The Nineteenth Kathisma

Antiphon One

Alleluia! Praise the name of the Lord! Praise him, O you servants of the Lord, 2) who serve in the Lord's house, in the courts of the house of our God. 3) Praise the Lord, for he is good; sing praise to his name, for he deserves our love. 4) For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself, Israel for his own possession.

5) For I know the Lord is great, that our God surpasses all the gods. 6) Whatever pleases the Lord he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in the deep. 7) He makes clouds come forth from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning bring forth rain, and from his treasury he sends forth the wind.

8) He struck down Egypt's firstborn, of man and beast alike. 9) He sent forth signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt, against pharaoh and all his servants. 10) He struck down nations without number; he made mighty kings perish: 11) Sihon, king of the Amorites, and Og, king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. 12) And he made their land an inheritance, an inheritance for Israel, his people. 13) O Lord, your name will last forever, your title, unto all generations, O Lord! 14) For the Lord does justice for his people; he takes pity on his servants.

15) Pagan idols -- gold and silver -- these are the work of human hands. 16) They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. 17) They have ears, but they cannot hear; and never does breath come forth from their lips. 18) Like them will their makers be, and all who trust in them!

19) House of Israel, bless the Lord! House of Aaron, bless the Lord! House of Levi, bless the Lord! All you who revere him, bless the Lord! 20) Blessings for the Lord of Sion, for him who dwells in Jerusalem! Alleluia!

With praise, bless the Lord, for he is good! His love lasts forever!
2) with praise, bless the God of gods! His love lasts forever!
3) with praise, bless the Lord of lords! His love lasts forever!
4) He alone has wrought wonders! His love lasts forever!
5) He fashioned the sky with wisdom! His love lasts forever!
6) He fixed the earth on the waters! His love lasts forever!
7) He made the great lights! His love lasts forever!
8) The sun to rule the day! His love lasts forever!
9) The moon and the stars to govern the night! His love lasts forever!
10) He smote the Egyptians in their firstborn! His love lasts forever!
11) And brought Israel out of their midst! His love lasts forever!
12) With a mighty hand and an outstretched arm! His love lasts forever!
13) The Sea of Reeds he divided in two! His love lasts forever!
14) And marched Israel right through it! His love lasts forever!
15) But pharaoh and his army he swept into it! His love lasts forever!
16) He led his people across the desert! His love lasts forever!
17) He battered mighty kingdoms! His love lasts forever!
18) And he struck down great kings! His love lasts forever!
19) Sihon, king of the Amorites! His love lasts forever!
20) And Og, king of Bashan! His love lasts forever!
21) He gave their lands to Israel! His love lasts forever!
22) As their prize! His love lasts forever!
23) For he remembered us in our troubles! His love lasts forever!
24) And he snatched us out of the hand of our foes! His love lasts forever!
25) He provides all living things with food! His love lasts forever!
26) With praise, bless the God of heaven! His love lasts forever!

On the banks of the rivers of Babylon, we used to sit and weep at the thought of Sion. 2) On the poplars that grew there, we used to hang our harps. 3) For it was there our captors urged us to sing; our oppressors, to be happy, to sing the songs of Sion.

4) But how could we sing the Lord's songs in a foreign land? 5) O Jerusalem! If I forget you, let my right hand wither! 6) Let my tongue cleave to my palate if I do not remember you, if I do not prize you above my greatest joy!

7) Remember, O Lord, what Edom's children said, the day Jerusalem fell, how they clamored: Down with it! Down with it! Foundations and all! 8) O Babylon, cursed Babylon! You destroyer! Happy the one who repays you for all you have done to us! 9) He shall seize your little ones and dash them against a rock!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit: Both now and forever, and unto ages of ages, amen.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.
Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia: Glory to you, O God.

Antiphon Two

I will praise you with all my heart; in the presence of spirit powers I will sing to you. 2) I fall in worship toward your holy temple, grateful to your name for your loving kindness and your faithfulness, for you have glorified your name and your promise before all peoples. 3) The day I called to you, you gave me victory; you inspired me with courage and a feeling of strength.

4) All the kings of the earth will praise you, O Lord, when they hear the words of your mouth. 5) They will sing of the ways of the Lord, that the glory of the Lord is great indeed! 6) Sublime as the Lord is, he watches over the lowly; lofty as he is, he cares for them even from afar.

7) Though I march in the midst of my foes, O that he would keep me alive though they rage against me! 8) Stretch forth your left hand; give me victory with your right! May the Lord avenge me as long as I live! O Lord, your loving mercy lasts forever; despise not the work of your hands!

O Lord, examine me and know me yourself. 2) You know when I sit still and when I move about; you read my mind even from afar. 3) You observe me when I leave and when I return; you are familiar with all my comings and goings. 4) A word is barely on my lips, and already you know it completely, O Lord. 5) Round about me, behind and before, you shield me with your hand. 6) To know you is just too much for me; it is a mystery too deep for me to fathom.

