Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88[a]
A song, a psalm written by the Korahites, for the music director, according to the machalath-leannoth style;[b] a well-written song[c] by Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord God who delivers me,[d]
by day I cry out
and at night I pray before you.[e]
2 Listen to my prayer.[f]
Pay attention[g] to my cry for help.
3 For my life[h] is filled with troubles,
and I am ready to enter Sheol.[i]
4 They treat me like[j] those who descend into the grave.[k]
I am like a helpless man,[l]
5 adrift[m] among the dead,
like corpses lying in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
and who are cut off from your power.[n]
6 You place me in the lowest regions of the Pit,[o]
in the dark places, in the watery depths.
7 Your anger bears down on me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. (Selah)
8 You cause those who know me to keep their distance;
you make me an appalling sight to them.
I am trapped and cannot get free.[p]
9 My eyes grow weak because of oppression.
I call out to you, O Lord, all day long;
I spread out my hands in prayer to you.[q]
10 Do you accomplish amazing things for the dead?
Do the departed spirits[r] rise up and give you thanks? (Selah)
11 Is your loyal love proclaimed in the grave,
or your faithfulness in the place of the dead?[s]
12 Are your amazing deeds experienced[t] in the dark region,[u]
or your deliverance in the land of oblivion?[v]
13 As for me, I cry out to you, O Lord;
in the morning my prayer confronts you.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me,
and pay no attention to me?[w]
15 I am oppressed and have been on the verge of death since my youth.[x]
I have been subjected to your horrors and am numb with pain.[y]
16 Your anger overwhelms me;[z]
your terrors destroy me.
17 They surround me like water all day long;
they join forces and encircle me.[aa]
18 You cause my friends and neighbors to keep their distance;[ab]
those who know me leave me alone in the darkness.[ac]
Psalm 91[a]
91 As for you, the one who lives[b] in the shelter of the Most High,[c]
and resides in the protective shadow[d] of the Sovereign One[e]—
2 I say this about the Lord, my shelter and my stronghold,
my God in whom I trust—
3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter[f]
and from the destructive plague.
4 He will shelter you[g] with his wings;[h]
you will find safety under his wings.
His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.[i]
5 You need not fear the terrors of the night,[j]
the arrow that flies by day,
6 the plague that stalks in the darkness,
or the disease that ravages at noon.[k]
7 Though a thousand may fall beside you,
and a multitude on your right side,
it[l] will not reach you.
8 Certainly you will see it with your very own eyes—
you will see the wicked paid back.[m]
9 For you have taken refuge in the Lord,
my shelter, the Most High.
10 No harm will overtake[n] you;
no illness[o] will come near your home.[p]
11 For he will order his angels[q]
to protect you in all you do.[r]
12 They will lift you up in their hands,
so you will not slip and fall on a stone.[s]
13 You will subdue[t] a lion and a snake;[u]
you will trample underfoot a young lion and a serpent.
14 The Lord says,[v]
“Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him;
I will protect him[w] because he is loyal to me.[x]
15 When he calls out to me, I will answer him.
I will be with him when he is in trouble;
I will rescue him and bring him honor.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,[y]
and will let him see my salvation.”
Psalm 92[z]
A psalm; a song for the Sabbath day.
92 It is fitting[aa] to thank the Lord,
and to sing praises to your name, O Most High.[ab]
2 It is fitting[ac] to proclaim your loyal love in the morning,
and your faithfulness during the night,
3 to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument and a lyre,
to the accompaniment of the meditative tone of the harp.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me happy by your work.
I will sing for joy because of what you have done.[ad]
5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your plans are very intricate![ae]
6 The spiritually insensitive do not recognize this;
the fool does not understand this.[af]
7 When the wicked sprout up like grass,
and all the evildoers glisten,[ag]
it is so that they may be annihilated.[ah]
8 But you, O Lord, reign[ai] forever.
9 Indeed,[aj] look at your enemies, O Lord.
Indeed,[ak] look at how your enemies perish.
All the evildoers are scattered.
10 You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox.[al]
I am covered[am] with fresh oil.
11 I gloat in triumph over those who tried to ambush me;[an]
I hear the defeated cries of the evil foes who attacked me.[ao]
12 The godly[ap] grow like a palm tree;
they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon.[aq]
13 Planted in the Lord’s house,
they grow in the courts of our God.
14 They bear fruit even when they are old;
they are filled with vitality and have many leaves.[ar]
15 So they proclaim that the Lord, my Protector,
is just and never unfair.[as]
The King Acts to Protect the Jews
8 On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate[a] of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her. 2 The king then removed his signet ring (the very one he had taken back from Haman) and gave it to Mordecai. And Esther designated Mordecai to be in charge of Haman’s estate.
