Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
By David.
37 Do not fret[b] when wicked men seem to succeed.[c]
Do not envy evildoers.
2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,
and wither away like plants.[d]
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right.
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity.[e]
4 Then you will take delight in the Lord,[f]
and he will answer your prayers.[g]
5 Commit your future to the Lord.[h]
Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.[i]
6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,
and publicly defend your just cause.[j]
7 Wait patiently for the Lord![k]
Wait confidently[l] for him!
Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner,[m]
a man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Do not be angry and frustrated.[n]
Do not fret. That only leads to trouble.
9 Wicked men[o] will be wiped out,[p]
but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land.[q]
10 Evil men will soon disappear;[r]
you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone.[s]
11 But the oppressed will possess the land
and enjoy great prosperity.[t]
12 Evil men plot against the godly[u]
and viciously attack them.[v]
13 The Lord laughs in disgust[w] at them,
for he knows that their day is coming.[x]
14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down[y] the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly.[z]
15 Their swords will pierce[aa] their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than
the wealth of many evil men,[ab]
17 for evil men will lose their power,[ac]
but the Lord sustains[ad] the godly.
18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day,[ae]
and they possess a permanent inheritance.[af]
19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come;[ag]
when famine comes they will have enough to eat.[ah]
20 But[ai] evil men will die;
the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated[aj]—
they will go up in smoke.[ak]
21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,
but the godly show compassion and are generous.[al]
22 Surely[am] those favored by the Lord[an] will possess the land,
but those rejected[ao] by him will be wiped out.[ap]
23 The Lord grants success to the one
whose behavior he finds commendable.[aq]
24 Even if[ar] he trips, he will not fall headlong,[as]
for the Lord holds[at] his hand.
25 I was once young, now I am old.
I have never seen the godly abandoned,
or their children[au] forced to search for food.[av]
26 All day long they show compassion and lend to others,[aw]
and their children[ax] are blessed.
27 Turn away from evil. Do what is right.[ay]
Then you will enjoy lasting security.[az]
28 For the Lord promotes[ba] justice,
and never abandons[bb] his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure,[bc]
but the children[bd] of the wicked are wiped out.[be]
29 The godly will possess the land
and will dwell in it permanently.
30 The godly speak wise words
and promote justice.[bf]
31 The law of their God controls their thinking;[bg]
their[bh] feet do not slip.
32 The wicked set an ambush for the godly
and try to kill them.[bi]
33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law.[bj]
34 Rely[bk] on the Lord. Obey his commands.[bl]
Then he will permit you[bm] to possess the land;
you will see the demise of the wicked.[bn]
35 I have seen ruthless, wicked people[bo]
growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.[bp]
36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared.[bq]
I looked for them, but they could not be found.
37 Take note of the one who has integrity. Observe the upright.
For the one who promotes peace has a future.[br]
38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed;[bs]
the wicked have no future.[bt]
39 But the Lord delivers the godly;[bu]
he protects them in times of trouble.[bv]
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,[bw]
for they seek his protection.
9 I saw the Lord[a] standing by the altar[b] and he said,
“Strike the tops of the support pillars,[c] so the thresholds shake!
Knock them down on the heads of all the people,[d]
and I will kill the survivors[e] with the sword.
No one will be able to run away;[f]
no one will be able to escape.[g]
2 Even if they could dig down into the netherworld,[h]
my hand would pull them up from there.
Even if they could climb up to heaven,
I would drag them down from there.
3 Even if they were to hide on the top of Mount Carmel,
I would hunt them down and take them from there.
Even if they tried to hide from me[i] at the bottom of the sea,
from there[j] I would command the Sea Serpent[k] to bite them.
4 Even when their enemies drive them into captivity,[l]
from there[m] I will command the sword to kill them.
I will not let them out of my sight;
they will experience disaster, not prosperity.”[n]
5 The Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies will do this.[o]
He touches the earth and it dissolves;[p]
all who live on it mourn.
The whole earth[q] rises like the Nile River,[r]
and then grows calm[s] like the Nile in Egypt.[t]
6 He builds the upper rooms of his palace[u] in heaven
and sets its foundation supports[v] on the earth.[w]
He summons the water of the sea
and pours it out on the earth’s surface.
The Lord is his name.
7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,”[x] says the Lord.
“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor[y] and the Arameans from Kir.[z]
8 Look, the Sovereign Lord is watching[aa] the sinful nation,[ab]
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
But I will not completely destroy the family[ac] of Jacob,” says the Lord.
9 “For look, I am giving a command
and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations.
It will resemble a sieve being shaken,
when not even a pebble falls to the ground.[ad]
10 All the sinners among my people will die by the sword—
the ones who say, ‘Disaster will not come near, it will not confront us.’
To the Church in Smyrna
8 “To[a] the angel of the church in Smyrna write the following:[b]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[c] the one who is the first and the last, the one who was dead, but[d] came to life: 9 ‘I know the distress you are suffering[e] and your poverty (but you are rich). I also know[f] the slander against you[g] by those who call themselves Jews and really are not, but are a synagogue[h] of Satan. 10 Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. The devil is about to have some of you thrown[i] into prison so you may be tested,[j] and you will experience suffering[k] for ten days. Remain faithful even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown that is life itself.[l] 11 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers[m] will in no way be harmed by the second death.’
To the Church in Pergamum
12 “To[n] the angel of the church in Pergamum write the following:[o]
“This is the solemn pronouncement of[p] the one who has the sharp double-edged sword:[q] 13 ‘I know[r] where you live—where Satan’s throne is. Yet[s] you continue to cling[t] to my name and you have not denied your[u] faith in me,[v] even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness,[w] who was killed in your city[x] where Satan lives. 14 But I have a few things against you: You have some people there who follow the teaching of Balaam,[y] who instructed Balak to put a stumbling block[z] before the people[aa] of Israel so they would eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.[ab] 15 In the same way, there are also some among you who follow the teaching of the Nicolaitans.[ac] 16 Therefore,[ad] repent! If not, I will come against you quickly and make war against those people[ae] with the sword of my mouth. 17 The one who has an ear had better hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers,[af] I will give him some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white[ag] stone,[ah] and on that stone will be written a new name that no one can understand[ai] except the one who receives it.’
13 “But woe to you, experts in the law[a] and you Pharisees, hypocrites![b] You keep locking people out of the kingdom of heaven![c] For you neither enter nor permit those trying to enter to go in.[d]
15 “Woe to you, experts in the law[e] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You cross land and sea to make one convert,[f] and when you get one,[g] you make him twice as much a child of hell[h] as yourselves!
16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing.[i] But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’ 17 Blind fools! Which is greater, the gold or the temple that makes the gold sacred? 18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing.[j] But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’ 19 You are blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? 20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it. 22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
23 “Woe to you, experts in the law[k] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You give a tenth[l] of mint, dill, and cumin,[m] yet you neglect what is more important in the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness! You[n] should have done these things without neglecting the others. 24 Blind guides! You strain out a gnat yet swallow a camel![o]
25 “Woe to you, experts in the law[p] and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup,[q] so that the outside may become clean too!
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