Book of Common Prayer
To the Director: An instruction[a] by the Sons of Korah. A love song to the tune of[b] “Lilies”.
A Royal Wedding Song
45 My heart is overflowing with good news;
I speak what I have composed to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of an articulate scribe.
2 You are the most handsome of Adam’s descendants;
grace has anointed your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 Strap your sword to your side,
mighty warrior, along with your honor and majesty.
4 In your majesty ride forth for the cause of truth, humility, and righteousness;
and your strong right hand will teach you awesome things.
5 Your arrows are sharpened
to penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
People will fall under you.
6 Your throne, God, exists forever and ever,
and the scepter of your kingdom is a righteous scepter.
7 You love justice and hate wickedness.
That is why God, even your God, has anointed you
rather than your companions with the oil of gladness.
8 All your clothes are scented with[c] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.
9 The king’s daughters are among your honorable women;
the queen, dressed in gold from Ophir, has taken her place at your right hand.”
10 Listen, daughter! Consider and pay attention.
Forget your people and your father’s house,
11 and the king will greatly desire your beauty.
Because he is your lord, you should bow in respect before him.
12 The daughter[d] of Tyre will come with[e] a wedding gift;
wealthy people will entreat your favor.
13 In her chamber,[f] the king’s daughter is glorious;
her clothing is embroidered with gold thread.
14 In embroidered garments
she is presented to the king.
Her virgin companions who follow her train
will be presented to you.
15 Filled with joy and gladness, they are presented
when they enter the king’s palace.
16 Your sons will take the place of your ancestors,
and you will set them up as princes in all the earth.
17 From generation to generation,
I will cause your name to be remembered.
Therefore people will thank you forever and ever.
To the Director: A song by the Sons of Korah.
The Ruler over the Nations
47 Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with a loud cry of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, is to be feared,
a great king over all the earth.
3 He subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance for us,
even the pride of Jacob whom he loved.
5 God has ascended on high with a shout,
the Lord has ascended[a] with the blast of a trumpet.
6 Sing songs to God!
Sing songs!
Sing songs to our King!
Sing songs!
7 Indeed, God is king over all the earth;
sing a song of praise.
8 God is king over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.
9 The nobles among the nations
have joined the people of the God of Abraham.
For the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is greatly exalted.
A song: Lyrics[b] by the Sons of Korah.
Zion, City of God
48 Great is the Lord!
For he is to be praised greatly,
even in the city of our God,
his holy mountain.
2 Beautifully situated,
the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion towards the north,[c]
the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels
God is known as a place of refuge.
4 Behold, when the kings assembled together,
when they traveled together,
5 they looked and were awestruck;
they became afraid and ran away.
6 Trembling seized them there,
pains like those of a woman in labor,
7 as when an east wind destroyed the ships of Tarshish.
8 Just as we have heard,
so have we seen;
in the city of the Lord of the heavenly armies—
even in the city of our God—
God will establish her forever.
9 God, we have meditated on your gracious love
in the midst of your Temple.
10 God, according to your name,
so is your praise to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion will be glad;
the towns[d] of Judah will rejoice because of your judgments.
12 March around Zion;
encircle her;
count her towers.
13 Take note of her ramparts;
investigate her citadels;
that you may speak about them to the next generation.
14 For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will guide us until death.
Joseph is Sent to Visit His Brothers
12 Some time later, his brothers left to tend their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 And Israel instructed Joseph, “Your brothers are tending the flock in Shechem. Come here, because I’m going to send you to them.”
“Here I am!” he responded.
14 “Go and see how things are with your brothers,” Israel[a] ordered him. “And see how things are with the flock. Bring back a report for me.” Then he sent Joseph[b] from the valley of Hebron.
When Joseph reached Shechem, 15 a man found him wandering around in a field. So the man asked him, “What are you looking for?”
16 “I’m searching for my brothers,” he responded. “Tell me, where are they tending the flock?”[c]
17 “They’ve already left,” the man answered. “I heard them saying that they were headed to Dothan.” So Joseph followed his brothers to Dothan and found them there.
Joseph’s Brothers Plot to Kill Him
18 Now as soon as they saw him approaching from a distance, before he arrived they plotted together to kill him. 19 “Look!” they said. “Here comes the Dream Master! 20 Come on! Let’s kill him and toss him into one of the cisterns. Then we’ll report that some wild animal devoured him and wait to see what becomes of his dreams!”
21 When Reuben heard about it, he tried to save Joseph[d] from their plot. “Let’s not do any killing,”[e] 22 Reuben told them. “And no blood shedding, either. Instead, let’s toss him into this cistern that’s way out here in the wilderness. But don’t lay a hand on him.” (Reuben[f] intended to free Joseph[g] and return him to his father.)
Joseph is Sold into Slavery
23 As it was, when Joseph arrived where his brothers were, they stripped off the tunic that Jacob had given him—that is, the richly-embroidered[h] tunic that he was wearing. 24 They grabbed him and tossed him into the cistern, but the cistern was empty. (There was no water in it.)
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? God has turned the wisdom of the world into nonsense, hasn’t he? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know God,[a] God was pleased to save those who believe through the nonsense of our preaching. 22 Jews ask for signs, and Greeks look for wisdom, 23 but we preach the Messiah[b] crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles, 24 but to those who are called,[c] both Jews and Greeks, the Messiah[d] is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 For God’s nonsense is wiser than human wisdom,[e] and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.[f]
26 Brothers, think about your own calling. Not many of you were wise by human standards,[g] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is nonsense in the world to make the wise feel ashamed. God chose what is weak in the world to make the strong feel ashamed. 28 And God chose what is insignificant in the world, what is despised, what is nothing, in order to destroy what is something, 29 so that no one[h] may boast in God’s presence. 30 It is because of God[i] that you are in union with the Messiah[j] Jesus, who for us has become wisdom from God, as well as our righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written, “The person who boasts must boast in the Lord.”[k]
Jesus Begins His Ministry in Galilee(A)
14 Now after John had been arrested, Jesus went to Galilee and proclaimed the gospel about the kingdom[a] of God. 15 He said, “The time is now! The kingdom of God is near! Repent, and keep believing the gospel!”
Jesus Calls His First Disciples(B)
16 While Jesus[b] was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew. They were throwing a net into the sea because they were fishermen. 17 Jesus told them, “Follow me, and I’ll make you fishers of people!” 18 So immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 Going on a little farther, he saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat repairing their nets. 20 He immediately called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and followed him.
Jesus Heals a Man with an Unclean Spirit(C)
21 Then they went to Capernaum. As soon as it was the Sabbaths, Jesus[c] went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people[d] were utterly amazed at his teaching, because he was teaching them like one with authority, and not like their scribes. 23 All of a sudden,[e] there was a man in their synagogue who had an unclean spirit! He screamed, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
25 But Jesus rebuked him. “Be quiet,” he ordered, “and come out of him!” 26 At this, the unclean spirit shook the man,[f] cried out with a loud voice, and came out of him.
27 All the people were so stunned that they kept saying to each other, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He tells even the unclean spirits what to do, and they obey him!” 28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.
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