Book of Common Prayer
Confidence in God’s Protection.
For the choir director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.
61 (A)Hear my cry, O God;
(B)Give heed to my prayer.
2 From the (C)end of the earth I call to You when my heart is (D)faint;
Lead me to (E)the rock that is higher than I.
3 For You have been a (F)refuge for me,
A (G)tower of strength [a]against the enemy.
4 Let me [b](H)dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me (I)take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. [c]Selah.
5 For You have heard my (J)vows, O God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who (K)fear Your name.
6 You will [d](L)prolong the king’s [e]life;
His years will be as many generations.
7 He will [f]abide (M)before God forever;
Appoint (N)lovingkindness and truth that they may preserve him.
8 So I will (O)sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may (P)pay my vows day by day.
God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.
For the choir director; [g]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.
62 (Q)My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him (R)is my salvation.
2 He only is my (S)rock and my salvation,
My (T)stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken.
3 How long will you assail a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a (U)leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
4 They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position;
They (V)delight in falsehood;
They (W)bless with [h]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. [i]Selah.
5 My soul, (X)wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
6 He only is (Y)my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God my (Z)salvation and my glory rest;
The rock of my strength, my (AA)refuge is in God.
8 (AB)Trust in Him at all times, O people;
(AC)Pour out your heart before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah.
The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.
68 [a]Let (A)God arise, [b]let His enemies be scattered,
And [c]let those who hate Him flee before Him.
2 As (B)smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
As (C)wax melts before the fire,
So let the (D)wicked perish before God.
3 But let the (E)righteous be glad; let them exult before God;
Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.
4 Sing to God, (F)sing praises to His name;
[d](G)Lift up a song for Him who (H)rides through the deserts,
Whose (I)name is [e]the Lord, and exult before Him.
5 A (J)father of the fatherless and a (K)judge [f]for the widows,
Is God in His (L)holy habitation.
6 God [g](M)makes a home for the lonely;
He (N)leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only (O)the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
7 O God, when You (P)went forth before Your people,
When You (Q)marched through the wilderness, [h]Selah.
8 The (R)earth quaked;
The (S)heavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;
[i](T)Sinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9 You (U)shed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was [j]parched.
10 Your creatures settled in it;
You (V)provided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.
11 The Lord gives the [k]command;
The (W)women who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:
12 “(X)Kings of armies flee, they flee,
And she who remains at home will (Y)divide the spoil!”
13 [l]When you lie down (Z)among the [m]sheepfolds,
You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
And its pinions with glistening gold.
14 When the Almighty (AA)scattered the kings [n]there,
It was snowing in (AB)Zalmon.
15 A [o](AC)mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
16 Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,
At the mountain which God has (AD)desired for His abode?
Surely (AE)the Lord will dwell there forever.
17 The (AF)chariots of God are [p]myriads, (AG)thousands upon thousands;
[q]The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.
18 You have (AH)ascended on high, You have (AI)led captive Your captives;
You have received gifts among men,
Even among the rebellious also, that [r]the Lord God may dwell there.
19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily (AJ)bears our burden,
(AK)The God who is our salvation. Selah.
20 God is to us a (AL)God of deliverances;
And (AM)to [s]God the Lord belong escapes [t]from death.
21 Surely God will (AN)shatter the head of His enemies,
The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.
22 The Lord [u]said, “(AO)I will bring them back from Bashan.
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;
23 That [v](AP)your foot may shatter them in blood,
The tongue of your (AQ)dogs may have its portion from your enemies.”
24 They have seen (AR)Your [w]procession, O God,
The [x]procession of my God, my King, [y](AS)into the sanctuary.
25 The (AT)singers went on, the musicians after them,
[z]In the midst of the (AU)maidens beating tambourines.
26 (AV)Bless God in the congregations,
Even the Lord, you who are of the (AW)fountain of Israel.
27 There is (AX)Benjamin, the [aa]youngest, [ab]ruling them,
The princes of Judah in their throng,
The princes of (AY)Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28 [ac]Your God has (AZ)commanded your strength;
Show Yourself strong, O God, (BA)who have acted [ad]on our behalf.
