Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 69[a]
Cry of Anguish in Distress
1 For the director.[b] According to “Lilies.” Of David.
2 [c]Save me, my God,
for the waters have risen to my neck.
3 I am sinking in muddy depths
and can find no foothold.
I have fallen into deep waters,
and the floods[d] overwhelm me.
4 I am exhausted from crying out;
my throat is parched.
My eyes have been worn out
searching for my God.
5 More numerous than the hairs of my head
are those who hate me for no reason.[e]
Many are those who seek to destroy me,
and they are treacherous.
How can I restore
what I have not stolen?
6 O God, you know how foolish I am;
my guilty deeds are not hidden from you.[f]
7 Do not allow those who hope in you
to be put to shame because of me,
O Lord of hosts.
Do not let those who seek you
suffer disgrace because of me,
O God of Israel.
8 It is for your sake that I endure reproach
and that shame covers my face.
9 I have become alienated from my brothers,[g]
a stranger to my mother’s sons.
10 Zeal for your house[h] consumes me,
and the insults directed at you fall on me.
11 When I mortified myself with fasting,
I exposed myself to scorn.
12 When I clothed myself in sackcloth,
I became a laughingstock.
13 Those who sit at the gate taunt me,
and drunkards make me the target of their ditties.
14 But I lift up my prayer to you, O Lord,
in the time of your favor.[i]
In your great kindness, O God,
respond to me with your certain help.
15 Draw me out of the mire,
and do not let me plunge any deeper.
Deliver me from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
16 Do not let the flood waters sweep over me,
or the depths swallow me up,
or the pit close its jaws around me.
17 Answer me, O Lord, for your kindness[j] is wonderful;
in your great compassion turn toward me.
18 Do not hide your face[k] from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in distress.
19 Draw near to me and redeem me;
deliver me from my enemies.
20 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
all my oppressors are in your sight.
21 Insults have so broken my heart
that I am near the end of my strength.
I looked for compassion, but in vain,
for some consolers, but I found none.[l]
22 They put gall in my food,
and in my thirst they gave me vinegar[m] to drink.
23 [n]Let their table become a trap for them;
let their well-being become a snare.[o]
24 Let their eyes dim so that they cannot see,
and let their limbs tremble constantly.
25 Vent your wrath on them,
and let your burning anger take hold of them.
26 Let their camp be left desolate;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.[p]
27 For they pursue the one you struck down
and tell of the pain of the one you hurt.
28 Charge them with crime after crime;
let them not share in your salvation.
29 Blot them out from the book of the living;[q]
do not number them among the upright.
30 But I am filled with pain and suffering;
may your saving power, O God, raise me up.
31 [r]I will praise the name of God with a song
and glorify him with a hymn of thanksgiving.
32 This will gratify the Lord more than an ox
or a young bull with horns and hoofs:[s]
33 “Let the poor[t] see this and rejoice;
let those who seek God take heart.
34 For the Lord hears the needy
and does not turn his back on captives.
35 Let the heavens and the earth offer praise,
the seas and everything that moves therein.”
36 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
His people will live there and possess it;
37 his servants’ children will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.
Book III—Psalms 73–89[a]
Psalm 73[b]
False Happiness of the Wicked
1 A psalm of Asaph.[c]
God is truly good to the upright,[d]
to those who are pure in heart.
2 [e]But as for me, I nearly lost my balance;[f]
I was almost at the point of stumbling.
3 For I was filled with envy of the arrogant
when I perceived how the wicked prosper.
4 [g]They endure no painful suffering;
their bodies are healthy and well fed.
5 They are not plagued with burdens common to all;
the troubles of life do not afflict them.
6 So they wear arrogance like a necklace
and don violence like a robe.
7 Their callous hearts overflow with malice,
and their minds are completely taken up with evil plans.
8 They mock and pour forth their malevolence;
in their haughtiness they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths rage against the heavens
while their tongues are never stilled on the earth.
10 [h]So the people blindly follow them
and find nothing offensive in their words.[i]
11 They say: “How does God know?
Does the Most High notice anything?”
12 Such are the wicked,
as they pile up wealth, without any concerns.
13 [j]Is it in vain that I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence?
14 For I am stricken day after day
and punished every morning.
15 If I had decided, “I will speak like them,”
I would not have been true to your children.[k]
16 [l]When I tried to understand all this,
I found it too difficult for me,
17 until I entered the sanctuary of God[m]
and realized what their final end would be.
18 [n]Indeed, you set them on a slippery slope
and cast them headlong into utter ruin.
19 How suddenly they are destroyed,
completely wiped out by terrors!
20 When you arise, O Lord,
you will dismiss them
as one discards a dream on awakening.
