Book of Common Prayer

Psalm 136

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

² O give thanks to the God of gods, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

³ O give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever—

⁴ To Him Who alone does great wonders, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

⁵ To Him Who by wisdom and understanding made the heavens, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

⁶ To Him Who stretched out the earth upon the waters, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

⁷ To Him Who made the great lights, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever—

⁸ The sun to rule over the day, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

⁹ The moon and stars to rule by night, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

¹⁰ To Him Who smote Egypt in their firstborn, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;^(A)

¹¹ And brought out Israel from among them, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;^(B)

¹² With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

¹³ To Him Who divided the Red Sea into parts, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;^(C)

¹⁴ And made Israel to pass through the midst of it, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

¹⁵ But shook off and overthrew Pharaoh and his host into the Red Sea, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

¹⁶ To Him Who led His people through the wilderness, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

¹⁷ To Him Who smote great kings, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

¹⁸ And slew famous kings, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever—^(D)

¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;^(E)

²⁰ And Og king of Bashan, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;^(F)

²¹ And gave their land as a heritage, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

²² Even a heritage to Israel His servant, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;^(G)

²³ To Him Who [earnestly] remembered us in our low estate and imprinted us [on His heart], for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

²⁴ And rescued us from our enemies, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

²⁵ To Him Who gives food to all flesh, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever;

²⁶ O give thanks to the God of heaven, for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

Psalm 118

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever!

² Let Israel now say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

³ Let the house of Aaron [the priesthood] now say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

⁴ Let those now who reverently and worshipfully fear the Lord say that His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

⁵ Out of my distress I called upon the Lord; the Lord answered me and set me free and in a large place.

⁶ The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?^(A)

⁷ The Lord is on my side and takes my part, He is among those who help me; therefore shall I see my desire established upon those who hate me.

⁸ It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in man.

⁹ It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord than to put confidence in princes.

¹⁰ All nations (the surrounding tribes) compassed me about, but in the name of the Lord I will cut them off!

¹¹ They compassed me about, yes, they surrounded me on every side; but in the name of the Lord I will cut them off!

¹² They swarmed about me like bees, they blaze up and are extinguished like a fire of thorns; in the name of the Lord I will cut them off!^(B)

¹³ You [my adversary] thrust sorely at me that I might fall, but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴ The Lord is my Strength and Song; and He has become my Salvation.

¹⁵ The voice of rejoicing and salvation is in the tents and private dwellings of the [uncompromisingly] righteous: the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!

¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord does valiantly and achieves strength!

¹⁷ I shall not die but live, and shall declare the works and recount the illustrious acts of the Lord.

¹⁸ The Lord has chastened me sorely, but He has not given me over to death.^(C)

¹⁹ Open to me the [temple] gates of righteousness; I will enter through them, and I will confess and praise the Lord.

²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord; the [uncompromisingly] righteous shall enter through it.^(D)

²¹ I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You, for You have heard and answered me; and You have become my Salvation and Deliverer.

²² The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone.

²³ This is from the Lord and is His doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.^(E)

²⁴ This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵ Save now, we beseech You, O Lord; send now prosperity, O Lord, we beseech You, and give to us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; we bless you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship].^(F)

²⁷ The Lord is God, Who has shown and given us light [He has illuminated us with grace, freedom, and joy]. Decorate the festival with leafy boughs and bind the sacrifices to be offered with thick cords [all over the priest’s court, right up] to the horns of the altar.

²⁸ You are my God, and I will confess, praise, and give thanks to You; You are my God, I will extol You.

²⁹ O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and loving-kindness endure forever.

12 And at that time [of the end] Michael shall arise, the great [angelic] prince who defends and has charge of your [Daniel’s] people. And there shall be a time of trouble, straitness, and distress such as never was since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the Book [of God’s plan for His own].

² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake: some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting contempt and abhorrence.^(A)

³ And the teachers and those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness (to uprightness and right standing with God) [shall give forth light] like the stars forever and ever.^(B)

⁴ But you, O Daniel, shut up the words and seal the Book until the time of the end. [Then] many shall run to and fro and search anxiously [through the Book], and knowledge [of God’s purposes as revealed by His prophets] shall be increased and become great.^(C)

¹³ But you [Daniel, who was now over ninety years of age], go your way until the end; for you shall rest and shall stand [fast] in your allotted place at the end of the days.^(A)

4 And while they [Peter and John] were talking to the people, the high priests and the military commander of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,

² Being vexed and indignant through and through because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in [the case of] Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

³ So they laid hands on them (arrested them) and put them in prison until the following day, for it was already evening.

⁴ But many of those who heard the message believed (adhered to and trusted in and relied on Jesus as the Christ). And their number grew and came to about 5,000.

⁵ Then on the following day, their magistrates and elders and scribes were assembled in Jerusalem,

⁶ Including Annas the high priest and Caiaphas and John and Alexander and all others who belonged to the high priestly relationship.

⁷ And they set the men in their midst and repeatedly demanded, By what sort of power or by what kind of authority did [such people as] you do this [healing]?

⁸ Then Peter, [because he was] filled with [and controlled by] the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and members of the council (the Sanhedrin),

⁹ If we are being put on trial [here] today and examined concerning a good deed done to benefit a feeble (helpless) cripple, by what means this man has been restored to health,

¹⁰ Let it be known and understood by all of you, and by the whole house of Israel, that in the name and through the power and authority of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, [but] Whom God raised from the dead, in Him and by means of Him this man is standing here before you well and sound in body.

¹¹ This [Jesus] is the Stone which was despised and rejected by you, the builders, but which has become the Head of the corner [the Cornerstone].^(A)

¹² And there is salvation in and through no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by and in which we must be saved.

16 I have told you all these things, so that you should not be offended (taken unawares and falter, or be caused to stumble and fall away). [I told you to keep you from being scandalized and repelled.]

² They will put you out of (expel you from) the synagogues; but an hour is coming when whoever kills you will think and claim that he has offered service to God.

³ And they will do this because they have not known the Father or Me.

⁴ But I have told you these things now, so that when they occur you will remember that I told you of them. I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you.

⁵ But now I am going to Him Who sent Me, yet none of you asks Me, Where are You going?

⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts [taken complete possession of them].

⁷ However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you].

⁸ And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment:

⁹ About sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust in, rely on, and adhere to Me];

¹⁰ About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no longer;

¹¹ About judgment, because the ruler (evil genius, prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him.

¹² I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now.

¹³ But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future].

¹⁴ He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.

¹⁵ Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.