Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have (K)ransomed me, O Lord, (L)God of [c]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)regard [d]vain idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have (P)seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And (W)my [e]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)reproach,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [f](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face to shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [g]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be mute,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of men!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a [h]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made (AV)marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up for (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (J)without cause they (K)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [d]pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (N)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (Z)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me without cause [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AR)You have seen it, O Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (AZ)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (BA)clothed with shame and dishonor who (BB)magnify themselves over me.
19 Now the people came up from the Jordan on the (A)tenth of the first month and camped at Gilgal on the eastern edge of Jericho. 20 [a](B)Those twelve stones which they had taken from the Jordan, Joshua set up (C)at Gilgal. 21 He said to the sons of [b]Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, ‘What are these stones?’ 22 then you shall inform your children, saying, ‘Israel crossed this Jordan on (D)dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed, just as the Lord your God had done to the [c]Red Sea, (E)which He dried up before us until we had crossed; 24 that (F)all the peoples of the earth may know that the (G)hand of the Lord is mighty, so that you may [d](H)fear the Lord your God [e]forever.”
Israel Is Circumcised
5 Now it came about when all the kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan to the west, and all the kings of the (I)Canaanites who were by the sea, (J)heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the sons of Israel until [f]they had crossed, that their hearts melted, and there was no spirit in them any longer because of the sons of Israel.
10 While the sons of Israel camped at Gilgal (A)they observed the Passover on the evening of the (B)fourteenth day of the month on the desert plains of Jericho. 11 On the [a]day after the Passover, on [b]that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 12 (C)The manna ceased on the [c]day after they had eaten some of the produce of the land, so that the sons of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate some of the yield of the land of Canaan during that year.
13 Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, (D)a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” 14 He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord.” And Joshua (E)fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?” 15 The captain of the Lord’s host said to Joshua, “(F)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.
9 Let (A)love be without hypocrisy. (B)Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be (C)devoted to one another in brotherly love; [a]give preference to one another (D)in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, (E)fervent in spirit, (F)serving the Lord; 12 (G)rejoicing in hope, (H)persevering in tribulation, (I)devoted to prayer, 13 (J)contributing to the needs of the [b]saints, [c](K)practicing hospitality.
14 (L)Bless those who persecute [d]you; bless and do not curse. 15 (M)Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 (N)Be of the same mind toward one another; (O)do not be haughty in mind, but [e]associate with the lowly. (P)Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 (Q)Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. [f](R)Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, (S)so far as it depends on you, (T)be at peace with all men. 19 (U)Never take your own revenge, beloved, but [g]leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “(V)Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. 20 “(W)But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
17 (A)Now on the first day of (B)Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 18 And He said, “Go into the city to (C)a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, “(D)My time is near; I am to keep the Passover at your house with My disciples.”’” 19 The disciples did as Jesus had directed them; and they prepared the Passover.
The Last Passover
20 (E)Now when evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples. 21 As they were eating, He said, “(F)Truly I say to you that one of you will betray Me.” 22 Being deeply grieved, they [a]each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 And He answered, “(G)He who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl is the one who will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man is to go, (H)just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! (I)It would have been good [b]for that man if he had not been born.” 25 And (J)Judas, who was betraying Him, said, “Surely it is not I, (K)Rabbi?” Jesus *said to him, “(L)You have said it yourself.”
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