Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 77[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry out to God[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention[c] to me.
2 In my time of trouble I sought[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.[e]
I[f] refused to be comforted.
3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”[g] (Selah)
4 You held my eyelids open;[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.[i]
5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.[j]
6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.[k]
7 I asked,[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise[m] failed forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High[n] might become inactive.[o]
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.[p]
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13 [q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.[r]
What god can compare to our great God?[s]
14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
15 You delivered[t] your people by your strength[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16 The waters[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea[x] shook with fear.[y]
17 The clouds poured down rain;[z]
the skies thundered.[aa]
Yes, your arrows[ab] flashed about.
18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.[ac]
19 You walked through the sea;[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,[ae]
but left no footprints.[af]
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, foreigners[b] have invaded your chosen land;[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.[e]
4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[f]
5 How long will this go on, O Lord?[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage[h] burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.[j]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,[l]
for we are in serious trouble.[m]
9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.[o]
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations.[p]
11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners.[q]
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die.[r]
12 Pay back our neighbors in full.[s]
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.[t]
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.[u]
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.[v]
Hannah Is Childless
1 There was a man from Ramathaim Zophim,[a] from the hill country of Ephraim. His name was Elkanah. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had two wives;[b] the name of the first was Hannah and the name of the second was Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children. 3 This man would go up from his city year after year[c] to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies at Shiloh.[d] (It was there that the two sons of Eli,[e] Hophni and Phinehas, served as the Lord’s priests.) 4 The day came, and Elkanah sacrificed.
(Now[f] he used to give meat portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters. 5 But to Hannah he would give a double[g] portion because he loved Hannah,[h] although[i] the Lord had not enabled her to have children. 6 Her rival used to aggravate her to the point of exasperation,[j] just to irritate her,[k] since the Lord had not enabled her to have children. 7 This is how it would go[l] year after year. As often as she went up to the Lord’s house, Peninnah[m] would offend her in that way.)[n]
So she cried and refused to eat. 8 Then her husband Elkanah said to her, “Hannah, why are you crying and why won’t you eat? Why are you so upset?[o] Am I not better to you than ten[p] sons?” 9 So Hannah got up after they had finished eating and drinking in Shiloh.[q]
At the time[r] Eli the priest was sitting in his chair[s] by the doorpost of the Lord’s sanctuary.[t] 10 As for Hannah, she was very distressed.[u] She prayed to the Lord and was, in fact, weeping.[v] 11 She made a vow saying, “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, if you would truly look[w] on the suffering of your servant,[x] and would keep me in mind and not neglect[y] your servant, and give your servant a male child,[z] then I will dedicate him to the Lord all the days of his life. His hair will never be cut.”[aa]
12 It turned out[ab] that she did a great deal[ac] of praying before the Lord. Meanwhile[ad] Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, she was speaking in her mind.[ae] Only her lips were moving; her voice could not be heard. So Eli thought she was a drunkard.[af]
14 Then he[ag] said to her, “How much longer do you intend to get drunk? Put away your wine!”[ah] 15 But Hannah replied, “Not so, my lord! I am a woman under a great deal of stress.[ai] I haven’t drunk wine or beer. But I have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Don’t consider your servant a wicked woman.[aj] It’s just that,[ak] to this point, I have spoken from my deep pain[al] and anguish.”[am]
17 Eli replied, “Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant the request that you have asked of him.” 18 She said, “May I, your servant, find favor in your sight.”[an] So the woman went her way and got something to eat.[ao] Her face no longer looked sad.[ap]
19 They got up early the next morning. Then they worshiped[aq] the Lord and returned to their home at Ramathaim.[ar] Elkanah was intimate with[as] his wife Hannah, and the Lord called her to mind.[at] 20 Then Hannah became pregnant.
Hannah Dedicates Samuel to the Lord
In the course of time she gave birth to a son.[au] And she named him Samuel, thinking, “I asked the Lord for him.”[av]
Jesus Ascends to Heaven
1 I wrote[a] the former[b] account,[c] Theophilus,[d] about all that Jesus began to do and teach 2 until the day he was taken up to heaven,[e] after he had given orders[f] by[g] the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. 3 To the same apostles[h] also, after his suffering,[i] he presented himself alive with many convincing proofs. He was seen by them over a forty-day period[j] and spoke about matters concerning the kingdom of God.[k] 4 While he was with them,[l] he declared,[m] “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait there[n] for what my[o] Father promised,[p] which you heard about from me.[q] 5 For[r] John baptized with water, but you[s] will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
6 So when they had gathered together, they began to ask him,[t] “Lord, is this the time when you are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He told them, “You are not permitted to know[u] the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the farthest parts[v] of the earth.” 9 After[w] he had said this, while they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 As[x] they were still staring into the sky while he was going, suddenly[y] two men in white clothing stood near them 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand here[z] looking up into the sky? This same Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven[aa] will come back in the same way you saw him go into heaven.”
A Replacement for Judas is Chosen
12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain[ab] called the Mount of Olives[ac] (which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey[ad] away). 13 When[ae] they had entered Jerusalem,[af] they went to the upstairs room where they were staying. Peter[ag] and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James were there.[ah] 14 All these continued together in prayer with one mind, together with the women, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.[ai]
The Parable of the Tenants
9 Then[a] he began to tell the people this parable: “A man[b] planted a vineyard,[c] leased it to tenant farmers,[d] and went on a journey for a long time. 10 When harvest time came, he sent a slave[e] to the tenants so that they would give[f] him his portion of the crop.[g] However, the tenants beat his slave[h] and sent him away empty-handed. 11 So[i] he sent another slave. They beat this one too, treated him outrageously, and sent him away empty-handed.[j] 12 So[k] he sent still a third. They even wounded this one, and threw him out. 13 Then[l] the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What should I do? I will send my one dear son;[m] perhaps they will respect him.’ 14 But when the tenants saw him, they said to one another, ‘This is the heir; let’s kill him so the inheritance will be ours!’ 15 So[n] they threw him out of the vineyard and killed[o] him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? 16 He will come and destroy[p] those tenants and give the vineyard to others.”[q] When the people[r] heard this, they said, “May this never happen!”[s] 17 But Jesus[t] looked straight at them and said, “Then what is the meaning of that which is written: ‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?[u] 18 Everyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces,[v] and the one on whom it falls will be crushed.”[w] 19 Then[x] the experts in the law[y] and the chief priests wanted to arrest[z] him that very hour, because they realized he had told this parable against them. But[aa] they were afraid of the people.
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