29 [ae]Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
(BB)Kings will bring gifts to You.
30 Rebuke the (BC)beasts [af]in the reeds,
The herd of (BD)bulls with the calves of the peoples,
Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;
He has (BE)scattered the peoples who delight in war.
31 Envoys will come out of (BF)Egypt;
[ag](BG)Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.
32 Sing to God, O (BH)kingdoms of the earth,
(BI)Sing praises to the Lord, Selah.
33 To Him who (BJ)rides upon the [ah](BK)highest heavens, which are from ancient times;
Behold, (BL)He [ai]speaks forth with His voice, a (BM)mighty voice.
34 (BN)Ascribe strength to God;
His majesty is over Israel
And (BO)His strength is in the [aj]skies.
35 [ak]O God, You are (BP)awesome from Your [al]sanctuary.
The God of Israel Himself (BQ)gives strength and power to the people.
(BR)Blessed be God!
Joseph’s Brothers Sent to Egypt
42 Now (A)Jacob saw that there was grain in Egypt, and Jacob said to his sons, “Why are you staring at one another?” 2 He said, “Behold, (B)I have heard that there is grain in Egypt; go down there and buy some for us [a]from that place, (C)so that we may live and not die.” 3 Then ten brothers of Joseph went down to buy grain from Egypt. 4 But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother (D)Benjamin with his brothers, for he said, “(E)I am afraid that harm may befall him.” 5 So the sons of Israel came to buy grain among those who were coming, (F)for the famine was in the land of Canaan also.
6 Now (G)Joseph was the ruler over the land; he was the one who sold to all the people of the land. And Joseph’s brothers came and (H)bowed down to him with their faces to the ground. 7 When Joseph saw his brothers he recognized them, but he disguised himself to them and (I)spoke to them harshly. And he said to them, “Where have you come from?” And they said, “From the land of Canaan, to buy food.”
8 But Joseph had recognized his brothers, although (J)they did not recognize him. 9 Joseph (K)remembered the dreams which he [b]had about them, and said to them, “You are spies; you have come to look at the [c]undefended parts of our land.” 10 Then they said to him, “No, (L)my lord, but your servants have come to buy food. 11 We are all sons of one man; we are (M)honest men, your servants are not spies.” 12 Yet he said to them, “No, but you have come to look at the [d]undefended parts of our land!” 13 But they said, “Your servants are twelve brothers in all, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan; and behold, the youngest is with (N)our father today, and (O)one is no longer alive.” 14 Joseph said to them, “It is as I said [e]to you, you are spies; 15 by this you will be tested: (P)by the life of Pharaoh, you shall not go from this place unless your youngest brother comes here! 16 Send one of you that he may get your brother, while you remain confined, that your words may be tested, whether there is (Q)truth in you. But if not, by the life of Pharaoh, surely you are spies.” 17 So he put them all together in (R)prison for three days.
Immorality Rebuked
5 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has (A)his father’s wife. 2 [a]You (B)have become [b]arrogant and [c]have not (C)mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be (D)removed from your midst.
3 For I, on my part, though (E)absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged him who has so committed this, as though I were present. 4 (F)In the name of our Lord Jesus, when you are assembled, and [d]I with you in spirit, (G)with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 I have decided to (H)deliver such a one to (I)Satan for the destruction of his flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in (J)the day of the Lord [e]Jesus.
6 (K)Your boasting is not good. (L)Do you not know that (M)a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? 7 Clean out the old leaven so that you may be a new lump, just as you are in fact unleavened. For Christ our (N)Passover also has been sacrificed. 8 Therefore let us celebrate the feast, (O)not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
20 And He *came [a](A)home, and the (B)crowd *gathered again, (C)to such an extent that they could not even eat [b]a meal. 21 When (D)His own [c]people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “(E)He has lost His senses.” 22 The scribes who came down (F)from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by [d](G)Beelzebul,” and “(H)He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23 (I)And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in (J)parables, “How can (K)Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 If (L)Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but [e]he is finished! 27 (M)But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.
28 “(N)Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but (O)whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 (P)Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32 A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33 Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “(Q)Behold My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever (R)does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.