Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks.
You reveal your presence;[c]
people tell about your amazing deeds.
2 God says,[d]
“At the appointed times,[e]
I judge[f] fairly.
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,[g]
I make its pillars secure.”[h] (Selah)
4 [i] I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.[j]
5 Do not be so certain you have won.[k]
Do not speak with your head held so high.[l]
6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.[m]
7 For God is the judge.[n]
He brings one down and exalts another.[o]
8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices,[p]
and pours it out.[q]
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”[r]
9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;[s]
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 God says,[t]
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”[u]
Psalm 76[v]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.
76 God has revealed himself in Judah;[w]
in Israel his reputation[x] is great.
2 He lives in Salem;[y]
he dwells in Zion.[z]
3 There he shattered the arrows,[aa]
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war.[ab] (Selah)
4 You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey.[ac]
5 The bravehearted[ad] were plundered;[ae]
they “fell asleep.”[af]
All the warriors were helpless.[ag]
6 At the sound of your battle cry,[ah] O God of Jacob,
both rider[ai] and horse “fell asleep.”[aj]
7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?[ak]
8 From heaven you announced what their punishment would be.[al]
The earth[am] was afraid and silent
9 when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10 Certainly[an] your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise;[ao]
you reveal your anger in full measure.[ap]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them.
Let all those who surround him[aq] bring tribute to the awesome one.
12 He humbles princes;[ar]
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome.[as]
Psalm 23[a]
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd,[b]
I lack nothing.[c]
2 He takes me to lush pastures,[d]
he leads me to refreshing water.[e]
3 He restores my strength.[f]
He leads me down[g] the right paths[h]
for the sake of his reputation.[i]
4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,[j]
I fear[k] no danger,[l]
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.[m]
5 You prepare a feast before me[n]
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh[o] my head with oil;
my cup is completely full.[p]
6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness[q] will pursue[r] me all my days,[s]
and I will live in[t] the Lord’s house[u] for the rest of my life.[v]
Psalm 27[a]
By David.
27 The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation.
I fear no one.[c]
The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one.[d]
2 When evil men attack me[e]
to devour my flesh,[f]
when my adversaries and enemies attack me,[g]
they stumble and fall.[h]
3 Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear.[i]
Even when war is imminent,[j]
I remain confident.[k]
4 I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live[l] in the Lord’s house[m] all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor[n] of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
5 He will surely[o] give me shelter[p] in the day of danger;[q]
he will hide me in his home.[r]
He will place me[s] on an inaccessible rocky summit.[t]
6 Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.[u]
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.[v]
I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear me,[w] O Lord, when I cry out.
Have mercy on me and answer me.
8 My heart tells me to pray to you,[x]
and I do pray to you, O Lord.[y]
9 Do not reject me.[z]
Do not push your servant away in anger.
You are my deliverer.[aa]
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me.
10 Even if my father and mother abandoned me,[ab]
the Lord would take me in.[ac]
11 Teach me how you want me to live,[ad] Lord;
lead me along a level path[ae] because of those who wait to ambush me.[af]
12 Do not turn me over to my enemies,[ag]
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.[ah]
13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience
the Lord’s favor in the land of the living?[ai]
14 Rely[aj] on the Lord!
Be strong and confident![ak]
Rely on the Lord!
5 Now there happened to be a Jewish man in Susa the citadel whose name was Mordecai.[a] He was the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjaminite, 6 who had been taken into exile from Jerusalem with the captives who had been carried into exile with Jeconiah[b] king of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had taken into exile. 7 Now he was acting as the guardian of[c] Hadassah[d] (that is, Esther), the daughter of his uncle, for neither her father nor her mother was alive.[e] This young woman was very attractive and had a beautiful figure.[f] When her father and mother died, Mordecai had raised her[g] as if she were his own daughter.
8 It so happened that when the king’s edict and his law became known[h] many young women were taken to Susa the citadel to be placed under the authority of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the royal palace[i] to be under the authority of Hegai, who was overseeing the women.
