Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5[a]
Prayer for Divine Help
1 For the leader; with wind instruments. A psalm of David.
I
2 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
understand my sighing.(A)
3 Attend to the sound of my cry,
my king and my God!
For to you I will pray, Lord;
4 in the morning you will hear my voice;
in the morning I will plead before you and wait.(B)
II
5 You are not a god who delights in evil;
no wicked person finds refuge with you;
6 the arrogant cannot stand before your eyes.
You hate all who do evil;
7 you destroy those who speak falsely.(C)
A bloody and fraudulent man
the Lord abhors.
III
8 But I, through the abundance of your mercy,[b]
will enter into your house.
I will bow down toward your holy sanctuary
out of fear of you.(D)
9 Lord, guide me in your justice because of my foes;
make straight your way before me.(E)
IV
10 For there is no sincerity in their mouth;
their heart is corrupt.
Their throat[c] is an open grave;(F)
on their tongue are subtle lies.
11 Declare them guilty, God;
make them fall by their own devices.(G)
Drive them out for their many sins;
for they have rebelled against you.
V
12 Then all who trust in you will be glad
and forever shout for joy.(H)
You will protect them and those will rejoice in you
who love your name.
13 For you, Lord, bless the just one;
you surround him with favor like a shield.
Psalm 6[d]
Prayer in Distress
1 For the leader; with stringed instruments, “upon the eighth.”[e]
A psalm of David.
I
2 Do not reprove me in your anger, Lord,
nor punish me in your wrath.(I)
3 Have pity on me, Lord, for I am weak;
heal me, Lord, for my bones are shuddering.(J)
4 My soul too is shuddering greatly—
and you, Lord, how long…?[f](K)
5 Turn back, Lord, rescue my soul;
save me because of your mercy.
6 For in death there is no remembrance of you.
Who praises you in Sheol?[g](L)
II
7 I am wearied with sighing;
all night long I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch with weeping.
8 My eyes are dimmed with sorrow,
worn out because of all my foes.(M)
III
Psalm 10
I
1 Why, Lord, do you stand afar
and pay no heed in times of trouble?
2 Arrogant scoundrels pursue the poor;
they trap them by their cunning schemes.(A)
II
3 The wicked even boast of their greed;
these robbers curse and scorn the Lord.(B)
4 In their insolence the wicked boast:
“God does not care; there is no God.”(C)
5 Yet their affairs always succeed;
they ignore your judgment on high;
they sneer at all who oppose them.
6 They say in their hearts, “We will never fall;
never will we see misfortune.”
7 Their mouths are full of oaths, violence, and lies;
discord and evil are under their tongues.(D)
8 They wait in ambush near towns;
their eyes watch for the helpless
to murder the innocent in secret.(E)
9 They lurk in ambush like lions in a thicket,
hide there to trap the poor,
snare them and close the net.(F)
10 The helpless are crushed, laid low;
they fall into the power of the wicked,
11 Who say in their hearts, “God has forgotten,
shows no concern, never bothers to look.”(G)
III
12 Rise up, Lord! God, lift up your hand!
Do not forget the poor!
13 Why should the wicked scorn God,
say in their hearts, “God does not care”?
14 But you do see;
you take note of misery and sorrow;(H)
you take the matter in hand.
To you the helpless can entrust their cause;
you are the defender of orphans.(I)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and depraved;
make them account for their crimes;
let none of them survive.
IV
16 The Lord is king forever;(J)
the nations have vanished from his land.
17 You listen, Lord, to the needs of the poor;
you strengthen their heart and incline your ear.
18 You win justice for the orphaned and oppressed;(K)
no one on earth will cause terror again.
Psalm 11[a]
Confidence in the Presence of God
1 For the leader. Of David.
I
In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains!(L)
2 See how the wicked string their bows,
fit their arrows to the string
to shoot from the shadows at the upright of heart.(M)
3 [b]If foundations are destroyed,
what can the just one do?”
II
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.(N)
God’s eyes keep careful watch;
they test the children of Adam.
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
hates those who love violence,
6 And rains upon the wicked
fiery coals and brimstone,
a scorching wind their allotted cup.[c](O)
7 The Lord is just and loves just deeds;
the upright will see his face.
Chapter 2
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream.[a] 1 In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream which left his spirit no rest and robbed him of his sleep. 2 So he ordered that the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans[b] be summoned to interpret the dream for him. When they came and presented themselves to the king, 3 he said to them, “I had a dream which will allow my spirit no rest until I know what it means.” 4 The Chaldeans answered the king in Aramaic:[c] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream and we will give its meaning.” 5 The king answered the Chaldeans, “This is what I have decided: unless you tell me the dream and its meaning, you shall be cut to pieces and your houses made into a refuse heap. 6 But if you tell me the dream and its meaning, you shall receive from me gifts and presents and great honors. Therefore tell me the dream and its meaning.”
7 Again they answered, “Let the king tell his servants the dream and we will give its meaning.” 8 But the king replied: “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, since you know what I have decided. 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there can be but one decree for you. You have conspired to present a false and deceitful interpretation to me until the crisis is past. Tell me the dream, therefore, that I may be sure that you can also give its correct interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered the king: “There is not a man on earth who can do what you ask, O king; never has any king, however great and mighty, asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean. 11 What you demand, O king, is too difficult; there is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods, who do not dwell among people of flesh.” 12 At this the king became violently angry and ordered all the wise men[d] of Babylon to be put to death. 13 When the decree was issued that the wise men should be slain, Daniel and his companions were also sought out.
14 Then Daniel prudently took counsel with Arioch, the chief of the king’s guard, who had set out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked Arioch, the officer of the king, “What is the reason for this harsh order from the king?” When Arioch told him, 16 Daniel went and asked for time from the king, that he might give him the interpretation.
Chapter 2
Christ and His Commandments. 1 My children,[a] I am writing this to you so that you may not commit sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous one.(A) 2 He is expiation for our sins, and not for our sins only but for those of the whole world.(B) 3 The way we may be sure[b] that we know him is to keep his commandments.(C) 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him.(D) 5 But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him:(E) 6 whoever claims to abide in him ought to live [just] as he lived.
The New Commandment.[c] 7 Beloved, I am writing no new commandment to you but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.(F) 8 And yet I do write a new commandment to you, which holds true in him and among you,[d] for the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.(G) 9 Whoever says he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is still in the darkness.(H) 10 Whoever loves his brother remains in the light, and there is nothing in him to cause a fall.(I) 11 Whoever hates his brother is in darkness; he walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Members of the Community.[e]
12 When I was with them I protected them in your name that you gave me, and I guarded them, and none of them was lost except the son of destruction, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled.(A) 13 But now I am coming to you. I speak this in the world so that they may share my joy completely.(B) 14 I gave them your word, and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.(C) 15 [a]I do not ask that you take them out of the world(D) but that you keep them from the evil one. 16 They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world. 17 Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.(E) 18 As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.(F) 19 And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.