Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 55
For the music leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil[a] of David.
55 God, listen to my prayer;
don’t avoid my request!
2 Pay attention! Answer me!
I can’t sit still while complaining.
I’m beside myself
3 over the enemy’s noise,
at the wicked person’s racket,
because they bring disaster on me
and harass me furiously.
4 My heart pounds in my chest
because death’s terrors have reached me.
5 Fear and trembling have come upon me;
I’m shaking all over.
6 I say to myself,
I wish I had wings like a dove!
I’d fly away and rest.
7 I’d run so far away!
I’d live in the desert. Selah
8 I’d hurry to my hideout,
far from the rushing wind and storm.
9 Baffle them, my Lord!
Confuse their language
because I see violence and conflict in the city.
10 Day and night they make their rounds on its walls,
and evil and misery live inside it.
11 Disaster lives inside it;
oppression and fraud never leave the town square.
12 It’s not an enemy that is insulting me—
I could handle that.
It’s not someone who hates me
who is exalted over me—
I could hide from them.
13 No. It’s you, my equal,
my close companion, my good friend!
14 It was so pleasant when
together we entered God’s house with the crowd.
15 Let death devastate my enemies;
let them go to the grave[b] alive
because evil lives with them—
even inside them!
16 But I call out to God,
and the Lord will rescue me.
17 At evening, morning, and midday
I complain and moan
so that God will hear my voice.
18 He saves me,[c] unharmed, from my struggle,
though there are many who are out to get me.
19 God, who is enthroned from ancient days,
will hear and humble them Selah
because they don’t change
and they don’t worship God.
20 My friend attacked his allies,
breaking his covenant.
21 Though his talk is smoother than butter,
war is in his heart;
though his words are more silky than oil,
they are really drawn swords:
22 “Cast your burden on the Lord—
he will support you!
God will never let the righteous be shaken!”
23 But you, God, bring the wicked
down to the deepest pit.
Let bloodthirsty and treacherous people
not live out even half their days.
But me? I trust in you!
Psalm 138
Of David.
138 I give thanks to you with all my heart, Lord.[a]
I sing your praise before all other gods.
2 I bow toward your holy temple
and thank your name
for your loyal love and faithfulness
because you have made your name and word
greater than everything else.[b]
3 On the day I cried out, you answered me.
You encouraged me with inner strength.[c]
4 Let all the earth’s rulers give thanks to you, Lord,
when they hear what you say.
5 Let them sing about the Lord’s ways
because the Lord’s glory is so great!
6 Even though the Lord is high,
he can still see the lowly,
but God keeps his distance from the arrogant.
7 Whenever I am in deep trouble,
you make me live again;
you send your power against my enemies’ wrath;
you save me with your strong hand.
8 The Lord will do all this for my sake.
Your faithful love lasts forever, Lord!
Don’t let go of what your hands
have made.
Psalm 139
For the music leader. Of David. A song.
139 Lord, you have examined me.
You know me.
2 You know when I sit down and when I stand up.
Even from far away, you comprehend my plans.
3 You study my traveling and resting.
You are thoroughly familiar with all my ways.
4 There isn’t a word on my tongue, Lord,
that you don’t already know completely.
5 You surround me—front and back.
You put your hand on me.
6 That kind of knowledge is too much for me;
it’s so high above me that I can’t reach it.
7 Where could I go to get away from your spirit?
Where could I go to escape your presence?
8 If I went up to heaven, you would be there.
If I went down to the grave,[d] you would be there too!
9 If I could fly on the wings of dawn,
stopping to rest only on the far side of the ocean—
10 even there your hand would guide me;
even there your strong hand would hold me tight!
11 If I said, “The darkness will definitely hide me;
the light will become night around me,”
12 even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you!
Nighttime would shine bright as day,
because darkness is the same as light to you!
13 You are the one who created my innermost parts;
you knit me together while I was still in my mother’s womb.
14 I give thanks to you that I was marvelously set apart.
Your works are wonderful—I know that very well.
