Book of Common Prayer
Incline Your Ear to My Cry
A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. For the choir director. According to Mahalath Leannoth. A [a]Maskil of Heman [b]the Ezrahite.
88 O Yahweh, the (A)God of my salvation,
I have (B)cried out by day and throughout the night before You.
2 Let my prayer (C)come before You;
(D)Incline Your ear to my cry of lamentation!
3 For my (E)soul has been saturated with calamities,
And (F)my life has reached Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (G)go down to the pit;
I am like a man (H)without strength,
5 Released (I)among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom You remember no more,
And they are (J)cut off from Your hand.
6 You have put me in (K)the pit far below,
In (L)dark places, in the (M)depths.
7 Your wrath (N)lies upon me,
And You afflict me with (O)all Your breaking waves. [c]Selah.
8 You have removed (P)my acquaintances far from me;
You have set me as [d]an (Q)abomination to them;
I am (R)shut up and cannot go out.
9 My (S)eye has wasted away because of affliction;
I have (T)called upon You every day, O Yahweh;
I have (U)spread out my [e]hands to You.
10 Will You do wonders for the dead?
Will (V)the [f]departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.
11 Will Your lovingkindness be recounted in the grave,
Your faithfulness in [g]Abaddon?
12 Will Your wonders be known in the (W)darkness?
And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
13 But as for me, O Yahweh, I have cried out (X)to You for help,
And (Y)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
14 O Yahweh, why (Z)do You reject my soul?
Why do You (AA)hide Your face from me?
15 I have been afflicted and (AB)about to breathe my last from my youth on;
I bear (AC)Your terrors; I am [h]overcome.
16 Your (AD)burning anger has passed over me;
Your horrors have [i](AE)destroyed me.
17 They have (AF)surrounded me (AG)like water all day long;
They have (AH)encompassed me altogether.
18 You have removed (AI)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.
In the Shadow of the Almighty
91 He who abides in the (A)shelter of the Most High
Will abide in the (B)shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say to Yahweh, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
My God, in whom I (E)trust!”
3 For it is He who delivers you from the (F)snare of the trapper
And from the destructive (G)pestilence.
4 He will (H)cover you with His pinions,
And (I)under His wings you will take refuge;
His (J)truth is a (K)large shield and bulwark.
5 You (L)will not be afraid of (M)terror by night,
Or (N)arrow that flies by day;
6 Of (O)pestilence that moves in darkness,
Or of (P)destruction that devastates at noon.
7 A thousand may fall at your side
And ten thousand at your right hand,
But (Q)it shall not approach you.
8 You will only look on with your eyes
And (R)see the recompense of the wicked.
9 [a]For you have made Yahweh—(S)my refuge,
The Most High—(T)your dwelling place.
10 (U)No evil will befall you,
And no plague will come near your [b]tent.
11 For He will command (V)His angels concerning you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will (W)bear you up,
Lest you strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will (X)tread upon the fierce lion and cobra,
The young lion and the [c]serpent you will trample down.
14 “(Y)Because he has loved Me, therefore I will protect him;
I will (Z)set him securely on high, because he has (AA)known My name.
15 He will (AB)call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in his [d]distress;
I will rescue him and (AC)honor him.
16 With [e]a (AD)long life I will satisfy him
And (AE)I will show him My salvation.”
How Great Are Your Works, O Yahweh
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is (AF)good to give thanks to Yahweh
And to (AG)sing praises to Your name, O Most High;
2 To (AH)declare Your lovingkindness in the morning
And Your (AI)faithfulness [f]by night,
3 [g]With the (AJ)ten-stringed lute and with the (AK)harp,
[h]With resounding music [i]upon the (AL)lyre.
4 For You, O Yahweh, have made me glad by [j]what You (AM)have done,
I will (AN)sing for joy at the (AO)works of Your hands.
5 How (AP)great are Your works, O Yahweh!
Your [k](AQ)thoughts are very (AR)deep.
6 A (AS)senseless man does not know,
And a (AT)fool does not understand this:
7 That when the wicked (AU)flourished like grass
And all (AV)the workers of iniquity blossomed,
It was only that they might be (AW)destroyed forevermore.
8 But You are (AX)on high forever, O Yahweh.
9 For, behold, Your enemies, O Yahweh,
For, behold, (AY)Your enemies will perish;
All the workers of iniquity will be (AZ)scattered.
