Book of Common Prayer
120 A Song of the Ascents. Unto Jehovah in my distress I have called, And He answereth me.
2 O Jehovah, deliver my soul from a lying lip, From a deceitful tongue!
3 What doth He give to thee? And what doth He add to thee? O deceitful tongue!
4 Sharp arrows of a mighty one, with broom-coals.
5 Wo to me, for I have inhabited Mesech, I have dwelt with tents of Kedar.
6 Too much hath my soul dwelt with him who is hating peace.
7 I [am] peace, and when I speak they [are] for war!
121 A Song of the Ascents. I lift up mine eyes unto the hills, Whence doth my help come?
2 My help [is] from Jehovah, maker of heaven and earth,
3 He suffereth not thy foot to be moved, Thy preserver slumbereth not.
4 Lo, He slumbereth not, nor sleepeth, He who is preserving Israel.
5 Jehovah [is] thy preserver, Jehovah [is] thy shade on thy right hand,
6 By day the sun doth not smite thee, Nor the moon by night.
7 Jehovah preserveth thee from all evil, He doth preserve thy soul.
8 Jehovah preserveth thy going out and thy coming in, From henceforth even unto the age!
122 A Song of the Ascents, by David. I have rejoiced in those saying to me, `To the house of Jehovah we go.'
2 Our feet have been standing in thy gates, O Jerusalem!
3 Jerusalem -- the builded one -- [Is] as a city that is joined to itself together.
4 For thither have tribes gone up, Tribes of Jah, companies of Israel, To give thanks to the name of Jehovah.
5 For there have sat thrones of judgment, Thrones of the house of David.
6 Ask ye the peace of Jerusalem, At rest are those loving thee.
7 Peace is in thy bulwark, rest in thy high places,
8 For the sake of my brethren and my companions, Let me speak, I pray thee, `Peace [be] in thee.'
9 For the sake of the house of Jehovah our God, I seek good for thee!
123 A Song of the Ascents. Unto Thee I have lifted up mine eyes, O dweller in the heavens.
2 Lo, as eyes of men-servants [Are] unto the hand of their masters, As eyes of a maid-servant [Are] unto the hand of her mistress, So [are] our eyes unto Jehovah our God, Till that He doth favour us.
3 Favour us, O Jehovah, favour us, For greatly have we been filled with contempt,
4 Greatly hath our soul been filled With the scorning of the easy ones, With the contempt of the arrogant!
124 A Song of the Ascents, by David. Save [for] Jehovah -- who hath been for us, (Pray, let Israel say),
2 Save [for] Jehovah -- who hath been for us, In the rising up of man against us,
3 Then alive they had swallowed us up, In the burning of their anger against us,
4 Then the waters had overflowed us, The stream passed over our soul,
5 Then passed over our soul had the proud waters.
6 Blessed [is] Jehovah who hath not given us, A prey to their teeth.
7 Our soul as a bird hath escaped from a snare of fowlers, The snare was broken, and we have escaped.
8 Our help [is] in the name of Jehovah, Maker of the heavens and earth!
125 A Song of the Ascents. Those trusting in Jehovah [are] as Mount Zion, It is not moved -- to the age it abideth.
2 Jerusalem! mountains [are] round about her, And Jehovah [is] round about His people, From henceforth even unto the age.
3 For the rod of wickedness resteth not On the lot of the righteous, That the righteous put not forth on iniquity their hands.
4 Do good, O Jehovah, to the good, And to the upright in their hearts.
5 As to those turning [to] their crooked ways, Jehovah causeth them to go with workers of iniquity. Peace on Israel!
126 A Song of the Ascents. In Jehovah's turning back [to] the captivity of Zion, We have been as dreamers.
2 Then filled [with] laughter is our mouth, And our tongue [with] singing, Then do they say among nations, `Jehovah did great things with these.'
3 Jehovah did great things with us, We have been joyful.
4 Turn again, O Jehovah, [to] our captivity, As streams in the south.
5 Those sowing in tears, with singing do reap,
6 Whoso goeth on and weepeth, Bearing the basket of seed, Surely cometh in with singing, bearing his sheaves!
127 A Song of the Ascents, by Solomon. If Jehovah doth not build the house, In vain have its builders laboured at it, If Jehovah doth not watch a city, In vain hath a watchman waked.
