Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16
A miktam[a] of David.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;(C)
apart from you I have no good thing.”(D)
3 I say of the holy people(E) who are in the land,(F)
“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”
4 Those who run after other gods(G) will suffer(H) more and more.
I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods
or take up their names(I) on my lips.
5 Lord, you alone are my portion(J) and my cup;(K)
you make my lot(L) secure.
6 The boundary lines(M) have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.(N)
7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;(O)
even at night(P) my heart instructs me.
8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand,(Q) I will not be shaken.(R)
9 Therefore my heart is glad(S) and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,(T)
10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,(U)
nor will you let your faithful[b] one(V) see decay.(W)
11 You make known to me the path of life;(X)
you will fill me with joy in your presence,(Y)
with eternal pleasures(Z) at your right hand.(AA)
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
1 Hear me,(AB) Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.(AC)
Hear(AD) my prayer—
it does not rise from deceitful lips.(AE)
2 Let my vindication(AF) come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.(AG)
3 Though you probe my heart,(AH)
though you examine me at night and test me,(AI)
you will find that I have planned no evil;(AJ)
my mouth has not transgressed.(AK)
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
through what your lips have commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;(AL)
my feet have not stumbled.(AM)
6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;(AN)
turn your ear to me(AO) and hear my prayer.(AP)
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,(AQ)
you who save by your right hand(AR)
those who take refuge(AS) in you from their foes.
8 Keep me(AT) as the apple of your eye;(AU)
hide me(AV) in the shadow of your wings(AW)
9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who surround me.(AX)
10 They close up their callous hearts,(AY)
and their mouths speak with arrogance.(AZ)
11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,(BA)
with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion(BB) hungry for prey,(BC)
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
13 Rise up,(BD) Lord, confront them, bring them down;(BE)
with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,
from those of this world(BF) whose reward is in this life.(BG)
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves on it,
and may there be leftovers(BH) for their little ones.
Psalm 22[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?(A)
Why are you so far(B) from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?(C)
2 My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,(D)
by night,(E) but I find no rest.[b]
3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;(F)
you are the one Israel praises.[c](G)
4 In you our ancestors put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.(H)
5 To you they cried out(I) and were saved;
in you they trusted(J) and were not put to shame.(K)
6 But I am a worm(L) and not a man,
scorned by everyone,(M) despised(N) by the people.
7 All who see me mock me;(O)
they hurl insults,(P) shaking their heads.(Q)
8 “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
“let the Lord rescue him.(R)
Let him deliver him,(S)
since he delights(T) in him.”
9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;(U)
you made me trust(V) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth(W) I was cast on you;
from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
12 Many bulls(AA) surround me;(AB)
strong bulls of Bashan(AC) encircle me.
13 Roaring lions(AD) that tear their prey(AE)
open their mouths wide(AF) against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.(AG)
My heart has turned to wax;(AH)
it has melted(AI) within me.
15 My mouth[d] is dried up like a potsherd,(AJ)
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;(AK)
you lay me in the dust(AL) of death.
16 Dogs(AM) surround me,
a pack of villains encircles me;
they pierce[e](AN) my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
people stare(AO) and gloat over me.(AP)
18 They divide my clothes among them
and cast lots(AQ) for my garment.(AR)
19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.(AS)
You are my strength;(AT) come quickly(AU) to help me.(AV)
20 Deliver me from the sword,(AW)
my precious life(AX) from the power of the dogs.(AY)
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;(AZ)
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.(BA)
22 I will declare your name to my people;
in the assembly(BB) I will praise you.(BC)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(BD)
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!(BE)
Revere him,(BF) all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised(BG) or scorned
the suffering of the afflicted one;(BH)
he has not hidden his face(BI) from him
but has listened to his cry for help.(BJ)
25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;(BK)
before those who fear you[f] I will fulfill my vows.(BL)
26 The poor will eat(BM) and be satisfied;
those who seek the Lord will praise him—(BN)
may your hearts live forever!
