Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 41[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 Blessed(A) are those who have regard for the weak;(B)
the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.(C)
2 The Lord protects(D) and preserves them—(E)
they are counted among the blessed in the land—(F)
he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.(G)
3 The Lord sustains them on their sickbed(H)
and restores them from their bed of illness.(I)
4 I said, “Have mercy(J) on me, Lord;
heal(K) me, for I have sinned(L) against you.”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die and his name perish?(M)”
6 When one of them comes to see me,
he speaks falsely,(N) while his heart gathers slander;(O)
then he goes out and spreads(P) it around.
7 All my enemies whisper together(Q) against me;
they imagine the worst for me, saying,
8 “A vile disease has afflicted him;
he will never get up(R) from the place where he lies.”
9 Even my close friend,(S)
someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
has turned[b] against me.(T)
Psalm 52[a]
For the director of music. A maskil[b] of David. When Doeg the Edomite(A) had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”
1 Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?
Why do you boast(B) all day long,(C)
you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?
2 You who practice deceit,(D)
your tongue plots destruction;(E)
it is like a sharpened razor.(F)
3 You love evil(G) rather than good,
falsehood(H) rather than speaking the truth.[c]
4 You love every harmful word,
you deceitful tongue!(I)
5 Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:
He will snatch you up and pluck(J) you from your tent;
he will uproot(K) you from the land of the living.(L)
6 The righteous will see and fear;
they will laugh(M) at you, saying,
7 “Here now is the man
who did not make God his stronghold(N)
but trusted in his great wealth(O)
and grew strong by destroying others!”
Psalm 44[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.[b]
1 We have heard it with our ears,(A) O God;
our ancestors have told us(B)
what you did in their days,
in days long ago.(C)
2 With your hand you drove out(D) the nations
and planted(E) our ancestors;
you crushed(F) the peoples
and made our ancestors flourish.(G)
3 It was not by their sword(H) that they won the land,
nor did their arm bring them victory;
it was your right hand,(I) your arm,(J)
and the light(K) of your face, for you loved(L) them.
4 You are my King(M) and my God,(N)
who decrees[c] victories(O) for Jacob.
5 Through you we push back(P) our enemies;
through your name we trample(Q) our foes.
6 I put no trust in my bow,(R)
my sword does not bring me victory;
7 but you give us victory(S) over our enemies,
you put our adversaries to shame.(T)
8 In God we make our boast(U) all day long,(V)
and we will praise your name forever.[d](W)
9 But now you have rejected(X) and humbled us;(Y)
you no longer go out with our armies.(Z)
10 You made us retreat(AA) before the enemy,
and our adversaries have plundered(AB) us.
11 You gave us up to be devoured like sheep(AC)
and have scattered us among the nations.(AD)
12 You sold your people for a pittance,(AE)
gaining nothing from their sale.
13 You have made us a reproach(AF) to our neighbors,(AG)
the scorn(AH) and derision(AI) of those around us.
14 You have made us a byword(AJ) among the nations;
the peoples shake their heads(AK) at us.
15 I live in disgrace(AL) all day long,
and my face is covered with shame(AM)
16 at the taunts(AN) of those who reproach and revile(AO) me,
because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.(AP)
17 All this came upon us,
though we had not forgotten(AQ) you;
we had not been false to your covenant.
18 Our hearts had not turned(AR) back;
our feet had not strayed from your path.
19 But you crushed(AS) us and made us a haunt for jackals;(AT)
you covered us over with deep darkness.(AU)
20 If we had forgotten(AV) the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,(AW)
21 would not God have discovered it,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?(AX)
22 Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep(AY) to be slaughtered.(AZ)
The Man Among the Myrtle Trees
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month of Shebat, in the second year of Darius, the word of the Lord came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berekiah, the son of Iddo.(A)
8 During the night I had a vision, and there before me was a man mounted on a red(B) horse. He was standing among the myrtle trees in a ravine. Behind him were red, brown and white horses.(C)
9 I asked, “What are these, my lord?”
The angel(D) who was talking with me answered, “I will show you what they are.”(E)
10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees explained, “They are the ones the Lord has sent to go throughout the earth.”(F)
11 And they reported to the angel of the Lord(G) who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have gone throughout the earth and found the whole world at rest and in peace.”(H)
12 Then the angel of the Lord said, “Lord Almighty, how long(I) will you withhold mercy(J) from Jerusalem and from the towns of Judah,(K) which you have been angry with these seventy(L) years?” 13 So the Lord spoke(M) kind and comforting words(N) to the angel who talked with me.(O)
14 Then the angel who was speaking to me said, “Proclaim this word: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I am very jealous(P) for Jerusalem and Zion, 15 and I am very angry with the nations that feel secure.(Q) I was only a little angry,(R) but they went too far with the punishment.’(S)
16 “Therefore this is what the Lord says: ‘I will return(T) to Jerusalem with mercy, and there my house will be rebuilt. And the measuring line(U) will be stretched out over Jerusalem,’ declares the Lord Almighty.(V)
17 “Proclaim further: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘My towns will again overflow with prosperity, and the Lord will again comfort(W) Zion and choose(X) Jerusalem.’”(Y)
Greetings and Doxology
4 John,
To the seven churches(A) in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you(B) from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,(C) and from the seven spirits[a](D) before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,(E) the firstborn from the dead,(F) and the ruler of the kings of the earth.(G)
To him who loves us(H) and has freed us from our sins by his blood,(I) 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests(J) to serve his God and Father(K)—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.(L)
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[b](M)
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;(N)
and all peoples on earth “will mourn(O) because of him.”[c]
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,”(P) says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,(Q) the Almighty.”(R)
John’s Vision of Christ
9 I, John,(S) your brother and companion in the suffering(T) and kingdom(U) and patient endurance(V) that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God(W) and the testimony of Jesus.(X) 10 On the Lord’s Day(Y) I was in the Spirit,(Z) and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,(AA) 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see(AB) and send it to the seven churches:(AC) to Ephesus,(AD) Smyrna,(AE) Pergamum,(AF) Thyatira,(AG) Sardis,(AH) Philadelphia(AI) and Laodicea.”(AJ)
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,(AK) 13 and among the lampstands(AL) was someone like a son of man,[d](AM) dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet(AN) and with a golden sash around his chest.(AO) 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.(AP) 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace,(AQ) and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.(AR) 16 In his right hand he held seven stars,(AS) and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.(AT) His face was like the sun(AU) shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet(AV) as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me(AW) and said: “Do not be afraid.(AX) I am the First and the Last.(AY) 18 I am the Living One; I was dead,(AZ) and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!(BA) And I hold the keys of death and Hades.(BB)
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen,(BC) what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand(BD) and of the seven golden lampstands(BE) is this: The seven stars are the angels[e] of the seven churches,(BF) and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.(BG)
43 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.(A) That is how it will be with this wicked generation.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers(B)
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother(C) and brothers(D) stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven(E) is my brother and sister and mother.”
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.