Book of Common Prayer
Yahweh Is My Rock and My Fortress
For the choir director. Of the servant of Yahweh, of David, [a]who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
18 He said, “I love You, O Yahweh, (A)my strength.”
2 Yahweh is (B)my [b]rock and (C)my fortress and my (D)deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My (E)shield and the (F)horn of my salvation, my (G)stronghold.
3 I call upon Yahweh, who is (H)worthy to be praised,
And I am (I)saved from my enemies.
4 The (J)cords of death encompassed me,
And the (K)torrents of vileness [c]terrified me.
5 The (L)cords of Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
6 In my (M)distress I called upon Yahweh,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice (N)out of His temple,
And my (O)cry for help before Him came into His ears.
7 Then the (P)earth shook and quaked;
And the (Q)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
8 Smoke went up [d]out of His nostrils,
And (R)fire from His mouth devoured;
Coals were kindled by it.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens and came down
With thick (T)darkness under His feet.
10 He rode upon a (U)cherub and flew;
And He sped upon the (V)wings of the wind.
11 He made (W)darkness His hiding place, (X)His [e]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
12 From the (Y)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and (Z)coals of fire.
13 Yahweh also (AA)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High gave forth His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
14 He (AB)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and [f]threw them into confusion.
15 Then the (AC)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were [g]laid bare
At Your (AD)rebuke, O Yahweh,
At the blast of the (AE)breath of Your nostrils.
16 He (AF)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of (AG)many waters.
17 He (AH)delivered me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were (AI)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in (AJ)the day of my disaster,
But (AK)Yahweh was my support.
19 He brought me forth also into a (AL)broad place;
He rescued me, because (AM)He delighted in me.
20 Yahweh has (AN)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the (AO)cleanness of my hands He has recompensed me.
21 For I have (AP)kept the ways of Yahweh,
And have (AQ)not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all (AR)His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His (AS)statutes from me.
23 I was also [h](AT)blameless with Him,
And I (AU)kept myself from my iniquity.
24 Therefore Yahweh has (AV)recompensed me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands before His eyes.
25 With (AW)the [i]kind You show Yourself kind;
With the blameless (AX)You show Yourself blameless;
26 With the pure You show Yourself (AY)pure,
And with the crooked (AZ)You show Yourself [j]astute.
27 For You (BA)save an afflicted people,
But (BB)eyes which are lifted up, You bring down.
28 For You (BC)light my lamp;
Yahweh my God (BD)illumines my darkness.
29 For by You I can [k](BE)run upon a troop;
And by my God I can (BF)leap over a wall.
30 As for God, His way is [l](BG)blameless;
The (BH)word of Yahweh is [m]tried;
He is a (BI)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
31 For (BJ)who is God, but Yahweh?
And who is a (BK)rock, except our God,
32 The God who (BL)girds me with strength
And [n]makes my way [o](BM)blameless?
33 He (BN)makes my feet like hinds’ feet,
And (BO)sets me upon my high places.
34 He (BP)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can (BQ)bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have also given me (BR)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your (BS)right hand upholds me;
And (BT)Your [p]gentleness makes me great.
36 You (BU)enlarge my steps under me,
And my (BV)ankles have not given way.
37 I (BW)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back (BX)until they were consumed.
38 I crushed them, so that they were (BY)not able to rise;
They fell (BZ)under my feet.
39 For You have (CA)girded me with strength for battle;
You have [q](CB)subdued under me those who rose up against me.
40 [r]You have also made my enemies (CC)turn their backs to me,
And I [s](CD)destroyed those who hated me.
41 They cried for help, but there was (CE)none to save,
Even to Yahweh, but (CF)He did not answer them.
42 Then I beat them fine as the (CG)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out as the mire of the streets.
43 You have delivered me from the (CH)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as (CI)head of the nations;
A (CJ)people whom I have not known serve me.
44 As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners [t](CK)cower before me.
45 Foreigners (CL)fade away,
And (CM)come trembling out of their [u]fortresses.
46 Yahweh (CN)lives, and blessed be (CO)my rock;
And let (CP)the God of my salvation be lifted high,
47 The God who (CQ)executes vengeance for me,
And (CR)subdues peoples under me.
48 Who (CS)delivers me from my enemies;
Surely You (CT)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from the (CU)violent man.
49 Therefore I will (CV)give thanks to You among the nations, O Yahweh,
And I will (CW)sing praises to Your name.
