Book of Common Prayer
Sing of the Lovingkindness of Yahweh Forever
A [a]Maskil of [b]Ethan [c]the Ezrahite.
89 I will (A)sing of the lovingkindnesses of Yahweh forever;
From generation to generation I will (B)make known Your (C)faithfulness with my mouth.
2 For I have said, “(D)Lovingkindness will be built up forever;
In the heavens You will establish Your (E)faithfulness.”
3 “I have cut a covenant with (F)My chosen;
I have (G)sworn to David My [d]servant,
4 I will establish your (H)seed forever
And build up your (I)throne from generation to generation.” [e]Selah.
5 The (J)heavens will praise Your wonders, O Yahweh;
Your faithfulness also (K)in the assembly of the (L)holy ones.
6 For (M)who in the sky is comparable to Yahweh?
Who among the [f](N)sons of the mighty is like Yahweh,
7 A God (O)greatly dreaded in the council of the (P)holy ones,
And [g](Q)fearsome above all those who are around Him?
8 O Yahweh God of hosts, (R)who is like You, O mighty Yah?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You (S)still them.
10 You Yourself crushed [h](T)Rahab like one who is slain;
You (U)scattered Your enemies with Your strong arm.
11 The (V)heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The (W)world and its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The (X)north and the south, You have created them;
(Y)Tabor and (Z)Hermon (AA)sing with joy at Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
Your hand is strong, Your (AB)right hand is exalted.
14 (AC)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
(AD)Lovingkindness and [i]truth go before You.
15 How blessed are the people who know the (AE)loud shout of joy!
O Yahweh, they walk in the (AF)light of Your face.
16 In (AG)Your name they rejoice all the day,
And by Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the beauty of (AH)their strength,
And by Your favor [j]our (AI)horn is exalted.
18 For our (AJ)shield belongs to Yahweh,
[k]And our king to the (AK)Holy One of Israel.
19 Formerly You spoke in vision to Your [l]holy [m]ones,
And said, “I have bestowed help to a (AL)mighty one;
I have exalted one (AM)chosen from the people.
20 I have (AN)found David My [n]servant;
With My holy (AO)oil I have anointed him,
21 With whom (AP)My hand will be established;
My arm also will (AQ)strengthen him.
22 The enemy will not [o]deceive him,
Nor the [p](AR)son of unrighteousness afflict him.
23 But I shall (AS)crush his adversaries before him,
And strike those who hate him.
24 My (AT)faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him,
And in My name his (AU)horn will be exalted.
25 I shall also set his hand (AV)on the sea
And his right hand on the rivers.
26 He will call to Me, ‘You are (AW)my Father,
My God, and the (AX)rock of my salvation.’
27 I also shall make him My (AY)firstborn,
The (AZ)highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My (BA)lovingkindness I will keep for him forever,
And My (BB)covenant shall be confirmed to him.
29 So I will set up his (BC)seed to endure forever
And his (BD)throne (BE)as the days of heaven.
30 “If his sons (BF)forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they profane My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the (BG)rod
And their iniquity with striking.
33 But I will not break off (BH)My lovingkindness from him,
Nor deal falsely in My faithfulness.
34 My (BI)covenant I will not profane,
Nor will I (BJ)alter what comes forth from My lips.
35 [q]Once I have (BK)sworn by My holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36 His (BL)seed shall endure forever
And his (BM)throne (BN)as the sun before Me.
37 It shall be established forever (BO)like the moon,
And the (BP)witness in the sky is faithful.” [r]Selah.
38 But You have (BQ)cast off and (BR)rejected,
You have been full of wrath [s]against Your (BS)anointed.
39 You have (BT)spurned the covenant of Your [t]slave;
You have (BU)profaned (BV)his crown to the ground.
40 You have (BW)broken down all his walls;
You have (BX)beset his strongholds with ruin.
41 (BY)All who pass along the way plunder him;
He has become a (BZ)reproach to his neighbors.
42 You have (CA)exalted the right hand of his adversaries;
You have (CB)made all his enemies be glad.
43 You also turn back the edge of his sword
And have (CC)not made him arise in battle.
44 You have made his [u](CD)splendor to cease
And cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have (CE)shortened the days of his youth;
You have (CF)wrapped him up with shame. Selah.
46 (CG)How long, O Yahweh?
Will You hide Yourself forever?
Will Your (CH)wrath burn like fire?
47 (CI)Remember [v]what my span of life is;
For what (CJ)vanity [w]You have created all the sons of men!
48 What man can live and not (CK)see death?
Can he (CL)provide his soul escape from the [x]power of Sheol? Selah.
49 Where are Your former lovingkindnesses, O Lord,
Which You (CM)swore to David in Your faithfulness?
50 Remember, O Lord, the (CN)reproach of Your [y]slaves;
[z]How I bear in my bosom the reproach of all the many peoples,
51 With which (CO)Your enemies have reproached, O Yahweh,
With which they have reproached the footsteps of (CP)Your anointed.
52 (CQ)Blessed be Yahweh forever!
Amen and Amen.
Ezekiel Bears Israel’s Iniquity
4 “Now as for you, son of man, (A)get yourself a brick, set it before you, and inscribe a city on it, Jerusalem. 2 Then (B)set a siege against it, build a siege wall against it, [a]raise up a ramp against it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams against it all around. 3 Now as for you, get yourself an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between you and the city, and establish your face toward it so that (C)it is under siege, and besiege it. This is a (D)sign to the house of Israel.
4 “Now as for you, lie down on your left side and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel on it; you shall (E)bear their iniquity for the number of days that you lie on it. 5 Now I have set a number of days for you corresponding to the years of their iniquity, 390 days; thus (F)you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And you shall complete these, and you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side and bear the iniquity of the house of Judah; I have set it for you for forty days, a day for (G)each year. 7 Then you shall establish your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared and (H)prophesy against it. 8 Now behold, I will (I)set ropes upon you so that you cannot turn from one side to the other until you have completed the days of your siege.
Making Unclean Bread
9 “Now as for you, take wheat, barley, beans, lentils, millet, and (J)spelt; set them in one vessel and make them into bread for yourself; you shall eat it according to the number of the days that you lie on your side, 390 days. 10 And your food which you eat shall be [b](K)twenty shekels a day by weight; you shall eat it from time to time. 11 The water you drink shall be the sixth part of a [c]hin by measure; you shall drink it from time to time. 12 You shall eat it as a barley cake, having baked it in their sight over human (L)dung.” 13 Then Yahweh said, “Thus will the sons of Israel eat their bread (M)unclean among the nations where I will banish them.” 14 But I said, “(N)Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I have (O)never been defiled; for from my youth until now I have never eaten what (P)died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has any (Q)offensive meat ever entered my mouth.” 15 Then He said to me, “See, I will set for you cow’s dung in place of human dung over which you will prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover, He said to me, “Son of man, behold, I am going to (R)break the staff of bread in Jerusalem, and they will eat bread by (S)weight and with anxiety, and they will drink water by (T)measure and in desolation 17 because bread and water will be lacking; and they will be in desolation with one another and (U)rot away in their iniquity.
Warning Against Falling Away
6 Therefore (A)leaving (B)the [a]elementary teaching about the [b]Christ, let us press on to [c](C)maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from (D)dead works and of faith toward God, 2 of (E)teaching about washings and (F)laying on of hands, and the (G)resurrection of the dead and (H)eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do, (I)if God permits. 4 For in the case of those once having been (J)enlightened and having tasted of (K)the heavenly gift and having become (L)partakers of the Holy Spirit, 5 and having (M)tasted the good (N)word of God and the powers of (O)the age to come, 6 and having fallen away, it is (P)impossible to renew them again to repentance, [d](Q)since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. 7 For ground that drinks the rain which often [e]falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those (R)for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; 8 but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is unfit and (S)close [f]to being cursed, and its end is to be burned.
The Inheritance of the Promises
9 But we are convinced about you, (T)beloved, of things that are better and that belong to salvation, though we are speaking in this way. 10 For (U)God is not unrighteous so as to forget (V)your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having (W)ministered and continuing to minister to the [g]saints. 11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence [h]so as to realize the (X)full assurance of (Y)hope until the end, 12 so that you may not become dull, but (Z)imitators of those who through (AA)faith and patience (AB)inherit the promises.
51 Now it happened that when the days for (A)Him to be taken up were soon to be fulfilled, He set His face (B)to go to Jerusalem; 52 and He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the (C)Samaritans to [a]make arrangements for Him. 53 But they did not receive Him, (D)because [b]He was journeying with His face toward Jerusalem. 54 And when His disciples (E)James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to (F)command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?” 55 But He turned and rebuked them, [c][and said, “You do not know what kind of spirit you are of, 56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”] And they went on to another village.
The Cost of Following Jesus
57 (G)And as they were going along the road, (H)someone said to Him, “I will follow You wherever You go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes and the birds of the [d]air have [e]nests, but (I)the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” 59 And He said to another, “(J)Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” 60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and (K)proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.” 61 Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord, but (L)first permit me to say farewell to those at home.” 62 But Jesus said to him, “(M)No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
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