Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,[l]
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.[m]
8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand[n] in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim[o] from suffering.[p]
I have lost my strength.[q]
10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.[r]
My strength fails me because of[s] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.[t]
11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;[u]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering[v]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;[w]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;[x]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.[y]
13 For I hear what so many are saying,[z]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.[aa]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
15 You determine my destiny.[ab]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
16 Smile[ac] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.[ad]
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips[ae] that speak defiantly against the innocent[af]
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is your favor,[ag]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[ah]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[ai] in you.[aj]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[ak] of men;[al]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[am]
21 The Lord deserves praise[an]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[ao]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[ap]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[aq]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[ar] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[as]
24 Be strong and confident,[at]
all you who wait on the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
29 Who has woe?[a] Who has sorrow?
Who has contentions? Who has complaints?
Who has wounds without cause? Who has dullness[b] of the eyes?
30 Those who linger over wine,
those who go looking for mixed wine.[c]
31 Do not look on the wine when it is red,
when it sparkles[d] in the cup,
when it goes down smoothly.[e]
32 Afterward[f] it bites like a snake,
and stings like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,[g]
and your mind will speak perverse things.
34 And you will be like one who lies down in the midst[h] of the sea,
and like one who lies down on the top of the rigging.[i]
35 You will say,[j] “They have struck me, but I am not harmed!
They beat me, but I did not know it![k]
When will I awake? I will look for another drink.”[l]
24 Do not envy evil people,[m]
do not desire[n] to be with them;
2 for their hearts contemplate violence,
and their lips speak harm.[o]
17 Elders who provide effective leadership[a] must be counted worthy[b] of double honor,[c] especially those who work hard in speaking[d] and teaching. 18 For the scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,”[e] and, “The worker deserves his pay.”[f] 19 Do not accept an accusation against an elder unless it can be confirmed by two or three witnesses.[g] 20 Those guilty of sin[h] must be rebuked[i] before all,[j] as a warning to the rest.[k] 21 Before God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, I solemnly charge you to carry out these commands without prejudice or favoritism of any kind.[l] 22 Do not lay hands on anyone[m] hastily and so identify with the sins of others.[n] Keep yourself pure. 23 (Stop drinking just water, but use a little wine for your digestion[o] and your frequent illnesses.)[p] 24 The sins of some people are obvious, going before them into judgment, but for others, they show up later.[q] 25 Similarly good works are also obvious, and the ones that are not cannot remain hidden.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He gave[a] them another parable:[b] “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed[c] that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree,[d] so that the wild birds[e] come and nest in its branches.”[f]
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with[g] three measures[h] of flour until all the dough had risen.”[i]
The Purpose of Parables
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. 35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet:[j]
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”[k]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.