50 He gives great [v](CX)salvation to His king,
And shows lovingkindness to (CY)His anointed,
To David and (CZ)his seed forever.
Solomon Wisely Judges
16 Then two women who were harlots came to the king and stood before him. 17 And the one woman said, “Oh, my lord, [a]this woman and I live in the same house; and I gave birth to a child while she was in the house. 18 And it happened on the third day after I gave birth, that this woman also gave birth to a child, and we were together. There was no stranger with us in the house, only the two of us in the house. 19 And this woman’s son died in the night because she lay on him. 20 So she arose in the middle of the night and took my son from beside me while your maidservant slept, and laid him in her bosom, and laid her dead son in my bosom. 21 When I rose in the morning to nurse my son, behold, he was dead; but when I looked at him carefully in the morning, behold, he was not my son, whom I had borne.” 22 Then the other woman said, “No! For the living one is my son, and the dead one is your son.” But [b]the first woman said, “No! For the dead one is your son, and the living one is my son.” Thus they spoke before the king.
23 Then the king said, “[c]The one says, ‘This is my son who is living, and your son is the dead one’; and [d]the other says, ‘No! For your son is the dead one, and my son is the living one.’” 24 And the king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. 25 Then the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” 26 Then the woman whose son was the living one spoke to the king, for [e](A)she was deeply stirred with compassion over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him!” 27 Then the king said, “Give [f]the first woman the living child, and by no means put him to death. She is his mother.” 28 Then all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had [g]handed down, and they feared the king, for (B)they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.
27 But when the fourteenth night came, as we were being carried about in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors began to suspect that some land was approaching them. 28 And when they took soundings, they found it to be [a]twenty fathoms; and a little farther on they took another sounding and found it to be [b]fifteen fathoms. 29 And fearing that we might (A)run aground somewhere on the [c]rocks, they cast four anchors from the stern and were praying for daybreak. 30 But as the sailors were trying to escape from the ship and had let down (B)the ship’s boat into the sea, on the pretense of intending to lay out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, “Unless these men remain in the ship, you yourselves cannot [d]be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the (C)ropes of the ship’s boat and let it fall away.
33 Until the day was about to dawn, Paul was encouraging them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been constantly watching and going without eating, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I encourage you to take some food, for this is for your [e]salvation, for (D)not a hair from the head of any of you will perish.” 35 And having said these things, he took bread and (E)gave thanks to God in the presence of all. And he broke it and began to eat. 36 And all (F)of them became cheerful and they themselves also took food. 37 And all of us in the ship were 276 [f](G)persons. 38 And when they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by (H)throwing out the wheat into the sea.
The Shipwreck
39 Now when day came, (I)they [g]could not recognize the land; but they were noticing a bay with a beach, and they were resolving to drive the ship onto it if they could. 40 And casting off (J)the anchors, they left them in the sea while at the same time they were loosening the ropes of the rudders. And hoisting the foresail to the wind, they were heading for the beach. 41 But striking a [h]reef where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground; and the bow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern began to be broken up by the force of the waves. 42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to (K)kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim away and escape; 43 but the centurion, (L)wanting to bring Paul safely through, kept them from their intention, and ordered that those who could swim should [i]jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest should follow, some on planks, and others on various things from the ship. And so it happened that (M)they all were brought safely to land.
The Passover Meal
12 (A)And on the first day of (B)Unleavened Bread, when [a]the Passover lamb was being (C)sacrificed, His disciples *said to Him, “Where do You want us to go and prepare for You to eat the Passover?” 13 And He *sent two of His disciples and *said to them, “Go into the city, and a man will meet you carrying a pitcher of water; follow him; 14 and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is My (D)guest room in which I may eat the Passover with My disciples?”’ 15 And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there.” 16 And the disciples went out and came to the city, and found it just as He had told them; and they prepared the Passover.
17 (E)And when it was evening He *came with the twelve. 18 And as they were reclining at the table and eating, Jesus said, “Truly I say to you that one of you will [b]betray Me—the one who is eating with Me.” 19 They began to be grieved and to say to Him one by one, “Surely not I?” 20 And He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, the one who dips with Me in the bowl. 21 For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man [c]by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good [d]for that man if he had not been born.”
The Lord’s Supper
22 (F)And while they were eating, He took some bread, and [e]after a (G)blessing, He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My (H)blood of the (I)covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
26 (J)And after singing a hymn, they went out to (K)the Mount of Olives.
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