Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 18[a]
For the music director, by the Lord’s servant David, who sang[b] to the Lord the words of this song when[c] the Lord rescued him from the power[d] of all his enemies, including Saul.[e]
18 He said:[f]
“I love[g] you, Lord, my source of strength![h]
2 The Lord is my high ridge,[i] my stronghold,[j] my deliverer.
My God is my rocky summit where[k] I take shelter,[l]
my shield, the horn that saves me,[m] and my refuge.[n]
3 I called[o] to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,[p]
and I was delivered from my enemies.
4 The waves[q] of death engulfed me,
the currents[r] of chaos[s] overwhelmed me.[t]
5 The ropes of Sheol tightened around me,[u]
the snares of death trapped me.[v]
6 In my distress I called to the Lord;
I cried out to my God.[w]
From his heavenly temple[x] he heard my voice;
he listened to my cry for help.[y]
7 The earth heaved and shook.[z]
The roots of the mountains[aa] trembled;[ab]
they heaved because he was angry.
8 Smoke ascended from[ac] his nose;[ad]
fire devoured as it came from his mouth.[ae]
He hurled down fiery coals.[af]
9 He made the sky sink[ag] as he descended;
a thick cloud was under his feet.
10 He mounted[ah] a winged angel[ai] and flew;
he glided[aj] on the wings of the wind.[ak]
11 He shrouded himself in darkness,[al]
in thick rain clouds.[am]
12 From the brightness in front of him came
hail and fiery coals.[an]
13 The Lord thundered[ao] in[ap] the sky;
the Most High[aq] shouted.[ar]
14 He shot his[as] arrows and scattered them,[at]
many lightning bolts[au] and routed them.[av]
15 The depths[aw] of the sea[ax] were exposed;
the inner regions[ay] of the world were uncovered
by[az] your battle cry,[ba] Lord,
by the powerful breath from your nose.[bb]
16 He reached down[bc] from above and took hold of me;
he pulled me from the surging water.[bd]
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy,[be]
from those who hate me,
for they were too strong for me.
18 They confronted[bf] me in my day of calamity,
but the Lord helped me.[bg]
19 He brought me out into a wide open place;
he delivered me because he was pleased with me.[bh]
20 The Lord repaid[bi] me for my godly deeds;[bj]
he rewarded[bk] my blameless behavior.[bl]
21 For I have obeyed the Lord’s commands;[bm]
I have not rebelled against my God.[bn]
22 For I am aware of all his regulations,[bo]
and I do not reject his rules.[bp]
23 I was innocent before him,
and kept myself from sinning.[bq]
24 The Lord rewarded me for my godly deeds;[br]
he took notice of my blameless behavior.[bs]
25 You prove to be loyal[bt] to one who is faithful;[bu]
you prove to be trustworthy[bv] to one who is innocent.[bw]
26 You prove to be reliable[bx] to one who is blameless,
but you prove to be deceptive[by] to one who is perverse.[bz]
27 For you deliver oppressed[ca] people,
but you bring down those who have a proud look.[cb]
28 Indeed,[cc] you light my lamp, Lord.[cd]
My God[ce] illuminates the darkness around me.[cf]
29 Indeed,[cg] with your help[ch] I can charge against[ci] an army;[cj]
by my God’s power[ck] I can jump over a wall.[cl]
30 The one true God acts in a faithful manner;[cm]
the Lord’s promise[cn] is reliable.[co]
He is a shield to all who take shelter[cp] in him.
31 Indeed,[cq] who is God besides the Lord?
Who is a protector[cr] besides our God?[cs]
32 The one true God[ct] gives[cu] me strength;[cv]
he removes[cw] the obstacles in my way.[cx]
33 He gives me the agility of a deer;[cy]
he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.[cz]
34 He trains my hands for battle;[da]
my arms can bend even the strongest bow.[db]
35 You give me your protective shield;[dc]
your right hand supports me.[dd]
Your willingness to help[de] enables me to prevail.[df]
36 You widen my path;[dg]
my feet[dh] do not slip.
37 I chase my enemies and catch[di] them;
I do not turn back until I wipe them out.
38 I beat them[dj] to death;[dk]
they fall at my feet.[dl]
39 You give me strength[dm] for battle;
you make my foes kneel before me.[dn]
40 You make my enemies retreat;[do]
I destroy those who hate me.[dp]
41 They cry out, but there is no one to help them;[dq]
they cry out to the Lord,[dr] but he does not answer them.
42 I grind them as fine windblown dust;[ds]
I beat them underfoot[dt] like clay[du] in the streets.
43 You rescue me from a hostile army.[dv]
You make me[dw] a leader of nations;
people over whom I had no authority are now my subjects.[dx]
44 When they hear of my exploits, they submit to me.[dy]
Foreigners are powerless[dz] before me.
