Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 56
For the music leader. According to “The Silent Dove of Distant Places.” A miktam[a] of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 God, have mercy on me because I’m being trampled.
All day long the enemy oppresses me.
2 My attackers trample me all day long
because I have so many enemies.
Exalted one, 3 whenever I’m afraid,
I put my trust in you—
4 in God, whose word I praise.
I trust in God; I won’t be afraid.
What can mere flesh do to me?
5 All day long they frustrate my pursuits;
all their thoughts are evil against me.
6 They get together and set an ambush—
they are watching my steps,
hoping for my death.
7 Don’t rescue them for any reason!
In wrath bring down the people, God!
8 You yourself have kept track of my misery.
Put my tears into your bottle—
aren’t they on your scroll already?
9 Then my enemies will retreat when I cry out.
I know this because God is mine.
10 God: whose word I praise.
The Lord: whose word I praise.
11 I trust in God; I won’t be afraid.
What can anyone do to me?
12 I will fulfill my promises to you, God.
I will present thanksgiving offerings to you
13 because you have saved my life from death,
saved my feet from stumbling
so that I can walk before God in the light of life.
Psalm 57
For the music leader. Do not destroy. A miktam[b] of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.
57 Have mercy on me, God;
have mercy on me
because I[c] have taken refuge in you.
I take refuge
in the shadow of your wings
until destruction passes by.
2 I call out to God Most High—
to God, who comes through for me.
3 He sends orders from heaven and saves me,
rebukes the one who tramples me. Selah
God sends his loyal love and faithfulness.
4 My life is in the middle of a pack of lions.
I lie down among those who devour humans.
Their teeth are spears and arrows;
their tongues are sharpened swords.
5 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They laid a net for my feet to bring me down;
they dug a pit for me,
but they fell into it instead! Selah
7 My heart is unwavering, God—
my heart is unwavering.
I will sing and make music.
8 Wake up, my glory!
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake the dawn itself!
9 I will give thanks to you,
my Lord,
among all the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations
10 because your faithful love
is as high as heaven;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
11 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
Psalm 58
For the music leader. Do not destroy. A psalm of David, a miktam.[d]
58 Do you really speak what is right, you gods?
Do you really judge humans fairly?
2 No: in your hearts you plan injustice;
your hands do violence on the earth.
3 The wicked backslide from the womb;
liars go astray from birth.
4 Their venom is like a snake’s venom—
like a deaf cobra’s—one that shuts its ears
5 so it can’t hear the snake charmer’s voice
or the spells of a skillful enchanter.
6 God, break their teeth out of their mouths!
Tear out the lions’ jawbones, Lord!
7 Let them dissolve like water flowing away.
When they bend the bow,
let their arrows be like headless shafts.[e]
8 Like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like a woman’s stillborn child,
let them never see the sun.
9 Before your pots feel the thorns,
whether green or burned up,
God will sweep them away![f]
10 But the righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done,
when they wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then it will be said:
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
Yes, there is a God who judges people on the earth.”
Psalm 64
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
64 Listen to me when I complain, God!
Protect my life from the enemy’s terror!
2 Hide me from the secret plots of wicked people;
hide me from the schemes of evildoers
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords.
They aim their arrow—a cruel word—
4 from their hiding places
so as to shoot an innocent person.
They shoot without warning and without fear.
5 They encourage themselves with evil words.
They plan on laying traps in secret.
“Who will be able to see them?” they ask.
6 “Let someone try to expose our crimes!
We’ve devised a perfect plot!
It’s deep within the human mind and heart.”[a]
7 But God will shoot them with an arrow!
Without warning, they will be wounded!
8 The Lord will make them trip over their own tongues;
everyone who sees them will just shake their heads.
9 Then all people will honor God,
will announce the act of God,
will understand it was God’s work.
10 Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord;
let them take refuge in him;
let everyone whose heart is in the right place give praise!
Psalm 65
For the music leader. A psalm of David. A song.
65 God of Zion, to you even silence is praise.
Promises made to you are kept—
2 you listen to prayer—
and all living things come to you.
3 When wrongdoings become too much for me,
you forgive our sins.
4 How happy is the one you choose to bring close,
the one who lives in your courtyards!
We are filled full by the goodness of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
5 In righteousness you answer us,
by your awesome deeds,
God of our salvation—
you, who are the security
of all the far edges of the earth,
even the distant seas.