7) Where can I escape your spirit? Where can I flee your presence? 8) If I ascend to the heavens, you are there! If I make my bed in the world beneath, you are there also! 9) If I take wing with the dawn and rest on the farthest horizon, 10) even there your hand will be guiding me, your right hand, holding me fast. 11) If I say: Let utter darkness conceal me! Let the light become night around me! 12) Even the darkness will not be dark to you, since the night shines like the day for you, the darkness like light.

13) It was you who created my inmost being, who fashioned me in my mother's womb. 14) I praise you for all these mysteries, for the wonder of myself and all your works. You know me through and through, 15) from having watched me take shape, as I was being formed in secret, being knit together in the depths of the earth. 16) Your eyes have followed all the stages of my life; they are all recorded in your book. All my days were listed and determined 17) before one of them came to be. How weighty your thoughts seem to me, O God, how deep their meaning! 18) Were I to count them -- they are more numerous than the grains of sand. Were I to finish, I would still be left with you!

19) O God, if you would only slay the wicked! O you men of idols, say away from me! 20) For they gaze on every graven image and raise their eyes to every empty idol. 21) Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord? Am I not appalled by those who challenge you? 22) I feel nothing but contempt for them; I count them all my foes. 23) Examine me, O God, and know my heart; test me, and know my anxious thoughts. 24) See if my way is crooked; watch lest my ways offend you, and lead me into your eternal realm.

Rescue me, Lord, from evil men; from the violent keep me safe, 2) from those who plan evil in their hearts, who stir up strife every day, 3) who sharpen their tongue like an adder's, with the poison of vipers on their lips.

4) Lord, guard me from the hands of the wicked; from the violent keep me safe, for they try to make me stumble. 5) The arrogant have laid a trap for me; villains have spread out a net across my path to ensnare me. 6) I have said to you, Lord: You are my God! Hear my appeal for mercy! 7) Lord, my God, my mighty help, shield my head in battle!

8) Do not grant the wicked what they want; do not let their plans succeed. 9) With heads held high, in their arrogance they surround me. 10) Let the malice of their words overwhelm them; let coals of fire rain down on them. Let them perish in the abyss, never to rise from it.

11) Let not the slanderer last on this earth: let evil hound the violent man to his death. 12) I know the Lord will avenge the poor, that he will do justice for the needy. 13) Indeed, the just shall praise your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

Antiphon Three

O Lord, I cry to you; hear me! Hear my voice when I call to you. 2) Let my prayer rise like incense before you, my hands, like the evening sacrifice.

3) Set a guard at my mouth, O Lord; keep watch at the door of my lips. 4) Let not my heart turn to wrong, to making excuses for sinning with the wicked. 5) Let the just one strike me -- it is a kindness if he upbraids me--but never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head. 6) Unceasingly I pit my prayer against their malice. Let their princes slip on rocky crags; then let them see how sweet my words are. 7) As a millstone is shattered to pieces on the ground, so are their bones strewn at the mouth of the grave.

8) But to you, O Lord, my eyes are turned; in you I hide: Spare my soul. 9) Keep me safe from the trap they set for me, from the snares of all evildoers. 10) Let them fall into their own trap, the wicked -- all of them together! -- while I go on unharmed.

With all my voice I cry to the Lord, with all my voice I entreat the Lord for mercy. 2) I pour out before him my complaint; my distress I place before him. 3) My spirit faints within me, but you know my path.

Along the path I must take they have hidden a snare. 4) Look to my right and see: I have no friends. There is nowhere to run, no one to care for my soul.

5) I cry to you, Lord; I have said it: You are my refuge, all I have left in the land of the living. 6) Listen, then, to my cry, for I am in the very depths of despair. Rescue me from those who pursue me, for they are far too strong for me. 7) Set me free from this prison, so that I may praise your name. Around me the just will throng, because of your goodness to me, O most high.

O Lord, hear my prayer; O God, be true to yourself and listen to my plea for mercy. In your righteousness answer me. 2) Do not call your servant to account, for no one on earth is justified in your sight. 3) O Lord, be generous and grant me life; in your unfailing love rescue my soul from affliction. 4) For the foe hunts after my soul; into the earth he tramples my very life, forcing me into the darkness of those long dead.

5) My spirit faints within me, my heart is numb with despair. 6) My mind goes back to days gone by, dwelling on the memory of all you did, pondering the works of your hands. 7) To you I lift my outstretched hands: Come quick and answer me, O Lord! 8) For my spirit longs for you; like parched earth I thirst for you. 9) Hide not your face from me lest I become like those who go into the pit.

10) Each morning make me understand your loving kindness, for I trust in you. Show me the path to follow, for my heart belongs to you. 11) Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. Let your gracious spirit lead me into the land of life, for your name's sake. 12) Save me from my foes, O Lord, for I seek refuge in you. 13) Wipe out my foes; bring destruction on those who oppress me, for I am your servant.

Glory: Both now:
Alleluia:

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