Book of Common Prayer
God the Supreme Ruler[a]
82 God presides in the heavenly council;
in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:
2 “You must stop judging unjustly;
you must no longer be partial to the wicked!
3 Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans;
be fair to the needy and the helpless.
4 Rescue them from the power of evil people.
5 “How ignorant you are! How stupid!
You are completely corrupt,
and justice has disappeared from the world.
6 (A)‘You are gods,’ I said;
‘all of you are children of the Most High.’
7 But you will die like mortals;
your life will end like that of any prince.”
8 Come, O God, and rule the world;
all the nations are yours.
God the Ruler of the World[a]
98 Sing a new song to the Lord;
he has done wonderful things!
By his own power and holy strength
he has won the victory.
2 The Lord announced his victory;
he made his saving power known to the nations.
3 He kept his promise to the people of Israel
with loyalty and constant love for them.
All people everywhere have seen the victory of our God.
4 Sing for joy to the Lord, all the earth;
praise him with songs and shouts of joy!
5 Sing praises to the Lord!
Play music on the harps!
6 Blow trumpets and horns,
and shout for joy to the Lord, our king.
7 Roar, sea, and every creature in you;
sing, earth, and all who live on you!
8 Clap your hands, you rivers;
you hills, sing together with joy before the Lord,
9 because he comes to rule the earth.
He will rule the peoples of the world
with justice and fairness.
3 (A)The Lord Almighty answers, “I will send my messenger to prepare the way for me. Then the Lord you are looking for will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger you long to see will come and proclaim my covenant.”
2 (B)But who will be able to endure the day when he comes? Who will be able to survive when he appears? He will be like strong soap, like a fire that refines metal. 3 He will come to judge like one who refines and purifies silver. As a metalworker refines silver and gold, so the Lord's messenger will purify the priests, so that they will bring to the Lord the right kind of offerings. 4 Then the offerings which the people of Judah and Jerusalem bring to the Lord will be pleasing to him, as they used to be in the past.
5 The Lord Almighty says, “I will appear among you to judge, and I will testify at once against those who practice magic, against adulterers, against those who give false testimony, those who cheat employees out of their wages, and those who take advantage of widows, orphans, and foreigners—against all who do not respect me.
Jesus and John
22 After this, Jesus and his disciples went to the province of Judea, where he spent some time with them and baptized. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon, not far from Salim, because there was plenty of water in that place. People were going to him, and he was baptizing them. (24 (A)This was before John had been put in prison.)
25 Some of John's disciples began arguing with a Jew[a] about the matter of ritual washing. 26 So they went to John and told him, “Teacher, you remember the man who was with you on the east side of the Jordan, the one you spoke about? Well, he is baptizing now, and everyone is going to him!”
27 John answered, “No one can have anything unless God gives it. 28 (B)You yourselves are my witnesses that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I have been sent ahead of him.’ 29 The bridegroom is the one to whom the bride belongs; but the bridegroom's friend, who stands by and listens, is glad when he hears the bridegroom's voice. This is how my own happiness is made complete. 30 He must become more important while I become less important.”
A Prayer for the Nation's Restoration[a]
80 (A)Listen to us, O Shepherd of Israel;
hear us, leader of your flock.
Seated on your throne above the winged creatures,
2 reveal yourself to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh.
Show us your strength;
come and save us!
3 Bring us back, O God!
Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!
4 How much longer, Lord God Almighty,
will you be angry with your people's prayers?
5 You have given us sorrow to eat,
a large cup of tears to drink.
6 You let the surrounding nations fight over our land;
our enemies insult us.
7 Bring us back, Almighty God!
Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!
8 You brought a grapevine out of Egypt;
you drove out other nations and planted it in their land.
9 You cleared a place for it to grow;
its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land.
10 It covered the hills with its shade;
its branches overshadowed the giant cedars.
11 It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea
and as far as the Euphrates River.
12 Why did you break down the fences around it?
Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes;
13 wild hogs trample it down,
and wild animals feed on it.
14 Turn to us, Almighty God!
Look down from heaven at us;
come and save your people!
15 Come and save this grapevine that you planted,
this young vine you made grow so strong!
16 Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down;
look at them in anger and destroy them!
17 Preserve and protect the people you have chosen,
the nation you made so strong.
18 We will never turn away from you again;
keep us alive, and we will praise you.
19 Bring us back, Lord God Almighty.
Show us your mercy, and we will be saved.
2 When John the Baptist heard in prison about the things that Christ was doing, he sent some of his disciples to him. 3 “Tell us,” they asked Jesus, “are you the one John said was going to come, or should we expect someone else?”
4 Jesus answered, “Go back and tell John what you are hearing and seeing: 5 (A)the blind can see, the lame can walk, those who suffer from dreaded skin diseases are made clean,[a] the deaf hear, the dead are brought back to life, and the Good News is preached to the poor. 6 How happy are those who have no doubts about me!”
7 While John's disciples were leaving, Jesus spoke about him to the crowds: “When you went out to John in the desert, what did you expect to see? A blade of grass bending in the wind? 8 What did you go out to see? A man dressed up in fancy clothes? People who dress like that live in palaces! 9 Tell me, what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes indeed, but you saw much more than a prophet. 10 (B)For John is the one of whom the scripture says: ‘God said, I will send my messenger ahead of you to open the way for you.’ 11 I assure you that John the Baptist is greater than anyone who has ever lived. But the one who is least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than John. 12 (C)From the time John preached his message until this very day the Kingdom of heaven has suffered violent attacks,[b] and violent men try to seize it. 13 Until the time of John all the prophets and the Law of Moses spoke about the Kingdom; 14 (D)and if you are willing to believe their message, John is Elijah, whose coming was predicted. 15 Listen, then, if you have ears!
16 “Now, to what can I compare the people of this day? They are like children sitting in the marketplace. One group shouts to the other, 17 ‘We played wedding music for you, but you wouldn't dance! We sang funeral songs, but you wouldn't cry!’ 18 When John came, he fasted and drank no wine, and everyone said, ‘He has a demon in him!’ 19 When the Son of Man came, he ate and drank, and everyone said, ‘Look at this man! He is a glutton and wine drinker, a friend of tax collectors and other outcasts!’ God's wisdom, however, is shown to be true by its results.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.