15 When it became the turn of Esther daughter of Abihail the uncle of Mordecai (who had raised her as if she were his own daughter[a]) to go to the king, she did not request anything except what Hegai the king’s eunuch, who was overseer of the women, had recommended. Yet Esther met with the approval of all who saw her. 16 Then Esther was taken to King Ahasuerus at his royal residence in the tenth[b] month (that is, the month of Tebeth) in the seventh[c] year of his reign. 17 And the king loved Esther more than all the other women, and she met with his loving approval[d] more than all the other young women.[e] So he placed the royal high turban on her head and appointed her queen[f] in place of Vashti. 18 Then the king prepared a large banquet for all his officials and his servants—it was actually Esther’s banquet. He also set aside a holiday for the provinces, and he provided for offerings at the king’s expense.[g]
Mordecai Learns of a Plot against the King
19 Now when the young women were being gathered again,[h] Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.[i] 20 Esther was still not divulging her lineage or her people,[j] just as Mordecai had instructed her.[k] Esther continued to do whatever Mordecai said, just as she had done when he was raising her.
21 In those days while Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthan[l] and Teresh,[m] two of the king’s eunuchs who protected the entrance,[n] became angry and plotted to assassinate[o] King Ahasuerus. 22 When Mordecai learned of the conspiracy,[p] he informed Queen Esther,[q] and Esther told the king in Mordecai’s name. 23 The king then had the matter investigated and, finding it to be so, had the two conspirators[r] hanged on a gallows.[s] It was then recorded in the daily chronicles in the king’s presence.
Paul at Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was greatly upset[a] because he saw[b] the city was full of idols. 17 So he was addressing[c] the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles[d] in the synagogue,[e] and in the marketplace[f] every day[g] those who happened to be there. 18 Also some of the Epicurean[h] and Stoic[i] philosophers were conversing[j] with him, and some were asking,[k] “What does this foolish babbler[l] want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods.”[m] (They said this because he was proclaiming the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.)[n] 19 So they took Paul and[o] brought him to the Areopagus,[p] saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some surprising things[q] to our ears, so we want to know what they[r] mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there used to spend their time[s] in nothing else than telling[t] or listening to something new.)[u]
22 So Paul stood[v] before the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious[w] in all respects.[x] 23 For as I went around and observed closely your objects of worship,[y] I even found an altar with this inscription:[z] ‘To an unknown god.’ Therefore what you worship without knowing it,[aa] this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it,[ab] who is[ac] Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by human hands,[ad] 25 nor is he served by human hands, as if he needed anything,[ae] because he himself gives life and breath and everything to everyone.[af] 26 From one man[ag] he made every nation of the human race[ah] to inhabit the entire earth,[ai] determining their set times[aj] and the fixed limits of the places where they would live,[ak] 27 so that they would search for God and perhaps grope around[al] for him and find him,[am] though he is[an] not far from each one of us. 28 For in him we live and move about[ao] and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we too are his offspring.’[ap] 29 So since we are God’s offspring, we should not think the deity[aq] is like gold or silver or stone, an image[ar] made by human[as] skill[at] and imagination.[au] 30 Therefore, although God has overlooked[av] such times of ignorance,[aw] he now commands all people[ax] everywhere to repent,[ay] 31 because he has set[az] a day on which he is going to judge the world[ba] in righteousness, by a man whom he designated,[bb] having provided proof to everyone by raising[bc] him from the dead.”
32 Now when they heard about[bd] the resurrection from the dead, some began to scoff,[be] but others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul left the Areopagus.[bf] 34 But some people[bg] joined him[bh] and believed. Among them[bi] were Dionysius, who was a member of the Areopagus,[bj] a woman[bk] named Damaris, and others with them.
Jesus’ Final Public Words
44 But Jesus shouted out,[a] “The one who believes in me does not believe in me, but in the one who sent me,[b] 45 and the one who sees me sees the one who sent me.[c] 46 I have come as a light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone[d] hears my words and does not obey them,[e] I do not judge him. For I have not come to judge the world, but to save the world.[f] 48 The one who rejects me and does not accept[g] my words has a judge;[h] the word[i] I have spoken will judge him at the last day. 49 For I have not spoken from my own authority,[j] but the Father himself who sent me has commanded me[k] what I should say and what I should speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life.[l] Thus the things I say, I say just as the Father has told me.”[m]
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