Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101
A Vow of Integrity
A Davidic psalm.
1 I will sing of faithful love and justice;
I will sing praise to You, Lord.(A)
2 I will pay attention to the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.(B)
3 I will not set anything worthless before my eyes.
I hate the practice of transgression;
it will not cling to me.(C)
4 A devious heart will be far from me;
I will not be involved with[a] evil.(D)
5 I will destroy anyone
who secretly slanders his neighbor;(E)
I cannot tolerate anyone
with haughty eyes or an arrogant heart.(F)
6 My eyes favor the faithful of the land
so that they may sit down with me.
The one who follows the way of integrity
may serve me.(G)
7 No one who acts deceitfully
will live in my palace;
no one who tells lies
will remain in my presence.[b](H)
8 Every morning I will destroy
all the wicked of the land,
eliminating all evildoers from the Lord’s city.(I)
Psalm 109
Prayer against an Enemy
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 God of my praise, do not be silent.(A)
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.(B)
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.(C)
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I continue to pray.[a](D)
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.(E)
6 Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser[b] stand at his right hand.(F)
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin.(G)
8 Let his days be few;
let another take over his position.(H)
9 Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.(I)
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far[c] from their demolished homes.(J)
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for.(K)
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.(L)
13 Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation.(M)
14 Let his ancestors’ guilt
be remembered before the Lord,(N)
and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.(O)
15 Let their sins[d] always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(P)
16 For he did not think to show kindness,
but pursued the afflicted, poor, and brokenhearted
in order to put them to death.(Q)
17 He loved cursing—let it fall on him;
he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.(R)
18 He wore cursing like his coat—
let it enter his body like water
and go into his bones like oil.(S)
19 Let it be like a robe he wraps around himself,
like a belt he always wears.(T)
20 Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.(U)
21 But You, Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name;(V)
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.(W)
22 For I am afflicted and needy;(X)
my heart is wounded within me.(Y)
23 I fade away like a lengthening shadow;(Z)
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body is emaciated.[f](AA)
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;[g]
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.(AB)
26 Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to Your faithful love(AC)
27 so they may know that this is Your hand
and that You, Lord, have done it.(AD)
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.(AE)
29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace;
they will wear their shame like a cloak.(AF)
30 I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.(AG)
ע Ayin
121 I have done what is just and right;(A)
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee Your servant’s well-being;(B)
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes grow weary(C) looking for Your salvation
and for Your righteous promise.
124 Deal with Your servant based on Your faithful love;(D)
teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant;(E) give me understanding(F)
so that I may know Your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,(G)
for they have violated Your instruction.
127 Since I love Your commands(H)
more than gold, even the purest gold,
128 I carefully follow[a] all Your precepts(I)
and hate every false way.(J)
פ Pe
129 Your decrees are wonderful;(K)
therefore I obey them.(L)
130 The revelation of Your words(M) brings light
and gives understanding to the inexperienced.(N)
131 I open my mouth and pant(O)
because I long for Your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,(P)
as is Your practice toward those who love Your name.
133 Make my steps steady through Your promise;(Q)
don’t let any sin dominate me.(R)
134 Redeem me from human oppression,(S)
and I will keep Your precepts.
135 Show favor to Your servant,(T)
and teach me Your statutes.(U)
136 My eyes pour out streams of tears(V)
because people do not follow Your instruction.
צ Tsade
137 You are righteous, Lord,(W)
and Your judgments are just.
138 The decrees You issue are righteous
and altogether trustworthy.(X)
139 My anger overwhelms me
because my foes forget Your words.(Y)
140 Your word is completely pure,(Z)
and Your servant loves it.(AA)
141 I am insignificant and despised,(AB)
but I do not forget Your precepts.(AC)
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and Your instruction is true.(AD)
143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commands are my delight.(AE)
144 Your decrees are righteous forever.(AF)
Give me understanding, and I will live.
Joseph’s Kindness
15 When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said to one another, “If Joseph is holding a grudge against us, he will certainly repay us for all the suffering we caused him.”(A)
16 So they sent this message to Joseph, “Before he died your father gave a command: 17 ‘Say this to Joseph: Please forgive your brothers’ transgression and their sin—the suffering they caused you.’ Therefore, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father.” Joseph wept(B) when their message came to him. 18 Then his brothers also came to him, bowed down before him, and said, “We are your slaves!”
19 But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?(C) 20 You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.(D) 21 Therefore don’t be afraid. I will take care of you and your little ones.”(E) And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.[a]
Joseph’s Death
22 Joseph and his father’s household remained in Egypt. Joseph lived 110 years. 23 He saw Ephraim’s sons to the third generation;(F) the sons of Manasseh’s son Machir were recognized by[b][c] Joseph.(G)
24 Joseph said to his brothers, “I am about to die,(H) but God will certainly come to your aid and bring you up from this land to the land He promised Abraham,(I) Isaac,(J) and Jacob.”(K) 25 So Joseph made the sons of Israel take an oath: “When God comes to your aid, you are to carry my bones up from here.”(L)
26 Joseph died at the age of 110. They embalmed him and placed him in a coffin in Egypt.
Diversity of Spiritual Gifts
12 Now concerning what comes from the Spirit:[a] brothers, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you used to be led off to the idols(A) that could not speak.(B) 3 Therefore I am informing you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.
4 Now there are different gifts,(C) but the same Spirit. 5 There are different ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are different activities, but the same God activates each gift in each person.[b] 7 A demonstration of the Spirit is given to each person(D) to produce what is beneficial:
8 to one(E) is given a message of wisdom(F)
through the Spirit,
to another, a message of knowledge
by the same Spirit,
9 to another, faith by the same Spirit,
to another, gifts of healing(G) by the one Spirit,
10 to another, the performing of miracles,(H)
to another, prophecy,(I)
to another, distinguishing between spirits,(J)
to another, different kinds of languages,
to another, interpretation of languages.
11 But one and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as He wills.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Herod
11 The(A) Pharisees(B) came out and began to argue with Him, demanding of Him a sign(C) from heaven(D) to test(E) Him. 12 But sighing deeply in His spirit,(F) He said, “Why does this generation(G) demand a sign? I assure you:(H) No sign will be given to this generation!” 13 Then He left them, got on board the boat again, and went to the other side.
14 They had forgotten to take bread and had only one loaf with them in the boat. 15 Then(I) He commanded them: “Watch out! Beware of the yeast(J) of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”(K)
16 They were discussing among themselves that they did not have any bread. 17 Aware of this, He said to them, “Why are you discussing that you do not have any bread? Don’t you understand or comprehend? Is your heart hardened?(L) 18 Do you have eyes, and not see, and do you have ears, and not hear?(M)[a] And do you not remember?(N) 19 When I broke the five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”
“Twelve,” they told Him.
20 “When I broke the seven loaves for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of pieces of bread did you collect?”
“Seven,” they said.
21 And He said to them, “Don’t you understand yet?”(O)
Healing a Blind Man
22 Then they came to Bethsaida.(P) They brought a blind(Q) man to Him and begged Him to touch him. 23 He took the blind man by the hand and brought him out of the village. Spitting(R) on his eyes and laying His hands on(S) him, He asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 He looked up and said, “I see people—they look to me like trees walking.”(T)
25 Again Jesus placed His hands on the man’s eyes, and he saw distinctly. He was cured and could see everything clearly. 26 Then He sent(U) him home, saying, “Don’t even go into the village.”[b](V)
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