Book of Common Prayer
Qoph
145 I called (A)with all my heart; answer me, O Yahweh!
I will (B)observe Your statutes.
146 I called to You; (C)save me
And I shall keep Your testimonies.
147 I [a](D)eagerly greet the dawn and cry for help;
I [b]wait for Your words.
148 My eyes [c]eagerly greet the (E)night watches,
That I may (F)muse on Your [d]word.
149 Hear my voice (G)according to Your lovingkindness;
(H)O Yahweh, revive me, according to Your judgments.
150 [e]Near are those who pursue wickedness;
They are far from Your law.
151 (I)Near are You, O Yahweh,
And all Your commandments are (J)truth.
152 Of old I have (K)known from Your testimonies
That You have founded them (L)forever.
Resh
153 (M)See my (N)affliction and rescue me,
For I do not (O)forget Your law.
154 (P)Plead my cause and (Q)redeem me;
Revive me according to Your [f]word.
155 Salvation is (R)far from the wicked,
For they (S)do not seek Your statutes.
156 (T)Many are Your [g]compassions, O Yahweh;
Revive me according to Your judgments.
157 Many are my (U)persecutors and my adversaries,
Yet I do not (V)turn aside from Your testimonies.
158 I see the (W)treacherous and (X)loathe them,
Those who do not keep Your [h]word.
159 See how I (Y)love Your precepts;
(Z)O Yahweh, revive me according to Your lovingkindness.
160 The (AA)sum of Your word is (AB)truth,
And every one of Your righteous judgments (AC)is everlasting.
Sin/Shin
161 (AD)Princes persecute me without cause,
But my heart (AE)is in dread of Your words.
162 I (AF)rejoice at Your [i]word,
As one who (AG)finds much spoil.
163 I (AH)hate and abhor lying,
But I (AI)love Your law.
164 Seven times a day I praise You,
Because of Your (AJ)righteous judgments.
165 Those who love Your law have (AK)much peace,
And [j](AL)nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I (AM)hope for Your salvation, O Yahweh,
And I do Your commandments.
167 My (AN)soul keeps Your testimonies,
And I (AO)love them exceedingly.
168 I (AP)keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
For all my (AQ)ways are before You.
Tav
169 Let my (AR)cry of lamentation come near before You, O Yahweh;
(AS)Give me understanding (AT)according to Your word.
170 Let my (AU)supplication come before You;
(AV)Deliver me according to Your [k]word.
171 Let my (AW)lips pour forth praise,
For You (AX)teach me Your statutes.
172 Let my (AY)tongue answer with Your [l]word,
For all Your (AZ)commandments are righteous.
173 Let Your (BA)hand be [m]ready to help me,
For I have (BB)chosen Your precepts.
174 I (BC)long for Your salvation, O Yahweh,
And Your law is my (BD)delight.
175 Let my (BE)soul live that it may praise You,
And let Your judgments help me.
176 I have (BF)wandered off like a lost sheep; search for Your slave,
For I have (BG)not forgotten Your commandments.
Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears Yahweh
A Song of Ascents.
128 (A)How blessed is everyone who fears Yahweh,
Who (B)walks in His ways.
2 When you shall (C)eat of the [a](D)fruit of the labor of your hands,
How blessed will you be and (E)how well will it be for you.
3 Your wife shall be like a (F)fruitful vine
In the innermost parts of your house,
Your children like (G)olive plants
All around your table.
4 Behold, for thus shall the man be blessed
Who fears Yahweh.
5 (H)May Yahweh bless you (I)from Zion,
That you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 Indeed, may you see your (J)children’s children.
(K)Peace be upon Israel!
Yahweh Has Cut the Cords of the Wicked
A Song of Ascents.
129 “[b]Many times they have [c](L)assailed me from my (M)youth up,”
(N)Let Israel now say,
2 “[d]Many times they have [e]assailed me from my youth up;
Yet they have (O)not prevailed against me.
3 The plowers plowed upon my back;
They lengthened their furrows.”
4 Yahweh (P)is righteous;
He has cut up the (Q)cords of the wicked.
5 Let all who (R)hate Zion
Be (S)put to shame and turned backward;
6 Let them be like (T)grass upon the rooftops,
Which dries up before it [f]grows up;
7 With which the reaper does not fill his [g]hand,
Nor the binder of sheaves the (U)fold of his garment;
8 And those who pass by will not say,
“The (V)blessing of Yahweh be upon you;
We bless you in the name of Yahweh.”
Yahweh Will Redeem Israel
A Song of Ascents.
130 Out of the (W)depths I called to You, O Yahweh.
2 O Lord, (X)hear my voice!
Let (Y)Your ears be attentive
To the (Z)voice of my supplications.
3 If You should keep iniquities, O Yah,
O Lord, who could (AA)stand?
4 But with You there is (AB)forgiveness,
That You may be (AC)feared.
