Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 149[m]
149 Praise the Lord.
Sing to the Lord a new song.
Praise him in the assembly of the godly.[n]
2 Let Israel rejoice in their Creator.
Let the people[o] of Zion delight in their King.[p]
3 Let them praise his name with dancing.
Let them sing praises to him to the accompaniment of the tambourine and harp.
4 For the Lord takes delight in his people;
he exalts the oppressed by delivering them.[q]
5 Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication.[r]
Let them shout for joy upon their beds.[s]
6 May the praises of God be in their mouths
and a two-edged sword in their hands,
7 in order to take[t] revenge on the nations,
and punish foreigners.
8 The godly bind[u] their enemies’ kings in chains,
and their nobles in iron shackles,
9 and execute the judgment to which their enemies[v] have been sentenced.[w]
All his loyal followers will be vindicated.[x]
Praise the Lord.
Psalm 150[y]
150 Praise the Lord!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in the sky, which testifies to his strength![z]
2 Praise him for his mighty acts;
praise him for his surpassing greatness!
3 Praise him with the blast of the horn;
praise him with the lyre and the harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and with dancing;
praise him with stringed instruments and the flute!
5 Praise him with loud cymbals;
praise him with clanging cymbals!
6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 114[a]
114 When Israel left Egypt,
when the family of Jacob left a foreign nation behind,[b]
2 Judah became his sanctuary,
Israel his kingdom.
3 The sea looked and fled;[c]
the Jordan River[d] turned back.[e]
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.[f]
5 Why do you flee, O sea?
Why do you turn back, O Jordan River?
6 Why do you skip like rams, O mountains,
like lambs, O hills?
7 Tremble, O earth, before the Lord—
before the God of Jacob,
8 who turned a rock into a pool of water,
a hard rock into springs of water.[g]
Psalm 115[h]
115 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
but to your name bring honor,[i]
for the sake of your loyal love and faithfulness.[j]
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in heaven.
He does whatever he pleases.[k]
4 Their[l] idols are made of silver and gold—
they are man-made.[m]
5 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
6 ears, but cannot hear,
noses, but cannot smell,
7 hands, but cannot touch,
feet, but cannot walk.
They cannot even clear their throats.[n]
8 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
9 O Israel, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[p] and protector.[q]
10 O family[r] of Aaron, trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[s] and protector.[t]
11 You loyal followers of the Lord,[u] trust in the Lord.
He is their deliverer[v] and protector.[w]
12 The Lord takes notice of us;[x] he will bless[y]—
he will bless the family[z] of Israel,
he will bless the family of Aaron.
13 He will bless his loyal followers,[aa]
both young and old.[ab]
14 May he increase your numbers,
yours and your children’s.[ac]
15 May you be blessed by the Lord,
the Creator[ad] of heaven and earth.
16 The heavens belong to the Lord,[ae]
but the earth he has given to mankind.[af]
17 The dead do not praise the Lord,
nor do any of those who descend into the silence of death.[ag]
18 But we will praise the Lord
now and forevermore.
Praise the Lord!
The Consequences of Accepting Wisdom or Folly[a]
9 Wisdom has built her house;
she has carved out its seven pillars.[b]
2 She has prepared her meat,[c] she has mixed her wine;
she also has arranged her table.[d]
3 She has sent out her female servants;
she calls out[e] on the highest places[f] of the city.
4 “Whoever is naive, let him turn in here.”
To those[g] who lack understanding,[h] she has said,[i]
5 “Come, eat[j] some of my food,
and drink some of the wine I have mixed.[k]
6 Abandon your foolish ways[l] so that you may live,[m]
and proceed[n] in the way of understanding.”
7 Whoever corrects[o] a mocker is asking for[p] insult;[q]
whoever reproves a wicked person receives[r] abuse.
8 Do not reprove[s] a mocker or[t] he will hate you;
reprove a wise person and he will love you.
9 Give instruction[u] to a wise person,[v] and he will become wiser still;
teach[w] a righteous person and he will add to his[x] learning.
10 The beginning[y] of wisdom is to fear the Lord,[z]
and acknowledging[aa] the Holy One[ab] is understanding.
11 For because[ac] of me your days will be many,
and years will be added[ad] to your life.
12 If you are wise, you are wise to your own advantage,[ae]
but if[af] you have mocked,[ag] you alone must[ah] bear it.[ai]
14 Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word[a] of God, they sent[b] Peter and John to them. 15 These two[c] went down and prayed for them so that they would receive the Holy Spirit. 16 (For the Spirit[d] had not yet come upon[e] any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)[f] 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on the Samaritans,[g] and they received the Holy Spirit.[h]
18 Now Simon, when he saw that the Spirit[i] was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power[j] too, so that everyone I place my hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you,[k] because you thought you could acquire[l] God’s gift with money! 21 You have no share or part[m] in this matter[n] because your heart is not right before God! 22 Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord[o] that he may perhaps forgive you for the intent of your heart.[p] 23 For I see that you are bitterly envious[q] and in bondage to sin.” 24 But Simon replied,[r] “You pray to the Lord for me so that nothing of what you have said may happen to[s] me.”
25 So after Peter and John[t] had solemnly testified[u] and spoken the word of the Lord,[v] they started back to Jerusalem, proclaiming[w] the good news to many Samaritan villages[x] as they went.[y]
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
25 Now[a] an expert in religious law[b] stood up to test Jesus,[c] saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”[d] 26 He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you understand it?”[e] 27 The expert[f] answered, “Love[g] the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,[h] and love your neighbor as yourself.”[i] 28 Jesus[j] said to him, “You have answered correctly;[k] do this, and you will live.”
Jesus and Martha
38 Now as they went on their way, Jesus[a] entered a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him as a guest.[b] 39 She[c] had a sister named Mary, who sat[d] at the Lord’s feet[e] and listened to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted[f] with all the preparations she had to make,[g] so[h] she came up to him and said, “Lord, don’t you care[i] that my sister has left me to do all the work[j] alone? Tell[k] her to help me.” 41 But the Lord[l] answered her,[m] “Martha, Martha,[n] you are worried and troubled[o] about many things, 42 but one thing[p] is needed. Mary has chosen the best[q] part; it will not be taken away from her.”
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