Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 77[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry out to God[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention[c] to me.
2 In my time of trouble I sought[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.[e]
I[f] refused to be comforted.
3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”[g] (Selah)
4 You held my eyelids open;[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.[i]
5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.[j]
6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.[k]
7 I asked,[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise[m] failed forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High[n] might become inactive.[o]
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.[p]
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13 [q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.[r]
What god can compare to our great God?[s]
14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
15 You delivered[t] your people by your strength[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16 The waters[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea[x] shook with fear.[y]
17 The clouds poured down rain;[z]
the skies thundered.[aa]
Yes, your arrows[ab] flashed about.
18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.[ac]
19 You walked through the sea;[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,[ae]
but left no footprints.[af]
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, foreigners[b] have invaded your chosen land;[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.[e]
4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[f]
5 How long will this go on, O Lord?[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage[h] burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.[j]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,[l]
for we are in serious trouble.[m]
9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.[o]
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations.[p]
11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners.[q]
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die.[r]
12 Pay back our neighbors in full.[s]
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.[t]
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.[u]
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.[v]
4 When Esther’s female attendants and her eunuchs came and informed her about Mordecai’s behavior,[a] the queen was overcome with anguish. Although she sent garments for Mordecai to put on so that he could remove his sackcloth, he would not accept them. 5 So Esther called for Hathach, one of the king’s eunuchs who had been placed at her service,[b] and instructed him to find out the cause and reason for Mordecai’s behavior.[c] 6 So Hathach went to Mordecai at the plaza of the city in front of the king’s gate. 7 Then Mordecai related to him everything that had happened to him, even the specific amount of money that Haman had offered to pay to the king’s treasuries for the Jews to be destroyed. 8 He also gave him a written copy of the law that had been disseminated[d] in Susa for their destruction so that he could show it to Esther and talk to her about it. He also gave instructions that she should go to the king to implore him and petition him on behalf of her people. 9 So Hathach returned and related Mordecai’s instructions[e] to Esther.
10 Then Esther replied to Hathach with instructions for Mordecai: 11 “All the servants of the king and the people of the king’s provinces know that there is only one law applicable[f] to any man or woman who comes uninvited to the king in the inner court—that person will be put to death, unless the king extends to him the gold scepter, permitting him to be spared.[g] Now I have not been invited to come to the king for some thirty days.”
12 When Esther’s reply[h] was conveyed to Mordecai, 13 he[i] said to take back this answer to Esther: “Don’t imagine that because you are part of the king’s household you will be the one Jew[j] who will escape. 14 If you keep quiet at this time, liberation and protection for the Jews will appear[k] from another source,[l] while you and your father’s household perish. It may very well be[m] that you have achieved royal status[n] for such a time as this!”
15 Then Esther sent this reply to Mordecai: 16 “Go, assemble all the Jews who are found in Susa, and fast on my behalf. Don’t eat and don’t drink for three days, night or day. My female attendants and I[o] will also fast in the same way. Afterward I will go to the king, even though it violates the law.[p] If I perish, I perish.”
17 So Mordecai set out to do everything that Esther had instructed him.
Paul at Corinth
18 After this[a] Paul[b] departed from[c] Athens and went to Corinth.[d] 2 There he[e] found[f] a Jew named Aquila,[g] a native of Pontus,[h] who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius[i] had ordered all the Jews to depart from[j] Rome. Paul approached[k] them, 3 and because he worked at the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them[l] (for they were tentmakers[m] by trade).[n] 4 He addressed[o] both Jews and Greeks in the synagogue[p] every Sabbath, attempting to persuade[q] them.
5 Now when Silas and Timothy arrived[r] from Macedonia,[s] Paul became wholly absorbed with proclaiming[t] the word, testifying[u] to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.[v] 6 When they opposed him[w] and reviled him,[x] he protested by shaking out his clothes[y] and said to them, “Your blood[z] be on your own heads! I am guiltless![aa] From now on I will go to the Gentiles!” 7 Then Paul[ab] left[ac] the synagogue[ad] and went to the house of a person named Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God,[ae] whose house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the president of the synagogue,[af] believed in the Lord together with his entire household, and many of the Corinthians who heard about it[ag] believed and were baptized. 9 The Lord said to Paul by a vision[ah] in the night,[ai] “Do not be afraid,[aj] but speak and do not be silent, 10 because I am with you, and no one will assault[ak] you to harm[al] you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So he stayed there[am] a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.[an]
Explanatory Preface
1 Now[a] many have undertaken to compile an account[b] of the things[c] that have been fulfilled[d] among us, 2 like the accounts[e] passed on[f] to us by those who were eyewitnesses and servants of the word[g] from the beginning.[h] 3 So[i] it seemed good to me as well,[j] because I have followed[k] all things carefully from the beginning, to write an orderly account[l] for you, most excellent Theophilus, 4 so that you may know for certain[m] the things you were taught.[n]
The Ministry of John the Baptist
3 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar,[a] when Pontius Pilate[b] was governor of Judea, and Herod[c] was tetrarch[d] of Galilee, and his brother Philip[e] was tetrarch of the region of Iturea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias[f] was tetrarch of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood[g] of Annas and Caiaphas, the word[h] of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the wilderness.[i] 3 He[j] went into all the region around the Jordan River,[k] preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.[l]
4 As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah,
“The voice[m] of one shouting in the wilderness:[n]
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make[o] his paths straight.
5 Every valley will be filled,[p]
and every mountain and hill will be brought low,
and the crooked will be made straight,
and the rough ways will be made smooth,
6 and all humanity[q] will see the salvation of God.’”[r]
7 So John[s] said to the crowds[t] that came out to be baptized by him, “You offspring of vipers![u] Who warned you to flee[v] from the coming wrath? 8 Therefore produce[w] fruit[x] that proves your repentance, and don’t begin to say[y] to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’[z] For I tell you that God can raise up children for Abraham from these stones![aa] 9 Even now the ax is laid at the root of the trees,[ab] and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be[ac] cut down and thrown into the fire.”
10 So[ad] the crowds were asking[ae] him, “What then should we do?” 11 John[af] answered them,[ag] “The person who has two tunics[ah] must share with the person who has none, and the person who has food must do likewise.” 12 Tax collectors[ai] also came to be baptized, and they said to him, “Teacher, what should we do?” 13 He told them, “Collect no more[aj] than you are required to.”[ak] 14 Then some soldiers[al] also asked him, “And as for us—what should we do?”[am] He told them, “Take money from no one by violence[an] or by false accusation,[ao] and be content with your pay.”
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