5 I hope for Yahweh, my (AD)soul does hope,
And (AE)for His word do I wait.
6 My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen (AF)for the morning,
The watchmen for the morning.
7 O Israel, (AG)wait for Yahweh;
For with Yahweh there is (AH)lovingkindness,
And with Him is (AI)abundant redemption.
8 And it is He who will (AJ)redeem Israel
From all his iniquities.
An Evil Time
2 Woe to those who (A)devise wickedness,
Who work out evil on their beds!
(B)When the light of the morning comes, they do it,
For it is in the (C)power of their hands.
2 And they (D)covet fields and then (E)tear them away,
And houses, and take them away.
And they (F)oppress a man and his house,
A man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says Yahweh,
“Behold, I am (G)devising against this (H)family an evil demise
From which you (I)cannot remove your necks;
And you will not walk (J)haughtily,
For it will be an (K)evil time.
4 On that day they will (L)take up against you a [a]taunt
And [b](M)utter a bitter wailing and say,
‘We are completely (N)devastated!
He exchanges the portion of my people;
How He removes it from me!
To the faithless one, He (O)apportions our fields.’
5 Therefore you will have no one [c](P)stretching a measuring line
For you by lot in the assembly of Yahweh.
6 ‘(Q)Do not speak, dripping out words,’ they say while dripping out words.
But if [d]they do (R)not drip out words concerning these things,
(S)Dishonor will not be turned back.
7 Is it being said, O house of Jacob:
‘Is the Spirit of Yahweh (T)impatient?
Are these His deeds?’
Do not My words (U)do good
To the one (V)walking uprightly?
8 [e]And recently My people have arisen as an (W)enemy—
You (X)strip the [f]robe off the garment
From (Y)unsuspecting passers-by,
From those returned from war.
9 The women of My people you (Z)drive out,
Each one from her pleasant house.
From her infants you take My (AA)splendor forever.
10 Arise and go,
For this is no place (AB)of rest
Because of the (AC)uncleanness that wreaks destruction,
A painful destruction.
11 If a man walking after wind and (AD)lying
Had acted falsely and said,
‘I will speak, dripping out words to you concerning (AE)wine and liquor,’
He would be one who drips out words as a spokesman to (AF)this people.
12 “I will surely (AG)assemble all of you, Jacob;
I will surely gather the (AH)remnant of Israel.
I will put them together like sheep in the fold;
Like a flock in the midst of its pasture
They will be noisy with men.
13 The breaker goes up before them;
They break out, pass through the gate, and go out by it.
So their king goes on before them,
And Yahweh at their head.”
Paul Is Brought to Caesarea
23 And when he called to him two of the centurions, he said, “Make ready two hundred soldiers, [a]seventy horsemen, and two hundred [b]spearmen to proceed to (A)Caesarea by the [c]third hour of the night, 24 and provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to (B)Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter having this form:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to the (C)most excellent governor Felix, (D)greetings.
27 “When this man was arrested by the Jews and was about to be slain by them, (E)I came up to them with the troops and rescued him, (F)having learned that he was a Roman.
28 And (G)wanting to ascertain the charge for which they were accusing him, I (H)brought him down to their (I)Sanhedrin;
29 and I found him to be accused over (J)questions about their Law, but [d]under (K)no accusation deserving death or [e]imprisonment.
30 “And when I was (L)informed that there would be (M)a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, also instructing (N)his accusers to speak against him before you.”
31 So the soldiers, according to their orders, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 But the next day, leaving (O)the horsemen to go on with him, they returned to (P)the barracks. 33 When these had come to (Q)Caesarea and delivered the letter to (R)the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when he had read it, he asked from what (S)province he was, and when he learned that (T)he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing after your (U)accusers arrive also,” giving orders for him to be (V)kept in Herod’s [f]Praetorium.
Questions from John the Baptist
18 (A)And the disciples of John reported to him about all these things. 19 Summoning [a]two of his disciples, John sent them to (B)the Lord, saying, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?” 20 When the men came to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the One who is to come, or should we look for someone else?’” 21 At that [b]very time He (C)cured many people of diseases and (D)afflictions and evil spirits, and He granted sight to many who were blind. 22 And He answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the (E)blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the (F)poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 Blessed is he [c]who does not take offense at Me.”
24 And when the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to behold? A reed shaken by the wind? 25 [d]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft garments? Behold, those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces! 26 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I say to you, and even more than a prophet. 27 This is the one about whom it is written,
28 I say to you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is [f]least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” 29 And when all the people and the tax collectors heard this, they [g]acknowledged (H)God’s justice, (I)having been baptized with (J)the baptism of John. 30 But the Pharisees and the (K)scholars of the Law rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by [h]John.
31 “To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? 32 They are like children, sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, who say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not cry.’ 33 For John the Baptist has come (L)eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [i]drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and [j]sinners!’ 35 Yet wisdom (M)is vindicated [k]by all her children.”
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