Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into a wilderness
and springs of water into thirsty ground,
34 a fruitful land into a salty place,
because of the evil of its inhabitants.
35 He turns a wilderness into a pool of water
and a dry land into springs of water.
36 And he settles the hungry there,
so that they may establish a city to inhabit,
37 and sow fields and plant vineyards,
that they may yield fruit at harvest.[a]
38 And he blesses them and they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle become few.
39 When they become few and they are bent down
from the oppression of calamity and grief,
40 he pours contempt on princes
and causes them to wander in a trackless waste.
41 But he protects[b] the needy from misery,
and he makes their families like a flock.
42 The upright see it and are glad,
and all wickedness shuts its mouth.
43 Whoever is wise, then let him observe these things,
and let them consider Yahweh’s acts of loyal love.
Prayer to Yahweh for Victory over Enemies
A song. A psalm of David.[c]
108 My heart is steadfast, O God.
I will sing and give praise, even with my glory.
2 Awake, harp and lyre.
I will awake the dawn.[d]
3 I will give you thanks among the peoples, O Yahweh;
I will give you praise among the nations,
4 because your loyal love is great above the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted above the heavens, O God,
and let your glory be above all the earth,
6 so that your beloved ones may be rescued.
Save by your right hand and answer me.
7 God has spoken in his holiness,
“I will exult, I will divide up Shechem,
and portion out the valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is mine. Manasseh is mine.
And Ephraim is the helmet for[e] my head.
Judah is my scepter;[f]
9 Moab is my washing pot.
Over Edom I will cast my sandal;
Over Philistia I will shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Have you not rejected us, O God,
and not gone out with our armies, O God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
for the help of humankind is futile.
13 Through God we will do valiantly,[g]
and it is he who will tread down our enemies.
Praise to Yahweh for His Character and Creation
33 Exult in Yahweh, O you righteous,
for praise is fitting for the upright.
2 Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre;
with a harp of ten strings play to him.
3 Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully with jubilant shout.
4 For the word of Yahweh is upright,
and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5 He loves righteousness and justice.
The earth is full of the loyal love of Yahweh.
6 By the word of Yahweh the heavens were made,
and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7 He gathered the waters of the sea like a heap.
He put the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear Yahweh.
Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
9 For he himself spoke[a] and it came to pass.
He himself commanded[b] and it stood firm.
10 Yahweh brings to nothing[c] the plan of nations;
he frustrates[d] the intents of peoples.
11 The plan of Yahweh stands firm forever,
the intents of his heart from one generation to the next.[e]
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh,
the people he has chosen for his inheritance.
13 From heaven Yahweh looks;
he sees all the children of humankind.
14 From his dwelling place[f] he gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions altogether their heart,
he who understands all their works.
16 The king is not saved by the greatness of an army.
The warrior is not delivered by the greatness of strength.
17 The horse is a false hope for victory,
nor can it save by the greatness of its power.
18 Behold, the eye of Yahweh is on those who fear him,
on those who hope[g] for his loyal love
19 to deliver their soul from death
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for Yahweh;
he is our help and our shield.
21 For in him our heart rejoices
because in his holy name we trust.
22 Let your loyal love, O Yahweh, be upon us,
even as[h] we hope in you.
Ziba Brings Provisions
16 Now David passed a little from beyond the summit, and suddenly Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth was there to meet him with a pair of saddled donkeys; on them were two hundred loaves of bread and a hundred raisin cakes, with a hundred summer fruits and a skin of wine. 2 The king said to Ziba, “What do you want to accomplish by bringing these?”[a] And Ziba said, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on; the bread and the summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for the faint in the wilderness to drink. 3 Then the king said, “Where is the son of your lord?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is living in Jerusalem for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel shall return the kingdom of my father to me.’” 4 The king said to Ziba, “Look, all that was Mephibosheth’s is yours.” Ziba said, “I hereby do obeisance; may I find favor in your eyes, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David
5 King David came up to Bahurim and suddenly a man from there was coming out from the family of the house of Saul, and his name was Shimei the son of Gera. He was cursing as he came out.[b] 6 And he threw stones at David and at all the servants of King David and at all the people and at all the mighty warriors on his right and on his left. 7 Shimei said while cursing him, “Go out, go out, you man of bloodshed,[c] you man of wickedness.[d] 8 Yahweh has returned on you all the blood of the household of Saul whom you have supplanted as king,[e] and Yahweh has given the kingship into the hand of Absalom your son. Look, you are in disaster for you are a man of blood.” 9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog curse my lord the king? Please let me go over and take off his head.” 10 The king said, “What do we have in common,[f] sons of Zeruiah? If[g] he curses because Yahweh has said to him ‘Curse David,’ who can say, “Why have you done this?” 11 David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Look, my son who came out of my loins[h] is seeking my life. Now as far as[i] this Benjaminite, leave him alone and let him curse, for Yahweh has spoken to him. 12 Perhaps Yahweh will look in my eye[j] and repay good for me in place of his curse this day. 13 Then David and his men went on the road, with Shimei going on the side of the hill beside him, cursing as he went.[k] He threw stones beside him and threw[l] dust in the air. 14 When the king and all of the people who were with him arrived, he was weary, so he recovered there.
Hushai Comes to Absalom
15 Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, had come to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. 16 When Hushai the Arkite the friend of David came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king, long live the king!” 17 Absalom said to Hushai, “This is your loyal love with your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?” 18 Then Hushai said to Absalom, “No, rather, whom Yahweh and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, to him[m] I will be, and with him I will remain. 19 Furthermore,[n] for whom have I served? Is it not in the presence of his son that I have served before your father? So shall I serve you!”[o] 20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?” 21 And Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go to the concubines of your father whom he left behind to watch over the house, then all of Israel will hear that you made yourself odious to your father, and all of your followers will be motivated!”[p] 22 Then they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he went in to the concubines of his father before the eyes of all Israel. 23 The counsel that Ahithophel gave in those days was regarded as when a man[q] inquired of the word of God, so all the counsel of Ahithophel was esteemed both by David and by Absalom.
17 “And it happened that when[a] I returned to Jerusalem and I was praying in the temple courts,[b] I was in a trance, 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and depart quickly[c] from Jerusalem, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to synagogue I was imprisoning and beating those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself also was standing near and was approving, and was guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’”
Paul Questioned by the Military Tribune
22 Now they were listening to him until this word, and they raised their voices, saying, “Away with such a man from the earth! For it is not fitting for him to live!” 23 And while[d] they were screaming and throwing off their[e] cloaks and throwing dust into the air, 24 the military tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks,[f] saying he was to be examined with a lash so that he could find out for what reason they were crying out against him in this way. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the lash,[g] Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it permitted for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 And when[h] the centurion heard this,[i] he went to the military tribune and[j] reported it,[k] saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen!” 27 So the military tribune came and[l] said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 And the military tribune replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I indeed was born a citizen.[m] 29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him kept away from him, and the military tribune also was afraid when he[n] realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had tied him up.[o]
The Triumphal Entry
11 And when they came near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village before you, and right away as you[a] enter into it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.[b] 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say[c] ‘The Lord has need of it, and will send it here again at once.’” 4 And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it. 5 And some of those who were standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 So they told them, just as Jesus had said, and they allowed them to take it.[d] 7 And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks over it, and he sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread[e] leafy branches they[f] had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went ahead and those who were following were shouting,
“Hosanna!
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord![g]
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!
Hosanna in the highest heaven!”[h]
11 And he went into Jerusalem to the temple, and after[i] looking around at everything, because[j] the hour was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
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