Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 22[a]
For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[b] a psalm of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[c]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[d]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[e]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[f]
4 In you our ancestors[g] trusted;
they trusted in you[h] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[i]
6 But I[j] am a worm,[k] not a man;[l]
people insult me and despise me.[m]
7 All who see me taunt[n] me;
they mock me[o] and shake their heads.[p]
8 They say,[q]
“Commit yourself[r] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[s] rescue him!
Let the Lord[t] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[u]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[v] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[w]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[x]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[y]
12 Many bulls[z] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[aa] hem me in.
13 They[ab] open their mouths to devour me[ac]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[ad]
14 My strength drains away like water;[ae]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[af] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[ag] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[ah]
You[ai] set me in the dust of death.[aj]
16 Yes,[ak] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[al]
17 I can count[am] all my bones;
my enemies[an] are gloating over me in triumph.[ao]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[ap] for my garments.
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[aq] Hurry and help me![ar]
20 Deliver me[as] from the sword.
Save[at] my life[au] from the claws[av] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[aw]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[ax]
You have answered me.[ay]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[az]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[ba] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[bb]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[bc] of the oppressed.[bd]
He did not ignore him;[be]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[bf]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[bg] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[bh]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[bi]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[bj] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[bk]
Let all the nations[bl] worship you.[bm]
28 For the Lord is king[bn]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[bo] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[bp]
all those who are descending into the grave[bq] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[br]
30 A whole generation[bs] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[bt]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[bu]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[bv]
Boaz Settles the Matter
4 Now Boaz went up[a] to the village gate and sat there. Then along came the guardian[b] whom Boaz had mentioned to Ruth.[c] Boaz said, “Come[d] here, what’s-your-name,[e] and sit down.” So he came[f] and sat down. 2 Boaz chose ten of the village leaders[g] and said, “Sit down here!” So they sat down. 3 Then Boaz said to the guardian,[h] “Naomi, who has returned from the region of Moab, is selling[i] the portion of land that belongs to our relative Elimelech. 4 So I am legally informing you:[j] Acquire it before those sitting here and before the leaders of my people.[k] If you want to exercise your right to redeem it, then do so.[l] But if not, then tell me[m] so I will know.[n] For you possess the first option to redeem it; I am next in line after you.”[o] He replied, “I will redeem it.” 5 Then Boaz said, “When[p] you acquire the field[q] from Naomi,[r] you must also[s] acquire Ruth the Moabite,[t] the wife of our deceased relative,[u] in order to preserve his family name by raising up a descendant who will inherit his property.”[v] 6 The guardian said, “Then I am unable to redeem it, for I would ruin my own inheritance[w] in that case. You may exercise my redemption option, for I am unable to redeem it.”[x] 7 (Now this used to be the customary way to finalize a transaction involving redemption in Israel:[y] A man would remove his sandal and give it to the other party.[z] This was a legally binding act[aa] in Israel.) 8 So the guardian said to Boaz, “You may acquire it,” and he removed his sandal.[ab] 9 Then Boaz said to the leaders and all the people, “You are witnesses today that I have acquired from Naomi all that belonged to Elimelech, Kilion, and Mahlon. 10 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, the wife of Mahlon, as my wife to raise up a descendant who will inherit his property[ac] so the name of the deceased might not disappear[ad] from among his relatives and from his village.[ae] You are witnesses today.” 11 All the people who were at the gate and the elders replied, “We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is entering your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built up the house of Israel! May[af] you prosper[ag] in Ephrathah and become famous[ah] in Bethlehem. 12 May your family[ai] become like the family of Perez[aj]—whom Tamar bore to Judah—through the descendants[ak] the Lord gives you by this young woman.”
A Grandson is Born to Naomi
13 So Boaz married Ruth and slept with her.[al] The Lord enabled her to conceive[am] and she gave birth to a son. 14 The village women said to Naomi, “May the Lord be praised because he has not left you without a guardian[an] today! May he[ao] become famous in Israel![ap] 15 He will encourage you and provide for you when you are old,[aq] for your daughter-in-law, who loves you, has given him birth. She[ar] is better to you than seven sons!” 16 Naomi took the child and placed him on her lap;[as] she became his caregiver.[at] 17 The neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “A son has been born to Naomi.” They named him Obed.[au] Now he became the father of Jesse—David’s father.
17 Elders who provide effective leadership[a] must be counted worthy[b] of double honor,[c] especially those who work hard in speaking[d] and teaching. 18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”[e] and, “The worker deserves his pay.”[f] 19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it can be confirmed by two or three witnesses.[g] 20 Those guilty of sin[h] must be rebuked[i] before all,[j] as a warning to the rest.[k] 21 Before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, I solemnly charge you to carry out these commands without prejudice or favoritism of any kind.[l] 22 Do not lay hands on anyone[m] hastily and so identify with the sins of others.[n] Keep yourself pure. 23 (Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion[o] and your frequent illnesses.)[p] 24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later.[q] 25 Similarly good works are also obvious, and the ones that are not cannot remain hidden.
Healing Again on the Sabbath
14 Now[a] one Sabbath when Jesus went to dine[b] at the house of a leader[c] of the Pharisees,[d] they were watching[e] him closely. 2 There[f] right[g] in front of him was a man whose body was swollen with fluid.[h] 3 So[i] Jesus asked[j] the experts in religious law[k] and the Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath[l] or not?” 4 But they remained silent. So[m] Jesus[n] took hold of the man,[o] healed him, and sent him away.[p] 5 Then[q] he said to them, “Which of you, if you have a son[r] or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?” 6 But[s] they could not reply[t] to this.
On Seeking Seats of Honor
7 Then[u] when Jesus[v] noticed how the guests[w] chose the places of honor,[x] he told them a parable. He said to them, 8 “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast,[y] do not take[z] the place of honor, because a person more distinguished than you may have been invited by your host.[aa] 9 So[ab] the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this man your place.’ Then, ashamed,[ac] you will begin to move to the least important[ad] place. 10 But when you are invited, go and take the least important place, so that when your host[ae] approaches he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up here to a better place.’[af] Then you will be honored in the presence of all who share the meal with you. 11 For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but[ag] the one who humbles[ah] himself will be exalted.”
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