Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
13 when they prayed:[ab]
“Have mercy on me,[ac] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[ad]
O one who can snatch me away[ae] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[af] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[ag]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[ah] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[ai]
15 The nations fell[aj] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[ak]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[al] (Higgaion.[am] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[an]
this is the destiny of[ao] all the nations that ignore[ap] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[aq]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[ar]
19 Rise up, Lord![as]
Don’t let men be defiant.[at]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[au]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[av] (Selah)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time;[a] his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir,[b] if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries! 20 The tree that you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky, and that could be seen[c] in all the land, 21 whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals[d] used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest— 22 it is you,[e] O king! For you have become great and strong. Your greatness is such that it reaches to heaven, and your authority to the ends of the earth. 23 As for the king seeing a holy sentinel coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven periods of time go by for him’— 24 this is the interpretation, O king. It is the decision of the Most High that this has happened to my lord the king. 25 You will be driven[f] from human society,[g] and you will live[h] with the wild animals. You will be fed[i] grass like oxen,[j] and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before[k] you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes. 26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven[l] rules. 27 Therefore, O king, may my advice be pleasing to you. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor. Perhaps your prosperity will be prolonged.”[m]
19 And by this[a] we will know that we are of the truth and will convince[b] our conscience[c] in his presence,[d] 20 that[e] if our conscience condemns[f] us, that[g] God is greater than our conscience and knows all things. 21 Dear friends, if our conscience does not condemn us, we have confidence in the presence of God, 22 and[h] whatever we ask we receive from him, because[i] we keep his commandments and do the things that are pleasing to him. 23 Now[j] this is his commandment:[k] that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he gave[l] us the commandment. 24 And the person who keeps his commandments resides[m] in God,[n] and God[o] in him. Now by this[p] we know that God[q] resides in us: by the Spirit he has given us.
Testing the Spirits
4 Dear friends, do not believe every spirit,[r] but test[s] the spirits[t] to determine[u] if they are from God, because many false prophets[v] have gone out into the world. 2 By this[w] you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses[x] Jesus as the Christ[y] who has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but[z] every spirit that refuses to confess[aa] Jesus,[ab] that spirit[ac] is not from God, and this is the spirit[ad] of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now is already in the world.
4 You are from God, little children, and have conquered them,[ae] because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world’s perspective and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God; the person who knows God listens to us, but[af] whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this[ag] we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deceit.[ah]
The Beginning of Jesus’ Ministry in Galilee
14 Then[a] Jesus, in the power of the Spirit,[b] returned to Galilee, and news about him spread[c] throughout the surrounding countryside.[d] 15 He[e] began to teach[f] in their synagogues[g] and was praised[h] by all.
Rejection at Nazareth
16 Now[i] Jesus[j] came to Nazareth,[k] where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue[l] on the Sabbath day, as was his custom.[m] He[n] stood up to read,[o] 17 and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He[p] unrolled[q] the scroll and found the place where it was written,
18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed[r] me to proclaim good news[s] to the poor.[t]
He has sent me[u] to proclaim release[v] to the captives
and the regaining of sight[w] to the blind,
to set free[x] those who are oppressed,[y]
19 to proclaim the year[z] of the Lord’s favor.”[aa]
20 Then[ab] he rolled up[ac] the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on[ad] him. 21 Then[ae] he began to tell them, “Today[af] this scripture has been fulfilled even as you heard it being read.”[ag] 22 All[ah] were speaking well of him, and were amazed at the gracious words coming out of his mouth. They[ai] said, “Isn’t this[aj] Joseph’s son?” 23 Jesus[ak] said to them, “No doubt you will quote to me the proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself!’[al] and say, ‘What we have heard that you did in Capernaum,[am] do here in your hometown too.’” 24 And he added,[an] “I tell you the truth,[ao] no prophet is acceptable[ap] in his hometown. 25 But in truth I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s days,[aq] when the sky[ar] was shut up three and a half years, and[as] there was a great famine over all the land. 26 Yet[at] Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to a woman who was a widow at Zarephath in Sidon.[au] 27 And there were many lepers[av] in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha,[aw] yet[ax] none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”[ay] 28 When they heard this, all the people[az] in the synagogue were filled with rage. 29 They got up, forced[ba] him out of the town,[bb] and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that[bc] they could throw him down the cliff.[bd] 30 But he passed through the crowd[be] and went on his way.[bf]
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