Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 16[a]
A prayer[b] of David.
16 Protect me, O God, for I have taken shelter in you.[c]
2 I say to the Lord, “You are the Lord,
my only source of well-being.”[d]
3 As for God’s chosen people who are in the land,
and the leading officials I admired so much[e]—
4 their troubles multiply;
they desire other gods.[f]
I will not pour out drink offerings of blood to their gods,[g]
nor will I make vows in the name of their gods.[h]
5 Lord, you give me stability and prosperity;[i]
you make my future secure.[j]
6 It is as if I have been given fertile fields
or received a beautiful tract of land.[k]
7 I will praise[l] the Lord who[m] guides[n] me;
yes, during the night I reflect and learn.[o]
8 I constantly trust in the Lord;[p]
because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 So my heart rejoices
and I am happy;[q]
my life is safe.[r]
10 You will not abandon me[s] to Sheol;[t]
you will not allow your faithful follower[u] to see[v] the Pit.[w]
11 You lead me in[x] the path of life.[y]
I experience absolute joy in your presence;[z]
you always give me sheer delight.[aa]
Psalm 17[ab]
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, consider my just cause.[ac]
Pay attention to my cry for help.
Listen to the prayer
I sincerely offer.[ad]
2 Make a just decision on my behalf.[ae]
Decide what is right.[af]
3 You have scrutinized my inner motives;[ag]
you have examined me during the night.[ah]
You have carefully evaluated me, but you find no sin.
I am determined I will say nothing sinful.[ai]
4 As for the actions of people[aj]—
just as you have commanded,
I have not followed in the footsteps of violent men.[ak]
5 I carefully obey your commands;[al]
I do not deviate from them.[am]
6 I call to you because you will answer me, O God.
Listen to me![an]
Hear what I say![ao]
7 Accomplish awesome, faithful deeds,[ap]
you who powerfully deliver those who look to you for protection from their enemies.[aq]
8 Protect me as you would protect the pupil of your eye.[ar]
Hide me in the shadow of your wings.[as]
9 Protect me from[at] the wicked men who attack[au] me,
my enemies who crowd around me for the kill.[av]
10 They are calloused;[aw]
they speak arrogantly.[ax]
11 They attack me, now they surround me;[ay]
they intend to throw me to the ground.[az]
12 He[ba] is like a lion[bb] that wants to tear its prey to bits,[bc]
like a young lion crouching[bd] in hidden places.
13 Rise up, Lord!
Confront him.[be] Knock him down.[bf]
Use your sword to rescue me from the wicked man.[bg]
14 Lord, use your power to deliver me from these murderers,[bh]
from the murderers of this world.[bi]
They enjoy prosperity;[bj]
you overwhelm them with the riches they desire.[bk]
They have many children,
and leave their wealth to their offspring.[bl]
15 As for me, because I am innocent I will see your face;[bm]
when I awake you will reveal yourself to me.[bn]
Psalm 22[a]
For the music director, according to the tune “Morning Doe”;[b] a psalm of David.
22 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?[c]
I groan in prayer, but help seems far away.[d]
2 My God, I cry out during the day,
but you do not answer,
and during the night my prayers do not let up.[e]
3 You are holy;
you sit as king receiving the praises of Israel.[f]
4 In you our ancestors[g] trusted;
they trusted in you[h] and you rescued them.
5 To you they cried out, and they were saved;
in you they trusted and they were not disappointed.[i]
6 But I[j] am a worm,[k] not a man;[l]
people insult me and despise me.[m]
7 All who see me taunt[n] me;
they mock me[o] and shake their heads.[p]
8 They say,[q]
“Commit yourself[r] to the Lord!
Let the Lord[s] rescue him!
Let the Lord[t] deliver him, for he delights in him.”[u]
9 Yes, you are the one who brought me out[v] from the womb
and made me feel secure on my mother’s breasts.
10 I have been dependent on you since birth;[w]
from the time I came out of my mother’s womb you have been my God.[x]
11 Do not remain far away from me,
for trouble is near and I have no one to help me.[y]
12 Many bulls[z] surround me;
powerful bulls of Bashan[aa] hem me in.
13 They[ab] open their mouths to devour me[ac]
like a roaring lion that rips its prey.[ad]
14 My strength drains away like water;[ae]
all my bones are dislocated.
My heart[af] is like wax;
it melts away inside me.
15 The roof of my mouth[ag] is as dry as a piece of pottery;
my tongue sticks to my gums.[ah]
You[ai] set me in the dust of death.[aj]
16 Yes,[ak] wild dogs surround me—
a gang of evil men crowd around me;
like a lion they pin my hands and feet.[al]
17 I can count[am] all my bones;
my enemies[an] are gloating over me in triumph.[ao]
18 They are dividing up my clothes among themselves;
they are rolling dice[ap] for my garments.
19 But you, O Lord, do not remain far away.
You are my source of strength.[aq] Hurry and help me![ar]
20 Deliver me[as] from the sword.
Save[at] my life[au] from the claws[av] of the wild dogs.
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lion,[aw]
and from the horns of the wild oxen.[ax]
You have answered me.[ay]
22 I will declare your name to my countrymen.[az]
In the middle of the assembly I will praise you.
23 You loyal followers of the Lord,[ba] praise him.
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him.
All you descendants of Israel, stand in awe of him.[bb]
24 For he did not despise or detest the suffering[bc] of the oppressed.[bd]
He did not ignore him;[be]
when he cried out to him, he responded.[bf]
25 You are the reason I offer praise[bg] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[bh]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[bi]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[bj] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[bk]
Let all the nations[bl] worship you.[bm]
28 For the Lord is king[bn]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[bo] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[bp]
all those who are descending into the grave[bq] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[br]
30 A whole generation[bs] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[bt]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[bu]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[bv]
Job’s Reply to Bildad[a]
9 Then Job answered:
2 “Truly,[b] I know that this is so.
But how[c] can a human[d] be just before[e] God?[f]
3 If someone wishes[g] to contend[h] with him,
he cannot answer[i] him one time in a thousand.
4 He is wise in heart[j] and mighty[k] in strength[l]—
who has resisted[m] him and remained safe?[n]
5 He who removes mountains suddenly,[o]
who overturns them in his anger,[p]
6 he who shakes the earth out of its place[q]
so that its pillars tremble,[r]
7 he who commands the sun, and[s] it does not shine[t]
and seals up[u] the stars,
8 he alone spreads out the heavens,
and treads[v] on the waves of the sea.[w]
9 He makes the Bear,[x] Orion,[y] and the Pleiades,[z]
and the constellations of the southern sky;[aa]
10 he does great and unsearchable things,[ab]
and wonderful things without number.
11 If[ac] he passes by me, I cannot see[ad] him,[ae]
if he goes by, I cannot perceive him.[af]
12 If he snatches away,[ag] who can turn him back?[ah]
Who dares to say to him, ‘What are you doing?’
13 God does not restrain his anger;[ai]
under him the helpers of Rahab[aj] lie crushed.[ak]
The Impossibility of Facing God in Court
32 For he[a] is not a human being like I am,
that[b] I might answer him,
that we might come[c] together in judgment.
33 Nor is there an arbiter[d] between us,
who[e] might lay[f] his hand on us both,[g]
34 who[h] would take his[i] rod[j] away from me
so that his terror[k] would not make me afraid.
35 Then[l] would I speak and not fear him,
but it is not so with me.[m]
34 Then Peter started speaking:[a] “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,[b] 35 but in every nation[c] the person who fears him[d] and does what is right[e] is welcomed before him. 36 You know[f] the message[g] he sent to the people[h] of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace[i] through[j] Jesus Christ[k] (he is Lord[l] of all)— 37 you know what happened throughout Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John announced:[m] 38 with respect to Jesus from Nazareth,[n] that[o] God anointed him with the Holy Spirit and with power. He[p] went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil,[q] because God was with him.[r] 39 We[s] are witnesses of all the things he did both in Judea[t] and in Jerusalem. They[u] killed him by hanging him on a tree,[v] 40 but[w] God raised him up on the third day and caused him to be seen,[x] 41 not by all the people, but by us, the witnesses God had already chosen,[y] who ate and drank[z] with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He[aa] commanded us to preach to the people and to warn[ab] them[ac] that he is the one[ad] appointed[ae] by God as judge[af] of the living and the dead. 43 About him all the prophets testify,[ag] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins[ah] through his name.”
The Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell on[ai] all those who heard the message.[aj] 45 The[ak] circumcised believers[al] who had accompanied Peter were greatly astonished[am] that[an] the gift of the Holy Spirit[ao] had been poured out[ap] even on the Gentiles, 46 for they heard them speaking in tongues and praising[aq] God. Then Peter said, 47 “No one can withhold the water for these people to be baptized, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did,[ar] can he?”[as] 48 So he gave orders to have them baptized[at] in the name of Jesus Christ.[au] Then they asked him to stay for several days.
Teaching About the Spirit
37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day,[a] Jesus stood up and shouted out,[b] “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 38 let the one who believes in me drink.[c] Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him[d] will flow rivers of living water.’”[e] 39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given,[f] because Jesus was not yet glorified.)[g]
Differing Opinions About Jesus
40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd[h] began to say, “This really[i] is the Prophet!”[j] 41 Others said, “This is the Christ!”[k] But still others said, “No,[l] for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?[m] 42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant[n] of David[o] and comes from Bethlehem,[p] the village where David lived?”[q] 43 So there was a division in the crowd[r] because of Jesus.[s] 44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.[t]
Lack of Belief
45 Then the officers[u] returned[v] to the chief priests and Pharisees,[w] who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?”[x] 46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered,[y] “You haven’t been deceived too, have you?[z] 48 None of the members of the ruling council[aa] or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?[ab] 49 But this rabble[ac] who do not know the law are accursed!”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus[ad] before and who was one of the rulers,[ae] said,[af] 51 “Our law doesn’t condemn[ag] a man unless it first hears from him and learns[ah] what he is doing, does it?”[ai] 52 They replied,[aj] “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?[ak] Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet[al] comes from Galilee!”
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