Book of Common Prayer
(A psalm by David.)
A King and His Promises
1 I will sing to you, Lord!
I will celebrate your kindness
and your justice.
2 Please help me learn
to do the right thing,
and I will be honest and fair
in my own kingdom.
3 I refuse to be corrupt
or to take part
in anything crooked,
4 and I won't be dishonest
or deceitful.
5 Anyone who spreads gossip
will be silenced;
no one who is conceited
will be my friend.
6 I will find trustworthy people
to serve as my advisors;
only an honest person
will serve as an official.
7 No one who cheats or lies
will have a position
in my royal court.
8 Each morning I will silence
any lawbreakers I find
in the countryside
or in the city of the Lord.
(A psalm by David for the music leader.)
A Prayer for the Lord's Help
1 I praise you, God!
Don't keep silent.
2 Destructive and deceitful lies
are told about me,
3 and hateful things are said
for no reason.
4 I had pity and prayed[a]
for my enemies,
but their words to me
were harsh and cruel.
5 For being friendly and kind,
they paid me back
with meanness and hatred.
6 My enemies said,
“Find some worthless fools
to accuse him of a crime.
7 Try him and find him guilty!
Consider his prayers a lie.
8 (A) Cut his life short
and let someone else
have his job.
9 Make orphans of his children
and a widow of his wife;
10 make his children beg for food
and live in the slums.
11 “Let the people he owes
take everything he owns.
Give it all to strangers.
12 Don't let anyone be kind to him
or have pity on the children
he leaves behind.
13 Bring an end to his family,
and from now on let him be
a forgotten man.
14 “Don't let the Lord forgive
the sins of his parents
and his ancestors.
15 Don't let the Lord forget
the sins of his family,
or let anyone remember
his family ever lived.
16 He was so cruel to the poor,
homeless, and discouraged
that they died young.
17 “He cursed others.
Now place a curse on him!
He never wished others well.
Wish only trouble for him!
18 He cursed others more often
than he dressed himself.
Let his curses strike him deep,
just as water and olive oil
soak through to our bones.
19 Let his curses surround him,
just like the belt and clothes
he wears each day.”
20 Those are the cruel things
my enemies wish for me.
Let it all happen to them!
21 Be true to your name, Lord God!
Show your great kindness
and rescue me.
22 I am poor and helpless,
and I have lost all hope.
23 I am fading away
like an evening shadow;
I am tossed aside
like a crawling insect.
24 I have gone without eating,[b]
until my knees are weak,
and my body is bony.
25 (B) When my enemies see me,
they say cruel things
and shake their heads.
26 Please help me, Lord God!
Come and save me
because of your love.
27 Let others know that you alone
have saved me.
28 I don't care if they curse me,
as long as you bless me.
You will make my enemies fail
when they attack,
and you will make me glad
to be your servant.
29 You will cover them with shame,
just as their bodies
are covered with clothes.
30 I will sing your praises
and thank you, Lord,
when your people meet.
121 I did what was fair and right!
Don't hand me over to those
who want to mistreat me.
122 Take good care of me,
your servant,
and don't let me be harmed
by those conceited people.
123 My eyes are weary from waiting
to see you keep your promise
to come and save me.
124 Show your love for me,
your servant,
and teach me your laws.
125 I serve you,
so let me understand
your teachings.
126 Do something, Lord!
They have broken your Law.
127 Your laws mean more to me
than the finest gold.
128 I follow all your commands,[a]
but I hate anyone
who leads me astray.
129 Your teachings are wonderful,
and I respect them all.
130 Understanding your word
brings light to the minds
of ordinary people.
131 I honestly want to know
everything you teach.
132 Think about me and be kind,
just as you are to everyone
who loves your name.
133 Keep your promise
and don't let me stumble
or let sin control my life.
134 Protect me from abuse,
so I can obey your laws.
135 Smile on me, your servant,
and teach me your laws.
136 When anyone disobeys you,
my eyes overflow with tears.
137 Our Lord, you always do right,
and your decisions are fair.
138 All your teachings are true
and trustworthy.
139 It upsets me greatly
when my enemies neglect
your teachings.
140 Your word to me, your servant,
is like pure gold;
I treasure what you say.
141 Everyone calls me a nobody,
but I remember your laws.
142 You will always do right,
and your teachings are true.
143 I am in deep distress,
but I love your teachings.
144 Your rules are always fair.
Help me to understand them
and live.
15 “Please,” Manoah said, “stay here with us for just a little while, and we'll fix a young goat for you to eat.” 16 Manoah didn't realize that he was really talking to one of the Lord's angels.
The angel answered, “I can stay for a little while, although I won't eat any of your food. But if you would like to offer the goat as a sacrifice to the Lord, that would be fine.”
