Book of Common Prayer
Rescue Me, O Yahweh, from Evil Men
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
140 (A)Rescue me, O Yahweh, from evil men;
Guard me from (B)violent men
2 Who (C)think up evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
3 They (E)sharpen their tongues as a serpent;
(F)Poison of an asp is under their lips. [a]Selah.
4 (G)Keep me, O Yahweh, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Guard me from violent men
Who [b]give thought to [c](I)trip up my steps.
5 The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a (K)net by the [d]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah.
6 I (M)said to Yahweh, “You are my God;
(N)Give ear, O Yahweh, to the (O)voice of my supplications.
7 O Yahweh, O Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head in the day of [e]battle.
8 Do not grant, O Yahweh, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not promote (S)his evil [f]scheme, that they not be exalted. Selah.
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)trouble from their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals be shaken out upon them;
May He (V)cause them to fall into the fire,
Into [g]bottomless pits from which they (W)can never rise.
11 May a [h]slanderer not be established in the earth;
(X)May evil hunt the violent man [i]speedily.”
Give Heed to My Cry
A [a]Maskil of David. When he was [b]in the cave. A Prayer.
142 With my voice to Yahweh, I (A)cry aloud;
With my voice to Yahweh, I (B)make supplication.
2 I (C)pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare my (D)distress before Him.
3 When (E)my spirit [c]was faint within me,
You knew my path.
In the way where I walk
They have (F)hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see;
That there is (G)no one who regards me;
(H)A way of escape has been destroyed from me;
(I)No one cares for my soul.
5 I cried out to You, O Yahweh;
I said, “You are (J)my refuge,
My (K)portion in the (L)land of the living.
6 (M)Give heed to my cry of lamentation,
For I am (N)brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are too (O)strong for me.
7 (P)Bring my soul out of prison,
To give thanks to Your name;
The righteous will encircle me,
For You will (Q)deal bountifully with me.”
My Prayer as Incense Before You
A Psalm of David.
141 O Yahweh, I call upon You; (A)hasten to me!
(B)Give ear to my voice when I call to You!
2 May my prayer be established as (C)incense before You;
The (D)lifting up of my hands as the (E)evening offering.
3 Set a (F)guard, O Yahweh, [a]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the (G)door of my lips.
4 (H)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds in wickedness
With men who are (I)workers of iniquity;
And (J)do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 Let the (K)righteous smite me in lovingkindness and reprove me;
It is (L)oil upon the head;
Let not my head refuse it,
[b]For still my prayer (M)is [c]against their evil deeds.
6 Their judges are (N)thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one (O)plows and splits open the earth,
Our (P)bones have been scattered at the (Q)mouth of Sheol.
8 For my (R)eyes are toward You, O Yahweh, O Lord;
In You I (S)take refuge; (T)do not pour out my soul to death.
9 Keep me from the [d](U)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the (V)snares of workers of iniquity.
10 Let the wicked (W)fall into their own nets,
As for myself—meanwhile, (X)I am passing by.
My Soul Reaches for You
A Psalm of David.
143 O Yahweh, hear my prayer,
(A)Give ear to my supplications!
Answer me in Your (B)faithfulness, in Your (C)righteousness!
2 And (D)do not enter into judgment with Your slave,
For (E)no one living is righteous in Your sight.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
He has crushed my life (F)to the ground;
He (G)has made me inhabit dark places, like those who have long been dead.
4 Therefore (H)my spirit was faint within me;
My heart was [a](I)appalled within me.
5 I (J)remember the days of old;
I (K)meditate on all You have done;
I (L)muse on the work of Your hands.
6 I (M)stretch out my hands to You;
My (N)soul reaches for You like a weary land. [b]Selah.
7 (O)Answer me quickly, O Yahweh, my (P)spirit wastes away;
(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like (R)those who go down to the pit.
8 Cause me to hear Your (S)lovingkindness (T)in the morning;
For I trust (U)in You;
Cause me to know the (V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I (W)lift up my soul.
9 (X)Deliver me from my enemies, O Yahweh,
I have concealed myself in You.
10 (Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let (Z)Your good Spirit (AA)lead me on level [c]ground.
11 (AB)For the sake of Your name, O Yahweh, (AC)revive me.
(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of distress.
12 And in Your lovingkindness, [d](AE)cut off my enemies
And cause all those who assail my soul to (AF)perish,
For (AG)I am Your slave.
