Book of Common Prayer
Consider the Way of the Blameless
Of David. A Psalm.
101 I will (A)sing of lovingkindness and [a]justice,
To You, O Yahweh, I will sing praises.
2 I will [b](B)consider the way of the blameless.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
3 I will set no (D)vile thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
4 A (F)crooked heart shall depart from me;
I will know no evil.
5 Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
Whoever has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart, I will not endure.
6 My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may abide with me;
He who walks in the (I)way of the blameless is the one who will minister to me.
7 He who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
He who speaks lies (K)shall not be established before my eyes.
8 (L)Every morning I will [f](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
To (N)cut off from the (O)city of Yahweh all the workers of iniquity.
O God, Do Not Be Silent
For the choir director. Of David. A Psalm.
109 O (A)God of my praise,
(B)Do not be silent!
2 For they have opened a wicked mouth and a (C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken to me with a (D)lying tongue.
3 They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me (E)without cause.
4 In return (F)for my love they accuse me;
But (G)I am in prayer.
5 Thus they have (H)set upon me evil for good
And (I)hatred for my love.
6 Appoint a wicked man over him,
And let an [a](J)accuser stand at his right hand.
7 When he is judged, let him (K)come forth a wicked man,
And let his (L)prayer become sin.
8 Let (M)his days be few;
Let (N)another take his office.
9 Let his (O)sons be orphans
And his (P)wife a widow.
10 Let his (Q)sons wander aimlessly and beg;
And let them (R)search for food [b]from their ruined homes.
11 Let (S)the creditor [c]seize all that he has,
And let (T)strangers plunder the fruit of his labor.
12 Let there be none to [d](U)extend lovingkindness to him,
And (V)let there be none to be gracious to his orphans.
13 Let those who (W)follow him be [e]cut off;
In a following generation let their (X)name be blotted out.
14 Let (Y)the iniquity of his fathers be remembered [f]before Yahweh,
And let not the sin of his mother be (Z)blotted out.
15 Let (AA)them be before Yahweh continually,
That He may (AB)cut off their memory from the earth;
16 Because he did not remember to show lovingkindness,
But persecuted the (AC)afflicted, the needy man,
And the (AD)disheartened to (AE)put them to death.
17 He also loved cursing, so (AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
18 But he (AG)clothed himself with cursing as his garment,
And it (AH)came into his inward parts like water
And like oil into his bones.
19 Let it be to him as (AI)a garment with which he wraps himself,
And for a belt with which he constantly (AJ)girds himself.
20 This is the (AK)reward of my accusers from Yahweh,
And of those who (AL)speak evil against my soul.
21 But as for You, O Yahweh, O Lord, deal with me (AM)for Your name’s sake;
Because (AN)Your lovingkindness is good, deliver me;
22 For (AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And [g]my heart is (AP)pierced within me.
23 I am passing (AQ)like a shadow when it is stretched out;
I am shaken off (AR)like the locust.
24 My (AS)knees are feeble from (AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
25 As for me, I have become a (AU)reproach to them;
They see me, they (AV)wag their head.
26 (AW)Help me, O Yahweh my God;
Save me according to Your lovingkindness.
27 [h]And let them (AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, O Yahweh, have done it.
28 (AY)Let them curse, but You bless;
They arise and will be put to shame,
But Your (AZ)slave shall be glad.
29 [i]Let (BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And [j]let them (BB)wrap themselves with their own shame as with a robe.
30 With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to Yahweh;
And in the midst of many (BC)I will praise Him.
Ayin
121 I have (A)done justice and righteousness;
Do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Be for Your slave a (B)guarantee for good;
Do not let the arrogant (C)oppress me.
123 My (D)eyes fail with longing for Your salvation
And for Your righteous [a]word.
124 Deal with Your slave (E)according to Your lovingkindness
And (F)teach me Your statutes.
125 (G)I am Your slave; (H)give me understanding,
That I may know Your testimonies.
126 It is time for Yahweh to (I)act,
For they have broken Your law.
127 Therefore I (J)love Your commandments
Above gold, even above fine gold.
128 Therefore I deem all Your (K)precepts concerning everything to be right,
I (L)hate every false way.
Pe
129 Your testimonies are (M)wonderful;
Therefore my soul (N)observes them.
130 The (O)unfolding of Your words gives light;
It gives (P)understanding to the simple.
131 I (Q)opened my mouth wide and (R)panted,
For I (S)longed for Your commandments.
132 (T)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
According to Your judgment [b]for those who love Your name.
