Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148
Praise the Lord from the heavens;(B)
praise him in the heights above.
2 Praise him, all his angels;(C)
praise him, all his heavenly hosts.(D)
3 Praise him, sun(E) and moon;
praise him, all you shining stars.
4 Praise him, you highest heavens(F)
and you waters above the skies.(G)
5 Let them praise the name(H) of the Lord,
for at his command(I) they were created,
6 and he established them for ever and ever—
he issued a decree(J) that will never pass away.
7 Praise the Lord(K) from the earth,
you great sea creatures(L) and all ocean depths,(M)
8 lightning and hail,(N) snow and clouds,
stormy winds that do his bidding,(O)
9 you mountains and all hills,(P)
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals(Q) and all cattle,
small creatures and flying birds,
11 kings(R) of the earth and all nations,
you princes and all rulers on earth,
12 young men and women,
old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,(S)
for his name alone is exalted;
his splendor(T) is above the earth and the heavens.(U)
14 And he has raised up for his people a horn,[b](V)
the praise(W) of all his faithful servants,(X)
of Israel, the people close to his heart.(Y)
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 149
2 Let Israel rejoice(AC) in their Maker;(AD)
let the people of Zion be glad in their King.(AE)
3 Let them praise his name with dancing(AF)
and make music to him with timbrel and harp.(AG)
4 For the Lord takes delight(AH) in his people;
he crowns the humble with victory.(AI)
5 Let his faithful people rejoice(AJ) in this honor
and sing for joy on their beds.(AK)
6 May the praise of God be in their mouths(AL)
and a double-edged(AM) sword in their hands,(AN)
7 to inflict vengeance(AO) on the nations
and punishment(AP) on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with fetters,(AQ)
their nobles with shackles of iron,(AR)
9 to carry out the sentence written against them—(AS)
this is the glory of all his faithful people.(AT)
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150
Praise God in his sanctuary;(AV)
praise him in his mighty heavens.(AW)
2 Praise him for his acts of power;(AX)
praise him for his surpassing greatness.(AY)
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,(AZ)
praise him with the harp and lyre,(BA)
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,(BB)
praise him with the strings(BC) and pipe,(BD)
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,(BE)
praise him with resounding cymbals.
6 Let everything(BF) that has breath praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 113
Praise the Lord, you his servants;(B)
praise the name of the Lord.
2 Let the name of the Lord be praised,(C)
both now and forevermore.(D)
3 From the rising of the sun(E) to the place where it sets,
the name of the Lord is to be praised.
4 The Lord is exalted(F) over all the nations,
his glory above the heavens.(G)
5 Who is like the Lord our God,(H)
the One who sits enthroned(I) on high,(J)
6 who stoops down to look(K)
on the heavens and the earth?
7 He raises the poor(L) from the dust
and lifts the needy(M) from the ash heap;
8 he seats them(N) with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the childless(O) woman in her home
as a happy mother of children.
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 114
1 When Israel came out of Egypt,(P)
Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah(Q) became God’s sanctuary,(R)
Israel his dominion.
3 The sea looked and fled,(S)
the Jordan turned back;(T)
4 the mountains leaped(U) like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5 Why was it, sea, that you fled?(V)
Why, Jordan, did you turn back?
6 Why, mountains, did you leap like rams,
you hills, like lambs?
Psalm 118
2 Let Israel say:(D)
“His love endures forever.”(E)
3 Let the house of Aaron say:(F)
“His love endures forever.”
4 Let those who fear the Lord(G) say:
“His love endures forever.”
5 When hard pressed,(H) I cried to the Lord;
he brought me into a spacious place.(I)
6 The Lord is with me;(J) I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?(K)
7 The Lord is with me; he is my helper.(L)
I look in triumph on my enemies.(M)
8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord(N)
than to trust in humans.(O)
9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.(P)
10 All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.(Q)
11 They surrounded me(R) on every side,(S)
but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
12 They swarmed around me like bees,(T)
but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;(U)
in the name of the Lord I cut them down.(V)
13 I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the Lord helped me.(W)
14 The Lord is my strength(X) and my defense[a];
he has become my salvation.(Y)
15 Shouts of joy(Z) and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The Lord’s right hand(AA) has done mighty things!(AB)
16 The Lord’s right hand is lifted high;
the Lord’s right hand has done mighty things!”
17 I will not die(AC) but live,
and will proclaim(AD) what the Lord has done.
18 The Lord has chastened(AE) me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.(AF)
19 Open for me the gates(AG) of the righteous;
I will enter(AH) and give thanks to the Lord.