3 Then Esther again spoke with the king, falling at his feet. She wept and begged him for mercy, that he might nullify the evil of Haman the Agagite and the plot that he had intended against the Jews.[b] 4 When the king extended to Esther the gold scepter, she[c] arose and stood before the king.
5 She said, “If the king is so inclined, and if I have met with his approval, and if the matter is agreeable to the king, and if I am attractive to him, let an edict be written rescinding those recorded intentions of Haman the son of Hammedatha, the Agagite,[d] which he wrote in order to destroy the Jews who are throughout all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I watch the calamity that will befall my people, and how can I watch the destruction of my relatives?”[e]
7 King Ahasuerus replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Look, I have already given Haman’s estate to Esther, and he has been hanged on the gallows because he took hostile action[f] against the Jews. 8 Now write in the king’s name whatever in your opinion is appropriate concerning the Jews and seal it with the king’s signet ring. Any decree that is written in the king’s name and sealed with the king’s signet ring cannot be rescinded.”
15 Now Mordecai went out from the king’s presence in blue and white royal attire, with a large golden crown and a purple linen mantle. The city of Susa shouted with joy.[a] 16 For the Jews there was radiant happiness and joyous honor.[b] 17 Throughout every province and throughout every city where the king’s edict and his law arrived, the Jews experienced happiness and joy, banquets and holidays. Many of the resident peoples[c] pretended to be Jews,[d] because the fear of the Jews had overcome them.[e]
A Riot in Ephesus
21 Now after all these things had taken place,[a] Paul resolved[b] to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia[c] and Achaia.[d] He said,[e] “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”[f] 22 So after sending[g] two of his assistants,[h] Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia,[i] he himself stayed on for a while in the province of Asia.[j]
23 At[k] that time[l] a great disturbance[m] took place concerning the Way.[n] 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines[o] of Artemis,[p] brought a great deal[q] of business[r] to the craftsmen. 25 He gathered[s] these[t] together, along with the workmen in similar trades,[u] and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity[v] comes from this business. 26 And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded[w] and turned away[x] a large crowd,[y] not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia,[z] by saying[aa] that gods made by hands are not gods at all.[ab] 27 There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute,[ac] but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis[ad] will be regarded as nothing,[ae] and she whom all the province of Asia[af] and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.”[ag]
28 When[ah] they heard[ai] this they became enraged[aj] and began to shout,[ak] “Great is Artemis[al] of the Ephesians!” 29 The[am] city was filled with the uproar,[an] and the crowd[ao] rushed to the theater[ap] together,[aq] dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. 30 But when Paul wanted to enter the public assembly,[ar] the disciples would not let him. 31 Even some of the provincial authorities[as] who were his friends sent[at] a message[au] to him, urging him not to venture[av] into the theater. 32 So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met together.[aw] 33 Some of the crowd concluded[ax] it was about[ay] Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front.[az] Alexander, gesturing[ba] with his hand, was wanting to make a defense[bb] before the public assembly.[bc] 34 But when they recognized[bd] that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison,[be] “Great is Artemis[bf] of the Ephesians!” for about two hours.[bg] 35 After the city secretary[bh] quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person[bi] is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper[bj] of the temple of the great Artemis[bk] and of her image that fell from heaven?[bl] 36 So because these facts[bm] are indisputable,[bn] you must keep quiet[bo] and not do anything reckless.[bp] 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers[bq] nor blasphemers of our goddess.[br] 38 If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint[bs] against someone, the courts are open[bt] and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there.[bu] 39 But if you want anything in addition,[bv] it will have to be settled[bw] in a legal assembly.[bx] 40 For[by] we are in danger of being charged with rioting[bz] today, since there is no cause we can give to explain[ca] this disorderly gathering.”[cb] 41 After[cc] he had said[cd] this,[ce] he dismissed the assembly.[cf]
Ministry in Capernaum
31 So[a] he went down to Capernaum,[b] a town[c] in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he began to teach the people.[d] 32 They[e] were amazed[f] at his teaching, because he spoke[g] with authority.[h]
33 Now[i] in the synagogue[j] there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean[k] demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, 34 “Ha! Leave us alone,[l] Jesus the Nazarene! Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One[m] of God.” 35 But[n] Jesus rebuked him:[o] “Silence! Come out of him!”[p] Then, after the demon threw the man[q] down in their midst, he came out of him without hurting him.[r] 36 They[s] were all amazed and began to say[t] to one another, “What’s happening here?[u] For with authority and power[v] he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!” 37 So[w] the news[x] about him spread into all areas of the region.[y]
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