Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 72
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.(A)
1 God, give your justice to the king
and your righteousness to the king’s son.(B)
2 He will judge your people with righteousness
and your afflicted ones with justice.(C)
3 May the mountains bring well-being[a] to the people
and the hills, righteousness.(D)
4 May he vindicate the afflicted among the people,
help the poor,
and crush the oppressor.(E)
5 May they fear you[b] while the sun endures
and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.(F)
6 May the king be like rain that falls on the cut grass,
like spring showers that water the earth.(G)
7 May the righteous[c] flourish in his days
and well-being abound
until the moon is no more.(H)
8 May he rule from sea to sea
and from the Euphrates
to the ends of the earth.(I)
9 May desert tribes kneel before him
and his enemies lick the dust.(J)
10 May the kings of Tarshish
and the coasts and islands bring tribute,
the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.(K)
11 Let all kings bow in homage to him,
all nations serve him.(L)
12 For he will rescue the poor who cry out
and the afflicted who have no helper.(M)
13 He will have pity on the poor and helpless
and save the lives of the poor.(N)
14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence,
for their lives are[d] precious[e] in his sight.(O)
15 May he live long!
May gold from Sheba be given to him.
May prayer be offered for him continually,
and may he be blessed all day long.(P)
16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains.
May its crops be like Lebanon.
May people flourish in the cities
like the grass of the field.(Q)
17 May his name endure forever;
as long as the sun shines,
may his fame increase.
May all nations be blessed by him
and call him blessed.(R)
י Yod
73 Your hands made me and formed me;(A)
give me understanding
so that I can learn your commands.(B)
74 Those who fear you will see me and rejoice,(C)
for I put my hope in your word.(D)
75 I know, Lord, that your judgments are just
and that you have afflicted me fairly.(E)
76 May your faithful love comfort me
as you promised your servant.
77 May your compassion come to me(F)
so that I may live,
for your instruction is my delight.(G)
78 Let the arrogant be put to shame(H)
for slandering me with lies;
I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you,
those who know your decrees, turn to me.
80 May my heart be blameless regarding your statutes(I)
so that I will not be put to shame.
כ Kaph
81 I long for your salvation;(J)
I put my hope in your word.(K)
82 My eyes grow weary
looking for what you have promised;(L)
I ask, “When will you comfort me?”
83 Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke,
I do not forget your statutes.
84 How many days must your servant wait?
When will you execute judgment on my persecutors?(M)
85 The arrogant have dug pits for me;(N)
they violate your instruction.
86 All your commands are true;
people persecute me with lies—help me!(O)
87 They almost ended my life on earth,
but I did not abandon your precepts.
88 Give me life in accordance with your faithful love,
and I will obey the decree you have spoken.
ל Lamed
89 Lord, your word is forever;(P)
it is firmly fixed in heaven.
90 Your faithfulness is for all generations;(Q)
you established the earth, and it stands firm.(R)
91 Your judgments stand firm today,(S)
for all things are your servants.(T)
92 If your instruction had not been my delight,
I would have died in my affliction.(U)
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for you have given me life through them.(V)
94 I am yours; save me,(W)
for I have studied your precepts.(X)
95 The wicked hope to destroy me,(Y)
but I contemplate your decrees.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your command is without limit.
18 On the third day Joseph said to them, “I fear God(A)—do this and you will live. 19 If you are honest, let one of you[a] be confined to the guardhouse, while the rest of you go and take grain to relieve the hunger of your households. 20 Bring your youngest brother to me so that your words can be confirmed; then you won’t die.” And they consented to this.
21 Then they said to each other, “Obviously, we are being punished for what we did to our brother. We saw his deep distress when he pleaded with us, but we would not listen. That is why this trouble has come to us.”(B)
22 But Reuben replied, “Didn’t I tell you not to harm the boy?(C) But you wouldn’t listen. Now we must account for his blood!” [b]
23 They did not realize that Joseph understood them, since there was an interpreter between them. 24 He turned away from them and wept. When he turned back and spoke to them, he took Simeon from them and had him bound before their eyes. 25 Joseph then gave orders to fill their containers with grain, return each man’s silver to his sack, and give them provisions for their journey. This order was carried out. 26 They loaded the grain on their donkeys and left there.
The Brothers Return Home
27 At the place where they lodged for the night, one of them opened his sack to get feed for his donkey, and he saw his silver there at the top of his bag. 28 He said to his brothers, “My silver has been returned! It’s here in my bag.” Their hearts sank. Trembling, they turned to one another and said, “What has God done to us?”
Church Discipline
9 I wrote to you in a letter not to associate(A) with sexually immoral people.(B) 10 I did not mean the immoral people of this world or the greedy(C) and swindlers(D) or idolaters; otherwise you would have to leave the world.(E) 11 But actually, I wrote[a] you not to associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister(F) and is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or verbally abusive, a drunkard(G) or a swindler. Do not even eat with such a person. 12 For what business is it of mine to judge(H) outsiders? Don’t you judge those who are inside? 13 God judges outsiders. Remove the evil person from among you.[b](I)
Lawsuits among Believers
6 If any of you has a dispute against another, how dare you take it to court(J) before the unrighteous,[c] and not before the saints? 2 Or don’t you know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the trivial cases? 3 Don’t you know that we will judge angels—how much more matters of this life? 4 So if you have such matters, do you appoint as your judges those who have no standing(K) in the church? 5 I say this to your shame!(L) Can it be that there is not one wise person among you who is able to arbitrate between fellow believers?(M) 6 Instead, brother goes to court against brother, and that before unbelievers!(N)
7 As it is, to have legal disputes against one another is already a defeat for you.(O) Why not rather be wronged?(P) Why not rather be cheated?(Q) 8 Instead, you yourselves do wrong and cheat—and you do this to brothers and sisters!
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again(A) he began to teach(B) by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore. 2 He taught them many things in parables,(C) and in his teaching(D) he said to them, 3 “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.(E) 4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path,(F) and the birds came and devoured(G) it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly,(H) since the soil wasn’t deep. 6 When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.(I) 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased(J) thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.”(K) 9 Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”(L)
Why Jesus Used Parables
10 When he was alone, those around him with the Twelve(M) asked him about the parables.(N) 11 He answered them, “The secret(O) of the kingdom of God(P) has been given to you, but to those outside,(Q) everything comes in parables 12 so that
they may indeed look,
and yet not perceive;
they may indeed listen,
and yet not understand;(R)
otherwise, they might turn back
and be forgiven.”[a][b] (S)
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 Then(T) he said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable?(U) How then will you understand all of the parables? 14 The sower sows(V) the word.(W) 15 Some are like the word sown on the path.(X) When they hear, immediately Satan(Y) comes and takes away the word(Z) sown in them.[c] 16 And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.(AA) 17 But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress(AB) or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.(AC) 18 Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the worries(AD) of this age,(AE) the deceitfulness[d](AF) of wealth,(AG) and the desires(AH) for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.(AI) 20 And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word,(AJ) welcome it, and produce fruit(AK) thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”
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