15 My bones weren’t hidden from you
when I was being put together in a secret place,
when I was being woven together in the deep parts of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my embryo,
and on your scroll every day was written that was being formed for me,[e]
before any one of them had yet happened.[f]
17 God, your plans are incomprehensible to me!
Their total number is countless!
18 If I tried to count them—they outnumber grains of sand!
If I came to the very end—I’d still be with you.[g]
19 If only, God, you would kill the wicked!
If only murderers would get away from me—
20 the people who talk about you, but only for wicked schemes;
the people who are your enemies,
who use your name as if it were of no significance.[h]
21 Don’t I hate everyone who hates you?
Don’t I despise those who attack you?
22 Yes, I hate them—through and through!
They’ve become my enemies too.
23 Examine me, God! Look at my heart!
Put me to the test! Know my anxious thoughts!
Joseph interprets Pharaoh’s dreams
41 Two years later, Pharaoh dreamed that he was standing near the Nile. 2 In front of him, seven healthy-looking, fattened cows climbed up out of the Nile and grazed on the reeds. 3 Just then, seven other cows, terrible-looking and scrawny, climbed up out of the Nile after them and stood beside them on the bank of the Nile. 4 The terrible-looking, scrawny cows devoured the seven healthy-looking, fattened cows. Then Pharaoh woke up. 5 He went back to sleep and had a second dream, in which seven ears of grain, full and healthy, grew on a single stalk. 6 Just then, seven ears of grain, scrawny and scorched by the east wind, sprouted after them, 7 and the scrawny ears swallowed up the full and well-formed ears. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream. 8 In the morning, he was disturbed and summoned all of Egypt’s religious experts[a] and all of its advisors. Pharaoh described his dreams[b] to them, but they couldn’t interpret them for Pharaoh.
9 Then the chief wine steward spoke to Pharaoh: “Today I’ve just remembered my mistake. 10 Pharaoh was angry with his servants and put me and the chief baker under arrest with the commander of the royal guard. 11 We both dreamed one night, he and I, and each of our dreams had its own interpretation. 12 A young Hebrew man, a servant of the commander of the royal guard, was with us. We described our dreams to him, and he interpreted our dreams for us, giving us an interpretation for each dream. 13 His interpretations came true exactly: Pharaoh restored me to my position but hanged him.”
Paul’s role as an apostle
4 So a person should think about us this way—as servants of Christ and managers of God’s secrets. 2 In this kind of situation, what is expected of a manager is that they prove to be faithful. 3 I couldn’t care less if I’m judged by you or by any human court; I don’t even judge myself. 4 I’m not aware of anything against me, but that doesn’t make me innocent, because the Lord is the one who judges me. 5 So don’t judge anything before the right time—wait until the Lord comes. He will bring things that are hidden in the dark to light, and he will make people’s motivations public. Then there will be recognition for each person from God.
6 Brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit. I’ve done this so that you can learn what it means not to go beyond what has been written and so none of you will become arrogant by supporting one of us against the other. 7 Who says that you are better than anyone else? What do you have that you didn’t receive? And if you received it, then why are you bragging as if you didn’t receive it?
Scripture and the Sabbath
23 Jesus went through the wheat fields on the Sabbath. As the disciples made their way, they were picking the heads of wheat. 24 The Pharisees said to Jesus, “Look! Why are they breaking the Sabbath law?”
25 He said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what David did when he was in need, when he and those with him were hungry? 26 During the time when Abiathar was high priest, David went into God’s house and ate the bread of the presence, which only the priests were allowed to eat. He also gave bread to those who were with him.” 27 Then he said, “The Sabbath was created for humans; humans weren’t created for the Sabbath. 28 This is why the Human One[a] is Lord even over the Sabbath.”
Healing on the Sabbath
3 Jesus returned to the synagogue. A man with a withered hand was there. 2 Wanting to bring charges against Jesus, they were watching Jesus closely to see if he would heal on the Sabbath. 3 He said to the man with the withered hand, “Step up where people can see you.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it legal on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they said nothing. 5 Looking around at them with anger, deeply grieved at their unyielding hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he did, and his hand was made healthy. 6 At that, the Pharisees got together with the supporters of Herod to plan how to destroy Jesus.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible