Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 119[a]
א Aleph
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless,(A)
who walk(B) according to the law of the Lord.(C)
2 Blessed(D) are those who keep his statutes(E)
and seek him(F) with all their heart—(G)
3 they do no wrong(H)
but follow his ways.(I)
4 You have laid down precepts(J)
that are to be fully obeyed.(K)
5 Oh, that my ways were steadfast
in obeying your decrees!(L)
6 Then I would not be put to shame(M)
when I consider all your commands.(N)
7 I will praise you with an upright heart
as I learn your righteous laws.(O)
8 I will obey your decrees;
do not utterly forsake me.(P)
ב Beth
9 How can a young person stay on the path of purity?(Q)
By living according to your word.(R)
10 I seek you with all my heart;(S)
do not let me stray from your commands.(T)
11 I have hidden your word in my heart(U)
that I might not sin(V) against you.
12 Praise be(W) to you, Lord;
teach me(X) your decrees.(Y)
13 With my lips I recount
all the laws that come from your mouth.(Z)
14 I rejoice in following your statutes(AA)
as one rejoices in great riches.
15 I meditate on your precepts(AB)
and consider your ways.
16 I delight(AC) in your decrees;
I will not neglect your word.
ג Gimel
17 Be good to your servant(AD) while I live,
that I may obey your word.(AE)
18 Open my eyes that I may see
wonderful things in your law.
19 I am a stranger on earth;(AF)
do not hide your commands from me.
20 My soul is consumed(AG) with longing
for your laws(AH) at all times.
21 You rebuke the arrogant,(AI) who are accursed,(AJ)
those who stray(AK) from your commands.
22 Remove from me their scorn(AL) and contempt,
for I keep your statutes.(AM)
23 Though rulers sit together and slander me,
your servant will meditate on your decrees.
24 Your statutes are my delight;
they are my counselors.
Psalm 12[a]
For the director of music. According to sheminith.[b] A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;(A)
those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.
2 Everyone lies(B) to their neighbor;
they flatter with their lips
but harbor deception in their hearts.(C)
3 May the Lord silence all flattering lips(D)
and every boastful tongue—(E)
4 those who say,
“By our tongues we will prevail;(F)
our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”
5 “Because the poor are plundered(G) and the needy groan,(H)
I will now arise,(I)” says the Lord.
“I will protect them(J) from those who malign them.”
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,(K)
like silver purified(L) in a crucible,(M)
like gold[c] refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe(N)
and will protect us forever from the wicked,(O)
8 who freely strut(P) about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.
Psalm 13[d]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 How long,(Q) Lord? Will you forget me(R) forever?
How long will you hide your face(S) from me?
2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts(T)
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?(U)
3 Look on me(V) and answer,(W) Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes,(X) or I will sleep in death,(Y)
4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,(Z)”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.(AA)
5 But I trust in your unfailing love;(AB)
my heart rejoices in your salvation.(AC)
6 I will sing(AD) the Lord’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 14(AE)
For the director of music. Of David.
1 The fool[e] says in his heart,
“There is no God.”(AF)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
there is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven(AG)
on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(AH)
any who seek God.(AI)
3 All have turned away,(AJ) all have become corrupt;(AK)
there is no one who does good,(AL)
not even one.(AM)
4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?(AN)
3 King Zedekiah, however, sent(A) Jehukal(B) son of Shelemiah with the priest Zephaniah(C) son of Maaseiah to Jeremiah the prophet with this message: “Please pray(D) to the Lord our God for us.”
4 Now Jeremiah was free to come and go among the people, for he had not yet been put in prison.(E) 5 Pharaoh’s army had marched out of Egypt,(F) and when the Babylonians[a] who were besieging Jerusalem heard the report about them, they withdrew(G) from Jerusalem.(H)
6 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet: 7 “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Tell the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire(I) of me, ‘Pharaoh’s army, which has marched(J) out to support you, will go back to its own land, to Egypt.(K) 8 Then the Babylonians will return and attack this city; they will capture(L) it and burn(M) it down.’
9 “This is what the Lord says: Do not deceive(N) yourselves, thinking, ‘The Babylonians will surely leave us.’ They will not! 10 Even if you were to defeat the entire Babylonian[b] army that is attacking you and only wounded men were left in their tents, they would come out and burn(O) this city down.”
11 After the Babylonian army had withdrawn(P) from Jerusalem because of Pharaoh’s army, 12 Jeremiah started to leave the city to go to the territory of Benjamin to get his share of the property(Q) among the people there. 13 But when he reached the Benjamin Gate,(R) the captain of the guard, whose name was Irijah son of Shelemiah, the son of Hananiah, arrested him and said, “You are deserting to the Babylonians!”(S)
14 “That’s not true!” Jeremiah said. “I am not deserting to the Babylonians.” But Irijah would not listen to him; instead, he arrested(T) Jeremiah and brought him to the officials. 15 They were angry with Jeremiah and had him beaten(U) and imprisoned(V) in the house(W) of Jonathan the secretary, which they had made into a prison.
16 Jeremiah was put into a vaulted cell in a dungeon, where he remained a long time. 17 Then King Zedekiah sent(X) for him and had him brought to the palace, where he asked(Y) him privately,(Z) “Is there any word from the Lord?”
“Yes,” Jeremiah replied, “you will be delivered(AA) into the hands of the king of Babylon.”
18 Then Jeremiah said to King Zedekiah, “What crime(AB) have I committed against you or your attendants or this people, that you have put me in prison? 19 Where are your prophets(AC) who prophesied to you, ‘The king of Babylon will not attack you or this land’? 20 But now, my lord the king, please listen. Let me bring my petition before you: Do not send me back to the house of Jonathan the secretary, or I will die there.”(AD)
21 King Zedekiah then gave orders for Jeremiah to be placed in the courtyard of the guard and given a loaf of bread from the street of the bakers each day until all the bread(AE) in the city was gone.(AF) So Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.(AG)
13 For this reason the one who speaks in a tongue should pray that they may interpret what they say.(A) 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays,(B) but my mind is unfruitful. 15 So what shall I do? I will pray with my spirit,(C) but I will also pray with my understanding; I will sing(D) with my spirit, but I will also sing with my understanding. 16 Otherwise when you are praising God in the Spirit, how can someone else, who is now put in the position of an inquirer,[a] say “Amen”(E) to your thanksgiving,(F) since they do not know what you are saying? 17 You are giving thanks well enough, but no one else is edified.(G)
18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.(H)
20 Brothers and sisters, stop thinking like children.(I) In regard to evil be infants,(J) but in your thinking be adults. 21 In the Law(K) it is written:
“With other tongues
and through the lips of foreigners
I will speak to this people,
but even then they will not listen to me,(L)
says the Lord.”[b]
22 Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers; prophecy,(M) however, is not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 So if the whole church comes together and everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or unbelievers come in, will they not say that you are out of your mind?(N) 24 But if an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in while everyone is prophesying, they are convicted of sin and are brought under judgment by all, 25 as the secrets(O) of their hearts are laid bare. So they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, “God is really among you!”(P)
24 “The student is not above the teacher, nor a servant above his master.(A) 25 It is enough for students to be like their teachers, and servants like their masters. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul,(B) how much more the members of his household!
26 “So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.(C) 27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One(D) who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.[a] 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.(E) 31 So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.(F)
32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others,(G) I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.(H)
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