Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5[a]
For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen(A) to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.(B)
2 Hear my cry for help,(C)
my King and my God,(D)
for to you I pray.
3 In the morning,(E) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.(F)
4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people(G) are not welcome.
5 The arrogant(H) cannot stand(I)
in your presence.
You hate(J) all who do wrong;
6 you destroy those who tell lies.(K)
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.
7 But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence(L) I bow down(M)
toward your holy temple.(N)
8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness(O)
because of my enemies—
make your way straight(P) before me.
9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;(Q)
with their tongues they tell lies.(R)
10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,(S)
for they have rebelled(T) against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.(U)
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name(V) may rejoice in you.(W)
12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;(X)
you surround them(Y) with your favor as with a shield.(Z)
Psalm 6[b]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[c] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger(AA)
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me,(AB) Lord, for I am faint;(AC)
heal me,(AD) Lord, for my bones are in agony.(AE)
3 My soul is in deep anguish.(AF)
How long,(AG) Lord, how long?
4 Turn,(AH) Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.(AI)
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?(AJ)
Psalm 10[a]
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,(C)
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts(D) about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.(E)
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.(F)
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”(G)
7 His mouth is full(H) of lies and threats;(I)
trouble and evil are under his tongue.(J)
8 He lies in wait(K) near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.(L)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;(M)
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.(N)
10 His victims are crushed,(O) they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;(P)
he covers his face and never sees.”(Q)
12 Arise,(R) Lord! Lift up your hand,(S) O God.
Do not forget the helpless.(T)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?(U)
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?(V)
14 But you, God, see the trouble(W) of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;(X)
you are the helper(Y) of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;(Z)
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(AA)
the nations(AB) will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;(AC)
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,(AD)
18 defending the fatherless(AE) and the oppressed,(AF)
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Psalm 11
For the director of music. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge.(AG)
How then can you say to me:
“Flee(AH) like a bird to your mountain.(AI)
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;(AJ)
they set their arrows(AK) against the strings
to shoot from the shadows(AL)
at the upright in heart.(AM)
3 When the foundations(AN) are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;(AO)
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.(AP)
He observes everyone on earth;(AQ)
his eyes examine(AR) them.
5 The Lord examines the righteous,(AS)
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.(AT)
6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;(AU)
a scorching wind(AV) will be their lot.
19 So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem.(A) When they arrived in Bethlehem, the whole town was stirred(B) because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20 “Don’t call me Naomi,[a]” she told them. “Call me Mara,[b] because the Almighty[c](C) has made my life very bitter.(D) 21 I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.(E) Why call me Naomi? The Lord has afflicted[d] me;(F) the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22 So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabite,(G) her daughter-in-law,(H) arriving in Bethlehem as the barley harvest(I) was beginning.(J)
Ruth Meets Boaz in the Grain Field
2 Now Naomi had a relative(K) on her husband’s side, a man of standing(L) from the clan of Elimelek,(M) whose name was Boaz.(N)
2 And Ruth the Moabite(O) said to Naomi, “Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain(P) behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.(Q)”
Naomi said to her, “Go ahead, my daughter.” 3 So she went out, entered a field and began to glean behind the harvesters.(R) As it turned out, she was working in a field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelek.(S)
4 Just then Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted the harvesters, “The Lord be with you!(T)”
“The Lord bless you!(U)” they answered.
5 Boaz asked the overseer of his harvesters, “Who does that young woman belong to?”
6 The overseer replied, “She is the Moabite(V) who came back from Moab with Naomi. 7 She said, ‘Please let me glean and gather among the sheaves(W) behind the harvesters.’ She came into the field and has remained here from morning till now, except for a short rest(X) in the shelter.”
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “My daughter, listen to me. Don’t go and glean in another field and don’t go away from here. Stay here with the women who work for me. 9 Watch the field where the men are harvesting, and follow along after the women. I have told the men not to lay a hand on you. And whenever you are thirsty, go and get a drink from the water jars the men have filled.”
10 At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground.(Y) She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me(Z)—a foreigner?(AA)”
11 Boaz replied, “I’ve been told all about what you have done for your mother-in-law(AB) since the death of your husband(AC)—how you left your father and mother and your homeland and came to live with a people you did not know(AD) before.(AE) 12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord,(AF) the God of Israel,(AG) under whose wings(AH) you have come to take refuge.(AI)”
13 “May I continue to find favor in your eyes,(AJ) my lord,” she said. “You have put me at ease by speaking kindly to your servant—though I do not have the standing of one of your servants.”
The Charge to Timothy Renewed
18 Timothy, my son,(A) I am giving you this command in keeping with the prophecies once made about you,(B) so that by recalling them you may fight the battle well,(C) 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience,(D) which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck with regard to the faith.(E) 20 Among them are Hymenaeus(F) and Alexander,(G) whom I have handed over to Satan(H) to be taught not to blaspheme.
Instructions on Worship
2 I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers,(I) intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority,(J) that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness(K) and holiness. 3 This is good, and pleases(L) God our Savior,(M) 4 who wants(N) all people(O) to be saved(P) and to come to a knowledge of the truth.(Q) 5 For there is one God(R) and one mediator(S) between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,(T) 6 who gave himself as a ransom(U) for all people. This has now been witnessed to(V) at the proper time.(W) 7 And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle—I am telling the truth, I am not lying(X)—and a true and faithful teacher(Y) of the Gentiles.(Z)
8 Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands(AA) without anger or disputing.
Jesus Heals a Crippled Woman on the Sabbath
10 On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues,(A) 11 and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.(B) She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” 13 Then he put his hands on her,(C) and immediately she straightened up and praised God.
14 Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath,(D) the synagogue leader(E) said to the people, “There are six days for work.(F) So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.”
15 The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water?(G) 16 Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham,(H) whom Satan(I) has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
17 When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated,(J) but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.
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