Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5[a]
For the music director, to be accompanied by wind instruments;[b] a psalm of David.
5 Listen to what I say,[c] Lord!
Carefully consider my complaint![d]
2 Pay attention to my cry for help,
my King and my God,
for I am praying to you!
3 Lord, in the morning[e] you will hear[f] me;[g]
in the morning I will present my case to you[h] and then wait expectantly for an answer.[i]
4 Certainly[j] you are not a God who approves of evil;[k]
evil people[l] cannot dwell with you.[m]
5 Arrogant people cannot stand in your presence;[n]
you hate[o] all who behave wickedly.[p]
6 You destroy[q] liars;[r]
the Lord despises[s] violent and deceitful people.[t]
7 But as for me,[u] because of your great faithfulness I will enter your house;[v]
I will bow down toward your holy temple as I worship you.[w]
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness[x]
because of those who wait to ambush me,[y]
remove the obstacles in the way in which you are guiding me.[z]
9 For[aa] they do not speak the truth;[ab]
their stomachs are like the place of destruction,[ac]
their throats like an open grave,[ad]
their tongues like a steep slope leading into it.[ae]
10 Condemn them,[af] O God!
May their own schemes be their downfall.[ag]
Drive them away[ah] because of their many acts of insurrection,[ai]
for they have rebelled against you.
11 But may all who take shelter[aj] in you be happy.[ak]
May they continually[al] shout for joy.[am]
Shelter them[an] so that those who are loyal to you[ao] may rejoice.[ap]
12 Certainly[aq] you reward[ar] the godly,[as] Lord.
Like a shield you protect[at] them[au] in your good favor.[av]
Psalm 6[aw]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments, according to the sheminith style;[ax] a psalm of David.
6 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger.
Do not discipline me in your raging fury.[ay]
2 Have mercy on me,[az] Lord, for I am frail.
Heal me, Lord, for my bones are shaking.[ba]
3 I am absolutely terrified,[bb]
and you, Lord—how long will this continue?[bc]
4 Relent, Lord, rescue me![bd]
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.[be]
5 For no one remembers you in the realm of death.[bf]
In Sheol who gives you thanks?[bg]
6 I am exhausted as I groan.
All night long I drench my bed in tears;[bh]
my tears saturate the cushion beneath me.[bi]
7 My eyes[bj] grow dim[bk] from suffering;
they grow weak[bl] because of all my enemies.[bm]
8 Turn back from me, all you who behave wickedly,[bn]
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.[bo]
9 The Lord has heard my appeal for mercy;
the Lord has accepted[bp] my prayer.
10 They will be humiliated[bq] and absolutely terrified.[br]
All my enemies will turn back and be suddenly humiliated.
Psalm 10[a]
10 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you pay no attention during times of trouble?[b]
2 The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed;[c]
the oppressed are trapped[d] by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.[e]
3 Yes,[f] the wicked man[g] boasts because he gets what he wants;[h]
the one who robs others[i] curses[j] and[k] rejects the Lord.[l]
4 The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks,
“God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”[m]
5 He is secure at all times.[n]
He has no regard for your commands;[o]
he disdains all his enemies.[p]
6 He says to himself,[q]
“I will never[r] be shaken,
because I experience no calamity.”[s]
7 His mouth is full of curses and deceptive, harmful words;[t]
his tongue injures and destroys.[u]
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;[v]
in hidden places he kills the innocent.
His eyes look for some unfortunate victim.[w]
9 He lies in ambush in a hidden place, like a lion in a thicket.[x]
He lies in ambush, waiting to catch[y] the oppressed;
he catches the oppressed[z] by pulling in his net.[aa]
10 His victims are crushed and beaten down;
they are trapped in his sturdy nets.[ab]
11 He says to himself,[ac]
“God overlooks it;
he does not pay attention;
he never notices.”[ad]
12 Rise up, Lord![ae]
O God, strike him down.[af]
Do not forget the oppressed.
13 Why does the wicked man reject God?[ag]
He says to himself,[ah] “You[ai] will not hold me accountable.”[aj]
14 You have taken notice,[ak]
for[al] you always see[am] one who inflicts pain and suffering.[an]
The unfortunate victim entrusts his cause to you;[ao]
you deliver[ap] the fatherless.[aq]
15 Break the arm[ar] of the wicked and evil man.
Hold him accountable for his wicked deeds,[as]
which he thought you would not discover.[at]
16 The Lord rules forever![au]
The nations are driven out of his land.[av]
17 Lord, you have heard[aw] the request[ax] of the oppressed;
you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer.[ay]
18 You defend[az] the fatherless and oppressed,[ba]
so that mere mortals may no longer terrorize them.[bb]
Psalm 11[bc]
For the music director, by David.
