Book of Common Prayer
49 Remember your word to your servant,
in which you have made me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.(A)
51 The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.(B)
52 When I think of your ordinances from of old,
I take comfort, O Lord.(C)
53 Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
those who forsake your law.(D)
54 Your statutes have been my songs
wherever I make my home.
55 I remember your name in the night, O Lord,
and keep your law.(E)
56 This blessing has fallen to me,
for I have kept your precepts.
57 The Lord is my portion;
I promise to keep your words.(F)
58 I implore your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.(G)
59 When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;(H)
60 I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61 Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.(I)
62 At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.(J)
63 I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.(K)
64 The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes.(L)
65 You have dealt well with your servant,
O Lord, according to your word.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.(M)
68 You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.(N)
69 The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.(O)
70 Their hearts are thick like fat,[a]
but I delight in your law.(P)
71 It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.(Q)
Psalm 49
The Folly of Trust in Riches
To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.
1 Hear this, all you peoples;
give ear, all inhabitants of the world,(A)
2 both low and high,
rich and poor together.
3 My mouth shall speak wisdom;
the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.(B)
4 I will incline my ear to a proverb;
I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.(C)
5 Why should I fear in times of trouble,
when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,(D)
6 those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?(E)
7 Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life;[a]
there is no price one can give to God for it.(F)
8 For the ransom of life is costly
and can never suffice,(G)
9 that one should live on forever
and never see the Pit.(H)
10 When we look at the wise, they die;
fool and dolt perish together
and leave their wealth to others.(I)
11 Their graves[b] are their homes forever,
their dwelling places to all generations,
though they named lands their own.(J)
12 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.(K)
13 Such is the fate of the foolhardy,
the end of those[c] who are pleased with their lot. Selah(L)
14 Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,[d]
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.[e](M)
15 But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me. Selah(N)
16 Do not be afraid when some become rich,
when the wealth of their houses increases.(O)
17 For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.(P)
18 Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
—for you are praised when you do well for yourself—(Q)
19 they[f] will go to the company of their ancestors,
who will never again see the light.(R)
20 Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.(S)
Psalm 53
Denunciation of Godlessness
To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt; they commit abominable acts;
there is no one who does good.(A)
2 God looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.(B)
3 They have all fallen away; they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.(C)
4 Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon God?(D)
5 There they shall be in great terror,
in terror such as has not been.
For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;[a]
they will be put to shame,[b] for God has rejected them.(E)
6 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.(F)
14 Slander[a] has shaken many
and scattered them from nation to nation;
it has destroyed strong cities
and overturned the houses of the great.
15 Slander[b] has driven courageous women from their homes
and deprived them of the fruit of their toil.
16 Those who pay heed to slander[c] will not find rest,
nor will they settle down in peace.
17 The blow of a whip raises a welt,
but a blow of the tongue crushes the bones.(A)
18 Many have fallen by the edge of the sword,
but not as many as have fallen because of the tongue.(B)
19 Happy is the one who is protected from it,
who has not been exposed to its anger,
who has not borne its yoke,
and who has not been bound with its fetters.
20 For its yoke is a yoke of iron,
and its fetters are fetters of bronze;(C)
21 its death is an evil death,
and Hades is preferable to it.
22 It has no power over the godly;
they will not be burned in its flame.(D)
23 Those who forsake the Lord will fall into its power;
it will burn among them and will not be put out.
It will be sent out against them like a lion;
like a leopard it will mangle them.(E)
24a Look! Fence in your property with thorns,(F)
26 Take care not to err with your tongue[d]
and fall victim to one lying in wait.
The Woman and the Dragon
12 A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth.(A) 3 Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns and seven diadems on his heads.(B) 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to deliver a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.(C) 5 And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule[a] all the nations with a scepter of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne,(D) 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.(E)
Jesus Denounces Pharisees and Experts in the Law
37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to dine with him, so he went in and took his place at the table.(A) 38 The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not first wash before dinner.(B) 39 Then the Lord said to him, “Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness.(C) 40 You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 41 So give as alms those things that are within and then everything will be clean for you.(D)
42 “But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and herbs of all kinds and neglect justice and the love of God; it is these you ought to have practiced, without neglecting the others.(E) 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love to have the seat of honor in the synagogues and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces.(F) 44 Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves on which people unknowingly walk.”(G)
45 One of the experts in the law answered him, “Teacher, when you say these things, you insult us, too.” 46 And he said, “Woe also to you experts in the law! For you load people with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not lift a finger to ease them.(H) 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets whom your ancestors killed.(I) 48 So you are witnesses and approve of the deeds of your ancestors, for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 For this reason the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’(J) 50 so that this generation may be charged with the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be charged against this generation.(K) 52 Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”(L)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.