Book of Common Prayer
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
[a] Of David.
37 (A)Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not (B)envious of wrongdoers!
2 For they will soon (C)fade like (D)the grass
and wither (E)like the green herb.
3 (F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[b]
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will (I)give you the desires of your heart.
5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord;
(K)trust in him, and he will act.
6 (L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as (M)the noonday.
7 (N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
(O)fret not yourself over the one who (P)prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 (Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 (S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall (T)inherit the land.
10 In (U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at (V)his place, he will not be there.
11 But (W)the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in (X)abundant peace.
12 The wicked (Y)plots against the righteous
and (Z)gnashes his teeth at him,
13 but the Lord (AA)laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his (AB)day is coming.
14 The wicked draw the sword and (AC)bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose (AD)way is upright;
15 their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their (AE)bows shall be broken.
16 (AF)Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17 For (AG)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord (AH)upholds the righteous.
18 The Lord (AI)knows the days of the blameless,
and their (AJ)heritage will remain forever;
19 they are not put to shame in evil times;
in (AK)the days of famine they have abundance.
20 But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like (AL)the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like (AM)smoke they vanish away.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous (AN)is generous and gives;
22 for those blessed by the Lord[c] shall (AO)inherit the land,
but those cursed by him (AP)shall be cut off.
23 The (AQ)steps of a man are (AR)established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 (AS)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord (AT)upholds his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children (AU)begging for bread.
26 He is ever (AV)lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 (AW)Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you (AX)dwell forever.
28 For the Lord (AY)loves justice;
he will not forsake his (AZ)saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be (BA)cut off.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land
and (BB)dwell upon it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 (BC)The law of his God is in his heart;
his (BD)steps do not slip.
32 The wicked (BE)watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33 The Lord will not (BF)abandon him to his power
or let him (BG)be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 (BH)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on (BI)when the wicked are cut off.
35 (BJ)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like (BK)a green laurel tree.[d]
36 But he passed away,[e] and behold, (BL)he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing (A)the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and (B)the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now (C)the Jordan overflows all its banks (D)throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside (E)Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of (F)the Arabah, (G)the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, (H)and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Twelve Memorial Stones from the Jordan
4 When all the nation had finished passing (I)over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 (J)“Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take (K)twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place (L)where the priests' feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in (M)the place where you lodge tonight.’” 4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. (N)When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that (O)the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel (P)a memorial forever.”
A Living Sacrifice
12 (A)I appeal to you therefore, brothers,[a] by the mercies of God, (B)to present your bodies (C)as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.[b] 2 (D)Do not be conformed to this world,[c] but be transformed by (E)the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may (F)discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[d]
Gifts of Grace
3 For (G)by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you (H)not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, (I)each according to (J)the measure of faith that God has assigned. 4 For (K)as in one body we have many members,[e] and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, (L)though many, (M)are one body in Christ, and individually (N)members one of another. 6 (O)Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if (P)prophecy, (Q)in proportion to our faith; 7 if (R)service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; 8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; (S)the one who leads,[f] with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with (T)cheerfulness.
The Plot to Kill Jesus
26 When Jesus had finished all these sayings, he said to his disciples, 2 (A)“You know that after two days (B)the Passover is coming, and (C)the Son of Man (D)will be delivered up to be crucified.”
3 (E)Then the chief priests and the elders of the people gathered in (F)the palace of the high priest, whose name was (G)Caiaphas, 4 (H)and plotted together in order to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill him. 5 But they said, “Not during the feast, (I)lest there be an uproar among the people.”
Jesus Anointed at Bethany
6 (J)Now when Jesus was at (K)Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,[a] 7 a woman came up to him with an alabaster flask of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he reclined at table. 8 And when the disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? 9 For this could have been sold for a large sum and (L)given to the poor.” 10 But (M)Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 For (N)you always have the poor with you, but (O)you will not always have me. 12 In pouring this ointment on my body, she has done it (P)to prepare me for burial. 13 Truly, I say to you, wherever (Q)this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what she has done will also be told (R)in memory of her.”
Judas to Betray Jesus
14 (S)Then one of the twelve, whose name was (T)Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests 15 and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they (U)paid him (V)thirty pieces of silver. 16 And from that moment he sought an opportunity (W)to betray him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.