Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into a desert,
water springs into dry ground,
34 a fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of those living there.
35 He turns a wilderness into pools of water,
a parched ground into springs of water.
36 There He makes the hungry dwell,
and they prepare a city to live in;
37 they sow fields and plant vineyards,
and yield a fruitful harvest.
38 He blesses them, so that they are greatly multiplied,
and He does not let their livestock decrease.
39 But when they are diminished and brought down
through oppression, affliction, and sorrow,
40 He pours contempt upon princes,
and causes them to wander in a wilderness with no road;
41 yet He raises up the poor from affliction
and cares for their families like flocks of sheep.
42 The righteous shall see it and rejoice,
and all evil people shall stop their mouth.
43 Whoever is wise let him observe these things;
let them consider the lovingkindness of the Lord.
Psalm 108(A)
A Song. A Psalm of David.
1 O God, my heart is determined;
I will sing and give praise with my whole heart.
2 Awake, O lyre and harp!
I will awake at dawn!
3 I will praise you, O Lord, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises unto You among the nations.
4 For Your mercy is great above the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,
may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 That Your beloved ones may be delivered,
provide salvation with Your right hand and answer me.
7 God has spoken in His sanctuary:
“I will triumph and will divide up Shechem
and portion out the Valley of Sukkoth.
8 Gilead is Mine; Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim is My helmet;
Judah is My royal scepter;
9 Moab is My washbasin;
on Edom I throw My shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.”
10 Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me into Edom?
11 Have You not rejected us, O God?
You surely do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12 Grant us help against the foe,
for the help of man is worthless.
13 Through God we shall be valiant,
for He shall tread down our enemies.
Psalm 33
The Sovereignty of the Lord.
1 Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,
for praise is fitting for the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp;
make music to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a new song;
play an instrument skillfully with a joyful shout.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all His work is done in truth.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and all their host by the breath of His mouth.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
9 For He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it stood fast.
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He restrains the purposes of the people.
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the purposes of His heart to all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom He has chosen as His inheritance.
13 The Lord looks from heaven;
He sees all the sons of men.
14 From the place of His habitation He gazes
on all the inhabitants of the earth;
15 He fashions their hearts alike;
He considers all their works.
16 No king is saved by a great army;
a mighty man is not delivered by great strength.
17 A horse is a vain hope for safety;
it will not deliver by its great strength.
18 The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
on those who hope in His lovingkindness,
19 to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20 Our soul waits for the Lord;
He is our help and our shield.
21 For our heart will rejoice in Him,
because we have trusted in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be on us,
just as we hope in You.
David and Ziba
16 When David had passed a little beyond the summit, Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him, with a couple of saddled donkeys carrying two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred summer fruits, and one skin of wine.
2 The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these things?”
Ziba replied, “The donkeys are for the household of the king to ride. The bread and the summer fruit are for the servants to eat. The wine is for those who become weary in the wilderness to drink.”
3 The king said, “And where is your master’s son?”
Ziba said to the king, “He is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today they will return to me the house of Israel and my father’s kingdom.’ ”
4 Then David said to Ziba, “Everything that belonged to Mephibosheth is now yours.”
Ziba replied, “I bow before you. May I find favor in your sight, my lord the king.”
Shimei Curses David
5 When King David came to Bahurim, a man of the family of the house of Saul came out. His name was Shimei son of Gera, and he came out continuously cursing. 6 He threw stones at David and all of the servants of King David, as well as all of the people and all of the warriors who were at his right and left. 7 Shimei said when he cursed: “Come out! Come out! You bloodthirsty man, you scoundrel! 8 The Lord has returned upon you all the blood of the house of Saul, in whose place you have reigned. And the Lord has given the kingdom into the hand of your son Absalom. You are taken in your own evil, because you are a man of blood.”
9 Then Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “How can this dead dog curse my lord the king! Let me go over and remove his head.”
10 The king responded, “What do you have against me, sons of Zeruiah? Suppose that he curses because the Lord has said to him, ‘Curse David.’ Who shall then say, ‘Why do you do so?’ ”
11 David then said to Abishai and to all of his servants, “My son who came from my own body seeks my life, and now also this Benjamite. Leave him alone and let him curse if the Lord has so instructed him. 12 Perhaps today the Lord will look upon my guilt and return kindness instead of his cursing.”
13 So David and his men continued on the road, and Shimei went along on the hillside beside them, cursing, throwing stones, and flinging dust at them as he went. 14 The king and all of the people who were with him arrived at their destination exhausted, but he refreshed himself there.
The Advice of Ahithophel and Hushai
15 Now Absalom and all of the Israelite people entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. 16 When Hushai the Arkite, the friend of David, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17 Then Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this the extent of your commitment to your friend? Why have you not gone with your friend?”
18 Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whom the Lord, this people, and all men of Israel have chosen, his I will be and with him I will remain. 19 Furthermore, whom shall I serve? Should it not be his son? As I served your father, so shall I be with you.”
20 Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What shall we do?”
21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Lie with your father’s concubines, whom he left to watch over the palace. When all Israel hears that you have made yourself abhorred by your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strong.” 22 So they set up a tent for Absalom on the roof, and Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all of Israel.
23 In those days, the advice that Ahithophel gave was as when one inquired a word from God. Such was all of the advice of Ahithophel, whether that which he gave to David or to Absalom.
Paul Sent to the Gentiles
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You in every synagogue. 20 And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I was standing by consenting to his death, guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’
21 “Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul and the Roman Commander
22 They listened to him up to this word, and then they lifted up their voices and said, “Away with such a man from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”
23 As they shouted and threw off their garments and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and examined with scourging, so that he might learn what crime they were alleging against him. 25 As they stretched him forward with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to flog an uncondemned Roman citizen?”
26 On hearing this, the centurion reported to the commander, saying, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commander answered, “I bought my citizenship for a large sum.”
So Paul said, “But I was born a citizen.”
29 Therefore those who were about to examine Paul immediately backed away from him. And the commander feared, knowing that he was a Roman citizen and because he had bound him.
The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem(A)
11 When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethphage and Bethany at the Mount of Olives, He sent out two of His disciples 2 and said to them, “Go into the village opposite you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say ‘The Lord has need of it,’ and immediately he will send it here.”
4 They went their way and found the colt tied by the door outside on the street. And they untied it. 5 Some of those who stood there said to them, “What are you doing untying the colt?” 6 They answered just as Jesus had commanded. And they let them go. 7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments on it. And He sat upon it. 8 Many spread their garments on the street. And others cut down branches off the trees and scattered them on the street. 9 Those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying:
“Hosanna!
‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’[a]
10 Blessed is the kingdom of our father David that is coming in the name of the Lord!
Hosanna in the highest!”
11 Jesus entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. When He had looked around at everything, as the hour was now late, He went out to Bethany with the twelve.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.