Book of Common Prayer
33 He turned rivers into a desert,(A)
flowing springs(B) into thirsty ground,
34 and fruitful land into a salt waste,(C)
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
35 He turned the desert into pools of water(D)
and the parched ground into flowing springs;(E)
36 there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
37 They sowed fields and planted vineyards(F)
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
38 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,(G)
and he did not let their herds diminish.(H)
39 Then their numbers decreased,(I) and they were humbled(J)
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
40 he who pours contempt on nobles(K)
made them wander in a trackless waste.(L)
41 But he lifted the needy(M) out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.(N)
42 The upright see and rejoice,(O)
but all the wicked shut their mouths.(P)
Psalm 108[a](S)(T)
A song. A psalm of David.
1 My heart, O God, is steadfast;(U)
I will sing(V) and make music with all my soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre!(W)
I will awaken the dawn.
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
I will sing of you among the peoples.
4 For great is your love,(X) higher than the heavens;
your faithfulness(Y) reaches to the skies.(Z)
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;(AA)
let your glory be over all the earth.(AB)
6 Save us and help us with your right hand,(AC)
that those you love may be delivered.
7 God has spoken(AD) from his sanctuary:(AE)
“In triumph I will parcel out Shechem(AF)
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.(AG)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah(AH) is my scepter.
9 Moab(AI) is my washbasin,
on Edom(AJ) I toss my sandal;
over Philistia(AK) I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?(AL)
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.(AM)
13 With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down(AN) our enemies.
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully(A) to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting(B) for the upright(C) to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;(D)
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.(E)
3 Sing to him a new song;(F)
play skillfully, and shout for joy.(G)
4 For the word of the Lord is right(H) and true;(I)
he is faithful(J) in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;(K)
the earth is full of his unfailing love.(L)
6 By the word(M) of the Lord the heavens were made,(N)
their starry host(O) by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters(P) of the sea into jars[a];(Q)
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;(R)
let all the people of the world(S) revere him.(T)
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded,(U) and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils(V) the plans(W) of the nations;(X)
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm(Y) forever,
the purposes(Z) of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,(AA)
the people he chose(AB) for his inheritance.(AC)
13 From heaven the Lord looks down(AD)
and sees all mankind;(AE)
14 from his dwelling place(AF) he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms(AG) the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.(AH)
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;(AI)
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse(AJ) is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes(AK) of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,(AL)
19 to deliver them from death(AM)
and keep them alive in famine.(AN)
Edom Denies Israel Passage
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh(A) to the king of Edom,(B) saying:
“This is what your brother Israel says: You know(C) about all the hardships(D) that have come on us. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(E) and we lived there many years.(F) The Egyptians mistreated(G) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord, he heard our cry(H) and sent an angel(I) and brought us out of Egypt.(J)
“Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(K) 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King’s Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.(L)”
18 But Edom(M) answered:
“You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.(N)”
19 The Israelites replied:
“We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock(O) drink any of your water, we will pay for it.(P) We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else.”
20 Again they answered:
“You may not pass through.(Q)”
Then Edom(R) came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,(S) Israel turned away from them.(T)
The Death of Aaron
22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh(U) and came to Mount Hor.(V) 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,(W) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 “Aaron will be gathered to his people.(X) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command(Y) at the waters of Meribah.(Z) 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.(AA) 26 Remove Aaron’s garments(AB) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;(AC) he will die there.”
27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor(AD) in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron’s garments and put them on his son Eleazar.(AE) And Aaron died there(AF) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,(AG) all the Israelites mourned for him(AH) thirty days.
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
6 What shall we say, then?(A) Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?(B) 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin;(C) how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized(D) into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death(E) in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead(F) through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.(G)
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.(H) 6 For we know that our old self(I) was crucified with him(J) so that the body ruled by sin(K) might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin(L)— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.(M)
8 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.(N) 9 For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead,(O) he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.(P) 10 The death he died, he died to sin(Q) once for all;(R) but the life he lives, he lives to God.
11 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin(S) but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King(A)(B)
21 As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,(C) Jesus sent two disciples, 2 saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3 If anyone says anything to you, say that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”
4 This took place to fulfill(D) what was spoken through the prophet:
5 “Say to Daughter Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
and on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’”[a](E)
6 The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7 They brought the donkey and the colt and placed their cloaks on them for Jesus to sit on. 8 A very large crowd spread their cloaks(F) on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
10 When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”
11 The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet(J) from Nazareth in Galilee.”
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