Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Of David.
1 Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[a](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.(K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land(M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because he sees that his day is coming.(Q)
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[b] bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.(R)
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.(S)
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.(T)
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,(U)
but the Lord supports the righteous.(V)
18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.(W)
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.(X)
20 But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.(Y)
21 The wicked person borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.(Z)
22 Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be destroyed.(AA)
23 A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.(AB)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.(AC)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(AD)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(AE)
27 Turn away from evil, do what is good,
and settle permanently.(AF)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful ones.(AG)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(AH)
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it permanently.(AI)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(AJ)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(AK)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and intends to kill him;(AL)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(AM)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(AN)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
well-rooted,[c] like a flourishing native tree.(AO)
36 Then I[d] passed by and noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(AP)
Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,(A) and he said:
Strike the capitals of the pillars(B)
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.(C)
None of those who flee will get away;(D)
none of the fugitives will escape.
2 If they dig down to Sheol,(E)
from there my hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven,(F)
from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down(G)
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from my sight on the sea floor,(H)
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them.(I)
4 And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,(J)
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.(K)
I will keep my eye on them
for harm and not for good.(L)
5 The Lord, the God of Armies—
he touches the earth;(M)
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.(N)
6 He builds his upper chambers
in the heavens(O)
and lays the foundation of his vault
on the earth.(P)
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out over the surface of the earth.(Q)
The Lord is his name.(R)
Announcement of Judgment
7 Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to me?(S)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,[a](T)
and the Arameans from Kir?(U)
8 Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,(V)
and I will obliterate it
from the face of the earth.(W)
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob(X)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
9 for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel(Y)
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people(Z)
who say, “Disaster will never overtake[b]
or confront us,”(AA)
will die by the sword.
The Letter to Smyrna
8 “Write to the angel of the church in Smyrna: Thus says the First and the Last,(A) the one who was dead and came to life: 9 I know your[a] affliction and poverty, but you are rich. I know the slander of those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.(B) 10 Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil(C) is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will experience affliction for ten days.(D) Be faithful to the point of death,(E) and I will give you the crown[b] of life.(F)
11 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will never be harmed by the second death.(G)
The Letter to Pergamum
12 “Write to the angel of the church in Pergamum: Thus says the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword: (H) 13 I know[c] where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding on to my name and did not deny your faith in me,[d](I) even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness(J) who was put to death among you, where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam,(K) who taught Balak to place a stumbling block[e] in front of the Israelites: to eat meat sacrificed to idols(L) and to commit sexual immorality.(M) 15 In the same way, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[f] 16 So repent! Otherwise, I will come to you quickly(N) and fight against them with the sword of my mouth.(O)
17 “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna.[g](P) I will also give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name(Q) is inscribed that no one knows except the one who receives it.
13 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you don’t go in, and you don’t allow those entering to go in.[a](A)
15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make one convert,(B) and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a child of hell as you are!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides,(C) who say, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the temple, it means nothing. But whoever takes an oath(D) by the gold of the temple is bound by his oath.’[b] 17 Blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctified the gold? 18 Also, ‘Whoever takes an oath by the altar, it means nothing; but whoever takes an oath by the gift that is on it is bound by his oath.’ 19 Blind people![c] For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift?(E) 20 Therefore, the one who takes an oath by the altar takes an oath by it and by everything on it. 21 The one who takes an oath by the temple takes an oath by it and by him who dwells(F) in it. 22 And the one who takes an oath by heaven takes an oath by God’s throne(G) and by him who sits on it.(H)
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You pay a tenth of[d] mint, dill, and cumin, and yet you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,(I) mercy, and faithfulness.[e] These things should have been done without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides!(J) You strain out a gnat, but gulp down a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed[f] and self-indulgence.(K) 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[g] so that the outside of it[h] may also become clean.
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