Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
By David.
37 Do not fret[b] when wicked men seem to succeed.[c]
Do not envy evildoers.
2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,
and wither away like plants.[d]
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right.
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity.[e]
4 Then you will take delight in the Lord,[f]
and he will answer your prayers.[g]
5 Commit your future to the Lord.[h]
Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.[i]
6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,
and publicly defend your just cause.[j]
7 Wait patiently for the Lord![k]
Wait confidently[l] for him!
Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner,[m]
a man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Do not be angry and frustrated.[n]
Do not fret. That only leads to trouble.
9 Wicked men[o] will be wiped out,[p]
but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land.[q]
10 Evil men will soon disappear;[r]
you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone.[s]
11 But the oppressed will possess the land
and enjoy great prosperity.[t]
12 Evil men plot against the godly[u]
and viciously attack them.[v]
13 The Lord laughs in disgust[w] at them,
for he knows that their day is coming.[x]
14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down[y] the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly.[z]
15 Their swords will pierce[aa] their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than
the wealth of many evil men,[ab]
17 for evil men will lose their power,[ac]
but the Lord sustains[ad] the godly.
18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day,[ae]
and they possess a permanent inheritance.[af]
19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come;[ag]
when famine comes they will have enough to eat.[ah]
20 But[ai] evil men will die;
the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated[aj]—
they will go up in smoke.[ak]
21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,
but the godly show compassion and are generous.[al]
22 Surely[am] those favored by the Lord[an] will possess the land,
but those rejected[ao] by him will be wiped out.[ap]
23 The Lord grants success to the one
whose behavior he finds commendable.[aq]
24 Even if[ar] he trips, he will not fall headlong,[as]
for the Lord holds[at] his hand.
25 I was once young, now I am old.
I have never seen the godly abandoned,
or their children[au] forced to search for food.[av]
26 All day long they show compassion and lend to others,[aw]
and their children[ax] are blessed.
27 Turn away from evil. Do what is right.[ay]
Then you will enjoy lasting security.[az]
28 For the Lord promotes[ba] justice,
and never abandons[bb] his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure,[bc]
but the children[bd] of the wicked are wiped out.[be]
29 The godly will possess the land
and will dwell in it permanently.
30 The godly speak wise words
and promote justice.[bf]
31 The law of their God controls their thinking;[bg]
their[bh] feet do not slip.
32 The wicked set an ambush for the godly
and try to kill them.[bi]
33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law.[bj]
34 Rely[bk] on the Lord. Obey his commands.[bl]
Then he will permit you[bm] to possess the land;
you will see the demise of the wicked.[bn]
35 I have seen ruthless, wicked people[bo]
growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.[bp]
36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared.[bq]
I looked for them, but they could not be found.
37 Take note of the one who has integrity. Observe the upright.
For the one who promotes peace has a future.[br]
38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed;[bs]
the wicked have no future.[bt]
39 But the Lord delivers the godly;[bu]
he protects them in times of trouble.[bv]
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,[bw]
for they seek his protection.
24 So David hid in the field. When the new moon came, the king sat down to eat his meal. 25 The king sat down in his usual place by the wall, with Jonathan opposite him[a] and Abner at his side.[b] But David’s place was vacant. 26 However, Saul said nothing about it[c] that day, for he thought,[d] “Something has happened to make him ceremonially unclean. Yes, he must be unclean.” 27 But the next morning, the second day of the new moon, David’s place was still vacant. So Saul said to his son Jonathan, “Why has Jesse’s son not come to the meal yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan replied to Saul, “David urgently requested that he be allowed to go to Bethlehem. 29 He said, ‘Permit me to go,[e] for we are having a family sacrifice in the town, and my brother urged[f] me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go[g] to see my brothers.’ For that reason he has not come to the king’s table.”
