Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,[l]
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.[m]
8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand[n] in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim[o] from suffering.[p]
I have lost my strength.[q]
10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.[r]
My strength fails me because of[s] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.[t]
11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;[u]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering[v]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;[w]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;[x]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.[y]
13 For I hear what so many are saying,[z]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.[aa]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
15 You determine my destiny.[ab]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
16 Smile[ac] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.[ad]
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips[ae] that speak defiantly against the innocent[af]
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is your favor,[ag]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[ah]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[ai] in you.[aj]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[ak] of men;[al]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[am]
21 The Lord deserves praise[an]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[ao]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[ap]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[aq]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[ar] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[as]
24 Be strong and confident,[at]
all you who wait on the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
The Opening Exhortation
5 Then Moses called all the people of Israel together and said to them:[a] “Listen, Israel, to the statutes and ordinances that I am about to deliver to you today; learn them and be careful to keep them! 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. 3 He[b] did not make this covenant with our ancestors[c] but with us, we who are here today, all of us living now. 4 The Lord spoke face to face with you at the mountain, from the middle of the fire. 5 (I was standing between the Lord and you at that time to reveal the Lord’s message to you, because you were afraid of the fire and would not go up the mountain.) He said:
The Ten Commandments
6 “I am the Lord your God—he who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the place of slavery.
7 “You must not have any other gods[d] besides me.[e]
8 “You must not make for yourself an image[f] of anything in heaven above, on earth below, or in the waters beneath.[g] 9 You must not worship or serve them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God. I punish[h] the sons, grandsons, and great-grandsons for the sin of the fathers who reject[i] me,[j] 10 but I show covenant faithfulness[k] to the thousands[l] who choose[m] me and keep my commandments.
11 “You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes,[n] for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.[o]
12 “Be careful to observe[p] the Sabbath day just as the Lord your God has commanded you. 13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath[q] of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you,[r] so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power.[s] That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe[t] the Sabbath day.
16 “Honor[u] your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he[v] is about to give you.
17 “You must not murder.[w]
18 “You must not commit adultery.
19 “You must not steal.
20 “You must not offer false testimony against another.[x] 21 You must not desire[y] another man’s[z] wife, nor should you crave his[aa] house, his field, his male and female servants, his ox, his donkey, or anything else he owns.”[ab]
The Narrative of the Sinai Revelation and Israel’s Response
22 The Lord said these things to your entire assembly at the mountain from the middle of the fire, the cloud, and the darkness with a loud voice, and that was all he said.[ac] Then he inscribed the words[ad] on two stone tablets and gave them to me.
Paul’s Perseverance in Ministry
4 Therefore, since we have this ministry, just as God has shown us mercy,[a] we do not become discouraged.[b] 2 But we have rejected[c] shameful hidden deeds,[d] not behaving[e] with deceptiveness[f] or distorting the word of God, but by open proclamation of the truth we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience before God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing, 4 among whom the god of this age has blinded the minds of those who do not believe[g] so they would not see the light of the glorious gospel[h] of Christ,[i] who is the image of God. 5 For we do not proclaim[j] ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves[k] for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said “Let light shine out of darkness,”[l] is the one who shined in our hearts to give us the light of the glorious knowledge[m] of God in the face of Christ.[n]
An Eternal Weight of Glory
7 But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that the extraordinary power[o] belongs to God and does not come from us. 8 We are experiencing trouble on every side,[p] but are not crushed; we are perplexed,[q] but not driven to despair; 9 we are persecuted, but not abandoned;[r] we are knocked down,[s] but not destroyed, 10 always carrying around in our body the death of Jesus,[t] so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible[u] in our body. 11 For we who are alive are constantly being handed over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible[v] in our mortal body.[w] 12 As a result,[x] death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.[y]
10 “The one who is faithful in a very little[a] is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy[b] in handling worldly wealth,[c] who will entrust you with the true riches?[d] 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy[e] with someone else’s property,[f] who will give you your own[g] ? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate[h] the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise[i] the other. You cannot serve God and money.”[j]
More Warnings about the Pharisees
14 The Pharisees[k] (who loved money) heard all this and ridiculed[l] him. 15 But[m] Jesus[n] said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in men’s eyes,[o] but God knows your hearts. For what is highly prized[p] among men is utterly detestable[q] in God’s sight.
16 “The law and the prophets were in force[r] until John;[s] since then,[t] the good news of the kingdom of God[u] has been proclaimed, and everyone is urged to enter it.[v] 17 But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tiny stroke of a letter[w] in the law to become void.[x]
18 “Everyone who divorces his wife and marries[y] someone else commits adultery, and the one who marries a woman divorced from her husband commits adultery.
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