6 You establish the mountains by your strength;
you are dressed in raw power.
7 You calm the roaring seas;
calm the roaring waves,
calm the noise of the nations.
8 Those who dwell on the far edges
stand in awe of your acts.
You make the gateways
of morning and evening sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and make it abundant,
enriching it greatly
by God’s stream, full of water.
You provide people with grain
because that is what you’ve decided.
10 Drenching the earth’s furrows,
leveling its ridges,
you soften it with rain showers;
you bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your paths overflow with rich food.
12 Even the desert pastures drip with it,
and the hills are dressed in pure joy.
13 The meadowlands are covered with flocks,
the valleys decked out in grain—
they shout for joy;
they break out in song!
16 Then the people answered, “God forbid that we ever leave the Lord to serve other gods! 17 The Lord is our God. He is the one who brought us and our ancestors up from the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. He has done these mighty signs in our sight. He has protected us the whole way we’ve gone and in all the nations through which we’ve passed. 18 The Lord has driven out all the nations before us, including the Amorites who lived in the land. We too will serve the Lord, because he is our God.”
19 Then Joshua said to the people, “You can’t serve the Lord, because he is a holy God. He is a jealous God. He won’t forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you leave the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn around and do you harm and finish you off, in spite of having done you good in the past.”
21 Then the people said to Joshua, “No! The Lord is the one we will serve.”
22 So Joshua said to the people, “You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the Lord.”
They said, “We are witnesses!”
23 “So now put aside the foreign gods that are among you. Focus your hearts on the Lord, the God of Israel.”
24 The people said to Joshua, “We will serve the Lord our God and will obey him.”
Joshua makes a covenant
25 On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people and established just rule for them at Shechem. 26 Joshua wrote these words in God’s Instruction scroll. Then he took a large stone and put it up there under the oak in the sanctuary of the Lord. 27 Joshua said to all the people, “This stone will serve here as a witness against us, because it has heard all the Lord’s words that he spoke to us. It will serve as a witness against you in case you aren’t true to your God.” 28 Then Joshua sent the people away to each one’s legacy.
Three important graves
29 After these events, Joshua, Nun’s son, the Lord’s servant, died. He was 110. 30 They buried him within the border of his own legacy, in Timnath-serah in the highlands of Ephraim north of Mount Gaash. 31 Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had known every act the Lord had done for Israel.
32 The Israelites had brought up the bones of Joseph from Egypt. They buried them at Shechem in the portion of field that Jacob had purchased for one hundred qesitahs from the descendants of Hamor the father of Shechem. They became a legacy of the descendants of Joseph.
33 Eleazar son of Aaron died. They buried him at Gibeah, which belonged to his son Phinehas. It had been given to him in the highlands of Ephraim.
Introduction to Phoebe
16 I’m introducing our sister Phoebe to you, who is a servant[a] of the church in Cenchreae. 2 Welcome her in the Lord in a way that is worthy of God’s people, and give her whatever she needs from you, because she herself has been a sponsor of many people, myself included.
Greetings to Roman Christians
3 Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. 5 Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Say hello to Epaenetus, my dear friend, who was the first convert[b] in Asia for Christ. 6 Say hello to Mary, who has worked very hard for you. 7 Say hello to Andronicus and Junia, my relatives and my fellow prisoners. They are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Say hello to Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord. 9 Say hello to Urbanus, our coworker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10 Say hello to Apelles, who is tried and true in Christ. Say hello to the members of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Say hello to my relative Herodion. Say hello to the members of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12 Say hello to Tryphaena and Tryphosa, who are workers for the Lord. Say hello to my dear friend Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Say hello to Rufus, who is an outstanding believer, along with his mother and mine. 14 Say hello to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters who are with them. 15 Say hello to Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Say hello to each other with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ say hello to you.
24 Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere and that a riot was starting. So he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I’m innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It’s your problem.”
25 All the people replied, “Let his blood be on us and on our children.” 26 Then he released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus whipped, then handed him over to be crucified.
Soldiers mocking Jesus
27 The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s house, and they gathered the whole company[a] of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a red military coat on him. 29 They twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they bowed down in front of him and mocked him, saying, “Hey! King of the Jews!” 30 After they spit on him, they took the stick and struck his head again and again. 31 When they finished mocking him, they stripped him of the military coat and put his own clothes back on him. They led him away to crucify him.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible