Book of Common Prayer
Calm Trust in Yahweh
A song of ascents. Of David.[a]
131 My heart is not haughty nor my eyes arrogant.[b]
And I do not concern myself[c]
with things too great and difficult for me.
2 Rather I have soothed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother,
like the weaned child is my soul with me.
3 O Israel, hope in Yahweh
from now until forever.
Yahweh Dwells in Zion
A song of ascents.[d]
132 O Yahweh, remember with regard to David
all his affliction.[e]
2 How he swore to Yahweh,
he vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:
3 “I will not enter into the tent of my house,
I will not go up to the couch of my bed,
4 I will give no sleep to my eyes,
no slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for Yahweh,
a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Look, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
we found her in the fields of Jaar.[f]
7 Let us go to his dwelling places;[g]
Let us worship at his footstool.
8 Arise, O Yahweh, to your resting place,
you and your mighty ark.
9 Let your priests clothe themselves with righteousness,
and let your faithful sing for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11 Yahweh swore in truth to David;
he will not turn back from it.
“One from the fruit of your body[h]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons will heed my covenant
and my testimonies that I will teach them,
their sons also forever
will sit on your throne.”
13 For Yahweh has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his habitation.
14 “This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will bless its provisions abundantly;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16 I will also clothe its priests with salvation,
and its faithful will shout exuberantly for joy.
17 There I will cause a horn to grow for David;
I will set a lamp for my anointed one.
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,
but on him his crown will flourish.”[i]
The People of God Dwell in Unity
A song of ascents. Of David.[j]
133 Look, how good and how pleasant it is
when brothers dwell together in unity.
2 It is like the fragrant oil upon the head,
running down upon the beard, the beard of Aaron,
that runs down upon the edges of his robes.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon that runs down
upon the mountains of Zion,
because there Yahweh commanded the blessing—
life forever.
Praising Yahweh in the Temple at Night
A song of ascents.[k]
134 Look, bless Yahweh, all you the servants of Yahweh,
who serve[l] in the house[m] of Yahweh by night.
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary
and bless Yahweh.
3 May Yahweh bless you from Zion,
he who made heaven and earth.
Praise to God for His Power and Redemption
135 Praise Yah![n] Praise the name of Yahweh.
Praise him, O servants of Yahweh,
2 who stand in the house[o] of Yahweh,
in the courts of the house[p] of our God.
3 Praise Yah,[q] for Yahweh is good.
Sing praises concerning his name, for it is pleasant.
4 For Yah has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his special possession.
5 For I know that Yahweh is great,
and our Lord is greater than all gods.
6 All that Yahweh desires, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.
7 He causes clouds to rise from the edge of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain;
he brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,
both of humans[r] and animals.[s]
9 He sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 Who struck many nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
and Og the king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance for his people Israel.
13 O Yahweh, your name endures forever,
your renown[t] throughout all generations,[u]
14 for Yahweh will plead the cause of his people
and will have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of the hands of humankind.
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak;
they have eyes, but cannot see;
17 they have ears, but cannot hear;
there is not even breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
as does everyone who trusts in them.
19 O house of Israel, bless Yahweh.
O house of Aaron, bless Yahweh.
20 O house of Levi, bless Yahweh.
You who fear Yahweh, bless Yahweh.
21 Blessed be Yahweh from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem. Praise Yah![v]
Israel’s Leaders Denounced
3 And I said,
“Listen, O heads of Jacob
and leaders of the house of Israel!
Is it not for you to know justice?
2 Those of you who are haters of good
and lovers of evil,
who tear their skin from them
and their flesh from their bones,
3 and who eat the flesh of my people,
and strip their skin from them,
and break their bones,
and chop them like meat in the pot,
and like flesh in the midst of a cooking pot.”
4 Then they will cry to Yahweh,
but he will not answer them.