27 All the ends of the earth(BO)
will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,(BP)
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord(BQ)
and he rules over the nations.
29 All the rich(BR) of the earth will feast and worship;(BS)
all who go down to the dust(BT) will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.(BU)
30 Posterity(BV) will serve him;
future generations(BW) will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,(BX)
declaring to a people yet unborn:(BY)
He has done it!(BZ)
Zedekiah Questions Jeremiah Again
14 Then King Zedekiah sent(A) for Jeremiah the prophet and had him brought to the third entrance to the temple of the Lord. “I am going to ask you something,” the king said to Jeremiah. “Do not hide(B) anything from me.”
15 Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “If I give you an answer, will you not kill me? Even if I did give you counsel, you would not listen to me.”
16 But King Zedekiah swore this oath secretly(C) to Jeremiah: “As surely as the Lord lives, who has given us breath,(D) I will neither kill you nor hand you over to those who want to kill you.”(E)
17 Then Jeremiah said to Zedekiah, “This is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘If you surrender(F) to the officers of the king of Babylon, your life will be spared and this city will not be burned down; you and your family will live.(G) 18 But if you will not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, this city will be given into the hands(H) of the Babylonians and they will burn(I) it down; you yourself will not escape(J) from them.’”
19 King Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “I am afraid(K) of the Jews who have gone over(L) to the Babylonians, for the Babylonians may hand me over to them and they will mistreat me.”
20 “They will not hand you over,” Jeremiah replied. “Obey(M) the Lord by doing what I tell you. Then it will go well(N) with you, and your life(O) will be spared. 21 But if you refuse to surrender, this is what the Lord has revealed to me: 22 All the women(P) left in the palace of the king of Judah will be brought out to the officials of the king of Babylon. Those women will say to you:
“‘They misled you and overcame you—
those trusted friends(Q) of yours.
Your feet are sunk in the mud;(R)
your friends have deserted you.’
23 “All your wives and children(S) will be brought out to the Babylonians. You yourself will not escape(T) from their hands but will be captured(U) by the king of Babylon; and this city will[a] be burned down.”(V)
24 Then Zedekiah said to Jeremiah, “Do not let anyone know(W) about this conversation, or you may die. 25 If the officials hear that I talked with you, and they come to you and say, ‘Tell us what you said to the king and what the king said to you; do not hide it from us or we will kill you,’ 26 then tell(X) them, ‘I was pleading with the king not to send me back to Jonathan’s house(Y) to die there.’”
27 All the officials did come to Jeremiah and question him, and he told them everything the king had ordered him to say. So they said no more to him, for no one had heard his conversation with the king.
28 And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard(Z) until the day Jerusalem was captured.
The Fall of Jerusalem(AA)
This is how Jerusalem(AB) was taken:
The Resurrection of Christ
15 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel(A) I preached to you,(B) which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2 By this gospel you are saved,(C) if you hold firmly(D) to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received(E) I passed on to you(F) as of first importance[a]: that Christ died for our sins(G) according to the Scriptures,(H) 4 that he was buried,(I) that he was raised(J) on the third day(K) according to the Scriptures,(L) 5 and that he appeared to Cephas,[b](M) and then to the Twelve.(N) 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.(O) 7 Then he appeared to James,(P) then to all the apostles,(Q) 8 and last of all he appeared to me also,(R) as to one abnormally born.
9 For I am the least of the apostles(S) and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted(T) the church of God.(U) 10 But by the grace(V) of God I am what I am, and his grace to me(W) was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them(X)—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.(Y) 11 Whether, then, it is I or they,(Z) this is what we preach, and this is what you believed.
Jesus and John the Baptist(A)
11 After Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples,(B) he went on from there to teach and preach in the towns of Galilee.[a]
2 When John,(C) who was in prison,(D) heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples 3 to ask him, “Are you the one who is to come,(E) or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: 5 The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy[b] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.(F) 6 Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.”(G)
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