Book of Common Prayer
We Wept When We Remembered Zion
137 By the (A)rivers of Babylon,
There we sat and also (B)wept,
When we remembered Zion.
2 Upon the [a](C)willows in the midst of it
We (D)hung our lyres.
3 For there our captors (E)asked us about the words of a song,
And (F)our tormentors asked joyfully, saying,
“Sing for us one of the songs of Zion.”
4 How can we sing a song of (G)Yahweh
In a foreign land?
5 If I (H)forget you, O Jerusalem,
May my right hand [b]forget her skill.
6 May my (I)tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
If I do not remember you,
If I do not [c](J)exalt Jerusalem
Above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O Yahweh, against the sons of (K)Edom
The day of Jerusalem,
Who said, “Tear it down! Tear it down
(L)To its very foundation.”
8 O daughter of Babylon, you (M)devastated one,
How blessed will be the one who (N)repays you
With [d]the recompense with which you have recompensed us.
9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and (O)dashes your infants
Against the cliff.
Blessed Be Yahweh, My Rock
Of David.
144 Blessed be Yahweh, (A)my rock,
Who (B)trains my hands for war,
My fingers for battle;
2 My lovingkindness and (C)my fortress,
My (D)stronghold and my deliverer,
My (E)shield and He in whom I take refuge,
Who (F)subdues [a]my people under me.
3 O Yahweh, (G)what is man, that You know him?
Or the son of man, that You think of him?
4 (H)Man is like a breath;
His (I)days are like a passing shadow.
5 O Yahweh, (J)bow Your heavens, and (K)come down;
(L)Touch the mountains, that they may smoke.
6 Flash forth (M)lightning and scatter them;
Send out Your (N)arrows and confuse them.
7 Send forth Your hand (O)from on high;
Set me free and (P)deliver me out of many waters,
Out of the hand of (Q)foreigners
8 Whose mouth (R)speaks worthlessness,
And whose (S)right hand is a right hand of lying.
9 O God, I will sing a (T)new song to You;
Upon a (U)harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,
10 Who (V)gives salvation to kings,
Who (W)sets David His servant free from the evil sword.
11 Set me free and deliver me out of the hand of the sons of a (X)foreigner,
Whose mouth (Y)speaks worthlessness
And whose (Z)right hand is a right hand of lying.
12 That our sons would be as (AA)grown-up plants in their youth,
And our daughters as (AB)corner pillars [b]fashioned as for a palace;
13 That our (AC)granaries would be full, furnishing every kind of produce,
And our flocks would bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields outside;
14 That our (AD)cattle would [c]bear
Without [d](AE)mishap and without [e](AF)loss,
And without (AG)outcry in our streets!
15 How blessed are the people for whom this is so;
How (AH)blessed are the people for whom God is Yahweh!
The Glory of Yahweh Endures Forever
104 (A)Bless Yahweh, O my soul!
O Yahweh my God, You are very great;
You are (B)clothed with splendor and majesty,
2 Wrapping Yourself with (C)light as with a cloak,
(D)Stretching out the heavens like a tent curtain.
3 [a]He (E)lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters;
[b]He sets up the (F)clouds to be His chariot;
[c]He walks upon the (G)wings of the wind;
4 [d]He makes His [e]angels (H)the winds,
His ministers flaming (I)fire.
5 He (J)founded the earth upon its place,
So that it will not [f]shake forever and ever.
6 You (K)covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.
7 At Your (L)rebuke they fled,
At the (M)sound of Your thunder they hurried away in alarm.
8 The mountains went up; the valleys went down
To the (N)place which You founded for them.
9 You set a (O)boundary that they may not pass over,
So that they will not return to cover the earth.
10 [g]He sends forth (P)springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
11 They (Q)give water to every beast of the field;
The (R)wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Above them the birds of the heavens (S)dwell;
They give forth their voices among the branches.
13 [h]He (T)gives water to the mountains from His upper chambers;
(U)The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
14 [i]He causes the (V)grass to grow for the [j]cattle,
And (W)vegetation for man’s [k]cultivation,
To bring forth [l]food (X)from the earth,
15 And (Y)wine which makes man’s heart glad,
(Z)To make his face glisten more than oil,
And [m]food which (AA)sustains man’s heart.
16 The trees of Yahweh are satisfied,
The cedars of Lebanon which He planted,
17 Where the (AB)birds build their nests,
The (AC)stork’s home is in the [n]fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the (AD)wild goats;
The (AE)cliffs are a refuge for the [o](AF)shephanim.
19 He made the moon (AG)for the seasons;
The (AH)sun knows the place of its setting.
20 You (AI)appoint darkness so that it becomes night,
In which all the (AJ)beasts of the forest (AK)creep about.
21 The (AL)young lions roar to go after their prey
And to (AM)seek their food from God.