30 Saul became angry with Jonathan[h] and said to him, “You stupid traitor![i] Don’t I realize that to your own disgrace and to the disgrace of your mother’s nakedness you have chosen this son of Jesse? 31 For as long as[j] this son of Jesse is alive on the earth, you and your kingdom will not be established. Now, send some men[k] and bring him to me. For he is as good as dead!”[l]
32 Jonathan responded to his father Saul, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan[m] in order to strike him down. So Jonathan was convinced[n] that his father had decided to kill David. 34 Jonathan got up from the table enraged. He did not eat any food on that second day of the new moon, for he was upset that his father had humiliated David.[o]
35 The next morning Jonathan, along with a young servant, went out to the field to meet David. 36 He said to his servant, “Run, find the arrows that I am about to shoot.” As the servant ran, Jonathan[p] shot the arrow beyond him. 37 When the servant came to the place where Jonathan had shot the arrow, Jonathan called out to[q] the servant, “Isn’t the arrow farther beyond you?” 38 Jonathan called out to the servant, “Hurry! Go faster! Don’t delay!” Jonathan’s servant retrieved the arrow and came back to his master. 39 (Now the servant did not understand any of this. Only Jonathan and David knew what was going on.)[r] 40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him. He said to him, “Go, take these things back to the town.”
41 When the servant had left, David got up from beside the mound,[s] knelt[t] with his face to the ground, and bowed three times. Then they kissed each other and they both wept, especially David. 42 Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for the two of us have sworn together in the name of the Lord saying, ‘The Lord will be between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’”
David Goes to Nob
(21:1)[u] Then David[v] got up and left, while Jonathan went back to the town of Naioth.[w]
The Church at Antioch Commissions Barnabas and Saul
13 Now there were these prophets and teachers in the church at Antioch:[a] Barnabas, Simeon called Niger,[b] Lucius the Cyrenian,[c] Manaen (a close friend of Herod[d] the tetrarch[e] from childhood[f]) and Saul. 2 While they were serving[g] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart[h] for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after they had fasted[i] and[j] prayed and placed their hands[k] on them, they sent them off.
Paul and Barnabas Preach in Cyprus
4 So Barnabas and Saul,[l] sent out by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia,[m] and from there they sailed to Cyprus.[n] 5 When[o] they arrived[p] in Salamis,[q] they began to proclaim[r] the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.[s] (Now they also had John[t] as their assistant.)[u] 6 When they had crossed over[v] the whole island as far as Paphos,[w] they found a magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus,[x] 7 who was with the proconsul[y] Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. The proconsul[z] summoned[aa] Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear[ab] the word of God. 8 But the magician Elymas[ac] (for that is the way his name is translated)[ad] opposed them, trying to turn the proconsul[ae] away from the faith. 9 But Saul (also known as Paul),[af] filled with the Holy Spirit,[ag] stared straight[ah] at him 10 and said, “You who are full of all deceit and all wrongdoing,[ai] you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness—will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?[aj] 11 Now[ak] look, the hand of the Lord is against[al] you, and you will be blind, unable to see the sun for a time!” Immediately mistiness[am] and darkness came over[an] him, and he went around seeking people[ao] to lead him by the hand. 12 Then when the proconsul[ap] saw what had happened, he believed,[aq] because he was greatly astounded[ar] at the teaching about[as] the Lord.
Lord of the Sabbath
23 Jesus[a] was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat[b] as they made their way. 24 So[c] the Pharisees[d] said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is against the law on the Sabbath?” 25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions were hungry— 26 how he entered the house of God when Abiathar was high priest[e] and ate the sacred bread,[f] which is against the law[g] for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to his companions?”[h] 27 Then[i] he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people,[j] not people for the Sabbath. 28 For this reason the Son of Man is lord[k] even of the Sabbath.”
Healing a Withered Hand
3 Then[l] Jesus[m] entered the synagogue[n] again, and a man was there who had a withered[o] hand. 2 They watched[p] Jesus[q] closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath,[r] so that they could accuse him. 3 So he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Stand up among all these people.”[s] 4 Then[t] he said to them, “Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil, to save a life or destroy it?” But they were silent. 5 After looking around[u] at them in anger, grieved by the hardness of their hearts,[v] he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.[w] 6 So[x] the Pharisees[y] went out immediately and began plotting with the Herodians,[z] as to how they could assassinate[aa] him.
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