20 This is the gate of the Lord(AI)
through which the righteous may enter.(AJ)
21 I will give you thanks, for you answered me;(AK)
you have become my salvation.(AL)
22 The stone(AM) the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;(AN)
23 the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous(AO) in our eyes.
24 The Lord has done it this very day;
let us rejoice today and be glad.(AP)
25 Lord, save us!(AQ)
Lord, grant us success!
26 Blessed is he who comes(AR) in the name of the Lord.
From the house of the Lord we bless you.[b](AS)
27 The Lord is God,(AT)
and he has made his light shine(AU) on us.
With boughs in hand,(AV) join in the festal procession
up[c] to the horns of the altar.(AW)
29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
The Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread(A)
12 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, 2 “This month is to be for you the first month,(B) the first month of your year. 3 Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month each man is to take a lamb[a](C) for his family, one for each household.(D) 4 If any household is too small for a whole lamb, they must share one with their nearest neighbor, having taken into account the number of people there are. You are to determine the amount of lamb needed in accordance with what each person will eat. 5 The animals you choose must be year-old males without defect,(E) and you may take them from the sheep or the goats. 6 Take care of them until the fourteenth day of the month,(F) when all the members of the community of Israel must slaughter them at twilight.(G) 7 Then they are to take some of the blood(H) and put it on the sides and tops of the doorframes of the houses where they eat the lambs. 8 That same night(I) they are to eat the meat roasted(J) over the fire, along with bitter herbs,(K) and bread made without yeast.(L) 9 Do not eat the meat raw or boiled in water, but roast it over a fire—with the head, legs and internal organs.(M) 10 Do not leave any of it till morning;(N) if some is left till morning, you must burn it. 11 This is how you are to eat it: with your cloak tucked into your belt, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand. Eat it in haste;(O) it is the Lord’s Passover.(P)
12 “On that same night I will pass through(Q) Egypt and strike down(R) every firstborn(S) of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods(T) of Egypt. I am the Lord.(U) 13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over(V) you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.(W)
14 “This is a day you are to commemorate;(X) for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the Lord—a lasting ordinance.(Y)
9 Awake, awake,(A) arm(B) of the Lord,
clothe yourself with strength!(C)
Awake, as in days gone by,
as in generations of old.(D)
Was it not you who cut Rahab(E) to pieces,
who pierced that monster(F) through?
10 Was it not you who dried up the sea,(G)
the waters of the great deep,(H)
who made a road in the depths of the sea(I)
so that the redeemed(J) might cross over?
11 Those the Lord has rescued(K) will return.
They will enter Zion with singing;(L)
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy(M) will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.(N)
The Word Became Flesh
1 In the beginning was the Word,(A) and the Word was with God,(B) and the Word was God.(C) 2 He was with God in the beginning.(D) 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.(E) 4 In him was life,(F) and that life was the light(G) of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness,(H) and the darkness has not overcome[a] it.(I)
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John.(J) 7 He came as a witness to testify(K) concerning that light, so that through him all might believe.(L) 8 He himself was not the light; he came only as a witness to the light.
9 The true light(M) that gives light to everyone(N) was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him,(O) the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.(P) 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed(Q) in his name,(R) he gave the right to become children of God(S)— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.(T)
14 The Word became flesh(U) and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory,(V) the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace(W) and truth.(X)
15 (John testified(Y) concerning him. He cried out, saying, “This is the one I spoke about when I said, ‘He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’”)(Z) 16 Out of his fullness(AA) we have all received grace(AB) in place of grace already given. 17 For the law was given through Moses;(AC) grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.(AD) 18 No one has ever seen God,(AE) but the one and only Son, who is himself God and[b](AF) is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.
On the Road to Emmaus
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem.(A) 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them;(B) 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.(C)
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas,(D) asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,”(E) they replied. “He was a prophet,(F) powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers(G) handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.(H) And what is more, it is the third day(I) since all this took place. 22 In addition, some of our women amazed us.(J) They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”(K)
25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?”(L) 27 And beginning with Moses(M) and all the Prophets,(N) he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.(O)
28 As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. 29 But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.
30 When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it(P) and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him,(Q) and he disappeared from their sight. 32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us(R) while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures(S) to us?”
33 They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together 34 and saying, “It is true! The Lord(T) has risen and has appeared to Simon.”(U) 35 Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.(V)
Jesus Appears to His Disciples
19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders,(A) Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace(B) be with you!”(C) 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side.(D) The disciples were overjoyed(E) when they saw the Lord.
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you!(F) As the Father has sent me,(G) I am sending you.”(H) 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.(I) 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”(J)
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