Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, (A)the servant of the Lord, (B)who addressed the words of this (C)song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:
18 I love you, O Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my (D)rock and my (E)fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my (F)rock, in (G)whom I take refuge,
my (H)shield, and (I)the horn of my salvation, my (J)stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is (K)worthy to be praised,
and I am saved from my enemies.
4 (L)The cords of death encompassed me;
(M)the torrents of destruction assailed me;[a]
5 (N)the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6 (O)In my distress I called upon the Lord;
to my God I cried for help.
From his (P)temple he heard my voice,
and my cry to him reached his ears.
7 Then the earth (Q)reeled and rocked;
the foundations also of the mountains trembled
and quaked, because he was angry.
8 Smoke went up from his nostrils,[b]
and devouring (R)fire from his mouth;
glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9 He (S)bowed the heavens and (T)came down;
(U)thick darkness was under his feet.
10 He rode on a cherub and flew;
he came swiftly on (V)the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his covering, his (W)canopy around him,
thick clouds (X)dark with water.
12 Out of the brightness before him
(Y)hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.
13 The Lord also (Z)thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his (AA)voice,
hailstones and coals of fire.
14 And he sent out his (AB)arrows and scattered them;
he flashed forth lightnings and (AC)routed them.
15 Then (AD)the channels of the sea were seen,
and the foundations of the world were laid bare
at your (AE)rebuke, O Lord,
at the blast of (AF)the breath of your nostrils.
16 He (AG)sent from on high, he took me;
he (AH)drew me out of (AI)many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were (AJ)too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into (AK)a broad place;
he rescued me, because he (AL)delighted in me.
20 The Lord dealt with me (AM)according to my righteousness;
according to (AN)the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21 For I have (AO)kept the ways of the Lord,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For (AP)all his rules[c] were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23 I was (AQ)blameless before him,
and I kept myself from my guilt.
24 So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25 With (AR)the merciful you show yourself merciful;
with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26 with the purified you show yourself pure;
and with (AS)the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27 For you save (AT)a humble people,
but (AU)the haughty eyes you bring down.
28 For it is you who light my (AV)lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
29 For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can (AW)leap over (AX)a wall.
30 This God—his way is (AY)perfect;[d]
the word of the Lord (AZ)proves true;
he is (BA)a shield for all those who (BB)take refuge in him.
31 For (BC)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is (BD)a rock, except our God?—
32 the God who (BE)equipped me with strength
and made my way (BF)blameless.
33 He made my feet like the feet of a (BG)deer
and set me secure on (BH)the heights.
34 He (BI)trains my hands for war,
so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35 You have given me the shield of your salvation,
and your right hand (BJ)supported me,
and your (BK)gentleness made me great.
36 You (BL)gave a wide place for my steps under me,
and my feet did not slip.
37 I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38 I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39 For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40 You made my enemies (BM)turn their backs to me,[e]
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41 (BN)They cried for help, but there was none to save;
they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.
42 I beat them fine as (BO)dust before the wind;
I cast them out like (BP)the mire of the streets.
43 You delivered me from (BQ)strife with the people;
you made me (BR)the head of the nations;
(BS)people whom I had not known served me.
44 As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
(BT)foreigners (BU)came cringing to me.
45 (BV)Foreigners lost heart
and (BW)came trembling out of their fortresses.
10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the (A)glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, 12 “I (B)have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At (C)twilight you shall eat meat, and (D)in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”
13 In the evening (E)quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning (F)dew lay around the camp. 14 And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, (G)“What is it?”[a] For they (H)did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, (I)“It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an (J)omer,[b] according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.’” 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, (K)whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat. 19 And Moses said to them, “Let no one leave any of it over till the morning.” 20 But they did not listen to Moses. Some left part of it till the morning, and (L)it bred worms and stank. And Moses was angry with them. 21 Morning by morning they gathered it, each as much as he could eat; but when the sun grew hot, it melted.
22 On (M)the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers each. And when all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses,
11 Beloved, I urge you (A)as sojourners and exiles (B)to abstain from the passions of the flesh, (C)which wage war against your soul. 12 (D)Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, (E)they may see your good deeds and glorify God on (F)the day of visitation.
Submission to Authority
13 (G)Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution,[a] whether it be to the emperor[b] as supreme, 14 or to governors as sent by him (H)to punish those who do evil and (I)to praise those who do good. 15 For this is the will of God, (J)that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people. 16 (K)Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but (L)living as servants[c] of God. 17 (M)Honor everyone. (N)Love the brotherhood. (O)Fear God. Honor the emperor.
18 (P)Servants, be subject to your masters with all respect, not only to the good and gentle but also to the unjust. 19 For this is a gracious thing, when, (Q)mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. 20 For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But (R)if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. 21 For (S)to this you have been called, (T)because Christ also suffered for you, (U)leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. 22 (V)He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. 23 (W)When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, (X)but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 24 (Y)He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we (Z)might die to sin and (AA)live to righteousness. (AB)By his wounds you have been healed. 25 For (AC)you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to (AD)the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
12 (A)“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 (B)Greater love has no one than this, (C)that someone lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are (D)my friends (E)if you do what I command you. 15 (F)No longer do I call you servants,[a] for the servant (G)does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for (H)all that I have heard from my Father (I)I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but (J)I chose you and appointed you that you should go and (K)bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that (L)whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. 17 These things I command you, (M)so that you will love one another.
The Hatred of the World
18 (N)“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 (O)If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because (P)you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: (Q)‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, (R)they will also persecute you. (S)If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But (T)all these things they will do to you (U)on account of my name, (V)because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, (W)they would not have been guilty of sin,[b] but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 (X)Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 (Y)If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, (Z)they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have (AA)seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But (AB)the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: (AC)‘They hated me without a cause.’
26 “But (AD)when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, (AE)he will bear witness about me. 27 And (AF)you also will bear witness, (AG)because you have been with me (AH)from the beginning.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.