Book of Common Prayer
Childlike Trust in the Lord.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (A)proud, nor my eyes [a](B)haughty;
Nor do I [b]involve myself in (C)great matters,
Or in things (D)too [c]difficult for me.
2 Surely I have (E)composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned (F)child rests [d]against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child [e]within me.
3 O Israel, (G)hope in the Lord
(H)From this time forth and forever.
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, O Lord, on David’s behalf,
All (I)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (J)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “Surely I will not [f]enter (K)my house,
Nor [g]lie on my bed;
4 I will not (L)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (M)place for the Lord,
[h]A dwelling place for (N)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in (O)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (P)field of [i]Jaar.
7 Let us go into His [j](Q)dwelling place;
Let us (R)worship at His (S)footstool.
8 (T)Arise, O Lord, to Your (U)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (V)strength.
9 Let Your priests be (W)clothed with righteousness,
And let Your (X)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of David Your servant,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Y)anointed.
11 The Lord has (Z)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“(AA)Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
12 “If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall (AB)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (AC)chosen Zion;
He has (AD)desired it for His habitation.
14 “This is My (AE)resting place forever;
Here I will (AF)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 “I will abundantly (AG)bless her provision;
I will (AH)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 “Her (AI)priests also I will clothe with salvation,
And her (AJ)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 “There I will cause the (AK)horn of David to spring forth;
I have prepared a (AL)lamp for Mine anointed.
18 “His enemies I will (AM)clothe with shame,
But upon himself his (AN)crown shall shine.”
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (AO)brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious (AP)oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the (AQ)edge of his robes.
3 It is like the (AR)dew of (AS)Hermon
Coming down upon the (AT)mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord (AU)commanded the blessing—(AV)life forever.
Greetings of Night Watchers.
A Song of Ascents.
134 Behold, (AW)bless the Lord, all (AX)servants of the Lord,
Who [k](AY)serve (AZ)by night in the house of the Lord!
2 (BA)Lift up your hands to the (BB)sanctuary
And bless the Lord.
3 May the Lord (BC)bless you from Zion,
He who (BD)made heaven and earth.
Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.
135 [l](BE)Praise [m]the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
Praise Him, O (BF)servants of the Lord,
2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In the (BG)courts of the house of our God!
3 [n]Praise [o]the Lord, for (BH)the Lord is good;
(BI)Sing praises to His name, (BJ)for it is lovely.
4 For [p]the Lord has (BK)chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [q](BL)own possession.
5 For I know that (BM)the Lord is great
And that our Lord is (BN)above all gods.
6 (BO)Whatever the Lord pleases, He does,
In heaven and in earth, in the seas and in all deeps.
7 [r]He (BP)causes the [s]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
Who (BQ)makes lightnings for the rain,
Who (BR)brings forth the wind from His treasuries.
8 [t]He (BS)smote the firstborn of Egypt,
[u]Both of man and beast.
9 [v]He sent (BT)signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon (BU)Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 [w](BV)He (BW)smote many nations
And slew mighty kings,
11 (BX)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
And (BY)Og, king of Bashan,
And (BZ)all the kingdoms of Canaan;
12 And He (CA)gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 Your (CB)name, O Lord, is everlasting,
Your [x]remembrance, O Lord, [y]throughout all generations.
14 For the Lord will (CC)judge His people
And (CD)will have compassion on His servants.
15 The (CE)idols of the nations are but silver and gold,
The work of man’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
They have eyes, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear,
Nor is there any breath at all in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
Yes, everyone who trusts in them.
Joab Reproves David’s Lament
19 Then it was told Joab, “Behold, (A)the king is weeping and mourns for Absalom.” 2 The [a]victory that day was turned to mourning for all the people, for the people heard it said that day, “The king is grieved for his son.” 3 So the people went by stealth into the city that day, as people who are humiliated steal away when they flee in battle. 4 The king (B)covered his face and [b]cried out with a loud voice, “(C)O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “Today you have covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who today have saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters, the lives of your wives, and the lives of your concubines, 6 by loving those who hate you, and by hating those who love you. For you have shown today that [c]princes and servants are nothing to you; for I know this day that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then [d]you would be pleased. 7 Now therefore arise, go out and speak [e]kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go out, surely (D)not a man will pass the night with you, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.”
David Restored as King
8 So the king arose and sat in the gate. When they told all the people, saying, “Behold, the king is (E)sitting in the gate,” then all the people came before the king.
