Book of Common Prayer
131 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Jehovah, my heart hath not been haughty, Nor have mine eyes been high, Nor have I walked in great things, And in things too wonderful for me.
2 Have I not compared, and kept silent my soul, As a weaned one by its mother? As a weaned one by me [is] my soul.
3 Israel doth wait on Jehovah, From henceforth, and unto the age!
132 A Song of the Ascents. Remember, Jehovah, for David, all his afflictions.
2 Who hath sworn to Jehovah. He hath vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 `If I enter into the tent of my house, If I go up on the couch of my bed,
4 If I give sleep to mine eyes, To mine eyelids -- slumber,
5 Till I do find a place for Jehovah, Tabernacles for the Mighty One of Jacob.
6 `Lo, we have heard it in Ephratah, We have found it in the fields of the forest.
7 We come in to His tabernacles, We bow ourselves at His footstool.
8 Arise, O Jehovah, to Thy rest, Thou, and the ark of Thy strength,
9 Thy priests do put on righteousness, And Thy pious ones cry aloud.
10 For the sake of David Thy servant, Turn not back the face of Thine anointed.
11 Jehovah hath sworn truth to David, He turneth not back from it: Of the fruit of thy body, I set on the throne for thee.
12 If thy sons keep My covenant, And My testimonies that I teach them, Their sons also for ever and ever, Do sit on the throne for thee.
13 For Jehovah hath fixed on Zion, He hath desired [it] for a seat to Himself,
14 This [is] My rest for ever and ever, Here do I sit, for I have desired it.
15 Her provision I greatly bless, Her needy ones I satisfy [with] bread,
16 And her priests I clothe [with] salvation, And her pious ones do sing aloud.
17 There I cause to spring up a horn for David, I have arranged a lamp for Mine anointed.
18 His enemies I do clothe [with] shame, And upon him doth his crown flourish!
133 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Lo, how good and how pleasant The dwelling of brethren -- even together!
2 As the good oil on the head, Coming down on the beard, the beard of Aaron, That cometh down on the skirt of his robes,
3 As dew of Hermon -- That cometh down on hills of Zion, For there Jehovah commanded the blessing -- Life unto the age!
134 A Song of the Ascents. Lo, bless Jehovah, all servants of Jehovah, Who are standing in the house of Jehovah by night.
2 Lift up your hands [in] the sanctuary, And bless ye Jehovah.
3 Jehovah doth bless thee out of Zion, The maker of the heavens and earth!
135 Praise ye Jah! Praise ye the name of Jehovah, Praise, ye servants of Jehovah,
2 Who are standing in the house of Jehovah, In the courts of the house of our God.
3 Praise ye Jah! for Jehovah [is] good, Sing praise to His name, for [it is] pleasant.
4 For Jacob hath Jah chosen for Himself, Israel for His peculiar treasure.
5 For I have known that great [is] Jehovah, Yea, our Lord [is] above all gods.
6 All that Jehovah pleased He hath done, In the heavens and in earth, In the seas and all deep places,
7 Causing vapours to ascend from the end of the earth, Lightnings for the rain He hath made, Bringing forth wind from His treasures.
8 Who smote the first-born of Egypt, From man unto beast.
9 He sent tokens and wonders into thy midst, O Egypt, On Pharaoh and on all his servants.
10 Who smote many nations, and slew strong kings,
11 Even Sihon king of the Amorite, And Og king of Bashan, And all kingdoms of Canaan.
12 And He gave their land an inheritance, An inheritance to Israel His people,
13 O Jehovah, Thy name [is] to the age, O Jehovah, Thy memorial to all generations.
14 For Jehovah doth judge His people, And for His servants comforteth Himself.
15 The idols of the nations [are] silver and gold, Work of the hands of man.
16 A mouth they have, and they speak not, Eyes they have, and they see not,
17 Ears they have, and they give not ear, Nose -- there is no breath in their mouth!
18 Like them are their makers, Every one who is trusting in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless ye Jehovah, O house of Aaron, bless ye Jehovah,
20 O house of Levi, bless ye Jehovah, Those fearing Jehovah, bless ye Jehovah.
21 Blessed [is] Jehovah from Zion, Inhabiting Jerusalem -- praise ye Jah!
19 And it is declared to Joab, `Lo, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom;'
2 and the salvation on that day becometh mourning to all the people, for the people hath heard on that day, saying, `The king hath been grieved for his son.'
3 And the people stealeth away, on that day, to go in to the city, as the people steal away, who are ashamed, in their fleeing in battle;
4 and the king hath covered his face, yea, the king crieth -- a loud voice -- `My son Absalom, Absalom, my son, my son.'
5 And Joab cometh in unto the king to the house, and saith, `Thou hast put to shame to-day the faces of all thy servants, those delivering thy life to-day, and the life of thy sons, and of thy daughters, and the life of thy wives, and the life of thy concubines,
6 to love thine enemies, and to hate those loving thee, for thou hast declared to-day that thou hast no princes and servants, for I have known to-day that if Absalom [were] alive, and all of us to-day dead, that then it were right in thine eyes.
7 `And now, rise, go out and speak unto the heart of thy servants, for by Jehovah I have sworn, that -- thou art not going out -- there doth not lodge a man with thee to-night; and this [is] worse for thee than all the evil that hath come upon thee from thy youth till now.'
8 And the king riseth, and sitteth in the gate, and to all the people they have declared, saying, `Lo, the king is sitting in the gate;' and all the people come in before the king, and Israel hath fled, each to his tents.
