Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56[a]
For the music director, according to the yonath-elem-rekhoqim style;[b] a prayer[c] of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.[d]
56 Have mercy on me, O God, for men are attacking me.[e]
All day long hostile enemies[f] are tormenting me.[g]
2 Those who anticipate my defeat[h] attack me all day long.
Indeed,[i] many are fighting against me, O Exalted One.[j]
3 When[k] I am afraid,
I trust in you.
4 In God—I boast in his promise[l]—
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men[m] do to me?[n]
5 All day long they cause me trouble;[o]
they make a habit of plotting my demise.[p]
6 They stalk[q] and lurk;[r]
they watch my every step,[s]
as[t] they prepare to take my life.[u]
7 Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape.[v]
In your anger[w] bring down the nations,[x] O God.
8 You keep track of my misery.[y]
Put my tears in your leather container.[z]
Are they not recorded in your scroll?[aa]
9 My enemies will turn back when I cry out to you for help;[ab]
I know that God is on my side.[ac]
10 In God—I boast in his promise[ad]—
in the Lord—I boast in his promise[ae]—
11 in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can mere men[af] do to me?[ag]
12 I am obligated to fulfill the vows I made to you, O God;[ah]
I will give you the thank offerings you deserve,[ai]
13 when you deliver[aj] my life from death.
You keep my feet from stumbling,[ak]
so that I might serve[al] God as I enjoy life.[am]
Psalm 57[an]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[ao] a prayer[ap] of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave.[aq]
57 Have mercy on me, O God. Have mercy on me.
For in you I have taken shelter.[ar]
In the shadow of your wings[as] I take shelter
until trouble passes.
2 I cry out for help to God Most High,[at]
to the God who vindicates[au] me.
3 May he send help from heaven and deliver me[av]
from my enemies who hurl insults.[aw] (Selah)
May God send his loyal love and faithfulness.
4 I am surrounded by lions;
I lie down[ax] among those who want to devour me,[ay]
men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
whose tongues are sharp swords.[az]
5 Rise up[ba] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[bb]
6 They have prepared a net to trap me;[bc]
I am discouraged.[bd]
They have dug a pit for me.[be]
They will fall[bf] into it. (Selah)
7 I am determined,[bg] O God. I am determined.
I will sing and praise you.
8 Awake, my soul![bh]
Awake, O stringed instrument and harp!
I will wake up at dawn.[bi]
9 I will give you thanks before the nations, O Lord.
I will sing praises to you before foreigners.[bj]
10 For your loyal love extends beyond the sky,[bk]
and your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 Rise up[bl] above the sky, O God.
May your splendor cover the whole earth.[bm]
Psalm 58[bn]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[bo] a prayer[bp] of David.
58 Do you rulers really pronounce just decisions?[bq]
Do you judge people[br] fairly?
2 No![bs] You plan how to do what is unjust;[bt]
you deal out violence in the earth.[bu]
3 The wicked turn aside from birth;[bv]
liars go astray as soon as they are born.[bw]
4 Their venom is like that of a snake,[bx]
like a deaf serpent[by] that does not hear,[bz]
5 that does not respond to[ca] the magicians,
or to a skilled snake charmer.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths!
Smash the jawbones of the lions, O Lord.
7 Let them disappear[cb] like water that flows away.[cc]
Let them wither like grass.[cd]
8 Let them be[ce] like a snail that melts away as it moves along.[cf]
Let them be like[cg] stillborn babies[ch] that never see the sun.
9 Before the kindling is even placed under your pots,[ci]
he[cj] will sweep it away along with both the raw and cooked meat.[ck]
10 The godly[cl] will rejoice when they see vengeance carried out;
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then[cm] observers[cn] will say,
“Yes indeed, the godly are rewarded.[co]
Yes indeed, there is a God who judges[cp] in the earth.”
Psalm 64[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
64 Listen to me,[b] O God, as I offer my lament!
Protect[c] my life from the enemy’s terrifying attacks.[d]
2 Hide me from the plots of evil men,
from the crowd of evildoers.[e]
3 They[f] sharpen their tongues like swords;
they aim their arrows, a slanderous charge,[g]
4 in order to shoot down the innocent[h] in secluded places.
They shoot at him suddenly and are unafraid of retaliation.[i]
5 They encourage one another to carry out their evil deed.[j]
They plan how to hide[k] snares,
and boast,[l] “Who will see them?”[m]
6 They devise[n] unjust schemes;
they disguise[o] a well-conceived plot.[p]
Man’s inner thoughts cannot be discovered.[q]
7 But God will shoot[r] at them;
suddenly they will be[s] wounded by an arrow.[t]
8 Their slander will bring about their demise.[u]
All who see them will shudder,[v]
9 and all people will fear.[w]
They will proclaim what God has done,[x]
and reflect on his deeds.
10 The godly will rejoice in the Lord
and take shelter in him.