Now (F)Israel had fled, each to his tent. 9 All the people were quarreling throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “(G)The king delivered us from the [f]hand of our enemies and (H)saved us from the [g]hand of the Philistines, but now (I)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 However, Absalom, whom we anointed over us, has died in battle. Now then, why are you silent about bringing the king back?”
11 Then King David sent to (J)Zadok and Abiathar the priests, saying, “Speak to the elders of Judah, saying, ‘Why are you the last to bring the king back to his house, since the word of all Israel has come to the king, even to his house? 12 You are my brothers; (K)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 Say to (L)Amasa, ‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? (M)May God do so to me, and more also, if you will not be (N)commander of the army before me continually (O)in place of Joab.’” 14 Thus he turned the hearts of all the men of Judah (P)as one man, so that they sent word to the king, saying, “Return, you and all your servants.” 15 The king then returned and came as far as the Jordan. And Judah came to (Q)Gilgal in order to go to meet the king, to bring the king across the Jordan.
16 Then (R)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjamite who was from Bahurim, hurried and came down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 There were a thousand men of Benjamin with him, with (S)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, and his fifteen sons and his twenty servants with him; and they rushed to the Jordan before the king. 18 Then they kept crossing the ford to bring over the king’s household, and to do what was good in his sight. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king as he was about to cross the Jordan. 19 So he said to the king, “(T)Let not my lord consider me guilty, nor remember what your servant did wrong on the day when my lord the king came out from Jerusalem, so that the king would [h]take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned; therefore behold, I have come today, (U)the first of all the house of Joseph to go down to meet my lord the king.” 21 But Abishai the son of Zeruiah said, “(V)Should not Shimei be put to death for this, (W)because he cursed the Lord’s anointed?” 22 David then said, “(X)What have I to do with you, O sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be an adversary to me? (Y)Should any man be put to death in Israel today? For do I not know that I am king over Israel today?” 23 The king said to Shimei, “(Z)You shall not die.” Thus the king swore to him.
Paul before Felix
24 After (A)five days the high priest (B)Ananias came down with some elders, [a]with an [b]attorney named Tertullus, and they [c]brought charges to (C)the governor against Paul. 2 After Paul had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying to the governor,
“Since we have through you attained much peace, and since by your providence reforms are being carried out for this nation, 3 we acknowledge this in every way and everywhere, (D)most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. 4 But, that I may not weary you any further, I beg you [d]to grant us, by your kindness, a brief hearing. 5 For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout [e]the world, and a ringleader of the (E)sect of the Nazarenes. 6 And he even tried to (F)desecrate the temple; and [f]then we arrested him. [[g]We wanted to judge him according to our own Law. 7 But Lysias the commander came along, and with much violence took him out of our hands, 8 ordering his accusers to come before you.] By examining him yourself concerning all these matters you will be able to ascertain the things of which we accuse him.” 9 (G)The Jews also joined in the attack, asserting that these things were so.
10 When (H)the governor had nodded for him to speak, Paul responded:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge to this nation, I cheerfully make my defense, 11 since you can take note of the fact that no more than (I)twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 (J)Neither in the temple, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city itself did they find me carrying on a discussion with anyone or (K)causing [h]a riot. 13 (L)Nor can they prove to you the charges of which they now accuse me. 14 But this I admit to you, that according to (M)the Way which they call a (N)sect I do serve [i](O)the God of our fathers, (P)believing everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets; 15 having a hope in God, which (Q)these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 In view of this, (R)I also [j]do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men. 17 Now (S)after several years I (T)came to bring [k]alms to my nation and to present offerings; 18 in which they found me occupied in the temple, having been (U)purified, without any (V)crowd or uproar. But there were some (W)Jews from [l]Asia— 19 who ought to have been present before you and to (X)make accusation, if they should have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves tell what misdeed they found when I stood before (Y)the [m]Council, 21 other than for this one statement which (Z)I shouted out while standing among them, ‘For the resurrection of the dead I am on trial before you today.’”
22 But Felix, [n]having a more exact knowledge about (AA)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the [o]commander comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion for him to be (AB)kept in custody and yet (AC)have some freedom, and not to prevent any of (AD)his friends from ministering to him.
28 (A)One of the scribes came and heard them arguing, and (B)recognizing that He had answered them well, asked Him, “What commandment is the [a]foremost of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The foremost is, ‘(C)Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; 30 (D)and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this, ‘(E)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” 32 The scribe said to Him, “Right, Teacher; You have truly stated that (F)He is One, and there is no one else besides Him; 33 (G)and to love Him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as himself, (H)is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 When Jesus saw that he had answered intelligently, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (I)After that, no one would venture to ask Him any more questions.
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