Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
140 Rescue me from evil people, Lord!
Guard me from violent people
2 who plot evil things in their hearts,
who pick fights every single day!
3 They sharpen their tongues like a snake’s;
spider poison[a] is on their lips. Selah
4 Protect me from the power of the wicked, Lord!
Guard me from violent people
who plot to trip me up!
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me with ropes.
They’ve spread out a net alongside the road.
They’ve set snares for me. Selah
6 I tell the Lord, “You are my God!
Listen to my request for mercy, Lord!”
7 My Lord God, my strong saving help—
you’ve protected my head on the day of battle.
8 Lord, don’t give the wicked what they want!
Don’t allow their plans to succeed,
or they’ll exalt themselves even more![b] Selah
9 Let the heads of the people surrounding me
be covered with the trouble their own lips caused![c]
10 Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them fall into deep pits and never get out again!
11 Let no slanderer be safe in the land.
Let calamity hunt down violent people—and quickly![d]
12 I know that the Lord will take up the case of the poor
and will do what is right for the needy.
13 Yes, the righteous will give thanks to your name,
and those who do right will live in your presence.
Psalm 142
A maskil[a] of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer.
142 I cry out loud for help from the Lord.
I beg out loud for mercy from the Lord.
2 I pour out my concerns before God;
I announce my distress to him.
3 When my spirit is weak inside me, you still know my way.
But they’ve hidden a trap for me in the path I’m taking.
4 Look right beside me: See?
No one pays attention to me.
There’s no escape for me.
No one cares about my life.
5 I cry to you, Lord, for help.
“You are my refuge,” I say.
“You are all I have in the land of the living.”
6 Pay close attention to my shouting,
because I’ve been brought down so low!
Deliver me from my oppressors
because they’re stronger than me.
7 Get me out of this prison
so I can give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous will gather all around me
because of your good deeds to me.
Psalm 141
A psalm of David.
141 I cry out to you, Lord: Come to me—quickly!
Listen to my voice when I cry out to you!
2 Let my prayer stand before you like incense;
let my uplifted hands be like the evening offering.
3 Set a guard over my mouth, Lord;
keep close watch over the door that is my lips.
4 Don’t let my heart turn aside to evil things
so that I don’t do wicked things with evildoers,
so I don’t taste their delicacies.
5 Instead, let the righteous discipline me;
let the faithful correct me!
Let my head never reject that kind of fine oil,
because my prayers are always against the deeds of the wicked.[a]
6 Their leaders will fall from jagged cliffs,
but my words will be heard because they are pleasing.[b]
7 Our bones[c] have been scattered at the mouth of the grave,[d]
just like when the ground is broken up and plowed.[e]
8 But my eyes are on you, my Lord God.
I take refuge in you; don’t let me die!
9 Protect me from the trap they’ve set for me;
protect me from the snares of the evildoers.
10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets—all together!—
but let me make it through safely.
Psalm 143
A psalm of David.
143 Listen to my prayer, Lord!
Because of your faithfulness, hear my requests for mercy!
Because of your righteousness, answer me!
2 Please don’t bring your servant to judgment,
because no living thing is righteous before you.
3 The enemy is chasing me,[a]
crushing my life in the dirt,
forcing me to live in the dark
like those who’ve been dead forever.
4 My spirit is weak inside me—
inside, my mind is numb.
5 I remember the days long past;
I meditate on all your deeds;
I contemplate your handiwork.
6 I stretch out my hands to you;
my whole being is like dry dirt, thirsting for you.[b] Selah
7 Answer me, Lord—and quickly! My breath is fading.
Don’t hide your face from me
or I’ll be like those going down to the pit!
8 Tell me all about your faithful love come morning time,
because I trust you.
Show me the way I should go,
because I offer my life up to you.
9 Deliver me from my enemies, Lord!
I seek protection from you.[c]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,
because you are my God.
Guide me by your good spirit
into good land.
11 Make me live again, Lord, for your name’s sake.
Bring me out of distress because of your righteousness.
12 Wipe out my enemies because of your faithful love.
Destroy everyone who attacks me,
because I am your servant.
The day of the Lord
14 A day is coming that belongs to the Lord,
when that which has been plundered from you will be divided among you.
2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for the battle,
the city will be captured,
the houses will be plundered,
and the women will be raped.
Half of the city will go forth into exile,
but what is left of the people won’t be eliminated from the city.
3 The Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle.
4 On that day he will stand upon the Mount of Olives, to the east of Jerusalem.
The Mount of Olives will be split in half by a very large valley running from east to west.
Half of the mountain will move north,
and the other half will move south.
5 You will flee through the valley of my mountain,
because the valley of the mountains will reach to Azal.
You will flee just as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Judah’s King Uzziah.
The Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.[a]
6 On that day, there will be no light.
Splendid things will disappear.[b]
7 On one day known to the Lord, there will be neither day nor night,
but at evening time there will be light.
8 On that day, running water will flow out from Jerusalem,
half of it to the Dead Sea[c]
and half of it to the Mediterranean;[d]
this will happen during the summer and the fall.
9 The Lord will become king over all the land.
On that day the Lord will be one,
and the Lord’s name will be one.
10 The entire land will become like the desert[e]
from Geba to Rimmon, south of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem will be high up and firmly in place
from the Benjamin Gate to the place of the former gate,
to the Corner Gate, and from the Hananel Tower to the king’s wine vats.
11 People will dwell in it;
it will never again be destroyed.
Jerusalem will dwell securely.
7 So welcome each other, in the same way that Christ also welcomed you, for God’s glory. 8 I’m saying that Christ became a servant of those who are circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, in order to confirm the promises given to the ancestors, 9 and so that the Gentiles could glorify God for his mercy. As it is written,
Because of this I will confess you among the Gentiles,
and I will sing praises to your name.[a]
10 And again, it says,
Rejoice, Gentiles, with his people.[b]
11 And again,
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and all the people should sing his praises.[c]
12 And again, Isaiah says,
There will be a root of Jesse,
who will also rise to rule the Gentiles.
The Gentiles will place their hope in him.[d]
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith so that you overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
28 After Jesus said this, he continued on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
Procession into Jerusalem
29 As Jesus came to Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he gave two disciples a task. 30 He said, “Go into the village over there. When you enter it, you will find tied up there a colt that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying it?’ just say, ‘Its master needs it.’” 32 Those who had been sent found it exactly as he had said.
33 As they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “Its master needs it.” 35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their clothes on the colt, and lifted Jesus onto it. 36 As Jesus rode along, they spread their clothes on the road.
37 As Jesus approached the road leading down from the Mount of Olives, the whole throng of his disciples began rejoicing. They praised God with a loud voice because of all the mighty things they had seen. 38 They said,
“Blessings on the king who comes in the name of the Lord.
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heavens.”
39 Some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, scold your disciples! Tell them to stop!”
40 He answered, “I tell you, if they were silent, the stones would shout.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible