Book of Common Prayer
33 He [a](A)changes rivers into a [b]wilderness
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 A (B)fruitful land into a (C)salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He [c](D)changes a [d]wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell,
So that they may establish [e](E)an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields and (F)plant vineyards,
And [f]gather a fruitful harvest.
38 Also He blesses them and they (G)multiply greatly,
And He (H)does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are (I)diminished and (J)bowed down
Through oppression, misery and sorrow,
40 He (K)pours contempt upon [g]princes
And (L)makes them wander (M)in a pathless waste.
41 But He (N)sets the needy [h]securely on high away from affliction,
And (O)makes his families like a flock.
42 The (P)upright see it and are glad;
But all (Q)unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
43 Who is (R)wise? Let him give heed to these things,
And consider the (S)lovingkindnesses of the Lord.
God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (T)My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my [i]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (U)lovingkindness is great (V)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (W)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6 (X)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [j]holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [k]helmet of My head;
(Y)Judah is My [l]scepter.
9 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”
10 (Z)Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [m]will lead me to Edom?
11 Have not You Yourself, O God, (AA)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
12 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For (AB)deliverance [n]by man is in vain.
13 [o]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (AC)it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [b]stood fast.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who [d](AE)hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have [e]hoped in You.
God Yearns over His People
11 When Israel was a youth I loved him,
And (A)out of Egypt I (B)called My son.
2 The more [a](C)they called them,
The more they went from [b]them;
They kept (D)sacrificing to the Baals
And (E)burning incense to idols.
3 Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
[c]I (F)took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I (G)healed them.
4 I (H)led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,
And (I)I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down and (J)fed them.
5 [d]They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria—he will be [e]their king
Because they (K)refused to return to Me.
6 The (L)sword will whirl against [f]their cities,
And will demolish [g]their gate bars
And (M)consume them because of their (N)counsels.
7 So My people are bent on (O)turning from Me.
Though [h]they call [i]them to the One on high,
None at all exalts Him.
8 (P)How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I [j]make you like (Q)Admah?
How can I treat you like (R)Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
[k]All My compassions are kindled.
9 I will (S)not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim (T)again.
For (U)I am God and not man, the (V)Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in [l]wrath.
17 “It happened when I (A)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (B)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘(C)Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (D)I used to imprison and (E)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (F)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (G)to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(H)Away with such a fellow from the earth, for (I)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were crying out and (J)throwing off their cloaks and (K)tossing dust into the air, 24 the [a]commander ordered him to be brought into (L)the barracks, stating that he should be (M)examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [b]with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [c]lawful for you to scourge (N)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the [d]commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The [e]commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The [f]commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore those who were about to (O)examine him immediately [g]let go of him; and the [h]commander also (P)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [i](Q)put him in chains.
27 “But I say to you who hear, (A)love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, (B)pray for those who [a]mistreat you. 29 (C)Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your [b]coat, do not withhold your [c]shirt from him either. 30 Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 31 [d](D)Treat others the same way you want [e]them to treat you. 32 (E)If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 (F)If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. 35 But (G)love your enemies, and do good, and lend, [f]expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be (H)sons of (I)the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. 36 [g]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37 “(J)Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; [h](K)pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. They will [i]pour (L)into your lap a (M)good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.