Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by Your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;(C)
You lead and guide me
because of Your name.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for You are my refuge.(E)
5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;(F)
You redeem[a] me, Lord, God of truth.(G)
6 I[b] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(H)
7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love
because You have seen my affliction.
You have known the troubles of my life(I)
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.(J)
You have set my feet in a spacious place.(K)
9 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;(L)
my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow—
my whole being[c] as well.(M)
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;(N)
my strength has failed
because of my sinfulness,[d]
and my bones waste away.(O)
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.(P)
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery.(Q)
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.(R)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.(S)
14 But I trust in You, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(T)
15 The course of my life is in Your power;(U)
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.(V)
16 Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.(W)
17 Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You.(X)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent[e][f] in Sheol.(Y)
18 Let lying lips be quieted;(Z)
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.(AA)
19 How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who fear You
and accomplished in the sight of everyone
for those who take refuge in You.(AB)
20 You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter[g]
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues.(AC)
21 May the Lord be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege.[h](AD)
22 In my alarm I had said,
“I am cut off from Your sight.”(AE)
But You heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to You for help.(AF)
Psalm 35
Prayer for Victory
Davidic.
1 Oppose my opponents, Lord;
fight those who fight me.(A)
2 Take Your shields—large and small—
and come to my aid.(B)
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”(C)
4 Let those who seek to kill me
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.(D)
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away.(E)
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.(F)
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.(G)
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his ruin.(H)
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will delight in His deliverance.(I)
10 My very bones will say,
“Lord, who is like You,(J)
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”(K)
11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.(L)
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.(M)
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.[a](N)
14 I went about grieving as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning a mother.(O)
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.(P)
16 With godless mockery[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.(Q)
17 Lord, how long will You look on?(R)
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my only one from the young lions.(S)
18 I will praise You in the great congregation;
I will exalt You among many people.(T)
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause(U)
look at me maliciously.(V)
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive deceitful schemes[c]
against those who live peacefully in the land.(W)
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it!”[d](X)
22 You saw it, Lord; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.(Y)
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!(Z)
24 Vindicate me, Lord my God,
in keeping with Your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.(AA)
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up!”(AB)
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.(AC)
19 The people came up from the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month,[a] and camped at Gilgal on the eastern limits of Jericho. 20 Then Joshua set up in Gilgal the 12 stones they had taken from the Jordan, 21 and he said to the Israelites, “In the future, when your children ask their fathers, ‘What is the meaning of these stones?’ 22 you should tell your children, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’(A) 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan before you until you had crossed over,(B) just as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which He dried up before us until we had crossed over. 24 This is so that all the people of the earth may know(C) that the Lord’s hand is mighty,(D) and so that you may always fear the Lord your God.”(E)
Circumcision of the Israelites
5 When all the Amorite kings across the Jordan to the west and all the Canaanite kings near the sea(F) heard how the Lord had dried up the waters of the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over,(G) they lost heart and their courage failed[b] because of the Israelites.
Food from the Land
10 While the Israelites camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, they kept the Passover on the evening of the fourteenth day of the month.[a] 11 The day after Passover they ate unleavened bread and roasted grain from the produce of the land. 12 And the day after they ate from the produce of the land, the manna ceased.(A) Since there was no more manna for the Israelites, they ate from the crops of the land of Canaan that year.
Commander of the Lord’s Army
13 When Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in His hand.(B) Joshua approached Him and asked, “Are You for us or for our enemies?”
14 “Neither,” He replied. “I have now come as commander of the Lord’s army.”
Then Joshua bowed with his face to the ground in worship(C) and asked Him, “What does my Lord want to say to His servant?”
15 The commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.”(D) And Joshua did so.
Christian Ethics
9 Love must be without hypocrisy.(A) Detest evil;(B) cling to what is good. 10 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love.(C) Outdo one another in showing honor.(D) 11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit;(E) serve the Lord.(F) 12 Rejoice in hope;(G) be patient in affliction;(H) be persistent in prayer.(I) 13 Share with the saints in their needs;(J) pursue hospitality.(K) 14 Bless those who persecute you;(L) bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice;(M) weep with those who weep. 16 Be in agreement with one another.(N) Do not be proud;(O) instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.(P) 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil.(Q) Try to do what is honorable(R) in everyone’s eyes. 18 If possible, on your part, live at peace with everyone.(S) 19 Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His[a] wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay,(T)[b] says the Lord. 20 But
If your enemy is hungry, feed him.(U)
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in so doing
you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.(V)[c]
21 Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Betrayal at the Passover
17 On the first day of Unleavened Bread(A) the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?”
18 “Go into the city to a certain man,” He said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am celebrating the Passover at your place[a] with My disciples.’”(B) 19 So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover. 20 When evening came, He was reclining at the table with the Twelve. 21 While they were eating, He said, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me.”(C)
22 Deeply distressed, each one began to say to Him, “Surely not I, Lord?”
23 He replied, “The one who dipped his hand with Me in the bowl—he will betray Me. 24 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about Him,(D) but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born.”
25 Then Judas, His betrayer, replied, “Surely not I, Rabbi?”(E)
“You have said it,” He told him.
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