Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud,(A) Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;(B)
I do not concern myself with great matters(C)
or things too wonderful for me.(D)
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,(E)
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.(F)
Psalm 132(I)
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all his self-denial.(J)
2 He swore an oath to the Lord,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(K)
3 “I will not enter my house(L)
or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place(M) for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard it in Ephrathah,(N)
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:[a](O)
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place,(P)
let us worship at his footstool,(Q) saying,
8 ‘Arise, Lord,(R) and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;(S)
may your faithful people(T) sing for joy.’”
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,(U)
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants(V)
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant(W)
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne(X) for ever and ever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,(Y)
he has desired it for his dwelling,(Z) saying,
14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever;(AA)
here I will sit enthroned,(AB) for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor I will satisfy with food.(AC)
16 I will clothe her priests(AD) with salvation,
and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.(AE)
17 “Here I will make a horn[b] grow(AF) for David
and set up a lamp(AG) for my anointed one.(AH)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(AI)
but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”(AJ)
Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,(AM)
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew(AN) of Hermon(AO)
were falling on Mount Zion.(AP)
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,(AQ)
even life forevermore.(AR)
Psalm 134
A song of ascents.
1 Praise the Lord, all you servants(AS) of the Lord
who minister(AT) by night(AU) in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands(AV) in the sanctuary(AW)
and praise the Lord.(AX)
Psalm 135(BA)
1 Praise the Lord.[c]
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants(BB) of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house(BC) of the Lord,
in the courts(BD) of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;(BE)
sing praise to his name,(BF) for that is pleasant.(BG)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob(BH) to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.(BI)
5 I know that the Lord is great,(BJ)
that our Lord is greater than all gods.(BK)
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,(BL)
in the heavens and on the earth,(BM)
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain(BN)
and brings out the wind(BO) from his storehouses.(BP)
8 He struck down the firstborn(BQ) of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs(BR) and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.(BS)
10 He struck down many(BT) nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon(BU) king of the Amorites,(BV)
Og king of Bashan,(BW)
and all the kings of Canaan(BX)—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,(BY)
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,(BZ)
your renown,(CA) Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people(CB)
and have compassion on his servants.(CC)
15 The idols of the nations(CD) are silver and gold,
made by human hands.(CE)
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,(CF)
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath(CG) in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;(CH)
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,(CI)
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.(CJ)
Praise the Lord.
5 The Philistines assembled(A) to fight Israel, with three thousand[a] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand(B) on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash,(C) east of Beth Aven.(D) 6 When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid(E) in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.(F) 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad(G) and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking(H) with fear. 8 He waited seven(I) days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. 9 So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered(J) up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel(K) arrived, and Saul went out to greet(L) him.
11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.
Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash,(M) 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,(N) and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.(O)’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”
13 “You have done a foolish thing,(P)” Samuel said. “You have not kept(Q) the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.(R) 14 But now your kingdom(S) will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart(T) and appointed(U) him ruler(V) of his people, because you have not kept(W) the Lord’s command.”
15 Then Samuel left Gilgal[b] and went up to Gibeah(X) in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.(Y)
Israel Without Weapons
16 Saul and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in Gibeah[c](Z) in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Mikmash. 17 Raiding(AA) parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned toward Ophrah(AB) in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth Horon,(AC) and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboyim(AD) facing the wilderness.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 Now an angel(A) of the Lord said to Philip,(B) “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a](C) eunuch,(D) an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,(E) 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told(F) Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b](G)
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began(H) with that very passage of Scripture(I) and told him the good news(J) about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”(K) [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away,(L) and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns(M) until he reached Caesarea.(N)
13 Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him.(A) 15 Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. 16 Therefore, I will punish him(B) and then release him.” [17] [a]
18 But the whole crowd shouted, “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”(C) 19 (Barabbas had been thrown into prison for an insurrection in the city, and for murder.)
20 Wanting to release Jesus, Pilate appealed to them again. 21 But they kept shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
22 For the third time he spoke to them: “Why? What crime has this man committed? I have found in him no grounds for the death penalty. Therefore I will have him punished and then release him.”(D)
23 But with loud shouts they insistently demanded that he be crucified, and their shouts prevailed. 24 So Pilate decided to grant their demand. 25 He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, the one they asked for, and surrendered Jesus to their will.
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