17 Manoah said, “Tell us your name, so we can honor you after our son is born.”
18 “No,” the angel replied. “You don't need to know my name. And if you did, you couldn't understand it.”
19 So Manoah took a young goat over to a large rock he had chosen for an altar, and he built a fire on the rock. Then he killed the goat, and offered it with some grain as a sacrifice to the Lord. But then an amazing thing happened. 20 The fire blazed up toward the sky, and the Lord's angel went up toward heaven in the fire. Manoah and his wife bowed down low when they saw what happened.
21 Although the angel didn't appear to them again, they realized he was one of the Lord's angels. 22 Manoah said, “We have seen an angel.[a] Now we're going to die.”[b]
23 “The Lord isn't going to kill us,” Manoah's wife responded. “The Lord accepted our sacrifice and grain offering, and he let us see something amazing. Besides, he told us that we're going to have a son.”
24 Later, Manoah's wife did give birth to a son, and she named him Samson. As the boy grew, the Lord blessed him.
Seven Leaders for the Church
6 A lot of people were now becoming followers of the Lord. But some of the ones who spoke Greek started complaining about the ones who spoke Aramaic. They complained that the Greek-speaking widows were not given their share when the food supplies were handed out each day.
2 The twelve apostles called the whole group of followers together and said, “We should not give up preaching God's message in order to serve at tables.[a] 3 My friends, choose seven men who are respected and wise and filled with God's Spirit. We will put them in charge of these things. 4 We can spend our time praying and serving God by preaching.”
5 This suggestion pleased everyone, and they began by choosing Stephen. He had great faith and was filled with the Holy Spirit. Then they chose Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and also Nicolaus, who worshiped with the Jewish people[b] in Antioch. 6 These men were brought to the apostles. Then the apostles prayed and placed their hands on the men to show they had been chosen to do this work. 7 God's message spread, and many more people in Jerusalem became followers. Even a large number of priests put their faith in the Lord.
Stephen Is Arrested
8 God gave Stephen the power to work great miracles and wonders among the people. 9 But some men from Cyrene and Alexandria were members of a group who called themselves “Free Men.”[c] They started arguing with Stephen. Some others from Cilicia and Asia also argued with him. 10 But they were no match for Stephen, who spoke with the great wisdom that the Spirit gave him. 11 So they talked some men into saying, “We heard Stephen say terrible things against Moses and God!”
12 They turned the people and their leaders and the teachers of the Law of Moses against Stephen. Then they all grabbed him and dragged him in front of the council.
13 Some men agreed to tell lies about Stephen, and they said, “This man keeps on saying terrible things about this holy temple and the Law of Moses. 14 We have heard him claim that Jesus from Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses gave us.” 15 (A) Then all the council members stared at Stephen. They saw that his face looked like the face of an angel.
4 Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that he was winning and baptizing more followers than John was. 2 But Jesus' disciples were really the ones doing the baptizing, and not Jesus himself.
Jesus and the Samaritan Woman
3 Jesus left Judea and started for Galilee again. 4 This time he had to go through Samaria, 5 (A) and on his way he came to the town of Sychar. It was near the field that Jacob had long ago given to his son Joseph. 6-8 The well that Jacob had dug was still there, and Jesus sat down beside it because he was tired from traveling. It was noon, and after Jesus' disciples had gone into town to buy some food, a Samaritan woman came to draw water from the well.
Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”
9 (B) “You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won't have anything to do with each other?”[a]
10 Jesus answered, “You don't know what God wants to give you, and you don't know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, you would ask me for the water that gives life.”
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you don't even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water? 12 Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. 14 But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give will become in that person a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.”
15 The woman replied, “Sir, please give me a drink of that water! Then I won't get thirsty and have to come to this well again.”
16 Jesus told her, “Go and bring your husband.”
17-18 The woman answered, “I don't have a husband.”
“That's right,” Jesus replied, “you're telling the truth. You don't have a husband. You have already been married five times, and the man you are now living with isn't your husband.”
19 The woman said, “Sir, I can see that you are a prophet. 20 My ancestors worshiped on this mountain,[b] but you Jews say Jerusalem is the only place to worship.”
21 Jesus said to her:
Believe me, the time is coming when you won't worship the Father either on this mountain or in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans don't really know the one you worship. But we Jews do know the God we worship, and by using us, God will save the world. 23 But a time is coming, and it is already here! Even now the true worshipers are being led by the Spirit to worship the Father according to the truth. These are the ones the Father is seeking to worship him. 24 God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.
25 The woman said, “I know that the Messiah will come. He is the one we call Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 “I am that one,” Jesus told her, “and I am speaking to you now.”
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