9 And it cometh to pass, all the people are contending through all the tribes of Israel, saying, `The king delivered us out of the hand of our enemies, yea, he himself delivered us out of the hand of the Philistines, and now he hath fled out of the land because of Absalom,
10 and Absalom whom we anointed over us [is] dead in battle, and now, why are ye silent -- to bring back the king?'
11 And king David sent unto Zadok and unto Abiathar the priests, saying, `Speak ye unto the elders of Judah, saying, Why are ye last to bring back the king unto his house? (and the word of all Israel hath come unto the king, unto his house;)
12 my brethren ye [are], my bone and my flesh ye [are], and why are ye last to bring back the king?
13 And to Amasa say ye, Art not thou my bone and my flesh? Thus doth God do to me, and thus He doth add, if thou art not head of the host before me all the days instead of Joab.'
14 And he inclineth the heart of all the men of Judah as one man, and they send unto the king, `Turn back, thou, and all thy servants.'
15 And the king turneth back, and cometh in unto the Jordan, and Judah hath come to Gilgal, to go to meet the king, to bring the king over the Jordan,
16 and Shimei son of Gera, the Benjamite, who [is] from Bahurim, hasteth, and cometh down with the men of Judah, to meet king David,
17 and a thousand men [are] with him from Benjamin, and Ziba servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him, and they have gone prosperously over the Jordan before the king.
18 And passed over hath the ferry-boat to carry over the household of the king, and to do that which [is] good in his eyes, and Shimei son of Gera hath fallen before the king in his passing over into Jordan,
19 and saith unto the king, `Let not my lord impute to me iniquity; neither do thou remember that which thy servant did perversely in the day that my lord the king went out from Jerusalem, -- for the king to set [it] unto his heart;
20 for thy servant hath known that I have sinned; and lo, I have come to-day, first of all the house of Joseph, to go down to meet my lord the king.'
21 And Abishai son of Zeruiah answereth and saith, `For this is not Shimei put to death -- because he reviled the anointed of Jehovah?'
22 And David saith, `What -- to me and to you, O sons of Zeruiah, that ye are to me to-day for an adversary? to-day is any man put to death in Israel? for have I not known that to-day I [am] king over Israel?'
23 And the king saith unto Shimei, `Thou dost not die;' and the king sweareth to him.
24 And after five days came down the chief priest Ananias, with the elders, and a certain orator -- Tertullus, and they made manifest to the governor [the things] against Paul;
2 and he having been called, Tertullus began to accuse [him], saying, `Much peace enjoying through thee, and worthy deeds being done to this nation through thy forethought,
3 always, also, and everywhere we receive it, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness;
4 and that I may not be further tedious to thee, I pray thee to hear us concisely in thy gentleness;
5 for having found this man a pestilence, and moving a dissension to all the Jews through the world -- a ringleader also of the sect of the Nazarenes --
6 who also the temple did try to profane, whom also we took, and according to our law did wish to judge,
7 and Lysias the chief captain having come near, with much violence, out of our hands did take away,
8 having commanded his accusers to come to thee, from whom thou mayest be able, thyself having examined, to know concerning all these things of which we accuse him;'
9 and the Jews also agreed, professing these things to be so.
10 And Paul answered -- the governor having beckoned to him to speak -- `Knowing [that] for many years thou hast been a judge to this nation, the more cheerfully the things concerning myself I do answer;
11 thou being able to know that it is not more than twelve days to me since I went up to worship in Jerusalem,
12 and neither in the temple did they find me reasoning with any one, or making a dissension of the multitude, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city;
13 nor are they able to prove against me the things concerning which they now accuse me.
14 `And I confess this to thee, that, according to the way that they call a sect, so serve I the God of the fathers, believing all things that in the law and the prophets have been written,
15 having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, [that] there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous;
16 and in this I do exercise myself, to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men always.
17 `And after many years I came, about to do kind acts to my nation, and offerings,
18 in which certain Jews from Asia did find me purified in the temple, not with multitude, nor with tumult,
19 whom it behoveth to be present before thee, and to accuse, if they had anything against me,
20 or let these same say if they found any unrighteousness in me in my standing before the sanhedrim,
21 except concerning this one voice, in which I cried, standing among them -- Concerning a rising again of the dead I am judged to-day by you.'
22 And having heard these things, Felix delayed them -- having known more exactly of the things concerning the way -- saying, `When Lysias the chief captain may come down, I will know fully the things concerning you;'
23 having given also a direction to the centurion to keep Paul, to let [him] also have liberty, and to forbid none of his own friends to minister or to come near to him.
28 And one of the scribes having come near, having heard them disputing, knowing that he answered them well, questioned him, `Which is the first command of all?'
29 and Jesus answered him -- `The first of all the commands [is], Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one;
30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God out of all thy heart, and out of thy soul, and out of all thine understanding, and out of all thy strength -- this [is] the first command;
31 and the second [is] like [it], this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself; -- greater than these there is no other command.'
32 And the scribe said to him, `Well, Teacher, in truth thou hast spoken that there is one God, and there is none other but He;
33 and to love Him out of all the heart, and out of all the understanding, and out of all the soul, and out of all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as one's self, is more than all the whole burnt-offerings and the sacrifices.'
34 And Jesus, having seen him that he answered with understanding, said to him, `Thou art not far from the reign of God;' and no one any more durst question him.