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches?(B)
8 [d]No man can ransom even a brother,
or pay to God his own ransom.(C)
9 The redemption of his soul is costly;
and he will pass away forever.
10 Will he live on forever, then,
and never see the Pit of Corruption?
11 Indeed, he will see that the wise die,
and the fool will perish together with the senseless,(D)
and they leave their wealth to others.(E)
12 Their tombs are their homes forever,
their dwellings through all generations,
“They named countries after themselves”
13 —but man does not abide in splendor.
He is like the beasts—they perish.(F)
II
14 This is the way of those who trust in themselves,
and the end of those who take pleasure in their own mouth.
Selah
15 Like a herd of sheep they will be put into Sheol,
and Death will shepherd them.
Straight to the grave they descend,
where their form will waste away,
Sheol will be their palace.
16 But God will redeem my life,
will take me[e] from the hand of Sheol.(G)
Selah
17 Do not fear when a man becomes rich,
when the wealth of his house grows great.
18 At his death he will not take along anything,
his glory will not go down after him.(H)
19 During his life his soul uttered blessings;
“They will praise you, for you do well for yourself.”
20 But he will join the company of his fathers,
never again to see the light.(I)
21 In his prime, man does not understand.
He is like the beasts—they perish.
Psalm 53[a]
A Lament over Widespread Corruption
1 For the leader; according to Mahalath. A maskil of David.
I
2 The fool says in his heart,(A)
“There is no God.”(B)
They act corruptly and practice injustice;
there is none that does good.
3 God looks out from the heavens
upon the children of Adam,(C)
To see if there is a discerning person(D)
who is seeking God.
4 All have gone astray;
each one is altogether perverse.
There is not one who does what is good, not even one.(E)
II
5 (F)Do they not know better, those who do evil,
who feed upon my people as they feed upon bread?(G)
Have they not called upon God?
6 They are going to fear his name with great fear,
though they had not feared it before.
For God will scatter the bones
of those encamped against you.
They will surely be put to shame,
for God has rejected them.
III
7 Who will bring forth from Zion
the salvation of Israel?
When God reverses the captivity of his people
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.(H)
B. Expiation of Sin, Spiritual Liberation of Israel
Chapter 49
The Servant of the Lord[a]
1 Hear me, coastlands,
listen, distant peoples.(A)
Before birth the Lord called me,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.[b]
2 He made my mouth like a sharp-edged sword,
concealed me, shielded by his hand.
He made me a sharpened arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
3 He said to me, You are my servant,
in you, Israel,[c] I show my glory.
4 Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
for nothing and for naught spent my strength,
Yet my right is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.(B)
5 For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
I am honored in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
6 It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;(C)
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.[d]
7 Thus says the Lord,
the redeemer, the Holy One of Israel,
To the one despised, abhorred by the nations,
the slave of rulers:
When kings see you, they shall stand up,
and princes shall bow down
Because of the Lord who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you.(D)
The Liberation and Restoration of Zion
8 Thus says the Lord:
In a time of favor I answer you,[e]
on the day of salvation I help you;
I form you and set you
as a covenant for the people,
To restore the land
and allot the devastated heritages,(E)
9 To say to the prisoners: Come out!
To those in darkness: Show yourselves!
Along the roadways they shall find pasture,
on every barren height shall their pastures be.(F)
10 They shall not hunger or thirst;
nor shall scorching wind or sun strike them;
For he who pities them leads them
and guides them beside springs of water.(G)
11 I will turn all my mountains into roadway,
and make my highways level.(H)
12 See, these shall come from afar:
some from the north and the west,
others from the land of Syene.[f]
11 (A)And when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong.[a] 12 For, until some people came from James,[b] he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to draw back and separated himself, because he was afraid of the circumcised.(B) 13 And the rest of the Jews[c] [also] acted hypocritically along with him, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.(C) 14 But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all,(D) “If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?”[d]
Faith and Works.[e] 15 We, who are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles, 16 (E)[yet] who know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.[f] 17 But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin?[g] Of course not! 18 But if I am building up again those things that I tore down, then I show myself to be a transgressor.[h] 19 For through the law I died to the law,[i] that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ;(F) 20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me.(G) 21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.(H)
13 [a]They drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick(A) and cured them.
Herod’s Opinion of Jesus.[b] 14 King Herod[c] heard about it, for his fame had become widespread, and people were saying,(B) “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”(C) 15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah”; still others, “He is a prophet like any of the prophets.”(D) 16 But when Herod learned of it, he said, “It is John whom I beheaded. He has been raised up.”
The Death of John the Baptist.[d] 17 Herod was the one who had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married.(E) 18 John had said to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”(F) 19 Herodias[e] harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. 20 Herod feared John, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man, and kept him in custody. When he heard him speak he was very much perplexed, yet he liked to listen to him. 21 She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 Herodias’s own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you.” 23 He even swore [many things] to her, “I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom.”(G) 24 She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” She replied, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 The girl hurried back to the king’s presence and made her request, “I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 26 The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests he did not wish to break his word to her. 27 (H)So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head. He went off and beheaded him in the prison. 28 He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
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