22 When the sun rises they gather together
And lie down in their (AN)dens.
23 Man goes forth to (AO)his work
And to his labor until evening.
24 How (AP)numerous are Your works, O Yahweh!
[p]In (AQ)wisdom You have made them all;
The (AR)earth is full of Your [q]possessions.
25 This is the (AS)sea, great and [r]broad,
There the creeping things are without number,
Creatures both small and great.
26 There the (AT)ships move along,
And [s](AU)Leviathan, which You have formed to play in it.
27 They all (AV)wait for You
To (AW)give them their food in [t]due season.
28 You give to them, they gather it up;
You (AX)open Your hand, they are satisfied with good.
29 You (AY)hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You (AZ)take away their [u]spirit, they breathe their last
And (BA)return to their dust.
30 You send forth Your [v](BB)Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the (BC)glory of Yahweh endure forever;
Let Yahweh (BD)be glad in His works;
32 [w]He (BE)looks at the earth, and it (BF)trembles;
He (BG)touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 [x]I will sing to Yahweh (BH)throughout my life;
[y]I will (BI)sing praise to my God [z]while I have my being.
34 Let my (BJ)musing be pleasing to Him;
As for me, I shall (BK)be glad in Yahweh.
35 Let sinners be (BL)consumed from the earth
And let the (BM)wicked be no more.
(BN)Bless Yahweh, O my soul.
[aa](BO)Praise Yah!
16 Then Saul’s watchmen in Gibeah of Benjamin looked, and behold, the multitude melted away; and they went here and there. 17 So Saul said to the people who were with him, “[a]Number now and see who has gone from us.” And when they had [b]numbered, behold, Jonathan and his armor bearer were not there. 18 Then Saul said to Ahijah, “(A)Bring the ark of God here.” For the ark of God was at that time with the sons of Israel. 19 (B)And it happened that while Saul talked to the priest, the commotion in the camp of the Philistines continued and increased; so Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.” 20 Then Saul and all the people who were with him rallied and came to the battle; and behold, (C)every man’s sword was against his fellow, and there was very great confusion. 21 Now the Hebrews who were with the Philistines previously, who went up with them all around in the camp, even (D)they also turned to be with the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 Now all the (E)men of Israel who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, and they pursued them closely in the battle. 23 So (F)Yahweh saved Israel that day, and the battle [c]spread beyond (G)Beth-aven.
Saul’s Oath Makes the People Weary
24 Now the men of Israel were hard-pressed on that day. And Saul had (H)put the people under oath, saying, “Cursed be the man who eats food [d]before evening and until I have avenged myself on my enemies.” So none of the people tasted food. 25 Now all the people of the land entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground. 26 So the people entered the forest, and behold, (I)there was a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the sworn oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard when his father put the people under a sworn oath; therefore, (J)he put out the end of the staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and (K)his eyes brightened. 28 Then one of the people answered and said, “Your father strictly put the people under a sworn oath, saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’” And the people were weary. 29 Then Jonathan said, “(L)My father has troubled the land. See now, how my eyes have brightened because I tasted a little of this honey. 30 How much more, if only the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies which they found! For now the slaughter among the Philistines has not been great.”
10 Now there was a disciple at (A)Damascus named (B)Ananias, and the Lord said to him in (C)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from (D)Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen [a]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and (E)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, (F)how much harm he did to (G)Your [b]saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he (H)has authority from the chief priests to bind all who (I)call on Your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for (J)he is a chosen [c]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before (K)the Gentiles and (L)kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for (M)I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And he (N)laid his hands on him and said, “(O)Brother Saul, the Lord sent me—that is Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming—so that you may regain your sight and be (P)filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he rose up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened.
Saul Begins to Preach Christ
Now (Q)for several days he was with (R)the disciples who were at Damascus,
32 (A)Now two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him.
The Crucifixion
33 (B)And when they came to the place called [a]The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. 34 [b]But Jesus was saying, “(C)Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (D)And they cast lots, dividing up His garments among themselves. 35 And the people stood by, looking on. And even the (E)rulers were scoffing at Him, saying, “He saved others; (F)let Him save Himself if this is the [c]Christ of God, His Chosen One.” 36 And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming up to Him, (G)offering Him sour wine, 37 and saying, “(H)If You are the King of the Jews, save Yourself!” 38 Now there was also an inscription above Him, “(I)THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
39 (J)And one of the criminals hanging there was blaspheming Him, saying, “Are You not the [d]Christ? (K)Save Yourself and us!” 40 But the other answered, and rebuking him said, “Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? 41 And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving [e]what we deserve for what we have done; but this man has done nothing wrong.” 42 And he was saying, “Jesus, remember me when You come [f]in Your kingdom!” 43 And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in (L)Paradise.”
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