Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83
Prayer against Enemies
A song. A psalm of Asaph.(A)
1 God, do not keep silent.
Do not be deaf, God; do not be quiet.(B)
2 See how your enemies make an uproar;
those who hate you have acted arrogantly.[a](C)
3 They devise clever schemes against your people;
they conspire against your treasured ones.(D)
4 They say, “Come, let’s wipe them out as a nation
so that Israel’s name will no longer be remembered.”(E)
5 For they have conspired with one mind;
they form an alliance[b] against you(F)—
6 the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,(G)
Moab and the Hagrites,(H)
7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,(I)
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.(J)
8 Even Assyria has joined them;
they lend support[c] to the sons of Lot.[d](K)Selah
9 Deal with them as you did with Midian,(L)
as you did with Sisera
and Jabin at the Kishon River.(M)
10 They were destroyed at En-dor;
they became manure for the ground.(N)
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,(O)
and all their tribal leaders like Zebah and Zalmunna,(P)
12 who said, “Let’s seize God’s pastures for ourselves.”(Q)
13 Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like straw before the wind.(R)
14 As fire burns a forest,
as a flame blazes through mountains,(S)
15 so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.(T)
16 Cover their faces with shame
so that they will seek your name, Lord.(U)
17 Let them be put to shame and terrified forever;
let them perish in disgrace.(V)
18 May they know that you alone—
whose name is the Lord—
are the Most High over the whole earth.(W)
BOOK II
(Psalms 42–72)
Psalm 42
Longing for God
For the choir director. A Maskil of the sons of Korah.
1 As a deer longs for flowing streams,
so I long for you, God.(A)
2 I thirst for God, the living God.
When can I come and appear before God?(B)
3 My tears have been my food day and night,
while all day long people say to me,
“Where is your God?” (C)
4 I remember this as I pour out my heart:(D)
how I walked with many,
leading the festive procession to the house of God,
with joyful and thankful shouts.(E)
5 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.(F)
6 I[a] am deeply depressed;
therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan
and the peaks of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.(G)
7 Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;
all your breakers and your billows have swept over me.(H)
8 The Lord will send his faithful love by day;(I)
his song will be with me in the night—
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I will say to God, my rock,(J)
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?” (K)
10 My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?” (L)
11 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.(M)
Psalm 43[b]
1 Vindicate me, God, and champion my cause
against an unfaithful nation;
rescue me from the deceitful and unjust person.(N)
2 For you are the God of my refuge.
Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?(O)
3 Send your light and your truth; let them lead me.(P)
Let them bring me to your holy mountain,
to your dwelling place.(Q)
4 Then I will come to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.(R)
I will praise you with the lyre,
God, my God.(S)
5 Why, my soul, are you so dejected?
Why are you in such turmoil?
Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him,
my Savior and my God.(T)
Psalm 85
Restoration of Favor
For the choir director. A psalm of the sons of Korah.
1 Lord, you showed favor to your land;(A)
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.[a](B)
2 You forgave your people’s guilt;
you covered all their sin.(C)Selah
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned from your burning anger.(D)
4 Return to us, God of our salvation,
and abandon your displeasure with us.(E)
5 Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger for all generations?(F)
6 Will you not revive us again
so that your people may rejoice in you?(G)
7 Show us your faithful love, Lord,
and give us your salvation.(H)
8 I will listen to what God will say;
surely the Lord will declare peace
to his people, his faithful ones,
and not let them go back to foolish ways.(I)
9 His salvation is very near those who fear him,
so that glory may dwell in our land.(J)
10 Faithful love and truth will join together;
righteousness and peace will embrace.(K)
11 Truth will spring up from the earth,
and righteousness will look down from heaven.(L)
12 Also, the Lord will provide what is good,
and our land will yield its crops.(M)
13 Righteousness will go before him
to prepare the way for his steps.(N)
Psalm 86
Lament and Petition
A prayer of David.
1 Listen, Lord, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.(O)
2 Protect my life, for I am faithful.(P)
You are my God; save your servant who trusts in you.(Q)
3 Be gracious to me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.(R)
4 Bring joy to your servant’s life,
because I appeal to you, Lord.(S)
5 For you, Lord, are kind and ready to forgive,(T)
abounding in faithful love to all who call on you.(U)
6 Lord, hear my prayer;
listen to my cries for mercy.(V)
7 I call on you in the day of my distress,
for you will answer me.(W)
8 Lord, there is no one like you among the gods,
and there are no works like yours.(X)
9 All the nations you have made
will come and bow down before you, Lord,
and will honor your name.(Y)
10 For you are great and perform wonders;
you alone are God.(Z)
11 Teach me your way, Lord,
and I will live by your truth.
