Book of Common Prayer
The Reign of the Righteous King.
A Psalm of Solomon.
72 Give the king (A)Your judgments, God,
And (B)Your righteousness to the king’s son.
2 [a]May [b]he (C)judge Your people with righteousness
And [c](D)Your afflicted with justice.
3 [d]May the mountains bring [e](E)peace to the people,
And the hills, in righteousness.
4 [f]May he (F)vindicate the [g]afflicted of the people,
Save the children of the needy,
And crush the oppressor.
5 [h]May they fear You (G)while the sun shines,
And [i]as long as the moon shines, throughout all generations.
6 [j]May he come down (H)like rain upon the mown grass,
Like (I)showers that water the earth.
7 [k]May the (J)righteous flourish in his days,
As well as an (K)abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.
8 May he also rule (L)from sea to sea,
And from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 [l]May (M)the nomads of the desert (N)bow before him,
And his enemies (O)lick the dust.
10 [m]May the kings of (P)Tarshish and of the [n](Q)islands bring gifts;
May the kings of (R)Sheba and (S)Seba (T)offer tributes.
11 [o]And may all (U)kings bow down before him,
All (V)nations serve him.
12 For he will (W)save the needy when he cries for help,
The [p]afflicted also, and him who has no helper.
13 He will have (X)compassion on the poor and needy,
And he will save the [q]lives of the needy.
14 He will [r](Y)rescue their [s]life from oppression and violence,
And their blood will be (Z)precious in his sight;
15 So may he live, and may the (AA)gold of Sheba be given to him;
And [t]they are to pray for him continually;
[u]They are to bless him all day long.
16 May there be abundance of grain on the earth on top of the mountains;
Its fruit will wave like the cedars of (AB)Lebanon;
And may those from the city flourish like the (AC)vegetation of the earth.
17 May his (AD)name endure forever;
May his name produce descendants [v](AE)as long as the sun shines;
And may people (AF)wish blessings on themselves by him;
(AG)May all nations call him blessed.
18 (AH)Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel,
Who alone (AI)works wonders.
19 And blessed be His (AJ)glorious name forever;
And may the whole (AK)earth be filled with His glory.
(AL)Amen and Amen.
20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.
Elkanah and His Wives
1 Now there was a man from (A)Ramathaim-zophim from the (B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was (C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had (D)two wives: the name of one was (E)Hannah and the name of the [a]other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 Now this man would go up from his city (F)yearly (G)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of armies in (H)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. 4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he (I)would give portions to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters; 5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, because he loved Hannah, (J)but the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Her rival, moreover, (K)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 And it happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, that she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband would say to her, “Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you not eat, and why is your heart sad? (L)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 Then Hannah got up after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of (M)the [b]temple of the Lord. 10 She, [c]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she (N)made a vow and said, “Lord of armies, if You will indeed (O)look on the affliction of Your bond-servant and remember me, and not forget Your bond-servant, but will give Your bond-servant a [d]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and (P)a razor shall never come on his head.”
12 Now it came about, as she [e]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, (Q)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were quivering, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought that she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “(R)How long will you behave like a drunk? Get rid of your wine!” 15 But Hannah answered and said, “No, my lord, I am a woman [f]despairing in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I (S)have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not [g]consider your bond-servant a useless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “(T)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel (U)grant your request that you have asked of Him.” 18 She said, “(V)Let your bond-servant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went on her way and ate, and (W)her face was no longer sad.
Samuel Is Born to Hannah
19 Then they got up early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord, and returned again to their house in (X)Ramah. And Elkanah [h]had relations with Hannah his wife, and (Y)the Lord remembered her. 20 It came about [i]in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “(Z)Because I have asked for him of the Lord.”
Jesus Our High Priest
3 Therefore, (A)holy brothers and sisters, partakers of a (B)heavenly calling, consider (C)the Apostle and (D)High Priest of our (E)confession: Jesus; 2 [a]He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as (F)Moses also was in all His house. 3 (G)For He has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, by just so much as the builder of the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God. 5 Now (H)Moses was faithful in all [b]God’s house as (I)a servant, (J)for a testimony of those things (K)which were to be spoken later; 6 but Christ was faithful as (L)a Son over His house—(M)whose house we are, (N)if we hold firmly to our (O)confidence and the boast of our [c](P)hope.
The Lord, an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I [c]have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in noblemen,
In [d]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [e]the earth;
On that very day his (I)plans perish.
5 (J)Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and everything that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [f]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)frees the prisoners.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of those who are blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous.
9 The Lord (U)watches over strangers;
He [g](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [h]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, Zion, to all generations.
[i]Praise [j]the Lord!
Praise for Jerusalem’s Restoration and Prosperity.
147 [k]Praise [l]the Lord!
For (Y)it is good to sing praises to our God;
For [m]it is pleasant and praise is [n](Z)beautiful.
2 The Lord (AA)builds up Jerusalem;
He (AB)gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals the (AC)brokenhearted
And (AD)binds up their [o]wounds.
4 He (AE)counts the number of the stars;
He [p](AF)gives names to all of them.
5 (AG)Great is our Lord and abundant in strength;
His (AH)understanding is [q]infinite.
6 The Lord [r](AI)supports the afflicted;
He brings the wicked down to the ground.
7 (AJ)Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God on the lyre;
8 It is He who (AK)covers the heavens with clouds,
Who (AL)provides rain for the earth,
Who (AM)makes grass sprout on the mountains.
9 It is He who (AN)gives an animal its food,
And feeds (AO)young ravens that cry.
10 He does not delight in [s]the strength of the (AP)horse;
He (AQ)does not take pleasure in the [t]legs of a man.
11 The Lord (AR)favors those who fear Him,
(AS)Those who wait for His [u]faithfulness.
12 Praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
Praise your God, Zion!
13 For He has strengthened the (AT)bars of your gates;
He has (AU)blessed your sons among you.
14 He (AV)makes [v]peace in your borders;
He (AW)satisfies you with (AX)the [w]finest of the wheat.
15 He sends His (AY)command to the earth;
His (AZ)word runs very swiftly.
16 He [x]showers (BA)snow like wool;
He scatters the (BB)frost like ashes.
17 He hurls His (BC)ice as fragments;
Who can stand before His (BD)cold?
18 He (BE)sends His word and makes them melt;
He (BF)makes His wind blow, and the waters flow.
19 He (BG)declares His words to Jacob,
His (BH)statutes and His judgments to Israel.
20 He (BI)has not dealt this way with any other nation;
And as for His judgments, [y]they have (BJ)not known them.
[z]Praise [aa]the Lord!
25 Then a matter of dispute developed on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about [a](A)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “(B)Rabbi, He who was with you (C)beyond the Jordan, to whom you (D)have testified—behold, He is baptizing and all the people are coming to Him.” 27 John replied, “(E)A person can receive not even one thing unless it (F)has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves [b]are my witnesses that I said, ‘(G)I am not the [c]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is (H)the groom; but the friend of the groom, who stands and listens to him, rejoices greatly because of the groom’s voice. So this (I)joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must [d]increase, but I must [e]decrease.
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