Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 How I love Your instruction!(A)
It is my meditation all day long.(B)
98 Your commands make me wiser than my enemies,(C)
for they are always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers
because Your decrees are my meditation.(D)
100 I understand more than the elders(E)
because I obey Your precepts.(F)
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path(G)
to follow Your word.
102 I have not turned from Your judgments,(H)
for You Yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet Your word is(I) to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth.
104 I gain understanding from Your precepts;(J)
therefore I hate every false way.(K)
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet(L)
and a light on my path.
106 I have solemnly sworn(M)
to keep Your righteous judgments.
107 I am severely afflicted;
Lord, give me life through Your word.(N)
108 Lord, please accept my willing offerings of praise,(O)
and teach me Your judgments.(P)
109 My life is constantly in danger,[a]
yet I do not forget Your instruction.(Q)
110 The wicked have set a trap for me,(R)
but I have not wandered from Your precepts.(S)
111 I have Your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart.(T)
112 I am resolved to obey Your statutes
to the very end.[b](U)
ס Samek
113 I hate those who are double-minded,(V)
but I love Your instruction.(W)
114 You are my shelter and my shield;(X)
I put my hope in Your word.(Y)
115 Depart from me,(Z) you evil ones,
so that I may obey my God’s commands.(AA)
116 Sustain me as You promised,(AB) and I will live;
do not let me be ashamed of my hope.(AC)
117 Sustain me so that I can be safe(AD)
and always be concerned about Your statutes.(AE)
118 You reject all who stray from Your statutes,(AF)
for their deceit is a lie.
119 You remove all the wicked on earth
as if they were[c] dross;(AG)
therefore, I love Your decrees.(AH)
120 I tremble[d] in awe of You;(AI)
I fear Your judgments.
Psalm 81
A Call to Obedience
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.(A)
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.(B)
2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,
the melodious lyre, and the harp.(C)
3 Blow the horn on the day of our feasts[a][b]
during the new moon(D)
and during the full moon.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
a judgment of the God of Jacob.(E)
5 He set it up as an ordinance for Joseph
when He went throughout[c] the land of Egypt.(F)
I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 “I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.(G)
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.(H)
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.(I)
8 Listen, My people, and I will admonish you.
Israel, if you would only listen to Me!(J)
9 There must not be a strange god among you;
you must not bow down to a foreign god.(K)
10 I am Yahweh your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(L)
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.(M)
11 “But My people did not listen to Me;
Israel did not obey Me.(N)
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.(O)
13 If only My people would listen to Me
and Israel would follow My ways,(P)
14 I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn My hand against their foes.”(Q)
15 Those who hate the Lord
would pretend submission to Him;(R)
their doom would last forever.(S)
16 But He would feed Israel[d] with the best wheat.
“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”(T)
Psalm 82
A Plea for Righteous Judgment
A psalm of Asaph.(U)
1 God has taken His place in the divine assembly;
He judges among the gods:[e](V)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(W)
3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(X)
4 Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”(Y)
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(Z)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(AA)
6 I said, “You are gods;(AB)
you are all sons of the Most High.(AC)
7 However, you will die like men
and fall like any other ruler.”(AD)
8 Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to You.(AE)
19 Gideon and the 100 men who were with him went to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch after the sentries had been stationed. They blew their trumpets and broke the pitchers that were in their hands. 20 The three companies blew their trumpets and shattered their pitchers. They held their torches in their left hands, their trumpets[a] in their right hands, and shouted, “A sword for Yahweh and for Gideon!” 21 Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, and cried out as they ran. 22 When Gideon’s men blew their 300 trumpets, the Lord set the swords of each man in the army against each other. They fled to Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah(A) near Tabbath. 23 Then the men of Israel were called from Naphtali, Asher, and Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.
The Men of Ephraim Join the Battle
24 Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim with this message: “Come down to intercept the Midianites and take control of the watercourses ahead of them as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.” So all the men of Ephraim(B) were called out, and they took control of the watercourses as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. 25 They captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb, while they were pursuing the Midianites. They brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon across the Jordan.
8 The men of Ephraim said to him, “Why have you done this to us, not calling us when you went to fight against the Midianites?” And they argued with him violently.
2 So he said to them, “What have I done now compared to you? Is not the gleaning(C) of Ephraim better than the vintage(D) of Abiezer? 3 God handed over to you Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian. What was I able to do compared to you?” When he said this, their anger against him subsided.
Gideon Pursues the Kings of Midian
4 Gideon and the 300 men came to the Jordan and crossed it. They were exhausted but still in pursuit. 5 He said to the men of Succoth,(E) “Please give some loaves of bread to the people who are following me,[b] because they are exhausted, for I am pursuing Zebah and Zalmunna, the kings of Midian.”
6 But the princes of Succoth asked, “Are[c] Zebah and Zalmunna now in your hands that we should give bread to your army?”
7 Gideon replied, “Very well, when the Lord has handed Zebah and Zalmunna over to me, I will trample[d] your flesh on thorns and briers from the wilderness!” 8 He went from there to Penuel and asked the same thing from them. The men of Penuel(F) answered just as the men of Succoth had answered. 9 He also told the men of Penuel, “When I return in peace, I will tear down this tower!”
10 Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and with them was their army of about 15,000 men, who were all those left of the entire army of the Qedemites. Those who had been killed were 120,000 warriors.[e] 11 Gideon traveled on the caravan route[f] east of Nobah(G) and Jogbehah and attacked their army while the army was unsuspecting. 12 Zebah and Zalmunna fled, and he pursued them. He captured these two kings of Midian and routed the entire army.
12 When Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you amazed at this? Or why do you stare at us, as though we had made him walk by our own power or godliness? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers,(A) has glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you handed over and denied in the presence of Pilate,(B) when he had decided to release Him. 14 But you denied the Holy and Righteous One(C) and asked to have a murderer given to you.(D) 15 You killed the source[a] of life, whom God raised from the dead; we are witnesses of this.(E) 16 By faith in His name, His name has made this man strong, whom you see and know. So the faith that comes through Him has given him this perfect health in front of all of you.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, just as your leaders also did.(F) 18 But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled(G) in this way. 19 Therefore repent(H) and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,(I) that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,[b] 20 and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed(J) for you as the Messiah. 21 Heaven must welcome[c] Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning.(K) 22 Moses said:[d]
The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He will say to you. 23 And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people.(L)[e]
24 “In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.(M)[f] 26 God raised up His Servant[g] and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”(N)
The Lamb of God
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God,(A) who takes away the sin(B) of the world! 30 This is the One I told you about: ‘After me comes a man who has surpassed me, because He existed before me.’ 31 I didn’t know Him,(C) but I came baptizing with[a] water so He might be revealed(D) to Israel.”
32 And John testified, “I watched the Spirit(E) descending from heaven like a dove, and He rested on Him.(F) 33 I didn’t know Him, but He[b] who sent me to baptize with[c] water told me, ‘The One you see the Spirit descending and resting on—He is the One who baptizes with[d] the Holy Spirit.’(G) 34 I have seen and testified that He is the Son of God!”[e](H)
35 Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!”
37 The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?”
They said to Him, “Rabbi”(I) (which means “Teacher”), “where are You staying?”
39 “Come and you’ll see,” He replied. So they went and saw where He was staying, and they stayed with Him that day. It was about 10 in the morning.[f]
40 Andrew,(J) Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard John and followed Him. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and told him, “We have found the Messiah!”[g](K) (which means “Anointed(L) One”), 42 and he brought Simon to Jesus.
When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon, son of John.[h] You will be called Cephas”(M) (which means “Rock”).
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.