21 [o]When my heart was embittered
and my soul was deeply tormented,
22 I was stupid and unable to comprehend—
like a brute beast in your presence.
23 [p]Yet I am always with you;
you grasp me by the right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will receive me into glory.[q]
25 Whom do I have in heaven except you?
And besides you there is nothing else I desire on earth.
26 Even should my heart and my flesh[r] fail,
God is the rock of my heart
and my portion forever.
27 [s]But all those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy those who are unfaithful to you.
28 As for me, my happiness is to be near God,
and I have made the Lord God my refuge;
I will proclaim all your works[t]
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.
Esther Chosen as Queen
Chapter 1
A Great Banquet.[a] 1 This took place in the days of Ahasuerus, the king who ruled over one hundred and twenty-seven provinces stretching from India to Ethiopia.[b] 2 At that time, King Ahasuerus was reigning from the royal throne of the citadel of Susa, 3 and in the third year of his reign, he threw a great banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military commanders of Persia and Media were present, and so were the princes and the nobles of the provinces.
4 For a full one hundred and eighty days the king showcased the wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty.
10 On the seventh day, when King Ahasuerus was merry with wine, he summoned the seven eunuchs who were his personal servants—Mehuman, Biztha, Har-bona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carkas. 11 He ordered them to bring the queen into his presence, wearing the royal crown, so he could show her off to the officials and all his guests, for she was lovely to look at. 12 But Queen Vashti refused to come at the official command issued through the eunuchs. This embarrassed the king and made him furious.
13 Since it was his custom to consult experts in matters of law and justice, the king consulted with the wise men who understood the laws. 14 He summoned Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan, the seven Persian and Median officials who had special access to the king and were highest in the kingdom.
15 The king asked, “What does the law say must be done about Queen Vashti, who disobeyed the command of King Ahasuerus issued through the eunuchs?”
16 It was Memucan, then, who replied in the presence of the king and the nobles: “Queen Vashti has wronged not only the king but also all the nobles and peoples throughout the provinces of King Ahasuerus. 17 For this behavior of the queen will become known to all the women, and they will disrespect their husbands and say, ‘King Ahasuerus commanded that Queen Vashti enter his presence, but she refused to come.’ 18 So this very day the Persian and Median women of the nobility who have learned about the queen’s behavior will react against the king’s nobles in like manner, resulting in no end of rancor and discord.
19 “Therefore, if it pleases the king, let him issue a royal decree inscribed in the laws of Persia and Media, which cannot be repealed,[a] to the effect that Vashti is nevermore to enter the presence of King Ahasuerus and that her position be given to someone more worthy than she is.
Chapter 17
Paul in Thessalonica.[a] 1 After they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they reached Thessalonica[b] where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 Following his usual practice, Paul went in, and for three Sabbaths he argued with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead. “And the Christ,” he said, “is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” 4 Some of them were convinced and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many God-fearing Greeks as well as not a few prominent women.
5 However, the Jews became jealous, and they recruited some ruffians from the marketplace, formed a mob, and soon had the city in an uproar. They stormed Jason’s house, intending to bring them out before the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them there, they dragged Jason and some of the brethren before the city magistrates, shouting, “These people who have been causing trouble all over the world have come here also, 7 and Jason has given them shelter. They are all acting in opposition to the decrees of Caesar, claiming that there is another king named Jesus.” 8 Upon hearing this, the mob and the magistrates were greatly agitated. 9 They then took a bond from Jason and the others before releasing them.
10 Paul in Beroea. As soon as it got dark, the brethren sent Paul and Silas away to Beroea. Upon their arrival, they immediately went to the Jewish synagogue. 11 The people there were more receptive than those in Thessalonica. They received the word with great eagerness, and they examined the Scriptures every day to check whether these things were so. 12 Many of them became believers, as did a considerable number of influential Greek women and men.
13 However, when the Jews of Thessalonica learned that the word of God was being proclaimed by Paul in Beroea, they followed him there to cause trouble and stir up the crowds. 14 Therefore, the brethren immediately sent Paul on his way to the coast, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. 15 After Paul’s escorts brought him as far as Athens, they returned with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
36 While you have the light,
believe in the light
so that you may become children of light.”
After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid himself from their sight.
37 The Choice To Believe in the Light.[a] Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of the prophet Isaiah,
“Lord, who has believed our preaching?
To whom has the power of the Lord been revealed?”
39 They therefore could not believe for as Isaiah said,
40 “He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their hearts,
lest they see with their eyes
and understand with their hearts,
and thereby be converted,
so that I could heal them.”[b]
41 Isaiah said this because he saw his glory, and his words referred to him.
42 Nevertheless, there were many, even among the authorities, who believed in him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess their faith in him, for fear of being banned from the synagogue.[c] 43 For they valued human glory more highly than the glory that comes from God.
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