Book of Common Prayer
Aleph[a]
119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of Yahweh.
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies;
they seek him with a whole heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded[b] your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast,
to keep your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I look to all your commands.
7 I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will heed your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By taking heed according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought you;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I have hidden your word,[c]
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Yahweh.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced
as I would over all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and look at[d] your ways.
16 I will take delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live
and heed your word.
18 Uncover my eyes, that I may look at[e]
wonderful things from your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;[f]
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, the accursed,
who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from[g] me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and speak against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight,
my counselors.[h]
Human Faithlessness and God’s Faithfulness
For the music director; on the Sheminith.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
12 Save, O Yahweh, for the pious have ceased to be;
for the faithful have vanished
from among the children of humankind.
2 They speak falseness to each other.[c]
With flattering lips,
with a double heart[d] they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue speaking great boasts—
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are on our side.
Who is master over us?”
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” Yahweh says.
“I shall put them in the safety for which they[e] long.”
6 The words of Yahweh are pure words
like silver refined in the crucible on the ground,
refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will protect them.
You will preserve him[f]
from this generation always.
8 The wicked prowl about
when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
Trust in the Salvation of Yahweh
For the music director. A psalm of David.[g]
13 How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel[h] in my soul,
and sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider[i] and answer me, O Yahweh my God.
Give light to my eyes
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 and lest my enemy should say, “I have overcome him,”
lest my enemies rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But as for me, I have trusted in your steadfast love.[j]
My heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 [k] I will sing to Yahweh
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Folly of the Godless and God’s Final Triumph
For the music director. Of David.[l]
14 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt.
They do abominable deeds.
There is none who does good.
2 Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind
to see whether there is one who has insight,
one who cares about God.
3 All have gone astray;
they are altogether corrupt.
There is not one who does good;
there is not even one.
4 All who do evil—do they not know,
they who eat my people as though they were eating bread?
They do not call on Yahweh.
5 There they are very fearful[m]
because God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
because[n] Yahweh is his refuge.
7 Oh that from Zion[o] would come salvation for Israel!
When Yahweh returns the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.
Cain and Abel
4 Now Adam knew[a] Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain. And she said, “I have given birth to a man with the help of Yahweh.” 2 Then she bore[b] his brother Abel. And Abel became a keeper of sheep, and Cain became a tiller of the ground. 3 And in the course of time[c] Cain brought an offering from the fruit of the ground to Yahweh, 4 and Abel also brought an offering from the choicest firstlings of his flock.[d] And Yahweh looked with favor to Abel and to his offering, 5 but to Cain and to his offering he did not look with favor. And Cain became very angry, and his face fell. 6 And Yahweh said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why is your face fallen? 7 If you do well will I not accept you?[e] But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. And its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Then[f] Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out into the field.”[g] And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then[h] Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And he said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying out to me from the ground. 11 So now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother from your hand. 12 When you till the ground it shall no longer yield its strength to you.[i] You shall be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth.” 13 And Cain said to Yahweh, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. 14 Look, you have driven me out today from the face of the ground, and from your face I must hide. I will be a wanderer and a fugitive on the earth, and it will happen that whoever finds me will kill me.” 15 Then[j] Yahweh said to him, “Therefore, whoever kills Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” Then[k] Yahweh put a sign on Cain so that whoever found him would not kill him. 16 And Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh, and he settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
11 For both the one who sanctifies and the ones who are sanctified are all from one, for which reason he is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying,
“I will proclaim your name to my brothers;
in the midst of the assembly I will sing in praise of you.”[a]
13 And again,
“I will trust in him.”[b]
And again,
“Behold, I and the children God has given me.”[c]
14 Therefore, since the children share in blood and flesh, he also in like manner shared in these same things, in order that through death he could destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and could set free these who through fear of death were subject to slavery throughout all their lives. 16 For surely he is not concerned with angels, but he is concerned with the descendants of Abraham. 17 Therefore he was obligated to be made like his brothers in all respects, in order that he could become a merciful and faithful high priest in the things relating to God, in order to make atonement for the sins of the people. 18 For in that which he himself suffered when he[d] was tempted, he is able to help those who are tempted.
29 On the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This one is the one about whom I said, ‘After me is coming a man who is ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ 31 And I did not know him, but in order that he could be revealed to Israel, because of this I came baptizing with water.”
32 And John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove from heaven and remaining upon him. 33 And I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water, that one said to me, ‘The one upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon him—this one is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and testify that this one is the Chosen One[a] of God.
Two of John’s Disciples Follow Jesus
35 On the next day again John was standing there,[b] and two of his disciples, 36 and looking at Jesus as he[c] was walking by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” 37 And the two disciples heard him speaking, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus, turning around and seeing them following him,[d] said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means when[e] translated “Teacher”), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see!” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day (it was about the tenth hour).
Andrew Declares Jesus to be the Messiah
40 Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, was one of the two who heard John and followed him. 41 This one first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah!” (which is translated “Christ”). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Looking at him, Jesus said, “You are Simon the son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which is interpreted “Peter”).
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