Book of Common Prayer
Mem
97 Oh how (A)I love your law!
It is my (B)meditation all the day.
98 Your commandment makes me (C)wiser than my enemies,
for it is ever with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for (D)your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than (E)the aged,[a]
for I (F)keep your precepts.
101 I (G)hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102 I do not turn aside from your rules,
for you have taught me.
103 How (H)sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore (I)I hate every false way.
Nun
105 (J)Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light to my path.
106 I have (K)sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to keep your (L)righteous rules.
107 I am severely (M)afflicted;
(N)give me life, O Lord, according to your word!
108 Accept (O)my freewill offerings of praise, O Lord,
and (P)teach me your rules.
109 I hold my life (Q)in my hand continually,
but I do not (R)forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid (S)a snare for me,
but (T)I do not stray from your precepts.
111 Your testimonies are (U)my heritage forever,
for they are (V)the joy of my heart.
112 I (W)incline my heart to perform your statutes
forever, (X)to the end.[b]
Samekh
113 I hate (Y)the double-minded,
but I love (Z)your law.
114 You are my (AA)hiding place and my (AB)shield;
I (AC)hope in your word.
115 (AD)Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may (AE)keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me (AF)according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be (AG)put to shame in my (AH)hope!
117 (AI)Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually!
118 You (AJ)spurn all who (AK)go astray from your statutes,
for their cunning is in vain.
119 All the wicked of the earth you discard like (AL)dross,
therefore (AM)I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh (AN)trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgments.
Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me
To the choirmaster: according to (A)The Gittith.[a] Of (B)Asaph.
81 (C)Sing aloud to God our strength;
(D)shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound (E)the tambourine,
(F)the sweet lyre with (G)the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at (H)the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule[b] of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it (I)a decree in (J)Joseph
when he (K)went out over[c] the land of Egypt.
(L)I hear a language (M)I had not known:
6 “I (N)relieved your[d] shoulder of (O)the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you (P)called, and I delivered you;
I (Q)answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I (R)tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 (S)Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no (T)strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a (U)foreign god.
10 (V)I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
(W)Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel (X)would not submit to me.
12 So I (Y)gave them over to their (Z)stubborn hearts,
to follow their own (AA)counsels.
13 (AB)Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would (AC)walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and (AD)turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would (AE)cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you[e] with (AF)the finest of the wheat,
and with (AG)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Rescue the Weak and Needy
A Psalm of (AH)Asaph.
82 (AI)God (AJ)has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of (AK)the gods he (AL)holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and (AM)show partiality to (AN)the wicked? Selah
3 (AO)Give justice to (AP)the weak and the fatherless;
(AQ)maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 (AR)Rescue the weak and the needy;
(AS)deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
5 (AT)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
(AU)they walk about in darkness;
(AV)all the foundations of the earth are (AW)shaken.
The King Honors Mordecai
6 On that night the king could not sleep. And he gave orders to bring (A)the book of memorable deeds, the chronicles, and they were read before the king. 2 And it was found written how (B)Mordecai had told about (C)Bigthana[a] and (D)Teresh, two of the king's eunuchs, who guarded the threshold, and who had sought to lay hands on King Ahasuerus. 3 And the king said, “What honor or distinction has been bestowed on Mordecai for this?” The king's young men who attended him said, “Nothing has been done for him.” 4 And the king said, “Who is in the court?” Now Haman had just entered (E)the outer court of the king's palace to speak to the king about having Mordecai hanged on (F)the gallows[b] that he had prepared for him. 5 And the king's young men told him, “Haman is there, standing in the court.” And the king said, “Let him come in.” 6 So Haman came in, and the king said to him, “What should be done to the man (G)whom the king delights to honor?” And Haman said to himself, “Whom would the king delight to honor more than me?” 7 And Haman said to the king, “For the man whom the king delights to honor, 8 let royal robes be brought, which the king has worn, (H)and the horse that the king has ridden, and on whose head (I)a royal crown[c] is set. 9 And let the robes and the horse be handed over to one of the king's most noble officials. Let them dress the man whom the king delights to honor, and let them lead him on the horse through the square of the city, (J)proclaiming before him: ‘Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.’” 10 Then the king said to Haman, “Hurry; take the robes and the horse, as you have said, and do so to Mordecai the Jew, who sits (K)at the king's gate. Leave out nothing that you have mentioned.” 11 So Haman took the robes and the horse, and he dressed Mordecai and led him through the square of the city, proclaiming before him, “Thus shall it be done to the man whom the king delights to honor.”
12 Then Mordecai returned to the king's gate. But Haman hurried to his house, mourning (L)and with his head covered. 13 And Haman told (M)his wife Zeresh and all his friends everything that had happened to him. Then his wise men and his wife Zeresh said to him, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of the Jewish people, you will not overcome him but will surely fall before him.”
Esther Reveals Haman's Plot
14 While they were yet talking with him, the king's eunuchs arrived and hurried to bring Haman (N)to the feast that Esther had prepared.
Paul in Ephesus
19 And it happened that while (A)Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed (B)through the inland[a] country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, (C)“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, (D)we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, (E)“Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into (F)John's baptism.” 4 And Paul said, (G)“John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people (H)to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, (I)they were baptized in[b] the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And (J)when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and (K)they began speaking in tongues and (L)prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 And (M)he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them (N)about the kingdom of God. 9 (O)But when some became stubborn and (P)continued in unbelief, speaking evil of (Q)the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus.[c] 10 This continued for (R)two years, so that (S)all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)And Jesus, (B)full of the Holy Spirit, (C)returned from the Jordan and was led (D)by the Spirit in the wilderness 2 for (E)forty days, (F)being tempted by the devil. (G)And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, (H)he was hungry. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are (I)the Son of God, command (J)this stone to become bread.” 4 And Jesus answered him, (K)“It is written, (L)‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” 5 (M)And the devil took him up and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, 6 and said to him, “To you (N)I will give all this authority and their glory, (O)for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 And Jesus answered him, (P)“It is written,
9 (S)And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are (T)the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,
(U)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’
11 and
(V)“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, (W)‘You shall not (X)put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him (Y)until an opportune time.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.