10 But You have raised up my (BA)horn like that of the wild ox;
I have [l]been (BB)anointed with fresh oil.
11 And my eye has (BC)looked exultantly upon [m]my foes,
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.
12 The (BD)righteous man will [n]flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a (BE)cedar in Lebanon.
13 (BF)Planted in the house of Yahweh,
They will flourish (BG)in the courts of our God.
14 They will still [o](BH)yield fruit in old age;
They shall be [p]rich and fresh,
15 To [q]declare that (BI)Yahweh is upright;
He is my (BJ)rock, and there is (BK)no unrighteousness in Him.
Esther Saves the Jews
8 On that day King Ahasuerus gave the house of Haman, (A)the adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther; and Mordecai came before the king, for Esther had told (B)what he was to her. 2 (C)And the king removed his signet ring, which he had taken away from Haman, and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther set Mordecai over the house of Haman.
3 Then Esther spoke again to the king, fell at his feet, wept, and implored him to [a]repeal the evil scheme of Haman the Agagite and his scheme which he had devised against the Jews. 4 (D)And the king extended the golden scepter to Esther. So Esther arose and stood before the king. 5 Then she said, “(E)If it seems good to the king, and if I have found favor before him and the matter seems proper to the king and I am good in his eyes, let it be written to turn back the (F)letters devised by Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, which he wrote to cause the Jews who are in all the king’s provinces to perish. 6 For (G)how can I endure to see the calamity which will befall my people, and how can I endure to see the perishing of my kinsmen?”
The King’s Decree Avenges the Jews
7 So King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Behold, (H)I have given the house of Haman to Esther, and him they have hanged on the [b]gallows because he had sent forth his hand against the Jews. 8 Now you write to the Jews, according to what is good in your eyes, in the king’s name, and (I)seal it with the king’s signet ring; for a written decree which is written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s signet ring (J)may not be turned back.”
15 Then Mordecai went out from the presence of the king (A)in royal robes of [a]blue and fine white, with a large crown of gold and (B)a garment of fine linen and purple; and (C)the city of Susa cried aloud and was glad. 16 For the Jews there was (D)light and gladness and joy and honor. 17 And in each and every province and in each and every city, wherever the king’s word and his law reached, there was gladness and joy for the Jews, a feast and a [b](E)holiday. And (F)many among the peoples of the land became Jews, for the dread of the Jews had fallen on them.
Riots in Ephesus
21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the [a]Spirit to (A)go to Jerusalem (B)after he had passed through (C)Macedonia and (D)Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, (E)I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into (F)Macedonia two of (G)those who ministered to him, (H)Timothy and (I)Erastus, he himself stayed in [b](J)Asia for a while.
23 Now about that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning (K)the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of [c]Artemis, (L)was bringing no little [d]business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workers of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity is from this business. 26 And you see and hear that not only in (M)Ephesus, but in almost all of (N)Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable crowd, saying that (O)things made with hands are not gods. 27 And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess [e]Artemis be considered as worthless and that she, whom all of (P)Asia and (Q)the [f]world worship, is even about to be brought down from her majesty.”
28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is [g]Artemis of the (R)Ephesians!” 29 And the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed [h]with one accord into the theater, dragging along (S)Gaius and (T)Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling (U)companions from (V)Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the [i]assembly, (W)the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the [j]Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to [k]venture into the theater. 32 (X)So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the [l]meeting was in confusion and the majority did not know [m]for what reason they had come together. 33 And some of the crowd [n]concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having (Y)motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the [o]assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single cry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 Now after calming the crowd, the city clerk *said, “Men of (Z)Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither (AA)robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and [p](AB)proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the [q]lawful meeting. 40 For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no cause for which we can give as an account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the meeting.
Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Demon
31 And (A)He came down to (B)Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath; 32 and (C)they were amazed at His teaching, for (D)His [a]message was with authority. 33 And in the synagogue there was a man [b]possessed by the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “[c]Let us alone! [d](E)What do we have to do with You, Jesus the (F)Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—(G)the Holy One of God!” 35 But Jesus (H)rebuked it, saying, “Be quiet and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him down in the midst of the people, it came out of him without doing him any harm. 36 And amazement came upon them all, and they were talking with one another saying, “What is [e]this message? For (I)with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits and they come out.” 37 And (J)the report about Him was spreading into every place in the surrounding district.
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