Book of Common Prayer

A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.

For the music director; according to the ^[a]Shoshannim. A ^[b]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.

God, the King of the Earth.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

²³ In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king over Israel and reigned for twelve years; he reigned for six years at ^(A)Tirzah. ²⁴ And he purchased the hill ^[a]Samaria from Shemer for ^[b]two talents of silver; and he built on the hill, and named the city which he built ^[c](B)Samaria, after the name of Shemer, the owner of the hill.

²⁵ Now ^(C)Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord, and ^(D)acted more wickedly than all who were before him. ²⁶ For he ^(E)walked ^[d]entirely in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat and in his sins into which he misled Israel, provoking the Lord God of Israel to anger with their ^[e]idols. ²⁷ Now as for the rest of the acts of Omri which he did and his might which he ^[f]displayed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? ²⁸ And Omri ^[g]lay down with his fathers and was buried in Samaria; and his son Ahab became king in his place.

²⁹ Now Ahab the son of Omri became king over Israel in the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria for twenty-two years. ³⁰ Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the Lord ^(F)more than all who were before him.

³¹ And as though it had been a trivial thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, ^(G)he married Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the ^(H)Sidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshiped him. ³² So he erected an altar for Baal at ^(I)the house of Baal, which he built in Samaria. ³³ Ahab also made ^(J)the ^[h]Asherah. So ^(K)Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him. ^34 (L)In his days Hiel the Bethelite rebuilt Jericho; he laid its foundations with the loss of Abiram his firstborn, and set up its gates with the loss of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Joshua the son of Nun.

The Gospel Is Preached

¹² Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that my circumstances ^(A)have turned out for the greater progress of the ^(B)gospel, ¹³ so that my ^[a](C)imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the ^[b]praetorian guard and to ^(D)everyone else, ¹⁴ and that most of the brothers and sisters, ^[c]trusting in the Lord because of my ^[d](E)imprisonment, have ^(F)far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. ^15 (G)Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even ^[e]from envy and strife, but some also ^[f]from goodwill; ¹⁶ the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the ^(H)gospel; ¹⁷ the former proclaim Christ ^(I)out of selfish ambition ^[g]rather than from pure motives, thinking that they are causing me distress in my ^[h](J)imprisonment. ¹⁸ What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this I rejoice.

But not only that, I also will rejoice, ¹⁹ for I know that this will turn out for my ^[i]deliverance ^(K)through your ^[j]prayers and the provision of ^(L)the Spirit of Jesus Christ, ²⁰ according to my ^(M)eager expectation and ^(N)hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with ^(O)all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be ^(P)exalted in my body, ^(Q)whether by life or by death.

To Live Is Christ

²¹ For to me, ^(R)to live is Christ, and to die is gain. ^22 [k]But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean ^(S)fruitful labor for me; and I do not know ^[l]which to choose. ²³ But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the ^(T)desire to depart and ^(U)be with Christ, for that is very much better; ²⁴ yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sakes. ^25 (V)Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy ^[m]in the faith, ²⁶ so that your ^(W)pride in Christ Jesus may be abundant because of me by my coming to you again.

²⁷ Only conduct yourselves in a manner ^(X)worthy of the ^(Y)gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear about you that you are ^(Z)standing firm in ^(AA)one spirit, with one ^[n]mind ^(AB)striving together for the faith of the gospel; ²⁸ and in no way alarmed by your opponents—which is a ^(AC)sign of destruction for them, but of salvation for you, and this too, from God. ²⁹ For to you ^(AD)it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to ^(AE)suffer on His behalf, ³⁰ experiencing the same ^(AF)conflict which ^(AG)you saw in me, and now hear to be in me.

The Resurrection

16 ^(A)When the Sabbath was over, ^(B)Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of ^[a]James, and Salome ^(C)bought spices so that they might come and anoint Him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, they *came to the tomb when the sun had risen. ³ They were saying to one another, “Who will roll away ^(D)the stone from the entrance of the tomb for us?” ⁴ And looking up, they *noticed that the stone had been rolled away; ^[b]for it was extremely large. ⁵ And ^(E)entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they ^(F)were amazed. ⁶ But he *said to them, “^(G)Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the ^(H)Nazarene, who has been crucified. ^(I)He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him. ⁷ But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘^(J)He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you.’” ⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

⁹ [[^[c]Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to ^(K)Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons. ^10 (L)She went and reported to those who had been with Him, while they were mourning and weeping. ¹¹ And when they heard that He was alive and had been seen by her, ^(M)they refused to believe it.

¹² Now after that, ^(N)He appeared in a different form ^(O)to two of them while they were walking along on their way to the country. ¹³ And they went away and reported it to the rest, but they ^(P)did not believe them, either.

The Disciples Commissioned

¹⁴ Later ^(Q)He appeared ^(R)to the eleven disciples themselves as they were reclining at the table; and He reprimanded them for their ^(S)unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who had seen Him after He had risen from the dead. ¹⁵ And He said to them, “^(T)Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. ^16 (U)The one who has believed and has been baptized will be saved; but the one who has not believed will be condemned. ¹⁷ These signs will accompany those who have believed: ^(V)in My name they will cast out demons, they will ^(W)speak with new tongues; ¹⁸ they will ^(X)pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will ^(Y)lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

¹⁹ So then, when the Lord Jesus had ^(Z)spoken to them, He ^(AA)was received up into heaven and ^(AB)sat down at the right hand of God. ²⁰ And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them, and confirmed the word by the signs that followed.]]

[[^[d]And they promptly reported all these instructions to Peter and his companions. And after that, Jesus Himself also sent out through them from east to west the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.]]