24 Now (A)Mephibosheth the [a]son of Saul had come down to meet the king; and (B)he had not done anything for his feet, nor done anything for his mustache, nor (C)washed his clothes, from the day the king departed until the day he came home in peace. 25 Now it happened when he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, that the king said to him, “(D)Why did you not go with me, Mephibosheth?” 26 So he answered, “O my lord, the king, my servant deceived me; for your servant said, ‘I will saddle a donkey for myself that I may ride on it and go with the king,’ (E)because your servant is lame. 27 Moreover, (F)he has slandered your servant to my lord the king; but my lord the king is (G)like the angel of God, therefore do what is good in your sight. 28 For (H)all my father’s household was nothing but men worthy of death before my lord the king; (I)yet you set your servant among those who ate at your own table. What right do I have yet that I should [b]complain anymore to the king?” 29 So the king said to him, “Why do you still speak of your affairs? I have [c]decided, ‘You and Ziba shall divide the land.’” 30 And Mephibosheth said to the king, “Let him even take it all, since my lord the king has come in peace to his own house.”
31 Now (J)Barzillai the Gileadite had come down from Rogelim; and he passed over the Jordan with the king in order to send him off over the Jordan. 32 Now Barzillai was very old, being eighty years old; and he had [d](K)sustained the king while he stayed at Mahanaim, for he was a very great man. 33 And the king said to Barzillai, “You pass over with me and I will [e]sustain you in Jerusalem with me.” 34 But Barzillai said to the king, “(L)How long [f]have I yet to live, that I should go up with the king to Jerusalem? 35 I am [g]now (M)eighty years old. Can I know between good and bad? Or can your servant taste what I eat or what I drink? Or can I hear anymore (N)the voice of singing men and women? (O)Why then should your servant be an added burden to my lord the king? 36 Your servant would merely pass over the Jordan with the king. Why should the king compensate me with this reward? 37 Please let your servant return, that I may die in my own city near the grave of my father and my mother. However, here is your servant (P)Chimham, let him pass over with my lord the king, and do for him what is good in your sight.” 38 So the king answered, “Chimham shall pass over with me, and I will do for him what is good in your sight; and whatever you [h]require of me, I will do for you.” 39 Then all the people passed over the Jordan and the king passed over too. The king then (Q)kissed Barzillai and blessed him, and he returned to his place.
40 Now the king went on to Gilgal, and Chimham went on with him; and all the people of Judah and also (R)half the people of Israel [i]accompanied the king. 41 And behold, all the men of Israel came to the king and said to the king, “(S)Why had our brothers (T)the men of Judah stolen you away, and caused the king and his household and all David’s men with him to pass over the Jordan?” 42 Then all the men of Judah answered the men of Israel, “Because (U)the king is a close relative to [j]us. Why then [k]are you angry about this matter? Have we eaten at all at the king’s expense, or has [l]anything been taken for us?” 43 But the men of Israel answered the men of Judah and said, “[m](V)We have ten parts in the king, therefore [n]we also have more claim on David than you. Why then did you treat us with contempt? Was it not [o]our word first to have [p]our king return?” Yet the words of the men of Judah were harsher than the words of the men of Israel.
24 But some days later Felix arrived with Drusilla, his [a]wife who was a Jewess, and summoned Paul and heard him speak about (A)faith in Christ Jesus. 25 But as he was discussing (B)righteousness, (C)self-control, and (D)the judgment to come, Felix became frightened and answered, “Go away for the present, and when I find time I will call for you.” 26 At the same time, he was also hoping that (E)money would be given him by Paul; therefore he also used to summon for him quite often and converse with him. 27 But after two years had passed, Felix [b]was succeeded by Porcius (F)Festus, and (G)wishing to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul (H)imprisoned.
Paul Before Festus
25 Festus then, having arrived in (I)the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from (J)Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews (K)brought charges against Paul, and they were pleading with him, 3 requesting a favor against [c]Paul, that he might [d]have him brought to Jerusalem (while they (L)set an ambush to kill him on the way). 4 Festus then (M)answered that Paul (N)was being kept in custody at (O)Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you go down there with me, and if there is anything wrong [e]about the man, let them accuse him.”
6 And after he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to (P)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on (Q)the judgment seat and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 And after Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing (R)many and serious charges against him (S)which they could not prove, 8 while Paul said in his own defense, “(T)I have committed no sin either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, (U)wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “(V)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and to be tried before me on these matters?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s (W)judgment seat, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I (X)appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then when Festus had conferred with [f]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”
35 (A)And Jesus began to say, as He (B)taught in the temple, “How is it that the scribes say that the [a]Christ is the (C)son of David? 36 David himself said [b]in the Holy Spirit,
37 David himself calls Him ‘Lord’; so in what sense is He his son?” And (E)the large crowd [d]enjoyed listening to Him.
38 (F)And in His teaching He was saying: “Beware of the scribes who want to walk around in long robes, and want (G)respectful greetings in the marketplaces, 39 and best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets, 40 (H)who devour widows’ houses, and for appearance’s sake offer long prayers; these will receive greater condemnation.”
The Widow’s Offering
41 (I)And He sat down opposite (J)the treasury, and began observing how the crowd was (K)putting [e]money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. 42 And a poor widow came and put in two [f]lepta, which amount to a [g]quadrans. 43 And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all those putting money into the treasury; 44 for they all put in out of their [h]surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, [i]all she had (L)to live on.”
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