Book of Common Prayer
Zayin.
49 Remember the word to Your servant,
[a]In which You have made me hope.
50 This is my (A)comfort in my affliction,
That Your word has [b]revived me.
51 The arrogant (B)utterly deride me,
Yet I do not (C)turn aside from Your law.
52 I have (D)remembered Your ordinances from [c]of old, O Lord,
And comfort myself.
53 Burning (E)indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who (F)forsake Your law.
54 Your statutes are my songs
In the house of my (G)pilgrimage.
55 O Lord, I (H)remember Your name (I)in the night,
And keep Your law.
56 This has become mine,
[d]That I (J)observe Your precepts.
Heth.
57 The Lord is my (K)portion;
I have [e]promised to (L)keep Your words.
58 I (M)sought Your favor (N)with all my heart;
(O)Be gracious to me (P)according to Your [f]word.
59 I (Q)considered my ways
And turned my feet to Your testimonies.
60 I hastened and did not delay
To keep Your commandments.
61 The (R)cords of the wicked have encircled me,
But I have (S)not forgotten Your law.
62 At (T)midnight I shall rise to give thanks to You
Because of Your (U)righteous ordinances.
63 I am a (V)companion of all those who [g]fear You,
And of those who keep Your precepts.
64 (W)The earth is full of Your lovingkindness, O Lord;
(X)Teach me Your statutes.
Teth.
65 You have dealt well with Your servant,
O Lord, according to Your word.
66 Teach me good [h](Y)discernment and knowledge,
For I believe in Your commandments.
67 (Z)Before I was afflicted I went astray,
But now I keep Your word.
68 You are (AA)good and (AB)do good;
(AC)Teach me Your statutes.
69 The arrogant [i]have (AD)forged a lie against me;
With all my heart I will (AE)observe Your precepts.
70 Their heart is [j](AF)covered with fat,
But I (AG)delight in Your law.
71 It is (AH)good for me that I was afflicted,
That I may learn Your statutes.
72 The (AI)law of Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
The Folly of Trusting in Riches.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
49 (A)Hear this, all peoples;
Give ear, all (B)inhabitants of the world,
2 Both (C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
3 My mouth will (D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be (E)understanding.
4 I will incline my ear to (F)a proverb;
(G)I will [a]express my (H)riddle on the harp.
5 Why should I (I)fear in days of adversity,
When the iniquity of my [b]foes surrounds me,
6 Even those who (J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
7 No man can by any means (K)redeem his brother
Or give to God a (L)ransom for him—
8 For (M)the redemption of [c]his soul is costly,
And he should cease trying forever—
9 That he should (N)live on eternally,
That he should not [d](O)undergo decay.
10 For he sees that even (P)wise men die;
The (Q)stupid and the senseless alike perish
And (R)leave their wealth to others.
11 Their [e](S)inner thought is that their houses (T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have (U)called their lands after their own names.
12 But (V)man in his [f]pomp will not endure;
He is like the [g]beasts that [h]perish.
13 This is the (W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who (X)approve their words. [i]Selah.
14 As sheep they are appointed (Y)for [j]Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
And the (Z)upright shall rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for [k]Sheol (AA)to consume
[l]So that they have no habitation.
15 But God will (AB)redeem my soul from the [m]power of [n]Sheol,
For (AC)He will receive me. Selah.
16 Do not be afraid (AD)when a man becomes rich,
When the [o]glory of his house is increased;
17 For when he dies he will (AE)carry nothing away;
His [p]glory will not descend after him.
18 Though while he lives he (AF)congratulates [q]himself—
And though men praise you when you do well for yourself—
19 [r]He shall (AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see (AH)the light.
20 (AI)Man in his [s]pomp, yet without understanding,
Is (AJ)like the [t]beasts that [u]perish.
Folly and Wickedness of Men.
For the choir director; according to [a]Mahalath. A [b]Maskil of David.
53 (A)The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
(B)There is no one who does good.
2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is (C)anyone who [c]understands,
Who (D)seeks after God.
3 (E)Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.
4 Have the workers of wickedness (F)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?
5 There they were in great [d]fear (G)where no [e]fear had been;
For God (H)scattered the bones of [f]him who encamped against you;
You (I)put them to shame, because (J)God had rejected them.
6 Oh, that (K)the salvation of Israel [g]would come out of Zion!
When God [h]restores His captive people,
[i]Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
A Time for Everything
3 There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a (A)time for every [a]event under heaven—
2 A time to give birth and a (B)time to die;
A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.
3 A (C)time to kill and a time to heal;
A time to tear down and a time to build up.
4 A time to (D)weep and a time to (E)laugh;
A time to mourn and a time to (F)dance.
5 A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;
A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.
6 A time to search and a time to give up as lost;
A time to keep and a time to throw away.
7 A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;
A time to (G)be silent and a time to speak.
8 A time to love and a time to (H)hate;
A time for war and a time for peace.
9 (I)What profit is there to the worker from that in which he toils? 10 I have seen the (J)task which God has given the sons of men with which to occupy themselves.
God Set Eternity in the Heart of Man
11 He has (K)made everything [b]appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, [c]yet so that man (L)will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.
12 I know that there is (M)nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; 13 moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor—it is the (N)gift of God. 14 I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should [d](O)fear Him. 15 That (P)which is has been already and that which will be has already been, for God seeks what has passed by.
Peter (Cephas) Opposed by Paul
11 But when (A)Cephas came to (B)Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he [a]stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from [b](C)James, he used to (D)eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, (E)fearing [c]the party of the circumcision. 13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even (F)Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they (G)were not [d]straightforward about (H)the truth of the gospel, I said to (I)Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, (J)live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews? [e]
15 “We are (K)Jews by nature and not (L)sinners from among the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless knowing that (M)a man is not justified by the works of [f]the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by (N)faith in Christ and not by the works of [g]the Law; since (O)by the works of [h]the Law no [i]flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found (P)sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? (Q)May it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I (R)prove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through [j]the Law I (S)died to [k]the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been (T)crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but (U)Christ lives in me; and [l]the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in (V)the Son of God, who (W)loved me and (X)gave Himself up for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for (Y)if righteousness comes through [m]the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 (A)At that [a]time (B)Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, 2 and said to his servants, “(C)This is John the Baptist; [b]he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 For when (D)Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him (E)in prison because of (F)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 For John had been saying to him, “(G)It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded [c]John as (H)a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of (I)Herodias danced [d]before them and pleased (J)Herod, 7 so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Having been prompted by her mother, she *said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of [e]his dinner guests. 10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the body and buried [f]it; and they went and reported to Jesus.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.