Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,[l]
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.[m]
8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand[n] in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim[o] from suffering.[p]
I have lost my strength.[q]
10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.[r]
My strength fails me because of[s] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.[t]
11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;[u]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering[v]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;[w]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;[x]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.[y]
13 For I hear what so many are saying,[z]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.[aa]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
15 You determine my destiny.[ab]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
16 Smile[ac] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.[ad]
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips[ae] that speak defiantly against the innocent[af]
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is your favor,[ag]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[ah]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[ai] in you.[aj]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[ak] of men;[al]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[am]
21 The Lord deserves praise[an]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[ao]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[ap]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[aq]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[ar] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[as]
24 Be strong and confident,[at]
all you who wait on the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
The Record of Terah
27 This is the account of Terah.
Terah became the father of Abram, Nahor, and Haran. And Haran became the father of Lot. 28 Haran died in the land of his birth, in Ur of the Chaldeans,[a] while his father Terah was still alive.[b] 29 And Abram and Nahor took wives for themselves. The name of Abram’s wife was Sarai.[c] And the name of Nahor’s wife was Milcah;[d] she was the daughter of Haran, who was the father of both Milcah and Iscah. 30 But Sarai was barren; she had no children.
31 Terah took his son Abram, his grandson Lot (the son of Haran), and his daughter-in-law Sarai, his son Abram’s wife, and with them he set out from Ur of the Chaldeans to go to Canaan. When they came to Haran, they settled there. 32 The lifetime[e] of Terah was 205 years, and he[f] died in Haran.
The Obedience of Abram
12 Now the Lord said[g] to Abram,[h]
“Go out[i] from your country, your relatives, and your father’s household
to the land that I will show you.[j]
2 Then I will make you[k] into a great nation, and I will bless you,[l]
and I will make your name great,[m]
so that you will exemplify divine blessing.[n]
3 I will bless those who bless you,[o]
but the one who treats you lightly[p] I must curse,
so that all the families of the earth may receive blessing[q] through you.”
4 So Abram left,[r] just as the Lord had told him to do,[s] and Lot went with him. (Now[t] Abram was 75 years old[u] when he departed from Haran.) 5 And Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew[v] Lot, and all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired[w] in Haran, and they left for[x] the land of Canaan. They entered the land of Canaan.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the oak tree[y] of Moreh[z] at Shechem.[aa] (At that time the Canaanites were in the land.)[ab] 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your descendants[ac] I will give this land.” So Abram[ad] built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 Then he moved from there to the hill country east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and worshiped the Lord.[ae]
The Nature of Melchizedek’s Priesthood
7 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him.[a] 2 To him[b] also Abraham apportioned a tithe[c] of everything.[d] His name first means[e] king of righteousness, then king of Salem,[f] that is, king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. 4 But see how great he must be, if[g] Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe[h] of his plunder. 5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office[i] have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen,[j] although they too are descendants of Abraham.[k] 6 But Melchizedek[l] who does not share their ancestry[m] collected a tithe[n] from Abraham and blessed[o] the one who possessed the promise. 7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, 8 and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. 9 And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. 10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins[p] when Melchizedek met him.
Jesus and the Priesthood of Melchizedek
11 So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood—for on that basis[q] the people received the law—what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order? 12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come[r] as well. 13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to[s] a different tribe, and no one from that tribe[t] has ever officiated at the altar. 14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 15 And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek, 16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent[u] but by the power of an indestructible life. 17 For here is the testimony about him:[v] “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”[w]
16 He[a] said to her, “Go call your husband and come back here.”[b] 17 The woman replied,[c] “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “Right you are when you said,[d] ‘I have no husband,’[e] 18 for you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with[f] now is not your husband. This you said truthfully!”
19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I see[g] that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain,[h] and you people[i] say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman,[j] a time[k] is coming when you will worship[l] the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You people[m] worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, because salvation is from the Jews.[n] 23 But a time[o] is coming—and now is here[p]—when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks[q] such people to be[r] his worshipers.[s] 24 God is spirit,[t] and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (the one called Christ);[u] “whenever he[v] comes, he will tell[w] us everything.”[x] 26 Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you, am he.”
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