Book of Common Prayer
33 He (A)turns rivers into a [a]wilderness,
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 And a (B)fruitful land into a (C)salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He (D)turns a [b]wilderness into a pool of water,
And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And He has the hungry live there,
So that they may establish [c](E)an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields and (F)plant vineyards,
And [d]gather a fruitful harvest.
38 He also blesses them and they (G)multiply greatly,
And He (H)does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they (I)become few and (J)lowly
Because of oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40 He (K)pours contempt upon noblemen
And (L)makes them wander (M)in a pathless wasteland.
41 But He (N)sets the needy [e]securely on high, away from affliction,
And (O)makes his families like a flock.
42 The (P)upright see it and are glad;
But all (Q)injustice shuts its mouth.
43 Who is (R)wise? He is to pay attention to these things,
And consider the (S)mercy of the Lord.
God Praised and Pleas to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (T)My heart is steadfast, God;
I will sing, I will sing praises also with my [f]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (U)mercy is great (V)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (W)Be exalted above the heavens, God,
And may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 (X)So that Your beloved may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [g]holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem,
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [h]helmet of My head;
(Y)Judah is My [i]scepter.
9 Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over Edom;
I will shout aloud over Philistia.”
10 (Z)Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [j]will lead me to Edom?
11 God, have You Yourself not (AA)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
For (AB)deliverance [k]by man is worthless.
13 [l]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (AC)it is He who will trample down our enemies.
Praise to the Creator and Protector.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is right,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their [a]lights.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [c]stood firm.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
11 The (S)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [d]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (AF)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
God’s Choice for King
15 Now a day before Saul’s coming, (A)the Lord had [a]revealed this to Samuel, saying, 16 “About this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and (B)you shall anoint him as ruler over My people Israel; and he will save My people from the hand of the Philistines. For (C)I have considered My people, because their outcry has come to Me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord [b]said to him, “(D)Behold, the man of whom I spoke to you! This one shall rule over My people.” 18 Then Saul approached Samuel at the gateway and said, “Please tell me where the seer’s house is.” 19 And Samuel answered Saul and said, “I am the seer. Go up ahead of me to the high place, for you shall eat with me today; and in the morning I will let you go, and will tell you everything that is on your mind. 20 (E)And as for your donkeys that wandered off three days ago, do not be concerned about them, for they have been found. And (F)for whom is everything that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?” 21 Saul replied, “(G)Am I not a Benjaminite, of (H)the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the [c]tribe of Benjamin? Why then have you spoken to me in this way?”
22 Then Samuel took Saul and his servant and brought them into the hall, and gave them a place at the head of those who were invited, who were about thirty men. 23 And Samuel said to the cook, “[d]Serve the portion that I gave you about which I said to you, ‘Set it [e]aside.’” 24 Then the cook (I)took up the leg with what was on it and placed it before Saul. And Samuel said, “Here is what has been reserved! Place it before you and eat, because it has been kept for you until the appointed time, [f]since I said I have invited the people.” So Saul ate with Samuel that day.
25 When they came down from the high place into the city, [g]Samuel spoke with Saul (J)on the roof. 26 And they got up early; and at daybreak Samuel called to Saul on the roof, saying, “Get up, so that I may send you on your way.” So Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went out into the street. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Speak to the servant and have him go on ahead of us and pass by; but you stand here now, so that I may proclaim the word of God to you.”
Saul among the Prophets
10 Then (K)Samuel took the flask of oil, poured it on [h]Saul’s head, (L)kissed him, and said, “Has (M)the Lord not anointed you as ruler over (N)His inheritance?
30 “After forty years had passed, (A)an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning thorn bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was astonished at the sight; and as he approached to look more closely, the voice of the Lord came: 32 ‘(B)I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with fear and did not dare to look closely. 33 (C)But the Lord said to him, ‘[a](D)Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground. 34 (E)I have certainly seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to rescue them; and (F)now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
35 “This Moses whom they (G)disowned, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’ is the one whom God [b]sent to be both a ruler and a deliverer with the [c]help of the angel who appeared to him in the thorn bush. 36 (H)This man led them out, performing (I)wonders and [d]signs in the land of Egypt and in the Red Sea, and in the (J)wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the sons of Israel, ‘(K)God will raise up for you a prophet [e]like me from your countrymen.’ 38 This is the one who was in (L)the [f]assembly in the wilderness together with (M)the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received (N)living (O)words to pass on to you. 39 Our fathers were unwilling to be obedient to him; on the contrary they (P)rejected him and turned back to Egypt in their hearts, 40 (Q)saying to Aaron, ‘Make us [g]a god who will go before us; for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt—we do not know what happened to him.’ 41 [h]At that time (R)they made a [i]calf and brought a sacrifice to the idol, and were rejoicing in (S)the works of their hands. 42 But God (T)turned away and gave them over to [j]serve the heavenly [k]lights; as it is written in the book of the prophets: ‘(U)You did not offer Me victims and sacrifices (V)for forty years in the wilderness, did you, house of Israel? 43 (W)You also took along the tabernacle of Moloch and the star of your god [l]Rompha, the images which you made to worship. I also will deport you beyond Babylon.’
The Garden of Gethsemane
39 (A)And He came out and went, (B)as was His habit, to (C)the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. 40 (D)Now when He arrived at the place, He said to them, “(E)Pray that you do not come into temptation.” 41 And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He (F)knelt down and began to pray, 42 saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this (G)cup from Me; (H)yet not My will, but Yours be done.” 43 [[a]Now an (I)angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. 44 And (J)being in agony, He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground]. 45 When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, 46 and He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and (K)pray that you do not come into temptation.”
Jesus Betrayed by Judas
47 (L)While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading the way for them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. 48 But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” 49 When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the (M)sword?” 50 And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. 51 But Jesus responded and said, “[b]Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.