133 Establish my (U)steps in Your [c]word,
And do not let any wickedness (V)overpower me.
134 (W)Redeem me from the oppression of man,
That I may keep Your precepts.
135 (X)Make Your face shine upon Your slave,
And (Y)teach me Your statutes.
136 My eyes [d]shed (Z)streams of water,
Because they (AA)do not keep Your law.
Tsadhe
137 (AB)Righteous are You, O Yahweh,
And upright are Your judgments.
138 In (AC)righteousness, You have commanded Your testimonies
And in exceeding (AD)faithfulness.
139 My (AE)zeal has [e]consumed me,
Because my adversaries have forgotten Your words.
140 Your [f](AF)word is exceedingly refined,
Therefore Your slave (AG)loves it.
141 I am small and (AH)despised,
Yet I do not (AI)forget Your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And (AJ)Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have found me,
Yet Your commandments are my (AK)delight.
144 Righteous are Your (AL)testimonies forever;
(AM)Give me understanding that I may live.
2 Now it happened from the day when the ark remained at Kiriath-jearim, that the time was long; it was twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after Yahweh.
Samuel Judges Israel
3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “(A)If you are to return to Yahweh with all your heart, then (B)remove the foreign gods and the (C)Ashtaroth from among you and (D)set your hearts toward Yahweh and (E)serve Him alone; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the sons of Israel removed the Baals and the Ashtaroth and served Yahweh alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to (F)Mizpah, and (G)I will pray to Yahweh for you.” 6 And they gathered to Mizpah and drew water and (H)poured it out before Yahweh and (I)fasted on that day and said there, “(J)We have sinned against Yahweh.” And Samuel judged the sons of Israel at Mizpah.
7 Then the Philistines heard that the sons of Israel had gathered to Mizpah. And the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. Then the sons of Israel heard it and (K)were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So the sons of Israel said to Samuel, “(L)Do not cease to cry out to Yahweh our God for us, that He may save us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 And Samuel took (M)a suckling lamb and offered it for a whole burnt offering to Yahweh; and Samuel cried out to Yahweh for Israel, and (N)Yahweh answered him. 10 Now Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, and the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But (O)Yahweh thundered with a great [a]thunder on that day against the Philistines and (P)confused them, so that they were [b]defeated before Israel. 11 So the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines and struck them down as far as below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel (Q)took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he named it [c]Ebenezer. And he said, “Thus far Yahweh has helped us.” 13 (R)So the Philistines were subdued, and (S)they did not come anymore within the border of Israel. And the hand of Yahweh was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 And the cities which the Philistines had taken from Israel were restored to Israel, from Ekron even to Gath; and Israel delivered their territory from the hand of the Philistines. So there was peace between Israel and (T)the Amorites.
15 Thus Samuel (U)judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 And he used to go annually on circuit to (V)Bethel and (W)Gilgal and (X)Mizpah, and he judged Israel in all these places. 17 But his return would be to (Y)Ramah, for his house was there, and there he judged Israel; and he (Z)built there an altar to Yahweh.
Selection of the Seven
6 Now in those days, while the (A)disciples were (B)multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the [a](C)Hellenists against the (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [b]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, (G)brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5 And this word pleased the whole [c]congregation, and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a [d](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)And the word of God kept on spreading, and (R)the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great [e]many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
Stephen Accused of Blasphemy
8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great (T)wonders and [f]signs among the people. 9 But some men from what was called the Synagogue of the Freedmen, including both (U)Cyrenians and (V)Alexandrians, and some from (W)Cilicia and [g](X)Asia, rose up and were arguing with Stephen. 10 But they were unable to oppose the wisdom and the Spirit by whom he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly induced men to say, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people, the elders, and the scribes, and they (Y)came up to him, dragged him away, and brought him to (Z)the Sanhedrin. 13 And they put forward (AA)false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases speaking words against this (AB)holy place and the Law; 14 for we have heard him say that (AC)this Jesus the Nazarene will destroy this place and alter (AD)the customs which Moses handed down to us.” 15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the (AE)Sanhedrin saw his face like the face of an angel.
The Lord’s Supper
14 (A)And when the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and (B)the apostles with Him. 15 And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; 16 for I say to you, I shall never again eat it (C)until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” 17 (D)And when He had taken a cup and (E)given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For (F)I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” 19 And when He had taken some bread and (G)given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is (H)poured out for you is the (I)new covenant in My blood. 21 (J)But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Me on the table. 22 For indeed, the Son of Man is going (K)as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” 23 And they began to argue among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing.
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