All the morally upright[y] will boast.[z]
Psalm 65[aa]
For the music director, a psalm of David, a song.
65 Praise awaits you,[ab] O God, in Zion.
Vows made to you are fulfilled.
2 You hear prayers;[ac]
all people approach you.[ad]
3 Our record of sins overwhelms me,[ae]
but you forgive[af] our acts of rebellion.
4 How blessed[ag] is the one whom you choose,
and allow to live in your palace courts.[ah]
May we be satisfied with the good things of your house—
your holy palace.[ai]
5 You answer our prayers by performing awesome acts of deliverance,
O God, our savior.[aj]
All the ends of the earth trust in you,[ak]
as well as those living across the wide seas.[al]
6 You created the mountains by your power,[am]
and demonstrated your strength.[an]
7 You calmed the raging seas[ao]
and their roaring waves,
as well as the commotion made by the nations.[ap]
8 Even those living in the remotest areas are awestruck by your acts;[aq]
you cause those living in the east and west to praise you.[ar]
9 You visit the earth and give it rain;[as]
you make it rich and fertile.[at]
God’s streams are full of water;[au]
you provide grain for the people of the earth,[av]
for you have prepared the earth in this way.[aw]
10 You saturate[ax] its furrows,
and soak[ay] its plowed ground.[az]
With rain showers you soften its soil,[ba]
and make its crops grow.[bb]
11 You crown the year with your good blessings,[bc]
and you leave abundance in your wake.[bd]
12 The pastures in the wilderness glisten with moisture,[be]
and the hills are clothed with joy.[bf]
13 The meadows are clothed with sheep,
and the valleys are covered with grain.
They shout joyfully, yes, they sing.
Exhortation to Households
18 Wives, submit to your[a] husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing in the Lord. 21 Fathers,[b] do not provoke[c] your children, so they will not become disheartened. 22 Slaves,[d] obey your earthly[e] masters in every respect, not only when they are watching—like those who are strictly people-pleasers—but with a sincere heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you are doing,[f] work at it with enthusiasm,[g] as to the Lord and not for people,[h] 24 because you know that you will receive your[i] inheritance[j] from the Lord as the reward. Serve[k] the Lord Christ. 25 For the one who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong,[l] and there are no exceptions.[m] 4 1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.
Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission
2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time pray[n] for us too, that[o] God may open a door for the message[p] so that we may proclaim[q] the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.[r] 4 Pray that I may make it known as I should.[s] 5 Conduct yourselves[t] with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunities. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should answer everyone.
Personal Greetings and Instructions
7 Tychicus, a dear brother, faithful minister, and fellow slave[u] in the Lord, will tell you all the news about me.[v] 8 I sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are doing[w] and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 I sent him[x] with Onesimus, the faithful and dear brother, who is one of you.[y] They will tell[z] you about everything here.
10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him). 11 And Jesus who is called Justus also sends greetings. In terms of Jewish converts,[aa] these are the only fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a slave[ab] of Christ,[ac] greets you. He is always struggling in prayer on your behalf, so that you may stand mature and fully assured[ad] in all the will of God. 13 For I can testify that he has worked hard[ae] for you and for those in Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke the physician and Demas[af] greet you. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters[ag] who are in Laodicea and to Nympha and the church that meets in her[ah] house.[ai] 16 And after[aj] you have read this letter, have it read[ak] to the church of Laodicea. In turn, read the letter from Laodicea[al] as well. 17 And tell Archippus, “See to it that you complete the ministry you received in the Lord.”
18 I, Paul, write this greeting by my own hand.[am] Remember my chains.[an] Grace be with you.[ao]
Jesus’ Anointing
36 Now one of the Pharisees[a] asked Jesus[b] to have dinner with him, so[c] he went into the Pharisee’s house and took his place at the table.[d] 37 Then[e] when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus[f] was dining[g] at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar[h] of perfumed oil.[i] 38 As[j] she stood[k] behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. She[l] wiped them with her hair,[m] kissed[n] them,[o] and anointed[p] them with the perfumed oil. 39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this,[q] he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,[r] he would know who and what kind of woman[s] this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 40 So[t] Jesus answered him,[u] “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He replied,[v] “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain creditor[w] had two debtors; one owed him[x] 500 silver coins,[y] and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he canceled[z] the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered,[aa] “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.”[ab] Jesus[ac] said to him, “You have judged rightly.” 44 Then,[ad] turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet,[ae] but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss of greeting,[af] but from the time I entered she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet[ag] with perfumed oil. 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which were many, are forgiven, thus she loved much;[ah] but the one who is forgiven little loves little.” 48 Then[ai] Jesus[aj] said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”[ak] 49 But[al] those who were at the table[am] with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” 50 He[an] said to the woman, “Your faith[ao] has saved you;[ap] go in peace.”
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