Book of Common Prayer
Aleph[a]
119 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,
who walk in the law of Yahweh.
2 Blessed are those who keep his testimonies;
they seek him with a whole heart.
3 They also do no wrong;
they walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded[b] your precepts,
that we should keep them diligently.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast,
to keep your statutes!
6 Then I would not be ashamed
when I look to all your commands.
7 I will give you thanks with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous laws.
8 I will heed your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
Beth
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By taking heed according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I have sought you;
do not let me stray from your commands.
11 In my heart I have hidden your word,[c]
so that I may not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, O Yahweh.
Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips I have told of
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 In the way of your testimonies I have rejoiced
as I would over all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts
and look at[d] your ways.
16 I will take delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
Gimel
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live
and heed your word.
18 Uncover my eyes, that I may look at[e]
wonderful things from your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth;[f]
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is crushed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant, the accursed,
who stray from your commands.
22 Remove from[g] me scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit and speak against me,
your servant meditates on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight,
my counselors.[h]
Human Faithlessness and God’s Faithfulness
For the music director; on the Sheminith.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
12 Save, O Yahweh, for the pious have ceased to be;
for the faithful have vanished
from among the children of humankind.
2 They speak falseness to each other.[c]
With flattering lips,
with a double heart[d] they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue speaking great boasts—
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are on our side.
Who is master over us?”
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” Yahweh says.
“I shall put them in the safety for which they[e] long.”
6 The words of Yahweh are pure words
like silver refined in the crucible on the ground,
refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will protect them.
You will preserve him[f]
from this generation always.
8 The wicked prowl about
when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
Trust in the Salvation of Yahweh
For the music director. A psalm of David.[g]
13 How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counsel[h] in my soul,
and sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Consider[i] and answer me, O Yahweh my God.
Give light to my eyes
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 and lest my enemy should say, “I have overcome him,”
lest my enemies rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But as for me, I have trusted in your steadfast love.[j]
My heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6 [k] I will sing to Yahweh
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Folly of the Godless and God’s Final Triumph
For the music director. Of David.[l]
14 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt.
They do abominable deeds.
There is none who does good.
2 Yahweh looks down from heaven upon the children of humankind
to see whether there is one who has insight,
one who cares about God.
3 All have gone astray;
they are altogether corrupt.
There is not one who does good;
there is not even one.
4 All who do evil—do they not know,
they who eat my people as though they were eating bread?
They do not call on Yahweh.
5 There they are very fearful[m]
because God is with the generation of the righteous.
6 You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
because[n] Yahweh is his refuge.
7 Oh that from Zion[o] would come salvation for Israel!
When Yahweh returns the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be happy.
Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
6 Then[a] Job answered and said,
Job’s Second Speech: A Response to Eliphaz
7 “Does not a human being[a] have hard service[b] on earth?
And are not his[c] days like the days of a laborer?
2 Like a slave he longs for the shadow,
and like a laborer he waits for his wages.
3 So I had to inherit[d] months of worthlessness,
and nights of misery are apportioned to me.
4 When I lie down, I say,[e] ‘When shall I rise?’
But[f] the night is long,
and I have my fill of tossing until dawn.
5 My body is clothed with maggots and clods of dust;
my skin hardens, then[g] it gives way again.
6 “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,
and they come to an end without hope.[h]
7 Remember that my life is a breath;
my eye will not return to see good.
8 The eye of the one seeing me will not see me;
your eyes are upon me, but[i] I will be gone.[j]
9 A cloud vanishes, and it goes away,
so he who goes down to Sheol will not come up.
10 He does not return again to his house,
and his place does not recognize him again.
11 “Even[k] I will not restrain my mouth;
I will speak in my spirit’s anguish;
I will complain in my inner self’s[l] bitterness.
12 Am I the sea, or a sea monster,
that you set a guard over me?
13 When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,
and my couch[m] will ease my complaint,’
14 then[n] you terrify me with dreams,[o]
and with visions you terrify[p] me.
15 So[q] my inner self[r] will choose[s] strangling—
death more than my existence.[t]
16 I loathe my life; I would not live forever;
depart from me, for my days are a breath.
17 “What is a human being that you make him great
and that you fix your mind on him,[u]
18 so that[v] you visit him every morning,[w]
you test him every moment?[x]
19 How long[y] will you not turn away from me?
Or not leave me alone until I swallow[z] my spit?
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you, watcher of humanity?
Why have you made me as a target for yourself,
so that[aa] I have become a burden to myself?[ab]
21 And why do you not pardon my transgression
and take away my guilt?
For now I shall lie in the dust,
and you will seek me, but[ac] I will be no more.”[ad]
Cornelius Has a Vision
10 Now there was a certain man in Caesarea named[a] Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort, 2 devout and fearing God together with all his household, doing many charitable deeds for the people and praying to God continually.[b] 3 About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him and became terrified and[c] said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God. 5 And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner,[d] whose house is by the sea.” 7 And when the angel who spoke to him departed, he summoned two of the household slaves and a devout soldier from those who attended him, 8 and after he[e] had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Peter Has a Vision
9 And the next day, as[f] they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour. 10 And he became hungry and wanted to eat. But while[g] they were preparing the food,[h] a trance came over him. 11 And he saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down to the earth by its four corners, 12 in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of the sky. 13 And a voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common and unclean!” 15 And the voice came again to him for the second time: “The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!” 16 And this happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.
Jesus’ Brothers Do Not Believe in Him
7 And after these things Jesus was going about in Galilee. For he did not want to go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the feast of the Jews—the feast of Tabernacles—was near. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Depart from here and go to Judea, so that your disciples also can see your works that you are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret and yet he himself desires to be publicly recognized.[a] If you are doing these things, reveal yourself to the world!” 5 (For not even his brothers believed in him.)
Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles
6 So Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always ready. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me, because I am testifying about it, that its deeds are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not[b] going up to this feast, because my time is not yet completed.[c] 9 And when he[d] had said these things, he remained in Galilee.
10 But when his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not openly, but (as it were) in secret. 11 So the Jews were looking for him at the feast, and were saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was a lot of grumbling concerning him among the crowds; some were saying, “He is a good man,” but others were saying, “No, but he deceives the crowd.” 13 However, no one was speaking openly about him for fear of the Jews.
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