Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 25[a]
By David.
25 O Lord, I come before you in prayer.[b]
2 My God, I trust in you.
Please do not let me be humiliated;
do not let my enemies triumphantly rejoice over me.
3 Certainly none who rely on you will be humiliated.
Those who deal in treachery will be thwarted[c] and humiliated.
4 Make me understand your ways, O Lord.
Teach me your paths.[d]
5 Guide me into your truth[e] and teach me.
For you are the God who delivers me;
on you I rely all day long.
6 Remember[f] your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord,
for you have always acted in this manner.[g]
7 Do not hold against me[h] the sins of my youth[i] or my rebellious acts.
Because you are faithful to me, extend to me your favor, O Lord.[j]
8 The Lord is both kind and fair;[k]
that is why he teaches sinners the right way to live.[l]
9 May he show[m] the humble what is right.[n]
May he teach[o] the humble his way.
10 The Lord always proves faithful and reliable[p]
to those who follow the demands of his covenant.[q]
11 For the sake of your reputation,[r] O Lord,
forgive my sin, because it is great.[s]
12 The Lord shows his faithful followers
the way they should live.[t]
13 They experience his favor;[u]
their descendants[v] inherit the land.[w]
14 The Lord’s loyal followers receive his guidance,[x]
and he reveals his covenantal demands to them.[y]
15 I continually look to the Lord for help,[z]
for he will free my feet from the enemy’s net.[aa]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me,
for I am alone[ab] and oppressed.
17 Deliver me from my distress;[ac]
rescue me from my suffering.[ad]
18 See my pain and suffering.
Forgive all my sins.[ae]
19 Watch my enemies, for they outnumber me;
they hate me and want to harm me.[af]
20 Protect me[ag] and deliver me!
Please do not let me be humiliated,
for I have taken shelter in you.
21 May integrity and godliness protect me,
for I rely on you.
22 O God, rescue[ah] Israel
from all their distress![ai]
Psalm 9[a]
For the music director, according to the alumoth-labben style;[b] a psalm of David.
9 I will thank the Lord with all my heart!
I will tell about all your amazing deeds.[c]
2 I will be happy and rejoice in you.
I will sing praises to you, O Most High.[d]
3 When my enemies turn back,
they trip and are defeated[e] before you.
4 For you defended my just cause;[f]
from your throne you pronounced a just decision.[g]
5 You terrified the nations with your battle cry.[h]
You destroyed the wicked;[i]
you permanently wiped out all memory of them.[j]
6 The enemy’s cities have been reduced to permanent ruins.[k]
You destroyed their cities;[l]
all memory of the enemies has perished.[m]
7 But the Lord[n] rules[o] forever;
he reigns in a just manner.[p]
8 He judges the world fairly;
he makes just legal decisions for the nations.[q]
9 Consequently[r] the Lord provides safety for the oppressed;[s]
he provides safety in times of trouble.[t]
10 Your loyal followers trust in you,[u]
for you, Lord, do not abandon those who seek your help.[v]
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who rules[w] in Zion.
Tell the nations what he has done.[x]
12 For the one who takes revenge against murderers took notice of the oppressed;[y]
he did not overlook[z] their cry for help[aa]
13 when they prayed:[ab]
“Have mercy on me,[ac] Lord!
See how I am oppressed by those who hate me,[ad]
O one who can snatch me away[ae] from the gates of death!
14 Then I will[af] tell about all your praiseworthy acts;[ag]
in the gates of Daughter Zion[ah] I will rejoice because of your deliverance.”[ai]
15 The nations fell[aj] into the pit they had made;
their feet were caught in the net they had hidden.[ak]
16 The Lord revealed himself;
he accomplished justice.
The wicked were ensnared by their own actions.[al] (Higgaion.[am] Selah)
17 The wicked are turned back and sent to Sheol;[an]
this is the destiny of[ao] all the nations that ignore[ap] God,
18 for the needy are not permanently ignored,[aq]
the hopes of the oppressed are not forever dashed.[ar]
19 Rise up, Lord![as]
Don’t let men be defiant.[at]
May the nations be judged in your presence.
20 Terrify them, Lord.[au]
Let the nations know they are mere mortals.[av] (Selah)
Psalm 15[a]
A psalm of David.
15 Lord, who may be a guest in your home?[b]
Who may live on your holy hill?[c]
2 Whoever lives a blameless life,[d]
does what is right,
and speaks honestly.[e]
3 He[f] does not slander,[g]
or do harm to others,[h]
or insult his neighbor.[i]
4 He despises a reprobate,[j]
but honors the Lord’s loyal followers.[k]
He makes firm commitments and does not renege on his promise.[l]
5 He does not charge interest when he lends his money.[m]
He does not take bribes to testify against the innocent.[n]
The one who lives like this[o] will never be shaken.
