Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 How I love your instruction!(A)
It is my meditation all day long.(B)
98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies,(C)
for it is always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers
because your decrees are my meditation.(D)
100 I understand more than the elders(E)
because I obey your precepts.(F)
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path(G)
to follow your word.
102 I have not turned from your judgments,(H)
for you yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet your word is(I) to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth.
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;(J)
therefore I hate every false way.(K)
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet(L)
and a light on my path.
106 I have solemnly sworn(M)
to keep your righteous judgments.
107 I am severely afflicted;
Lord, give me life according to your word.(N)
108 Lord, please accept my freewill offerings of praise,(O)
and teach me your judgments.(P)
109 My life is constantly in danger,[a]
yet I do not forget your instruction.(Q)
110 The wicked have set a trap for me,(R)
but I have not wandered from your precepts.(S)
111 I have your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart.(T)
112 I am resolved to obey your statutes
to the very end.[b](U)
ס Samek
113 I hate those who are double-minded,(V)
but I love your instruction.(W)
114 You are my shelter and my shield;(X)
I put my hope in your word.(Y)
115 Depart from me,(Z) you evil ones,
so that I may obey my God’s commands.(AA)
116 Sustain me as you promised,(AB) and I will live;
do not let me be ashamed of my hope.(AC)
117 Sustain me so that I can be safe(AD)
and always be concerned about your statutes.(AE)
118 You reject all who stray from your statutes,(AF)
for their deceit is a lie.
119 You remove all the wicked on earth
as if they were[c] dross from metal;(AG)
therefore, I love your decrees.(AH)
120 I tremble[d] in awe of you;(AI)
I fear your judgments.
Psalm 81
A Call to Obedience
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.(A)
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.(B)
2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,
the melodious lyre, and the harp.(C)
3 Blow the ram’s horn on the day of our feasts[a]
during the new moon(D)
and during the full moon.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(E)
5 He set it up as a decree for Joseph
when he went throughout[b] the land of Egypt.(F)
I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 “I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.(G)
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.(H)
I tested you at the Waters of Meribah.(I)Selah
8 Listen, my people, and I will admonish you.
Israel, if you would only listen to me!(J)
9 There must not be a strange god among you;
you must not bow down to a foreign god.(K)
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(L)
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.(M)
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel did not obey me.(N)
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.(O)
13 If only my people would listen to me
and Israel would follow my ways,(P)
14 I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.”(Q)
15 Those who hate the Lord
would cower to him;(R)
their doom would last forever.(S)
16 But he would feed Israel[c] with the best wheat.
“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”(T)
Psalm 82
A Plea for Righteous Judgment
A psalm of Asaph.(U)
1 God stands in the divine assembly;
he pronounces judgment among the gods:[d](V)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(W)Selah
3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(X)
4 Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”(Y)
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(Z)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(AA)
6 I said, “You are gods;(AB)
you are all sons of the Most High.(AC)
7 However, you will die like humans
and fall like any other ruler.”(AD)
8 Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.(AE)
73 The priests, Levites, gatekeepers, temple singers, some of the people, temple servants, and all Israel settled in their towns.(A)
Public Reading of the Law
When the seventh month(B) came and the Israelites had settled in their towns,
8 all the people gathered together(C) at the square in front of the Water Gate.(D) They asked the scribe Ezra(E) to bring the book of the law of Moses(F) that the Lord had given Israel. 2 On the first day of the seventh month,(G) the priest Ezra(H) brought the law(I) before the assembly of men, women, and all who could listen with understanding. 3 While he was facing the square in front of the Water Gate,(J) he read out of it from daybreak until noon before the men, the women, and those who could understand. All the people listened attentively[a] to the book of the law.(K)
5 Ezra opened the book in full view of all the people, since he was elevated above everyone. As he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God, and with their hands uplifted(A) all the people said, “Amen, Amen!” (B) Then they knelt low and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.(C)
7 Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, and Pelaiah,(D) who were Levites,[a](E) explained the law(F) to the people as they stood in their places. 8 They read out of the book of the law of God, translating and giving the meaning so that the people could understand what was read. 9 Nehemiah the governor,(G) Ezra the priest and scribe,(H) and the Levites who were instructing the people said to all of them, “This day(I) is holy to the Lord your God. Do not mourn or weep.”(J) For all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law. 10 Then he said to them, “Go and eat what is rich, drink what is sweet, and send portions to those who have nothing prepared,(K) since today(L) is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, because the joy of the Lord is your strength.”[b](M) 11 And the Levites quieted all the people, saying, “Be still,(N) since today(O) is holy. Don’t grieve.” 12 Then all the people began to eat and drink, send portions, and have a great celebration,(P) because they had understood the words that were explained to them.
Festival of Shelters Observed
13 On the second day, the family heads of all the people, along with the priests and Levites,(Q) assembled before the scribe Ezra(R) to study the words of the law. 14 They found written in the law how the Lord had commanded through Moses that the Israelites should dwell in shelters during the festival of the seventh month.(S) 15 So they proclaimed and spread this news throughout their towns and in Jerusalem, saying, “Go out to the hill country and bring back branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make shelters, just as it is written.”(T) 16 The people went out, brought back branches, and made shelters for themselves on each of their rooftops(U) and courtyards, the court of the house of God, the square by the Water Gate,(V) and the square by the Ephraim Gate.(W) 17 The whole community that had returned from exile(X) made shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day.(Y) And there was tremendous joy.(Z) 18 Ezra[c] read out of the book of the law of God(AA) every day, from the first day to the last. The Israelites celebrated the festival for seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the ordinance.(AB)
The Finality of Babylon’s Fall
21 Then a mighty angel(A) picked up a stone like a large millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,
In this way, Babylon the great city
will be thrown down violently(B)
and never be found again.(C)
22 The sound of harpists, musicians,
flutists, and trumpeters
will never be heard in you again;(D)
no craftsman of any trade
will ever be found in you again;
the sound of a mill
will never be heard in you again;
23 the light of a lamp
will never shine in you again;
and the voice of a groom and bride
will never be heard in you again.(E)
All this will happen
because your merchants
were the nobility of the earth,
because all the nations were deceived
by your sorcery.
24 In her was found the blood of prophets and saints,(F)
and of all those slaughtered on the earth.(G)
Healing Many People
29 Moving on from there,(A) Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee.(B) He went up on a mountain and sat there, 30 and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing,(C) and they gave glory to the God of Israel.
Feeding of the Four Thousand
32 Jesus called his disciples and said,(D) “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”
33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place(E) to feed such a crowd?”
34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them.
“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”
35 After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(F) 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. 38 Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. 39 After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.[a](G)
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