Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of David.
Aleph
1 ¶ Do not be angry with the evildoers, neither be thou envious of the workers of iniquity.
2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb.
Beth
3 Wait in the LORD and do good; live in the land and uphold the truth.
4 In the same manner delight thyself in the LORD, and he shall give thee the desires of thy heart.
Gimel
5 Turn thy way unto the LORD and wait in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light and thy uprightness as the noonday.
Daleth
7 ¶ Be silent before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not be angry with him who prospers in his way, with the man who brings wicked devices to pass.
He
8 Cease from anger and forsake wrath: let not thy wrath in any wise cause you to become evil.
9 For evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait for the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.
Vau
10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be; thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.
11 But the meek shall inherit the earth and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
Zain
12 The wicked plots against the just and gnashes upon him with his teeth.
13 The Lord shall laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
He
14 The wicked have drawn out the sword and have bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy and to slay such as are of upright conversation.
15 Their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bow shall be broken.
Tet
16 A little that a righteous man has is better than the many riches of the sinners.
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
Jod
18 The LORD knows the days of the perfect, and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19 They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, and in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
Caph
20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD as the fattest of rams shall be consumed; as smoke they shall fade away.
Lamed
21 ¶ The wicked borrows and does not repay: but the righteous shows mercy and gives.
22 For such as are blessed of him shall inherit the earth, and those that are cursed of him shall be cut off.
Mem
23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and he delights in his way.
24 Though he falls, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.
Nun
25 I have been young and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
26 He is ever merciful and lends, and his seed is a blessing.
Samech
27 Depart from evil, and do good, and thou shalt live for evermore.
28 For the LORD loves uprightness and does not forsake his merciful ones; they are preserved for ever, but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.
Ain
29 The righteous shall inherit the earth and live upon it for ever.
Pe
30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue brings forth judgment.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; therefore none of his steps shall slide.
Tzaddi
32 The wicked watches the righteous and seeks to slay him.
33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.
Koph
34 ¶ Wait on the LORD and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the earth; when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Resh
35 I have seen the wicked in great power and spreading himself like a green bay tree.
36 Yet he passed away, and, behold, he was not: I sought him, but he could not be found.
Schin
37 Mark the perfect, and behold the upright, for the end of each one of them is peace.
38 But the rebels were destroyed all together; the wicked were cut off in the end.
Tau
39 But the salvation of the righteous is the LORD; he is their strength in the time of trouble.
40 And the LORD helped them and delivers them; he shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they wait in him.
9 ¶ I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and he said, Smite the threshold and shake the doors and cut the head of them all into pieces; and I will slay the last of them with the sword; there shall be none of them left to flee away or to escape.
2 Though they dig unto Sheol, from there shall my hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down;
3 and though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out of there; and though they hide from my sight in the bottom of the sea, from there will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
4 and though they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set my eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
5 The Lord GOD of the hosts is he that touches the earth, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall all rise up like a river and shall be sunk, as the river of Egypt.
6 He that built his degrees in the heaven and has founded his gathering upon the earth; he that calls the waters of the sea and pours them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.
7 O sons of Israel, Are ye not as sons of the Ethiopians unto me, said the LORD? Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Palestinians from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord GOD are against the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, said the LORD.
9 For, behold, I will command, and I will cause the house of Israel to be sifted among all the Gentiles like as the grain is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall to the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, who say, For our sake the evil shall not come near nor overtake us.
8 ¶ And unto the angel of the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} of Smyrna write: These things, saith the first and the last, who was dead, and is alive:
9 I know thy works and tribulation and poverty, (but thou art rich), and I know the blasphemy of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer; behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days; be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life.
11 He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the congregations; {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} He that overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
12 ¶ And to the angel of the congregation {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} in Pergamos write; These things, saith he, who has the sharp sword with two edges:
13 I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s throne is, and thou holdest fast my name and hast not denied my faith, even in those days in which Antipas was my faithful witness, {or martyr} who was slain among you, where Satan dwellest.
14 But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there those that hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balac to cast a stumblingblock before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols and to commit fornication.
15 So hast thou also those that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which I hate.
16 Repent, or else I will come unto thee quickly and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He that has an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the congregations; {Gr. ekklesia – called out ones} To him that overcomes I will give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a small white stone and in the stone a new name written, which no one knows except the one that receives it.
13 ¶ But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens in front of men, for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye those that are entering to go in.
14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses and for a pretence make long prayer; therefore, ye shall receive the greater judgment.
15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more a son of hell than yourselves.
16 Woe unto you, ye blind guides, who say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!
17 Ye fools and blind, for which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold?
18 And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever swears by the gift that is upon it, he is a debtor.
19 Ye fools and blind, for which one is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?
20 Whosoever therefore shall swear by the altar, swears by it and by all things thereon.
21 And whosoever shall swear by the temple, swears by it and by Him that dwells therein.
22 And he that shall swear by the heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him that sits thereon.
23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin and have omitted that which is more important of the law: judgment, mercy, and faith; these were expedient for ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
24 Ye blind guides, who strain at a gnat and swallow a camel.
25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup or of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and incontinence.
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter that the outside of them may be clean also.
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