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.
Preamble
1 These are the words that Moses spoke to all of Israel on the other side of[a] the Jordan in the desert,[b] in the desert plateau[c] opposite Suph, between Paran and between Tophel and Laban and Hazeroth and Dizahab. 2 It is a journey of eleven days[d] from Herob by the way of Mount Seir[e] up to Kadesh Barnea.
3 And it was[f] in the fortieth year, on the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the Israelites[g] according to all that Yahweh had instructed him to speak to them. 4 This happened after defeating[h] Sihon king of the Amorites, who was reigning[i] in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who was reigning[j] in Ashtaroth in Edrei. 5 On the other side of [k] the Jordan in the land of Moab Moses began to explain this law,[l] saying:[m]
Historical Prologue
6 “Yahweh our God spoke to us at Horeb, saying,[n] ‘You have stayed long enough[o] at this mountain. 7 Turn now and move on,[p] and go into the hill of the Amorites[q] and to all of the neighboring regions[r] in the Jordan Valley[s] in the hill country and in the Negev and in the coastal area along the sea, into the land of the Canaanites[t] and into the Lebanon, as far as the great river Euphrates. 8 Look, I have set the land before you;[u] go and take possession of the land that Yahweh swore to your ancestors,[v] to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give it to them and to their offspring after them.’
9 “And I spoke to them at that time, saying,[w] ‘I am not able to bear you alone. 10 Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and look; you are today as the stars of the heaven in number.[x] 11 Yahweh, the God of your ancestors,[y] may he add to you as you are now a thousand times, and may he bless you just as he promised you.[z] 12 How can I bear you by myself,[aa] your burden and your load and your strife? 13 Choose for yourselves wise and discerning and knowledgeable men[ab] for each of your tribes, and I will appoint them as your leaders.’
14 “And you answered me, and you said, ‘The thing you have said to do is good.’ 15 And so I took the leaders of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and then I appointed them as leaders over you as commanders of groups of thousands and commanders of groups of hundreds and commanders of groups of fifties and commanders of groups of tens as officials for your tribes. 16 And at that time I instructed your judges, saying, ‘hear out your fellow men,[ac] and then judge fairly[ad] between a man and between his brother and between his opponent who is a resident alien.[ae] 17 You must not be partial[af] in your judgment; [ag] hear out the small person as also the great person; do not be intimidated by any person,[ah] because the judgment is God’s; and the case that is too difficult[ai] for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it out.’ 18 And so I instructed you at that time concerning all of the things that you should do.
Israel’s Rejection
9 I am telling the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears witness to me in the Holy Spirit— 2 that my grief is great and there is constant distress in my heart. 3 For I could wish myself to be accursed from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my fellow countrymen according to the flesh, 4 who are Israelites, to whom belong the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the temple service, and the promises, 5 to whom belong the patriarchs, and from whom is the Christ according to human descent, who is God over all, blessed forever[a]! Amen.
6 But it is not as if the word of God had failed. For not all those who are descended from Israel are truly Israel, 7 nor are they all children because they are descendants of Abraham, but “In Isaac will your descendants be named.”[b] 8 That is, it is not the children by human descent[c] who are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as descendants. 9 For the statement of the promise is this: “At this time I will return and Sarah will have[d] a son.”[e] 10 And not only this, but also when[f] Rebecca conceived children by one man,[g] Isaac our father— 11 for although they[h] had not yet been born, or done anything good or evil, in order that the purpose of God according to election might remain, 12 not by works but by the one who calls—it was said to her, “The older will serve the younger,”[i] 13 just as it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.”[j]
God’s Sovereign Choice to Show Mercy
14 What then shall we say? There is no injustice with God, is there?[k] May it never be! 15 For to Moses he says, “I will have mercy on whomever I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whomever I have compassion.”[l] 16 Consequently therefore, it does not depend on the[m] one who wills or on the one who runs, but on God who shows mercy. 17 For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very reason I have raised you up, so that I may demonstrate my power in you, and so that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”[n] 18 Consequently therefore, he has mercy on whomever he wishes, and he hardens whomever he wishes.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean! 28 In the same way, on the outside you also appear righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees—hypocrites!—because you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous, 30 and you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in the blood of the prophets!’ 31 Thus you testify against yourselves that you are descendants of those who murdered the prophets! 32 And you—fill up the measure of your fathers! 33 Serpents! Offspring of vipers! How will you escape from the condemnation to hell? 34 For this reason, behold, I am sending to you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues and will pursue from town to town, 35 so that upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on the earth from the blood of righteous Abel up to the blood of Zechariah son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation!
The Lament over Jerusalem
37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How many times I wanted to gather your children together the way[a] a hen gathers her young together under her[b] wings, and you were not willing! 38 Behold, your house has been left to you desolate! 39 For I tell you, you will never see me from now on until you say,
‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”[c]
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