Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.(A)
1 God, give your justice to the king
and your righteousness to the king’s son.(B)
2 He will judge your people with righteousness
and your afflicted ones with justice.(C)
3 May the mountains bring well-being[a] to the people
and the hills, righteousness.(D)
4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.(E)
5 May they fear you[b] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.(F)
6 May the king be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.(G)
7 May the righteous[c] flourish in his days
and well-being abound
until the moon is no more.(H)
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.(I)
9 May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.(J)
10 May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(K)
11 Let all kings bow in homage to him,
all nations serve him.(L)
12 For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.(M)
13 He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.(N)
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are[d] precious[e] in his sight.(O)
15 May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.(P)
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.(Q)
17 May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.(R)
י Yod
73 Your hands made me and formed me;(A)
give me understanding
so that I can learn your commands.(B)
74 Those who fear you will see me and rejoice,(C)
for I put my hope in your word.(D)
75 I know, Lord, that your judgments are just
and that you have afflicted me fairly.(E)
76 May your faithful love comfort me
as you promised your servant.
77 May your compassion come to me(F)
so that I may live,
for your instruction is my delight.(G)
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame(H)
for slandering me with lies;
I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you,
those who know your decrees, turn to me.
80 May my heart be blameless regarding your statutes(I)
so that I will not be put to shame.
כ Kaph
81 I long for your salvation;(J)
I put my hope in your word.(K)
82 My eyes grow weary
looking for what you have promised;(L)
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke,
I do not forget your statutes.
84 How many days must your servant wait?
When will you execute judgment on my persecutors?(M)
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me;(N)
they violate your instruction.
86 All your commands are true;
people persecute me with lies—help me!(O)
87 They almost ended my life on earth,
but I did not abandon your precepts.
88 Give me life in accordance with your faithful love,
and I will obey the decree you have spoken.
ל Lamed
89 Lord, your word is forever;(P)
it is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness is for all generations;(Q)
you established the earth, and it stands firm.(R)
91 Your judgments stand firm today,(S)
for all things are your servants.(T)
92 If your instruction had not been my delight,
I would have died in my affliction.(U)
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for you have given me life through them.(V)
94 I am yours; save me,(W)
for I have studied your precepts.(X)
95 The wicked hope to destroy me,(Y)
but I contemplate your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your command is without limit.
30 Then Moses recited aloud every single word of this song to the entire assembly of Israel:
Song of Moses
32 Pay attention, heavens, and I will speak;
listen, earth, to the words from my mouth.(A)
2 Let my teaching fall like rain
and my word settle like dew,
like gentle rain on new grass
and showers on tender plants.
3 For I will proclaim the Lord’s name.(B)
Declare the greatness of our God!
4 The Rock(C)—his work is perfect;
all his ways are just.(D)
A faithful God,(E) without bias,
he is righteous and true.
5 His people have acted corruptly toward him;(F)
this is their defect[a]—they are not his children
but a devious and crooked generation.(G)
6 Is this how you repay the Lord,
you foolish and senseless people?(H)
Isn’t he your Father and Creator?[b](I)
Didn’t he make you and sustain you?
7 Remember the days of old;
consider the years of past generations.
Ask your father, and he will tell you,
your elders, and they will teach you.
8 When the Most High gave the nations their inheritance[c]
and divided the human race,(J)
he set the boundaries of the peoples(K)
according to the number of the people of Israel.[d]
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people,
Jacob, his own inheritance.(L)
10 He found him in a desolate land,
in a barren, howling wilderness;
he surrounded him, cared for him,(M)
and protected him as the pupil of his eye.(N)
11 He watches over[e] his nest like an eagle
and hovers over his young;
he spreads his wings, catches him,
and carries him on his feathers.(O)
12 The Lord alone led him,
with no help from a foreign god.
13 He made him ride on the heights of the land(P)
and eat the produce of the field.
He nourished him with honey from the rock
and oil from flinty rock,
14 curds from the herd and milk from the flock,
with the fat of lambs,
rams from Bashan,(Q) and goats,
with the choicest grains of wheat;
you drank wine from the finest grapes.[f]
21 I say this to our shame: We have been too weak for that!
But in whatever anyone dares to boast—I am talking foolishly—I also dare: 22 Are they Hebrews?(A) So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the descendants of Abraham?(B) So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I’m talking like a madman—I’m a better one: with far more labors, many more imprisonments, far worse beatings, many times near death.
24 Five times I received the forty lashes minus one from the Jews.(C) 25 Three times I was beaten with rods.(D) Once I received a stoning.(E) Three times I was shipwrecked.(F) I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers,(G) dangers from my own people,(H) dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing.(I) 28 Not to mention[a] other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble,(J) and I do not burn with indignation?
30 If boasting is necessary, I will boast about my weaknesses. 31 The God and Father(K) of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows I am not lying. 32 In Damascus,(L) a ruler[b] under King Aretas guarded the city of Damascus in order to arrest me. 33 So I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped from his hands.(M)
The Parable of the Ten Minas
11 As(A) they were listening to this, he went on to tell a parable because he was near Jerusalem,(B) and they thought the kingdom of God was going to appear right away.(C)
12 Therefore he said, “A nobleman traveled to a far country to receive for himself authority to be king[a] and then to return. 13 He called ten of his servants, gave them ten minas,[b] and told them, ‘Engage in business until I come back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to rule over us.’
15 “At his return, having received the authority to be king, he summoned those servants he had given the money to, so that he could find out how much they had made in business. 16 The first came forward and said, ‘Master, your mina has earned ten more minas.’
17 “‘Well done, good[c] servant!’ he told him. ‘Because you have been faithful(D) in a very small matter, have authority over ten towns.’
18 “The second came and said, ‘Master, your mina has made five minas.’
19 “So he said to him, ‘You will be over five towns.’
20 “And another came and said, ‘Master, here is your mina. I have kept it safe in a cloth 21 because I was afraid of you since you’re a harsh man: you collect what you didn’t deposit and reap what you didn’t sow.’(E)
22 “He told him, ‘I will condemn you by what you have said, you evil servant! If you knew I was a harsh man, collecting what I didn’t deposit and reaping what I didn’t sow, 23 why, then, didn’t you put my money in the bank? And when I returned, I would have collected it with interest.’ 24 So he said to those standing there, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “But they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas.’
26 “‘I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given; and from the one who does not have, even what he does have will be taken away.(F) 27 But bring here these enemies of mine,(G) who did not want me to rule over them, and slaughter[d] them in my presence.’”
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