11 In the Lord I have taken shelter.[bd]
How can you say to me,[be]
“Flee to a mountain like a bird.[bf]
2 For look, the wicked[bg] prepare[bh] their bows,[bi]
they put their arrows on the strings,
to shoot in the darkness[bj] at the morally upright.[bk]
3 When the foundations[bl] are destroyed,
what can the godly[bm] accomplish?”[bn]
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;[bo]
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.[bp]
His eyes[bq] watch;[br]
his eyes[bs] examine[bt] all people.[bu]
5 The Lord approves of[bv] the godly,[bw]
but he[bx] hates[by] the wicked and those who love to do violence.[bz]
6 May he rain down[ca] burning coals[cb] and brimstone[cc] on the wicked!
A whirlwind is what they deserve.[cd]
7 Certainly[ce] the Lord is just;[cf]
he rewards godly deeds.[cg]
The upright will experience his favor.[ch]
Purifying Judgment
21 How tragic that the once-faithful city
has become a prostitute![a]
She was once a center of[b] justice;
fairness resided in her—
but now only murderers![c]
22 Your[d] silver has become scum,[e]
your beer is diluted with water.[f]
23 Your officials are rebels,[g]
they associate with[h] thieves.
All of them love bribery,
and look for[i] payoffs.[j]
They do not take up the cause of the orphan,[k]
or defend the rights of the widow.[l]
24 Therefore, the Sovereign Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[m]
the Powerful One of Israel,[n] says this:
“Ah, I will seek vengeance[o] against my adversaries,
I will take revenge against my enemies.[p]
25 I will attack you;[q]
I will purify your metal with flux.[r]
I will remove all your slag.[s]
26 I will reestablish honest judges as in former times,
wise advisers as in earlier days.[t]
Then you will be called, ‘The Just City,
Faithful Town.’”
27 [u] Zion will be freed by justice,[v]
and her returnees by righteousness.[w]
28 All rebellious sinners will be shattered,[x]
those who abandon the Lord will perish.
29 Indeed, they[y] will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you[z] find so desirable;
you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards[aa]
where you choose to worship.
30 For you will be like a tree whose leaves wither,
like an orchard[ab] that is unwatered.
31 The powerful will be like[ac] a thread of yarn,
their deeds like a spark;
both will burn together,
and no one will put out the fire.
Paul’s Ministry in Thessalonica
2 For you yourselves know, brothers and sisters,[a] about our coming to you—it has not proven to be purposeless.[b] 2 But although we suffered earlier and were mistreated in Philippi, as you know, we had the courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God[c] in spite of much opposition. 3 For the appeal we make[d] does not come[e] from error or impurity or with deceit, 4 but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we declare it, not to please people but God, who examines our hearts. 5 For we never appeared[f] with flattering speech, as you know, nor with a pretext for greed—God is our witness— 6 nor to seek glory from people, either from you or from others, 7 [g] although we could have imposed our weight as apostles of Christ; instead we became[h] little children[i] among you. Like a nursing mother caring for her own children, 8 with such affection for you[j] we were happy[k] to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For you recall, brothers and sisters,[l] our toil and drudgery: By working night and day so as not to impose a burden on any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God. 10 You are witnesses, and so is God, as to how holy and righteous and blameless our conduct was toward you who believe. 11 As you know, we treated each one of you as a father treats his own children, 12 exhorting and encouraging you and insisting that you live in a way worthy of God who calls you to his own kingdom and his glory.
The Parable of the Tenants
9 Then[a] he began to tell the people this parable: “A man[b] planted a vineyard,[c] leased it to tenant farmers,[d] and went on a journey for a long time. 10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave[e] to the tenants so that they would give[f] him his portion of the crop.[g] However, the tenants beat his slave[h] and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So[i] he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed.[j] 12 So[k] he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 13 Then[l] the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son;[m] perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So[n] they threw him out of the vineyard and killed[o] him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy[p] those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”[q] When the people[r] heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”[s] 17 But Jesus[t] looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?[u] 18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,[v] and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”[w]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.