He will hide his face from them at that time,
when they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says Yahweh concerning the prophets
who are leading my people astray,
who are biting with their teeth
and proclaim, “Peace,”
but whoever puts nothing into their mouths
they declare war against.
6 Therefore it will be as night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
And the sun will set on the prophets,
and the day will grow dark over them.
7 Then the seers will be disgraced,
and those practicing divination will be put to shame.
All of them will cover their lips,
for there is no reply from God.
8 But I, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of Yahweh,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his rebellion,
and to Israel his sin.
Paul Before Felix at Caesarea Maritima
24 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and an attorney, a certain Tertullus, all of whom brought charges against Paul to the governor. 2 And when[a] he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him,[b] saying, “We have experienced[c] much[d] peace through you, and reforms are taking place in this nation through your foresight. 3 Both in every way and everywhere we acknowledge this,[e] most excellent Felix, with all gratitude. 4 But so that I may not impose on you for longer, I implore you to hear us briefly with your customary graciousness. 5 For we have found[f] this man to be a public menace and one who causes riots among all the Jews throughout the Roman Empire[g] and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, 6 who even attempted to desecrate the temple, and we arrested him[h].[i] 8 When[j] you yourself examine him[k] you will be able to find out from him[l] about all these things of which we are accusing him.” 9 And the Jews also joined in the attack, asserting these things were so.
10 And when[m] the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I[n] know you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I defend myself cheerfully with respect to the things concerning myself. 11 You can ascertain that it has not been more than[o] twelve days since[p] I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 And neither did they find me arguing with anyone or making a crowd develop in the temple courts[q] nor in the synagogues nor throughout the city. 13 Nor can they prove the things[r] to you concerning which they are now accusing me. 14 But I do confess this to you, that according to the Way (which they call a sect), so I worship the God of our fathers, believing all things that are in accordance with the law and that are written in the prophets, 15 having a hope in God which these men also themselves await: that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous. 16 For this reason[s] also I myself always[t] do my best to have a clear conscience toward God and people. 17 So after many years, I came to practice charitable giving and offerings to my people,[u] 18 in which they found me purified in the temple courts,[v] not with a crowd or with a disturbance. 19 But there are some Jews from Asia[w] who ought to be present before you and bring charges against me,[x] if they have anything against me, 20 or these men themselves should say what crime they found when[y] I stood before the Sanhedrin,[z] 21 other than concerning this one declaration that I shouted while[aa] standing there before them: ‘I am being judged before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead!’”
Paul Held Awaiting Trial
22 But Felix, because he[ab] understood the facts concerning the Way more accurately, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the military tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”[ac] 23 He ordered[ad] the centurion for him to be guarded and to have some freedom, and in no way to prevent any of his own people[ae] from serving him.
A Sinful Woman Anoints Jesus’ Feet
36 Now one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he entered into the house of the Pharisee and[a] reclined at the table. 37 And behold, a woman in the town who was a sinner, when she[b] learned that he was dining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of perfumed oil, 38 and standing behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and was wiping them[c] with the hair of her head and was kissing his feet and anointing them[d] with the perfumed oil. 39 Now when[e] the Pharisee who invited him saw this,[f] he spoke to himself, saying, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what kind of woman this is who is touching him, that she is a sinner.” 40 And Jesus answered and[g] said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he said, “Teacher, say it.”[h] 41 “There were two debtors who owed a certain creditor. One owed five hundred denarii and the other fifty. 42 When[i] they were not able to repay him,[j] he forgave the debts[k] of both. Now which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and[l] said, “I suppose that it is the one to whom he forgave more.” And he said to him, “You have judged correctly.” 44 And turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered into your house. You did not give me water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them[m] with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss, but from the time I entered, she has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with olive oil, but she anointed my feet with perfumed oil. 47 For this reason[n] I tell you, her sins—which were many—have been forgiven, for she loved much. But the one to whom little is forgiven loves little.” 48 And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” 49 And those who were reclining at the table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” 50 And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
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