13 On the next day[a] Moses sat to judge[b] the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning until evening. 14 When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this[c] that you are doing for the people?[d] Why are you sitting by yourself, and all the people stand around you from morning until evening?”
15 Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire[e] of God. 16 When they have a dispute,[f] it comes to me and I decide[g] between a man and his neighbor, and I make known the decrees of God and his laws.”[h]
17 Moses’ father-in-law said to him, “What[i] you are doing is not good! 18 You will surely wear out,[j] both you and these people who are with you, for this is too[k] heavy a burden[l] for you; you are not able to do it by yourself. 19 Now listen to me,[m] I will give you advice, and may God be with you. You be a representative for the people to God,[n] and you bring[o] their disputes[p] to God; 20 warn[q] them of the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk[r] and the work they must do.[s] 21 But you choose[t] from the people capable men,[u] God-fearing men,[v] men of truth,[w] those who hate bribes,[x] and put them over the people[y] as rulers[z] of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 22 They will judge[aa] the people under normal circumstances,[ab] and every difficult case[ac] they will bring to you, but every small case[ad] they themselves will judge, so that[ae] you may make it easier for yourself,[af] and they will bear the burden[ag] with you. 23 If you do this thing, and God so commands you,[ah] then you will be able[ai] to endure,[aj] and all these people[ak] will be able to go[al] home[am] satisfied.”[an]
24 Moses listened to[ao] his father-in-law and did everything he had said. 25 Moses chose capable men from all Israel, and he made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. 26 They judged the people under normal circumstances; the difficult cases they would bring[ap] to Moses, but every small case they would judge themselves.
27 Then Moses sent his father-in-law on his way,[aq] and so Jethro[ar] went[as] to his own land.[at]
Leading and Living in God’s Flock
5 So as your fellow elder and a witness of Christ’s sufferings and as one who shares in the glory that will be revealed, I urge the elders among you: 2 Give a shepherd’s care to[a] God’s flock among you, exercising oversight[b] not merely as a duty[c] but willingly under God’s direction,[d] not for shameful profit but eagerly. 3 And do not lord it over[e] those entrusted to you,[f] but be examples to the flock. 4 Then[g] when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that never fades away.
5 In the same way, you who are younger,[h] be subject to the elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.[i] 6 And God will exalt you in due time,[j] if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand[k] 7 by casting[l] all your cares[m] on him because he cares for you. 8 Be sober and alert. Your enemy the devil, like a roaring lion,[n] is on the prowl looking for someone[o] to devour. 9 Resist him,[p] strong in your faith, because you know[q] that your brothers and sisters[r] throughout the world[s] are enduring[t] the same kinds of suffering.[u] 10 And, after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ[v] will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.[w] 11 To him belongs[x] the power forever. Amen.
Final Greetings
12 Through Silvanus,[y] whom I know to be a faithful brother,[z] I have written to you briefly, in order to encourage you and testify[aa] that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.[ab] 13 The church[ac] in Babylon,[ad] chosen together with you,[ae] greets you, and so does Mark, my son. 14 Greet one another with a loving kiss.[af] Peace to all of you who are in Christ.[ag]
The Genealogy of Jesus Christ
1 This is the record of the genealogy[a] of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham was the father[b] of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, 3 Judah the father of Perez and Zerah (by Tamar), Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz (by Rahab), Boaz the father of Obed (by Ruth), Obed the father of Jesse, 6 and Jesse the father of David the king.
David was the father of Solomon (by the wife of Uriah[c]), 7 Solomon the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asa,[d] 8 Asa the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah, 9 Uzziah the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, 10 Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon,[e] Amon the father of Josiah, 11 and Josiah[f] the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.
12 After[g] the deportation to Babylon, Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel,[h] Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, Abiud the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom[i] Jesus was born, who is called Christ.[j]
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to Christ,[k] fourteen generations.
The Ministry of John the Baptist
3 In those days John the Baptist came into the wilderness[a] of Judea proclaiming, 2 “Repent,[b] for the kingdom of heaven is near.” 3 For he is the one about whom the prophet Isaiah had spoken:[c]
“The voice[d] of one shouting in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make[e] his paths straight.’”[f]
4 Now John wore clothing made from camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his diet consisted of locusts and wild honey.[g] 5 Then people from Jerusalem,[h] as well as all Judea and all the region around the Jordan, were going out to him, 6 and he was baptizing them[i] in the Jordan River as they confessed their sins.
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