45 Foreigners lose their courage;[ea]
they shake with fear[eb] as they leave[ec] their strongholds.[ed]
46 The Lord is alive![ee]
My Protector[ef] is praiseworthy.[eg]
The God who delivers me[eh] is exalted as king.[ei]
47 The one true God[ej] completely vindicates me;[ek]
he makes nations submit to me.[el]
48 He delivers me[em] from my enemies.
You snatch me away[en] from those who attack me;[eo]
you rescue me from violent men.
49 So I will give you thanks before the nations,[ep] O Lord.
I will sing praises to you.[eq]
50 He[er] gives his king magnificent victories;[es]
he is faithful[et] to his chosen ruler,[eu]
to David and his descendants[ev] forever.”[ew]
Solomon Demonstrates His Wisdom
16 Then two prostitutes came to the king and stood before him. 17 One of the women said, “My master, this woman and I live in the same house. I had a baby while she was with me in the house. 18 Then three days after I had my baby, this woman also had a baby. We were alone; there was no one else in the house except the two of us.[a] 19 This woman’s child suffocated[b] during the night when she rolled[c] on top of him. 20 She got up in the middle of the night and took my son from my side, while your servant was sleeping. She put him in her arms, and put her dead son in my arms. 21 I got up in the morning to nurse my son, and there[d] he was, dead! But when I examined him carefully in the morning, I realized it was not my baby.”[e] 22 The other woman said, “No! My son is alive; your son is dead!” But the first woman replied, “No, your son is dead; my son is alive.” Each presented her case before the king.[f]
23 The king said, “One says, ‘My son is alive; your son is dead,’ while the other says, ‘No, your son is dead; my son is alive.’” 24 The king ordered, “Get me a sword.” So they placed a sword before the king. 25 The king then said, “Cut the living child in two, and give half to one and half to the other!” 26 The real mother[g] spoke up to the king, for her motherly instincts were awakened.[h] She said, “My master, give her the living child! Whatever you do, don’t kill him!”[i] But the other woman said, “Neither one of us will have him. Let them cut him in two!” 27 The king responded, “Give the first woman the living child; don’t kill him. She is the mother.” 28 When all Israel heard about the judicial decision which the king had rendered, they respected[j] the king, for they realized[k] that he possessed divine wisdom[l] to make judicial decisions.
27 When the fourteenth night had come, while we were being driven[a] across the Adriatic Sea,[b] about midnight the sailors suspected they were approaching some land.[c] 28 They took soundings[d] and found the water was twenty fathoms[e] deep; when they had sailed a little farther[f] they took soundings again and found it was fifteen fathoms[g] deep. 29 Because they were afraid[h] that we would run aground on the rocky coast,[i] they threw out[j] four anchors from the stern and wished[k] for day to appear.[l] 30 Then when the sailors tried to escape from the ship and were lowering the ship’s boat into the sea, pretending[m] that they were going to put out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion[n] and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you[o] cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes[p] of the ship’s boat and let it drift away.[q]
33 As day was about to dawn,[r] Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have been in suspense[s] and have gone[t] without food; you have eaten nothing.[u] 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food, for this is important[v] for your survival.[w] For not one of you will lose a hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, Paul[x] took bread[y] and gave thanks to God in front of them all,[z] broke[aa] it, and began to eat. 36 So all of them were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276[ab] persons on the ship.)[ac] 38 When they had eaten enough to be satisfied,[ad] they lightened the ship by throwing the wheat[ae] into the sea.
Paul is Shipwrecked
39 When day came, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed[af] a bay[ag] with a beach,[ah] where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 So they slipped[ai] the anchors[aj] and left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the linkage[ak] that bound the steering oars[al] together. Then they hoisted[am] the foresail[an] to the wind and steered toward[ao] the beach. 41 But they encountered a patch of crosscurrents[ap] and ran the ship aground; the bow stuck fast and could not be moved, but the stern was being broken up by the force[aq] of the waves. 42 Now the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners[ar] so that none of them would escape by swimming away.[as] 43 But the centurion,[at] wanting to save Paul’s life,[au] prevented them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land,[av] 44 and the rest were to follow,[aw] some on planks[ax] and some on pieces of the ship.[ay] And in this way[az] all were brought safely to land.
The Passover
12 Now[a] on the first day of the feast of[b] Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed,[c] Jesus’[d] disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?”[e] 13 He sent two of his disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar[f] of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Wherever he enters, tell the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.” 16 So[g] the disciples left, went[h] into the city, and found things just as he had told them,[i] and they prepared the Passover.
17 Then,[j] when it was evening, he came to the house[k] with the twelve. 18 While they were at the table[l] eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,[m] one of you eating with me will betray me.”[n] 19 They were distressed, and one by one said to him, “Surely not I?” 20 He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who dips his hand[o] with me into the bowl.[p] 21 For the Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.”
The Lord’s Supper
22 While they were eating, he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.” 23 And after taking the cup and giving thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 He said to them, “This is my blood, the blood[q] of the covenant,[r] that is poured out for many. 25 I tell you the truth,[s] I will no longer drink of the fruit[t] of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”[u] 26 After singing a hymn,[v] they went out to the Mount of Olives.
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