2 Vain for you who are rising early, Who delay sitting, eating the bread of griefs, So He giveth to His beloved one sleep.
3 Lo, an inheritance of Jehovah [are] sons, A reward [is] the fruit of the womb.
4 As arrows in the hand of a mighty one, So [are] the sons of the young men.
5 O the happiness of the man Who hath filled his quiver with them, They are not ashamed, For they speak with enemies in the gate!
1 Burden of Nineveh. The Book of the Vision of Nahum the Elkoshite.
2 A God zealous and avenging [is] Jehovah, An avenger [is] Jehovah, and possessing fury. An avenger [is] Jehovah on His adversaries, And He is watching for His enemies.
3 Jehovah [is] slow to anger, and great in power, And Jehovah doth not entirely acquit, In a hurricane and in a tempest [is] His way, And a cloud [is] the dust of His feet.
4 He is pushing against a sea, and drieth it up, Yea, all the floods He hath made dry, Languishing [are] Bashan and Carmel, Yea, the flower of Lebanon [is] languishing.
5 Mountains have shaken because of Him, And the hills have been melted; And lifted up [is] the earth at His presence, And the world and all dwelling in it.
6 Before His indignation who doth stand? And who riseth up in the heat of His anger? His fury hath been poured out like fire, And the rocks have been broken by Him.
7 Good [is] Jehovah for a strong place in a day of distress. And He knoweth those trusting in Him.
8 And with a flood passing over, An end He maketh of its place, And His enemies doth darkness pursue.
9 What do we devise against Jehovah? An end He is making, arise not twice doth distress.
10 For while princes [are] perplexed, And with their drink are drunken, They have been consumed as stubble fully dried.
11 From thee hath come forth a deviser of evil Against Jehovah -- a worthless counsellor.
12 Thus said Jehovah: Though complete, and thus many, Yet thus they have been cut off, And he hath passed away. And I afflicted thee, I afflict thee no more.
13 And now I break his rod from off thee, And thy bands I do draw away.
13 Wherefore having girded up the loins of your mind, being sober, hope perfectly upon the grace that is being brought to you in the revelation of Jesus Christ,
14 as obedient children, not fashioning yourselves to the former desires in your ignorance,
15 but according as He who did call you [is] holy, ye also, become holy in all behaviour,
16 because it hath been written, `Become ye holy, because I am holy;'
17 and if on the Father ye do call, who without acceptance of persons is judging according to the work of each, in fear the time of your sojourn pass ye,
18 having known that, not with corruptible things -- silver or gold -- were ye redeemed from your foolish behaviour delivered by fathers,
19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and unspotted -- Christ's --
20 foreknown, indeed, before the foundation of the world, and manifested in the last times because of you,
21 who through him do believe in God, who did raise out of the dead, and glory to him did give, so that your faith and hope may be in God.
22 Your souls having purified in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to brotherly love unfeigned, out of a pure heart one another love ye earnestly,
23 being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God -- living and remaining -- to the age;
24 because all flesh [is] as grass, and all glory of man as flower of grass; wither did the grass, and the flower of it fell away,
25 and the saying of the Lord doth remain -- to the age; and this is the saying that was proclaimed good news to you.
13 Then were brought near to him children that he might put hands on them and pray, and the disciples rebuked them.
14 But Jesus said, `Suffer the children, and forbid them not, to come unto me, for of such is the reign of the heavens;'
15 and having laid on them [his] hands, he departed thence.
16 And lo, one having come near, said to him, `Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have life age-during?'
17 And he said to him, `Why me dost thou call good? no one [is] good except One -- God; but if thou dost will to enter into the life, keep the commands.'
18 He saith to him, `What kind?' And Jesus said, `Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness,
19 honour thy father and mother, and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.'
20 The young man saith to him, `All these did I keep from my youth; what yet do I lack?'
21 Jesus said to him, `If thou dost will to be perfect, go away, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me.'
22 And the young man, having heard the word, went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions;