Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 87[a]
Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.
87 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills.[b]
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 People say wonderful things about you,[c]
O city of God. (Selah)
4 I mention Rahab[d] and Babylon to my followers.[e]
Here are[f] Philistia and Tyre, along with Ethiopia.[g]
It is said of them, “This one was born there.”[h]
5 But it is said of Zion’s residents,[i]
“Each one of these[j] was born in her,
and the Most High[k] makes her secure.”
6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations,[l]
“This one was born there.”[m] (Selah)
7 As for the singers, as well as the pipers—
all of them sing within your walls.[n]
Book 4 (Psalms 90-106)
Psalm 90[a]
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
90 O Lord, you have been our protector[b] through all generations.
2 Even before the mountains came into existence,[c]
or you brought the world into being,[d]
you were the eternal God.[e]
3 You make mankind return[f] to the dust,[g]
and say, “Return, O people.”
4 Yes,[h] in your eyes a thousand years
are like yesterday that quickly passes,
or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.[i]
5 You bring their lives to an end and they “fall asleep.”[j]
In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up:
6 In the morning it glistens[k] and sprouts up;
at evening time it withers[l] and dries up.
7 Yes,[m] we are consumed by your anger;
we are terrified by your wrath.
8 You are aware of our sins;[n]
you even know about our hidden sins.[o]
9 Yes,[p] throughout all our days we experience your raging fury;[q]
the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.[r]
10 The days of our lives add up to seventy years,[s]
or eighty, if one is especially strong.[t]
But even one’s best years are marred by trouble and oppression.[u]
Yes,[v] they pass quickly[w] and we fly away.[x]
11 Who can really fathom the intensity of your anger?[y]
Your raging fury causes people to fear you.[z]
12 So teach us to consider our mortality,[aa]
so that we might live wisely.[ab]
13 Turn back toward us, O Lord.
How long must this suffering last?[ac]
Have pity on your servants.[ad]
14 Satisfy us in the morning[ae] with your loyal love.
Then we will shout for joy and be happy[af] all our days.
15 Make us happy in proportion to the days you have afflicted us,
in proportion to the years we have experienced[ag] trouble.
16 May your servants see your work.[ah]
May their sons see your majesty.[ai]
17 May our Sovereign God extend his favor to us.[aj]
Make our endeavors successful.
Yes, make them successful.[ak]
Psalm 136[a]
136 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his loyal love endures.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his loyal love endures,
4 to the one who performs magnificent, amazing deeds all by himself,
for his loyal love endures,
5 to the one who used wisdom to make the heavens,
for his loyal love endures,
6 to the one who spread out the earth over the water,
for his loyal love endures,
7 to the one who made the great lights,
for his loyal love endures,
8 the sun to rule by day,
for his loyal love endures,
9 the moon and stars to rule by night,
for his loyal love endures,
10 to the one who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
for his loyal love endures,
11 and led Israel out from their midst,
for his loyal love endures,
12 with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his loyal love endures,
13 to the one who divided[c] the Red Sea[d] in two,[e]
for his loyal love endures,
14 and led Israel through its midst,
for his loyal love endures,
15 and tossed[f] Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
for his loyal love endures,
16 to the one who led his people through the wilderness,
for his loyal love endures,
17 to the one who struck down great kings,
for his loyal love endures,
18 and killed powerful kings,
for his loyal love endures,
19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his loyal love endures,
20 Og, king of Bashan,
for his loyal love endures,
21 and gave their land as an inheritance,
for his loyal love endures,
22 as an inheritance to Israel his servant,
for his loyal love endures,
23 to the one who remembered us when we were down,[g]
for his loyal love endures,
24 and snatched us away from our enemies,
for his loyal love endures,
25 to the one who gives food to all living things,[h]
for his loyal love endures.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his loyal love endures!
God Fulfills Jotham’s Curse
22 Abimelech commanded[a] Israel for three years. 23 God sent a spirit to stir up hostility[b] between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem. He made the leaders of Shechem disloyal[c] to Abimelech. 24 He did this so the violent deaths of Jerub Baal’s seventy sons might be avenged and Abimelech, their half-brother[d] who murdered them, might have to pay for their spilled blood, along with the leaders of Shechem who helped him murder them.[e] 25 The leaders of Shechem rebelled against Abimelech by putting[f] bandits in[g] the hills, who robbed everyone who traveled by on the road. But Abimelech found out about it.[h]
50 Abimelech moved on[a] to Thebez; he besieged and captured it.[b] 51 There was a fortified[c] tower[d] in the center of the city, so all the men and women, as well as the city’s leaders, ran into it and locked the entrance. Then they went up to the roof of the tower. 52 Abimelech came and attacked the tower. When he approached the entrance of the tower to set it on fire, 53 a woman threw an upper millstone[e] down on his[f] head and shattered his skull. 54 He quickly called to the young man who carried his weapons,[g] “Draw your sword and kill me, so they will not say,[h] ‘A woman killed him.’” So the young man stabbed him and he died. 55 When the Israelites saw that Abimelech was dead, they went home.[i]
56 God repaid Abimelech for the evil he did to his father by murdering his seventy half brothers.[j] 57 God also repaid the men of Shechem for their evil deeds. The curse spoken by Jotham son of Jerub Baal fell[k] on them.
Conditions Among the Early Believers
32 The group of those who believed were of one heart and mind,[a] and no one said that any of his possessions was his own, but everything was held in common.[b] 33 With[c] great power the apostles were giving testimony[d] to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was on them all. 34 For there was no one needy[e] among them, because those who were owners of land or houses were selling[f] them[g] and bringing the proceeds from the sales 35 and placing them at the apostles’ feet. The proceeds[h] were distributed to each, as anyone had need. 36 So Joseph, a Levite who was a native of Cyprus, called by the apostles Barnabas (which is translated “son of encouragement”),[i] 37 sold[j] a field[k] that belonged to him and brought the money[l] and placed it at the apostles’ feet.
The Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira
5 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 2 He[m] kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought[n] only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled[o] your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of[p] the land? 4 Before it was sold,[q] did it not[r] belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money[s] not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart?[t] You have not lied to people[u] but to God!”
5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped[v] all who heard about it. 6 So the young men came,[w] wrapped him up,[x] carried him out, and buried[y] him. 7 After an interval of about three hours,[z] his wife came in, but she did not know[aa] what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you[ab] paid this amount[ac] for the land?” Sapphira[ad] said, “Yes, that much.” 9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 10 At once[ae] she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great[af] fear gripped[ag] the whole church[ah] and all who heard about these things.
13 Now the Jewish feast of Passover[a] was near, so Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14 [b] He found in the temple courts[c] those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers sitting at tables.[d] 15 So he made a whip of cords[e] and drove them all out of the temple courts,[f] with the sheep and the oxen. He scattered the coins of the money changers[g] and overturned their tables. 16 To those who sold the doves he said, “Take these things away from here! Do not make[h] my Father’s house a marketplace!”[i] 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal[j] for your house will devour me.”[k]
18 So then the Jewish leaders[l] responded,[m] “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?”[n] 19 Jesus replied,[o] “Destroy[p] this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 Then the Jewish leaders[q] said to him, “This temple has been under construction[r] for forty-six years,[s] and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus[t] was speaking about the temple of his body.[u] 22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture[v] and the saying[w] that Jesus had spoken.
Jesus at the Passover Feast
23 Now while Jesus[x] was in Jerusalem at the Feast of the Passover, many people believed in his name because they saw the miraculous signs he was doing.[y] 24 But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people.[z] 25 He did not need anyone to testify about man,[aa] for he knew what was in man.[ab]
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