Book of Common Prayer
33 God turns rivers into desert,
watery springs into thirsty ground,
34 fruitful land into unproductive dirt,
when its inhabitants are wicked.
35 But God can also turn the desert into watery pools,
thirsty ground into watery springs,
36 where he settles the hungry.
They even build a city and live there!
37 They plant fields and vineyards
and obtain a fruitful harvest.
38 God blesses them, and they become many.
God won’t even let their cattle diminish.
39 But when they do diminish—
when they’re brought down by oppression, trouble, and grief—
40 God pours contempt on their leaders,
making them wander aimlessly in the wastelands.
41 But God raises the needy from their suffering;
he makes their families as numerous as sheep!
42 Those who do right see it and celebrate,
but every wicked person shuts their mouth.
43 Whoever is wise will pay attention to these things,
carefully considering the Lord’s faithful love.
Psalm 108[a]
A song. A psalm of David.
108 My heart is unwavering, God.
I will sing and make music—
yes, with my whole being!
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake the dawn itself!
3 I will give thanks to you, Lord, among all the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations,
4 because your faithful love is higher than heaven;
your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
5 Exalt yourself, God, higher than heaven!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 Save me by your power and answer me
so that the people you love might be rescued.
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:
“I will celebrate as I divide up Shechem
and portion out the Succoth Valley.
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter.
9 But Moab is my washbowl;
I’ll throw my shoe at Edom.
I shout in triumph over Philistia!
10 I wish someone would bring me to a fortified city!
I wish someone would lead me to Edom!”
11 But you have rejected us, God, haven’t you?
You, God, no longer accompany our armies.
12 Give us help against the enemy—
human help is worthless.
13 With God we will triumph:
God is the one who will trample our adversaries.
Psalm 33
33 All you who are righteous,
shout joyfully to the Lord!
It’s right for those who do right to praise God.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre!
Sing praises to him with the ten-stringed harp!
3 Sing to him a new song!
Play your best with joyful shouts!
4 Because the Lord’s word is right,
his every act is done in good faith.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.
6 The skies were made by the Lord’s word,
all their starry multitude by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathered the ocean waters into a heap;
he put the deep seas into storerooms.
8 All the earth honors the Lord;
all the earth’s inhabitants stand in awe of him.
9 Because when he spoke, it happened!
When he commanded, there it was!
10 The Lord overrules what the nations plan;
he frustrates what the peoples intend to do.
11 But the Lord’s plan stands forever;
what he intends to do lasts from one generation to the next.
12 The nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom God has chosen as his possession,
is truly happy!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees every human being.
14 From his dwelling place God observes
all who live on earth.
15 God is the one who made all their hearts,
the one who knows everything they do.
16 Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies;
warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have.
17 A warhorse is a bad bet for victory;
it can’t save despite its great strength.
18 But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him,
all who wait for his faithful love,
19 to deliver their lives[a] from death
and keep them alive during a famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in God
because we trust his holy name.
22 Lord, let your faithful love surround us
because we wait for you.
Divine love
11 When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and out of Egypt I called my son.
2 The more I called them,
the further they went from me;
they kept sacrificing to the Baals,
and they burned incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk;
I took them up in my arms,
but they did not know that I healed them.
4 I led them
with bands of human kindness,
with cords of love.
I treated them like those
who lift infants to their cheeks;
I bent down to them and fed them.
Divine frustration
5 They will return to the land of Egypt,
and Assyria will be their king,
because they have refused to return to me.
6 The sword will strike wildly in their cities;
it will consume the bars of their gates
and will take everything because of their schemes.
7 My people are bent on turning away from me;
and though they cry out to the Most High,[a]
he will not raise them up.
Divine compassion
8 How can I give you up, Ephraim?
How can I hand you over, Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart winces within me;
my compassion grows warm and tender.
Israel’s and Judah’s responses
9 I won’t act on the heat of my anger;
I won’t return to destroy Ephraim;
for I am God and not a human being,
the holy one in your midst;
I won’t come in harsh judgment.
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I had a visionary experience. 18 I saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem at once because they won’t accept your testimony about me.’ 19 I responded, ‘Lord, these people know I used to go from one synagogue to the next, beating those who believe in you and throwing them into prison. 20 When Stephen your witness was being killed, I stood there giving my approval, even watching the clothes that belonged to those who were killing him.’ 21 Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted, “Away with this man! He’s not fit to live!” 23 As they were screaming, throwing off their garments, and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander directed that Paul be taken into the military headquarters. He ordered that Paul be questioned under the whip so that he could find out why they were shouting at him like this.
25 As they were stretching him out and tying him down with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Can you legally whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t been found guilty in court?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. He asked, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The commander went to Paul and demanded, “Tell me! Are you a Roman citizen?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commander replied, “It cost me a lot of money to buy my citizenship.”
Paul said, “I’m a citizen by birth.” 29 At once those who were about to examine him stepped away. The commander was alarmed when he realized he had bound a Roman citizen.
Behaving as God’s children
27 “But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. 28 Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you. 29 If someone slaps you on the cheek, offer the other one as well. If someone takes your coat, don’t withhold your shirt either. 30 Give to everyone who asks and don’t demand your things back from those who take them. 31 Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.
32 “If you love those who love you, why should you be commended? Even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, why should you be commended? Even sinners do that. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, why should you be commended? Even sinners lend to sinners expecting to be paid back in full. 35 Instead, love your enemies, do good, and lend expecting nothing in return. If you do, you will have a great reward. You will be acting the way children of the Most High act, for he is kind to ungrateful and wicked people. 36 Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.
37 “Don’t judge, and you won’t be judged. Don’t condemn, and you won’t be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good portion—packed down, firmly shaken, and overflowing—will fall into your lap. The portion you give will determine the portion you receive in return.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible