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]
19 So the two of them[a] journeyed together until they arrived in Bethlehem.
Naomi and Ruth Arrive in Bethlehem
When they entered[b] Bethlehem, the whole village was excited about their arrival.[c] The women of the village said,[d] “Can this be Naomi?”[e] 20 But she replied[f] to them,[g] “Don’t call me ‘Naomi’![h] Call me ‘Mara’[i] because the Sovereign One[j] has treated me very harshly.[k] 21 I left here full,[l] but the Lord has caused me to return empty-handed.[m] Why do you call me ‘Naomi,’ seeing that[n] the Lord has opposed me,[o] and the Sovereign One[p] has caused me to suffer?”[q] 22 So Naomi returned, accompanied by her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who came back with her from the region of Moab.[r] (Now they[s] arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.)[t]
Ruth Works in the Field of Boaz
2 Now Naomi[u] had a relative[v] on her husband’s side of the family named Boaz. He was a wealthy, prominent man from the clan of Elimelech.[w] 2 One day Ruth the Moabite said to Naomi, “Let me go[x] to the fields so I can gather[y] grain behind whoever permits me to do so.”[z] Naomi[aa] replied, “You may go, my daughter.” 3 So Ruth[ab] went and gathered grain in the fields[ac] behind the harvesters. Now she just happened to end up[ad] in the portion of the field belonging to Boaz, who was from the clan of Elimelech.
Boaz and Ruth Meet
4 Now at that very moment,[ae] Boaz arrived from Bethlehem and greeted[af] the harvesters, “May the Lord be with you!” They replied,[ag] “May the Lord bless you!” 5 Boaz asked[ah] his servant[ai] in charge of the harvesters, “To whom does this young woman belong?”[aj] 6 The servant in charge of the harvesters replied, “She’s the young Moabite woman who came back with Naomi from the region of Moab. 7 She asked,[ak] ‘May I follow the harvesters and gather grain[al] among the bundles?’[am] Since she arrived she has been working hard[an] from this morning until now[ao]—except for[ap] sitting[aq] in the resting hut[ar] a short time.”[as]
8 So Boaz said to Ruth, “Listen carefully,[at] my dear![au] Do not leave to gather grain in another field. You need not[av] go beyond the limits of this field. You may go along beside[aw] my female workers.[ax] 9 Take note of[ay] the field where the men[az] are harvesting and follow behind with the female workers.[ba] I will tell the men[bb] to leave you alone.[bc] When you are thirsty, you may go to[bd] the water jars[be] and drink some of the water[bf] the servants draw.”[bg]
10 Ruth[bh] knelt before him with her forehead to the ground[bi] and said to him, “Why are you so kind[bj] and so attentive to me,[bk] even though[bl] I am a foreigner?”[bm] 11 Boaz replied to her,[bn] “I have been given a full report of[bo] all that you have done for your mother-in-law following the death of your husband—how you left[bp] your father and your mother, as well as your homeland, and came to live among people you did not know previously.[bq] 12 May the Lord reward your efforts![br] May your acts of kindness be repaid fully[bs] by the Lord God of Israel, from whom you have sought protection.”[bt] 13 She said, “You really are being kind to me,[bu] sir,[bv] for you have reassured[bw] and encouraged[bx] me, your servant,[by] even though I will[bz] never be like[ca] one of your servants.”[cb]
18 I put this charge[a] before you, Timothy my child, in keeping with the prophecies once spoken about you,[b] in order that with such encouragement[c] you may fight the good fight. 19 To do this[d] you must hold firmly to faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and so have suffered shipwreck in regard to the faith. 20 Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed over to Satan[e] to be taught not to blaspheme.
Prayer for All People
2 First of all, then, I urge that requests,[f] prayers, intercessions, and thanks be offered on behalf of all people,[g] 2 even for kings[h] and all who are in authority, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. 3 Such prayer for all[i] is good and welcomed before God our Savior, 4 since he wants[j] all people[k] to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one intermediary[l] between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, himself human,[m] 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, revealing God’s purpose at his appointed time.[n] 7 For this I was appointed a preacher and apostle—I am telling the truth;[o] I am not lying—and a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. 8 So I want the men[p] in every place to pray,[q] lifting up holy hands[r] without anger or dispute.
Healing on the Sabbath
10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues[a] on the Sabbath, 11 and a woman was there[b] who had been disabled by a spirit[c] for eighteen years. She[d] was bent over and could not straighten herself up completely.[e] 12 When[f] Jesus saw her, he called her to him[g] and said, “Woman,[h] you are freed[i] from your infirmity.”[j] 13 Then[k] he placed his hands on her, and immediately[l] she straightened up and praised God. 14 But the president of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the crowd, “There are six days on which work[m] should be done![n] So come[o] and be healed on those days, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him,[p] “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from its stall,[q] and lead it to water?[r] 16 Then[s] shouldn’t[t] this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan[u] bound for eighteen long[v] years, be released from this imprisonment[w] on the Sabbath day?” 17 When[x] he said this all his adversaries were humiliated,[y] but[z] the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things[aa] he was doing.[ab]
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