Book of Common Prayer
33 He [a](A)changes rivers into a [b]wilderness
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 A (B)fruitful land into a (C)salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He [c](D)changes a [d]wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And there He makes the hungry to dwell,
So that they may establish [e](E)an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields and (F)plant vineyards,
And [f]gather a fruitful harvest.
38 Also He blesses them and they (G)multiply greatly,
And He (H)does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they are (I)diminished and (J)bowed down
Through oppression, misery and sorrow,
40 He (K)pours contempt upon [g]princes
And (L)makes them wander (M)in a pathless waste.
41 But He (N)sets the needy [h]securely on high away from affliction,
And (O)makes his families like a flock.
42 The (P)upright see it and are glad;
But all (Q)unrighteousness shuts its mouth.
43 Who is (R)wise? Let him give heed to these things,
And consider the (S)lovingkindnesses of the Lord.
God Praised and Supplicated to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (T)My heart is steadfast, O God;
I will sing, I will sing praises, even with my [i]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (U)lovingkindness is great (V)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (W)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
And Your glory above all the earth.
6 (X)That Your beloved may be delivered,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [j]holiness:
“I will exult, I will portion out Shechem
And measure out the valley of Succoth.
8 “Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [k]helmet of My head;
(Y)Judah is My [l]scepter.
9 “Moab is My washbowl;
Over Edom I shall throw My shoe;
Over Philistia I will shout aloud.”
10 (Z)Who will bring me into the besieged city?
Who [m]will lead me to Edom?
11 Have not You Yourself, O God, (AA)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?
12 Oh give us help against the adversary,
For (AB)deliverance [n]by man is in vain.
13 [o]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (AC)it is He who shall tread down our adversaries.
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is upright,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their host.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [a]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [b]stood fast.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (S)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [c]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who [d](AE)hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To (AF)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have [e]hoped in You.
Samson’s Weakness
16 Now Samson went to (A)Gaza and saw a harlot there, and went in to her. 2 When it was told to the Gazites, saying, “Samson has come here,” they (B)surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the gate of the city. And they kept silent all night, saying, “Let us wait until the morning light, then we will kill him.” 3 Now Samson lay until midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the city gate and the two posts and pulled them up along with the bars; then he put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the mountain which is opposite Hebron.
4 After this it came about that he loved a woman in the valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah. 5 The (C)lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, “(D)Entice him, and see where his great strength lies and [a]how we may overpower him that we may bind him to afflict him. Then we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver.” 6 So Delilah said to Samson, “Please tell me where your great strength is and [b]how you may be bound to afflict you.” 7 Samson said to her, “If they bind me with seven fresh cords that have not been dried, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh cords that had not been dried, and she bound him with them. 9 Now she had men lying in wait in an inner room. And she said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he snapped the cords as a string of tow snaps when it [c]touches fire. So his strength was not discovered.
10 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Behold, you have deceived me and told me lies; now please tell me [d]how you may be bound.” 11 He said to her, “If they bind me tightly with new ropes [e]which have not been used, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” For the men were lying in wait in the inner room. But he snapped [f]the ropes from his arms like a thread.
13 Then Delilah said to Samson, “Up to now you have deceived me and told me lies; tell me [g]how you may be bound.” And he said to her, “If you weave the seven locks of my [h]hair with the web [i][and fasten it with a pin, then I will become weak and be like any other man.” 14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his [j]hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the web.
30 “After forty years had passed, (A)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘(B)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and would not venture to look. 33 (C)But the Lord said to him, ‘(D)Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 (E)I have certainly seen the oppression of My people in Egypt and have heard their groans, and I have come down to rescue them; [a](F)come now, and I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses whom they (G)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God [b]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the [c]help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 (H)This man led them out, performing (I)wonders and [d]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea and in the (J)wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘(K)God will raise up for you a prophet [e]like me from your brethren.’ 38 This is the one who was in (L)the [f]congregation in the wilderness together with (M)the angel who was speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received (N)living (O)oracles to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him, but (P)repudiated him and in their hearts turned back to Egypt, 40 (Q)saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ 41 [g]At that time (R)they made a [h]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in (S)the works of their hands. 42 But God (T)turned away and delivered them up to [i]serve the [j]host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, ‘(U)It was not to Me that you offered victims and sacrifices (V)forty years in the wilderness, was it, O house of Israel? 43 (W)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of the god [k]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will remove you beyond Babylon.’
The Healing at Bethesda
5 After these things there was (A)a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
2 Now there is in Jerusalem by (B)the sheep gate a pool, which is called (C)in [a]Hebrew [b]Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [[c]waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted.] 5 A man was there who had been [d]ill for thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” 7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when (D)the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” 8 Jesus *said to him, “(E)Get up, pick up your pallet and walk.” 9 Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk.
(F)Now it was the Sabbath on that day. 10 So (G)the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, “It is the Sabbath, and (H)it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet.” 11 But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your pallet and walk’?” 13 But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not (I)sin anymore, (J)so that nothing worse happens to you.” 15 The man went away, and told (K)the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. 16 For this reason (L)the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. 17 But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
Jesus’ Equality with God
18 For this reason therefore (M)the Jews (N)were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, (O)making Himself equal with God.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.