Book of Common Prayer
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
A Song of (A)Ascents. Of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (B)lifted up;
my eyes are not (C)raised too high;
I do not (D)occupy myself with things
too great and (E)too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned (F)child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 (G)O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
The Lord Has Chosen Zion
A Song of (H)Ascents.
132 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
all (I)the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
and (J)vowed to (K)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not (L)give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I (M)find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for (N)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in (O)Ephrathah;
we found it in (P)the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us (Q)worship at his (R)footstool!”
8 (S)Arise, O Lord, and go to your (T)resting place,
you and the ark of your (U)might.
9 Let your (V)priests be (W)clothed with righteousness,
and let your (X)saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
(Y)do not turn away the face of (Z)your anointed one.
11 (AA)The Lord swore to David a sure oath
(AB)from which he will not turn back:
(AC)“One of the sons of your body[a]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall (AD)sit on your throne.”
13 For the Lord has (AE)chosen Zion;
he has (AF)desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my (AG)resting place forever;
here I will (AH)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (AI)bless her provisions;
I will (AJ)satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her (AK)priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her (AL)saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make (AM)a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared (AN)a lamp for (AO)my anointed.
18 His enemies I will (AP)clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
When Brothers Dwell in Unity
A Song of (AQ)Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when (AR)brothers dwell in unity![b]
2 It is like the precious (AS)oil on (AT)the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on (AU)the collar of his robes!
3 It is like (AV)the dew of (AW)Hermon,
which falls on (AX)the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord (AY)has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.
Come, Bless the Lord
A Song of (AZ)Ascents.
134 Come, bless the Lord, all you (BA)servants of the Lord,
who (BB)stand (BC)by night in the house of the Lord!
2 (BD)Lift up your hands to (BE)the holy place
and bless the Lord!
Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever
135 (BI)Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O (BJ)servants of the Lord,
2 who (BK)stand in the house of the Lord,
in (BL)the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for (BM)the Lord is good;
sing to his name, (BN)for it is pleasant![c]
4 For the Lord has (BO)chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his (BP)own possession.
5 For I know that (BQ)the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 (BR)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 (BS)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who (BT)makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his (BU)storehouses.
8 He it was who (BV)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent (BW)signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 (BX)who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 (BY)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and (BZ)Og, king of Bashan,
and (CA)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and (CB)gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 (CC)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
(CD)your renown,[d] O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 (CE)For the Lord will vindicate his people
and (CF)have compassion on his servants.
15 (CG)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.
Warning Against the Adulteress
7 (A)My son, keep my words
and (B)treasure up my commandments with you;
2 (C)keep my commandments and live;
keep my teaching as (D)the apple of your eye;
3 (E)bind them on your fingers;
(F)write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”
and call insight your intimate friend,
5 to keep you from (G)the forbidden[a] woman,
from (H)the adulteress[b] with her smooth words.
6 For at (I)the window of my house
I have looked out through my lattice,
7 and I have seen among (J)the simple,
I have perceived among the youths,
a young man (K)lacking sense,
8 passing along the street (L)near her corner,
taking the road to her house
9 in (M)the twilight, in the evening,
at (N)the time of night and darkness.
10 And behold, the woman meets him,
(O)dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.[c]
11 She is (P)loud and (Q)wayward;
(R)her feet do not stay at home;
12 now in the street, now in the market,
and (S)at every corner she (T)lies in wait.
13 She seizes him and kisses him,
and with (U)bold face she says to him,
14 “I had to (V)offer sacrifices,[d]
and today I have (W)paid my vows;
15 so now I have come out to meet you,
to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.
16 I have spread my couch with (X)coverings,
colored linens from (Y)Egyptian linen;
17 I have perfumed my bed with (Z)myrrh,
aloes, and (AA)cinnamon.
18 Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;
let us delight ourselves with love.
19 For (AB)my husband is not at home;
he has gone on a long journey;
20 he took a bag of money with him;
at full moon he will come home.”
21 With much seductive speech she persuades him;
with (AC)her smooth talk she compels him.
22 All at once he follows her,
as an ox goes to the slaughter,
or as a stag is caught fast[e]
23 till an arrow pierces its liver;
as (AD)a bird rushes into a snare;
he does not know that it will cost him his life.
24 And (AE)now, O sons, listen to me,
and be attentive to the words of my mouth.
25 Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;
do not stray into her paths,
26 for many a victim has she laid low,
and all her slain are (AF)a mighty throng.
27 Her house is (AG)the way to Sheol,
going down to the chambers of death.
That You May Know
13 I write (A)these things to you who (B)believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is (C)the confidence that we have toward him, that (D)if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.
16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and (E)God[a] will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. (F)There is sin that leads to death; (G)I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 (H)All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
18 We know that (I)everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but (J)he who was born of God (K)protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are from God, and (L)the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and (M)has given us understanding, so that we may know (N)him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and (O)eternal life. 21 Little children, (P)keep yourselves from idols.
55 Now (A)the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and (B)many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover (C)to purify themselves. 56 (D)They were looking for[a] Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.
Mary Anoints Jesus at Bethany
12 Six days before (E)the Passover, (F)Jesus therefore came to Bethany, (G)where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there. (H)Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table. 3 (I)Mary therefore took a pound[b] of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii[c] and (J)given to the poor?” 6 He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and (K)having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it[d] for the day of my burial. 8 For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.