Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
The Fate of Sinners and the Reward of the Just
1 Of David.
Aleph
Do not be provoked by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 Like grass they wither quickly;
like green plants they wilt away.(B)
Beth
3 Trust in the Lord and do good
that you may dwell in the land[b] and live secure.(C)
4 Find your delight in the Lord
who will give you your heart’s desire.(D)
Gimel
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him and he will act(E)
6 And make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like noonday.(F)
Daleth
7 Be still before the Lord;
wait for him.
Do not be provoked by the prosperous,
nor by malicious schemers.
He
8 Refrain from anger; abandon wrath;
do not be provoked; it brings only harm.
9 Those who do evil will be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the earth.(G)
Waw
10 Wait a little, and the wicked will be no more;
look for them and they will not be there.
11 But the poor will inherit the earth,(H)
will delight in great prosperity.
Zayin
12 The wicked plot against the righteous
and gnash their teeth at them;
13 But my Lord laughs at them,(I)
because he sees that their day is coming.
Heth
14 The wicked unsheath their swords;
they string their bows
To fell the poor and oppressed,
to slaughter those whose way is upright.(J)
15 Their swords will pierce their own hearts;
their bows will be broken.
Teth
16 Better the meagerness of the righteous one
than the plenty of the wicked.(K)
17 The arms of the wicked will be broken,
while the Lord will sustain the righteous.
Yodh
18 The Lord knows the days of the blameless;
their heritage lasts forever.
19 They will not be ashamed when times are bad;
in days of famine they will be satisfied.
Kaph
20 The wicked perish,
enemies of the Lord;
They shall be consumed like fattened lambs;
like smoke they disappear.(L)
Lamedh
21 The wicked one borrows but does not repay;
the righteous one is generous and gives.
22 For those blessed by the Lord will inherit the earth,
but those accursed will be cut off.
Mem
23 The valiant one whose steps are guided by the Lord,
who will delight in his way,(M)
24 May stumble, but he will never fall,
for the Lord holds his hand.
Nun
25 Neither in my youth, nor now in old age
have I seen the righteous one abandoned(N)
or his offspring begging for bread.
26 All day long he is gracious and lends,
and his offspring become a blessing.
Samekh
27 Turn from evil and do good,
that you may be settled forever.(O)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and does not abandon the faithful.
Ayin
When the unjust are destroyed,
and the offspring of the wicked cut off,
29 The righteous will inherit the earth
and dwell in it forever.(P)
Pe
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;(Q)
his tongue speaks what is right.
31 God’s teaching is in his heart;(R)
his steps do not falter.
Sadhe
32 The wicked spies on the righteous
and seeks to kill him.
33 But the Lord does not abandon him in his power,
nor let him be condemned when tried.
Qoph
34 Wait eagerly for the Lord,
and keep his way;(S)
He will raise you up to inherit the earth;
you will see when the wicked are cut off.
Resh
35 I have seen a ruthless scoundrel,
spreading out like a green cedar.(T)
36 When I passed by again, he was gone;
though I searched, he could not be found.
Shin
37 Observe the person of integrity and mark the upright;
Because there is a future for a man of peace.(U)
38 Sinners will be destroyed together;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
Taw
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
their refuge in a time of distress.(V)
40 The Lord helps and rescues them,
rescues and saves them from the wicked,
because they take refuge in him.
I. The Return from Exile
Chapter 1
The Decree of Cyrus. 1 (A)In the first year of Cyrus,[a] king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the Lord spoken by Jeremiah, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia to issue a proclamation throughout his entire kingdom, both by word of mouth and in writing: 2 “Thus says Cyrus, king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the Lord, the God of heaven,[b] has given to me, and he has charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. 3 Those among you who belong to any part of his people, may their God be with them! Let them go up to Jerusalem in Judah to build the house of the Lord the God of Israel, that is, the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 Let all those who have survived, in whatever place they may have lived, be assisted by the people of that place with silver, gold, goods, and livestock, together with voluntary offerings for the house of God in Jerusalem.’”
5 Then the heads of ancestral houses[c] of Judah and Benjamin and the priests and Levites—everyone, that is, whose spirit had been stirred up by God—prepared to go up to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem. 6 (B)All their neighbors gave them help in every way, with silver, gold, goods, livestock, and many precious gifts, besides all their voluntary offerings. 7 (C)King Cyrus, too, had the vessels of the house of the Lord brought forth that Nebuchadnezzar had taken from Jerusalem and placed in the house of his god. 8 Cyrus, king of Persia, had them brought forth by the treasurer Mithredath, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah.[d] 9 This was the inventory: baskets of goldware, thirty; baskets of silverware, one thousand and twenty-nine; 10 golden bowls, thirty; silver bowls, four hundred and ten; other vessels, one thousand. 11 Total of the gold and silver vessels: five thousand four hundred.[e] All these Sheshbazzar took with him when the exiles were brought up from Babylon to Jerusalem.
VI. Conclusion
Chapter 16
The Collection.[a] 1 Now in regard to the collection[b] for the holy ones, you also should do as I ordered the churches of Galatia.(A) 2 On the first day of the week each of you should set aside and save whatever he can afford, so that collections will not be going on when I come. 3 And when I arrive, I shall send those whom you have approved with letters of recommendation to take your gracious gift to Jerusalem. 4 If it seems fitting that I should go also,[c] they will go with me.
Paul’s Travel Plans.[d] 5 I shall come to you after I pass through Macedonia (for I am going to pass through Macedonia),(B) 6 and perhaps I shall stay or even spend the winter with you, so that you may send me on my way wherever I may go. 7 For I do not wish to see you now just in passing, but I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.(C) 8 [e]I shall stay in Ephesus(D) until Pentecost, 9 because a door has opened for me wide and productive for work, but there are many opponents.(E)
15 When Jesus realized this, he withdrew from that place. Many [people] followed him, and he cured them all,[a] 16 but he warned them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through Isaiah the prophet:
18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,(A)
my beloved in whom I delight;
I shall place my spirit upon him,
and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.
19 He will not contend[b] or cry out,
nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
a smoldering wick he will not quench,
until he brings justice to victory.
21 And in his name the Gentiles will hope.”[c]
Jesus and Beelzebul.[d]
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