Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Of David.
1 Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[a](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.(K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land(M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because he sees that his day is coming.(Q)
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[b] bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.(R)
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.(S)
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.(T)
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,(U)
but the Lord supports the righteous.(V)
18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.(W)
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.(X)
20 But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.(Y)
21 The wicked person borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.(Z)
22 Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be destroyed.(AA)
23 A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.(AB)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.(AC)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(AD)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(AE)
27 Turn away from evil, do what is good,
and settle permanently.(AF)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful ones.(AG)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(AH)
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it permanently.(AI)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(AJ)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(AK)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and intends to kill him;(AL)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(AM)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(AN)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
well-rooted,[c] like a flourishing native tree.(AO)
36 Then I[d] passed by and noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(AP)
14 When the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carried the ark of the covenant(A) ahead of the people. 15 Now the Jordan overflows its banks throughout the harvest season.(B) But as soon as the priests carrying the ark reached the Jordan, their feet touched the water at its edge 16 and the water flowing downstream stood still, rising up in a mass that extended as far as[a] Adam, a city next to Zarethan. The water flowing downstream into the Sea of the Arabah(C)—the Dead Sea—was completely cut off, and the people crossed opposite Jericho. 17 The priests carrying the ark of the Lord’s covenant stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan,(D) while all Israel crossed on dry ground until the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan.
The Memorial Stones
4 After the entire nation had finished crossing the Jordan,(E) the Lord spoke to Joshua: 2 “Choose twelve men from the people, one man for each tribe,(F) 3 and command them: Take twelve stones(G) from this place in the middle of the Jordan where the priests[b] are standing, carry them with you, and set them down at the place where you spend the night.”
4 So Joshua summoned the twelve men he had selected from the Israelites, one man for each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go across to the ark of the Lord your God in the middle of the Jordan. Each of you lift a stone onto his shoulder, one for each of the Israelite tribes, 6 so that this will be a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ (H) 7 you should tell them, ‘The water of the Jordan was cut off in front of the ark of the Lord’s covenant. When it crossed the Jordan, the Jordan’s water was cut off.’ Therefore these stones will always be a memorial for the Israelites.”(I)
A Living Sacrifice
12 Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you(A) to present your bodies as a living sacrifice,(B) holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.[a] 2 Do not be conformed(C) to this age,(D) but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,(E) so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will(F) of God.
Many Gifts but One Body
3 For by the grace(G) given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think.(H) Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith(I) to each one. 4 Now as we have many parts in one body,(J) and all the parts do not have the same function, 5 in the same way we who are many(K) are one body in Christ(L) and individually members of one another. 6 According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts:(M) If prophecy,(N) use it according to the proportion of one’s[b] faith; 7 if service,(O) use it in service; if teaching,(P) in teaching; 8 if exhorting,(Q) in exhortation; giving, with generosity;(R) leading,(S) with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.(T)
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished saying all these things,(A) he told his disciples, 2 “You know[a] that the Passover takes place after two days, and the Son of Man will be handed over to be crucified.”(B)
3 Then the chief priests[b] and the elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, who was named Caiaphas,(C) 4 and they conspired to arrest Jesus in a treacherous way and kill him.(D) 5 “Not during the festival,” they said, “so there won’t be rioting among the people.”
The Anointing at Bethany
6 While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon(E) the leper,[c] 7 a woman approached him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume. She poured it on his head as he was reclining at the table. 8 When the disciples(F) saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for me. 11 You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.(G) 12 By pouring this perfume on my body, she has prepared me for burial. 13 Truly I tell you, wherever this gospel(H) is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told in memory of her.”
14 Then(I) one of the Twelve, the man called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests(J) 15 and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” So they weighed out thirty pieces of silver for him.(K) 16 And from that time he started looking for a good opportunity to betray him.
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