Book of Common Prayer
Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In you, O Lord, do I (B)take refuge;
(C)let me never be put to shame;
in your (D)righteousness deliver me!
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily!
Be (E)a rock of (F)refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me!
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;
and for your (G)name's sake you lead me and guide me;
4 you (H)take me out of (I)the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my (J)refuge.
5 (K)Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, (L)faithful God.
6 I (M)hate[a] those who pay (N)regard to worthless (O)idols,
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have (P)known the distress of my soul,
8 and you have not (Q)delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in (R)a broad place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am (S)in distress;
(T)my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
and (U)my bones waste away.
11 Because of all my adversaries I have become (V)a reproach,
especially to my (W)neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street (X)flee from me.
12 I have been (Y)forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like (Z)a broken vessel.
13 For I (AA)hear the whispering of many—
terror on every side!—
(AB)as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
14 But I (AC)trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My (AD)times are in your hand;
(AE)rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
16 (AF)Make your face shine on your servant;
save me in your steadfast love!
17 O Lord, (AG)let me not be put to shame,
for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go (AH)silently to Sheol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute,
which (AI)speak (AJ)insolently against the righteous
in pride and contempt.
19 Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
(AK)in the sight of the children of mankind!
20 In (AL)the cover of your presence you hide them
from the plots of men;
you (AM)store them in your shelter
from the strife of tongues.
Great Is the Lord
Of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
(B)fight against those who fight against me!
2 Take hold of (C)shield and buckler
and rise for my help!
3 Draw the spear and javelin[a]
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
4 (D)Let them be (E)put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be (F)turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
5 Let them be like (G)chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
6 Let their way be dark and (H)slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
7 For (I)without cause (J)they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug (K)a pit for my life.[b]
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him (M)when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!
9 Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
(N)exulting in his salvation.
10 All my (O)bones shall say,
“O Lord, (P)who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
11 (Q)Malicious[c] witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
12 (R)They repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.[d]
13 But I, (S)when they were sick—
I (T)wore sackcloth;
I (U)afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed (V)with head bowed[e] on my chest.
14 I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
I (W)bowed down in mourning.
15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me;
(X)wretches whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
16 like profane mockers at a feast,[f]
they (Y)gnash at me with their teeth.
17 How long, O Lord, will you (Z)look on?
Rescue me from their destruction,
(AA)my precious life from the lions!
18 I will thank you in (AB)the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19 (AC)Let not those rejoice over me
who are (AD)wrongfully my foes,
and let not those (AE)wink the eye
who (AF)hate me (AG)without cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
but against those who are quiet in the land
they devise words of deceit.
21 They (AH)open wide their mouths against me;
they say, (AI)“Aha, Aha!
Our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AJ)You have seen, O Lord; (AK)be not silent!
O Lord, (AL)be not far from me!
23 Awake and (AM)rouse yourself for (AN)my vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 (AO)Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and (AP)let them not rejoice over me!
25 Let them not say in their hearts,
(AQ)“Aha, our heart's desire!”
Let them not say, (AR)“We have swallowed him up.”
29 (A)Who has woe? Who has sorrow?
Who has strife? Who has complaining?
Who has (B)wounds without cause?
Who has (C)redness of eyes?
30 Those who (D)tarry long over wine;
those who go to try (E)mixed wine.
31 Do not look at wine when it is red,
when it sparkles in the cup
and goes down smoothly.
32 In the end it (F)bites like a serpent
and stings like an adder.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
and your heart utter (G)perverse things.
34 You will be like one who lies down in the midst of the sea,
like one who lies on the top of a mast.[a]
35 “They (H)struck me,” you will say,[b] “but I was not hurt;
they beat me, but I did not feel it.
When shall I awake?
I (I)must have another drink.”
24 Be not (J)envious of evil men,
nor desire to be (K)with them,
2 for their hearts (L)devise violence,
and their lips (M)talk of trouble.
17 Let the elders (A)who rule well be considered worthy of (B)double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, (C)“You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, (D)“The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except (E)on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 20 As for those who persist in sin, (F)rebuke them in the presence of all, (G)so that the rest may stand in fear. 21 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels (H)I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, (I)doing nothing from partiality. 22 (J)Do not be hasty in the (K)laying on of hands, nor (L)take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure. 23 (No longer drink only water, but (M)use a little wine (N)for the sake of your stomach and your frequent ailments.) 24 The sins of some people are conspicuous, going before them to judgment, but the sins of others appear later. 25 So also good works are conspicuous, and (O)even those that are not cannot remain hidden.
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, (A)“The kingdom of heaven is like (B)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. (C)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in (D)three measures of flour, till it was (E)all leavened.”
Prophecy and Parables
34 (F)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:[a]
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.