Book of Common Prayer
Zayin.
49
Remember [always] the word and promise to Your servant,
In which You have made me hope.
50
This is my comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has revived me and given me life.(A)
51
The arrogant utterly ridicule me,
Yet I do not turn away from Your law.
52
I have remembered [carefully] Your ancient ordinances, O Lord,
And I have taken comfort.
53
Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who [a]reject Your law.
54
Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my pilgrimage.
55
O Lord, I remember Your name in the night,
And keep Your law.
56
This has become mine [as the gift of Your grace],
That I observe Your precepts [accepting them with loving obedience].
Heth.
57
The Lord is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.
58
I sought Your favor with all my heart;
Be merciful and gracious to me according to Your promise.
59
I considered my ways
And turned my feet to [follow and obey] Your testimonies.
60
I hurried and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61
The cords of the wicked have encircled and ensnared me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.
62
At midnight I will rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your righteous ordinances.
63
I am a companion of all who [reverently] fear You,
And of those who keep and honor Your precepts.
64
The earth, O Lord, is full of Your lovingkindness and goodness;
Teach me Your statutes.
Teth.
65
You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your promise.
66
Teach me good judgment (discernment) and knowledge,
For I have believed and trusted and relied on Your commandments.
67
Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep and honor Your word [with loving obedience].
68
You are good and do good;
Teach me Your statutes.
69
The arrogant have forged a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with all my heart.
70
Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal],
But I delight in Your law.
71
It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72
The law from Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 Hear this, all peoples;
Listen carefully, all inhabitants of the world,
2
Both low and high,
Rich and poor together:
3
My mouth will speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be understanding.
4
I will incline my ear and consent to a proverb;
On the lyre I will unfold my riddle.
5
Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],
6
Even those who trust in and rely on their wealth
And boast of the abundance of their riches?
7
None of them can by any means redeem [either himself or] his brother,
Nor give to God a ransom for him—
8
For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9
So that he should live on eternally,
That he should never see the pit (grave) and undergo decay.
10
For he sees that even wise men die;
The fool and the stupid alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.(A)
11
Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever,
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].
12
But man, with all his [self] honor and pomp, will not endure;
He is like the beasts that perish.
13
This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident,
And of those after them who approve [and are influenced by] their words. Selah.
14
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);
Death will be their shepherd;
And the upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form and beauty shall [a]be for Sheol to consume,
So that they have no dwelling [on earth].
15
But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.
16
Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,
When the wealth and glory of his house are increased;
17
For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.
18
Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
19
He shall go to the generation of his fathers;
They shall never again see the light.
20
A man [who is held] in honor,
Yet who lacks [spiritual] understanding and a teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
To the Chief Musician; in a mournful strain. A skillful song, or didactic or reflective poem of David.
53 The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt and evil, and have committed repulsive injustice;
There is no one who does good.
2
God has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there is anyone who understands,
Who seeks after God [who requires Him, who longs for Him as essential to life].
3
Every one of them has turned aside and fallen away;
Together they have become filthy and corrupt;
There is no one who does good, no, not even one.(A)
4
Have workers of wickedness no knowledge or no understanding?
They eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God.
5
There they were, in great terror and dread, where there had been no terror or dread;
For God scattered the bones of him who besieged you;
You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.
6
Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores [the fortunes of] His people,
Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
30 Then Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, 31 just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the sons of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, an altar of uncut stones on which no one has wielded an iron tool; and they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord, and sacrificed peace offerings. 32 And there, in the presence of the sons of Israel, Joshua wrote on the stones a copy of the Law of Moses which Moses had written. 33 All Israel, the stranger as well as the native born [among them], with their elders and officers and their judges, stood on either side of the ark before the Levitical priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord. Half of them stood in front of Mount Gerizim and half of them in front of Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded at first to bless the people of Israel. 34 Then afterward Joshua read all the words of the law, the blessing and curse, according to all that is written in the Book of the Law. 35 There was not a word of all that Moses had commanded which Joshua did not read before the entire assembly of Israel, including the women and the children and the foreigners who were living among them.
13 Then let us not criticize one another anymore, but rather determine this—not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block or a source of temptation in another believer’s way. 14 I know and am convinced [as one] in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean [ritually defiled, and unholy] in itself; but [nonetheless] it is unclean to anyone who thinks it is unclean. 15 If your brother is being hurt or offended because of food [that you insist on eating], you are no longer walking in love [toward him]. Do not let what you eat destroy and spiritually harm one for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what is a good thing for you [because of your freedom to choose] be spoken of as evil [by someone else]; 17 for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking [what one likes], but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 18 For the one who serves Christ in this way [recognizing that food choice is secondary] is acceptable to God and is approved by men. 19 So then, let us pursue [with enthusiasm] the things which make for peace and the building up of one another [things which lead to spiritual growth]. 20 Do not, for the sake of food, tear down the work of God. All things indeed are [ceremonially] clean, but they are wrong for the person who eats and offends [another’s conscience in the process]. 21 It is good [to do the right thing and] not eat meat or drink wine, or do anything that offends your brother and weakens him spiritually. 22 The faith which you have [that gives you freedom of choice], have as your own conviction before God [just keep it between yourself and God, seeking His will]. Happy is he who has no reason to condemn himself for what he approves. 23 But he who is uncertain [about eating a particular thing] is condemned if he eats, because he is not acting from faith. Whatever is not from faith is sin [whatever is done with doubt is sinful].
Jesus before Caiaphas
57 Those who had seized Jesus led Him away to [a]Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) had gathered [[b]illegally] together.(A) 58 But Peter followed Him at a distance as far as the courtyard of the [elegant home of the Jewish] high priest, and went inside, and sat with the [c]guards to see the outcome.
59 Now the chief priests and the whole Council (Sanhedrin, Jewish High Court) tried to get false witnesses to testify against Jesus, so that they might [have a reason to] put Him to death. 60 They found none, even though many false witnesses came forward. At last two came forward, 61 and testified, “This man said, ‘[d]I am able to [e]tear down the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.’” 62 The high priest stood up and said to Jesus, “Have You no answer to give? What is it that these men are testifying against You?” 63 But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, “I call on You to swear a binding oath by the living God, that you tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have [in fact] said it; but more than that I tell you [regardless of what you do with Me now], in the future you will see [Me revealed as] the Son of Man seated at the [f]right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”(B)
65 Then the high priest tore his [g]robes [in mock horror] and exclaimed, “He has blasphemed [by making Himself God’s equal]! What further need have we of witnesses or evidence? See, you have now heard the blasphemy.(C) 66 What do you think?” They answered, “[h]He deserves to be put to death.”
67 Then they spat in His face and struck Him with their fists; and some slapped Him,(D) 68 saying, “[i]Prophesy to us, You Christ (Messiah, Anointed); who was it that struck You?”
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