Give me an undivided mind to fear your name.(AA)
12 I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God,
and will honor your name forever.(AB)
13 For your faithful love for me is great,
and you rescue my life from the depths of Sheol.(AC)
14 God, arrogant people have attacked me;
a gang of ruthless men intends to kill me.
They do not let you guide them.[b](AD)
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth.(AE)
16 Turn to me and be gracious to me.
Give your strength to your servant;
save the son of your female servant.(AF)
17 Show me a sign of your goodness;
my enemies will see and be put to shame
because you, Lord, have helped and comforted me.(AG)
Jacob Leaves for Egypt
46 Israel set out with all that he had and came to Beer-sheba,(A) and he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. 2 That night God spoke to Israel in a vision:(B) “Jacob, Jacob!” he said.
And Jacob replied, “Here I am.”
3 God said, “I am God, the God of your father. Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there.(C) 4 I will go down with you to Egypt, and I will also bring you back.(D) Joseph will close your eyes when you die.”[a](E)
5 Jacob left Beer-sheba. The sons of Israel took their father Jacob in the wagons Pharaoh had sent to carry him,(F) along with their dependents and their wives. 6 They also took their cattle and possessions they had acquired in the land of Canaan. Then Jacob and all his offspring with him came to Egypt.(G) 7 His sons and grandsons, his daughters and granddaughters, indeed all his offspring, he brought with him to Egypt.
Jacob Arrives in Egypt
28 Now Jacob had sent Judah ahead of him to Joseph to prepare for his arrival[a] at Goshen.(A) When they came to the land of Goshen, 29 Joseph hitched the horses to his chariot and went up to Goshen to meet his father Israel. Joseph presented himself to him, threw his arms around him, and wept for a long time.(B)
30 Then Israel said to Joseph, “I’m ready to die now because I have seen your face and you are still alive!”
31 Joseph said to his brothers and to his father’s family, “I will go up and inform Pharaoh, telling him, ‘My brothers and my father’s family, who were in the land of Canaan, have come to me.(C) 32 The men are shepherds; they also raise livestock. They have brought their flocks and herds and all that they have.’ 33 When Pharaoh addresses you and asks, ‘What is your occupation?’ 34 you are to say, ‘Your servants, both we and our ancestors, have raised livestock[b] from our youth until now.’ Then you will be allowed to settle in the land of Goshen, since all shepherds are detestable to Egyptians.”(D)
Paul’s Example as an Apostle
9 Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? 2 If I am not an apostle to others, at least I am to you, because you are the seal(A) of my apostleship in the Lord.
3 My defense to those who examine me is this: 4 Don’t we have the right to eat and drink?(B) 5 Don’t we have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife[a] like the other apostles,(C) the Lord’s brothers, and Cephas?(D) 6 Or do only Barnabas(E) and I have no right to refrain from working? 7 Who serves as a soldier at his own expense?(F) Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit? Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?
8 Am I saying this from a human perspective? Doesn’t the law also say the same thing? 9 For it is written in the law of Moses, Do not muzzle an ox(G) while it treads out grain.[b](H) Is God really concerned about oxen? 10 Isn’t he really saying it for our sake? Yes, this is written for our sake,(I) because he who plows ought to plow in hope,(J) and he who threshes should thresh in hope of sharing the crop.(K) 11 If we have sown spiritual things for you, is it too much if we reap material benefits from you? 12 If others have this right to receive benefits from you, don’t we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right; instead, we endure everything(L) so that we will not hinder the gospel of Christ.
13 Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar(M) share in the offerings of the altar? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.(N)
15 For my part I have used none of these rights, nor have I written these things that they may be applied in my case. For it would be better for me to die than for anyone to deprive me of my boast!
Feeding of the Five Thousand
30 The(A) apostles(B) gathered around Jesus and reported to him all that they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
32 So they went away in the boat by themselves to a remote place, 33 but many saw them leaving and recognized them, and they ran on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them.[a]
34 When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion(C) on them, because they were like sheep(D) without a shepherd. Then he began to teach them many things.
35 When it grew late, his disciples(E) approached him and said, “This place is deserted,(F) and it is already late. 36 Send them away so that they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”
37 “You give them something to eat,” he responded.
They said to him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii[b] worth of bread and give them something to eat?”
38 He asked them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
When they found out they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he instructed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. He kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied.(G) 43 They picked up twelve baskets full of pieces of bread and fish. 44 Now those who had eaten the loaves were five thousand men.
Walking on the Water
45 Immediately(H) he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, to Bethsaida,(I) while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After he said good-bye to them, he went away to the mountain(J) to pray.(K)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.