Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 102[a]
The prayer of an oppressed man, as he grows faint and pours out his lament before the Lord.
102 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my cry for help.[b]
2 Do not ignore me in my time of trouble.[c]
Listen to me.[d]
When I call out to you, quickly answer me.
3 For my days go up in smoke,[e]
and my bones are charred as in a fireplace.[f]
4 My heart is parched[g] and withered like grass,
for I am unable[h] to eat food.[i]
5 Because of the anxiety that makes me groan,
my bones protrude from my skin.[j]
6 I am like an owl[k] in the wilderness;
I am like a screech owl[l] among the ruins.[m]
7 I stay awake;[n]
I am like a solitary bird on a roof.
8 All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who mock me use my name in their curses.[o]
9 For I eat ashes as if they were bread,[p]
and mix my drink with my tears,[q]
10 because of your anger and raging fury.
Indeed,[r] you pick me up and throw me away.
11 My days are coming to an end,[s]
and I am withered like grass.
12 But you, O Lord, rule forever,[t]
and your reputation endures.[u]
13 You will rise up and have compassion on Zion.[v]
For it is time to have mercy on her,
for the appointed time has come.
14 Indeed,[w] your servants take delight in her stones,
and feel compassion for[x] the dust of her ruins.[y]
15 The nations will respect the reputation of the Lord,[z]
and all the kings of the earth will respect[aa] his splendor,
16 when the Lord rebuilds Zion,
and reveals his splendor,
17 when he responds to the prayer of the destitute,[ab]
and does not reject[ac] their request.[ad]
18 The account of his intervention[ae] will be recorded for future generations;
people yet to be born[af] will praise the Lord.
19 For he will look down from his sanctuary above;[ag]
from heaven the Lord will look toward earth,[ah]
20 in order to hear the painful cries of the prisoners,
and to set free those condemned to die,[ai]
21 so they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion,
and praise him[aj] in Jerusalem,
22 when the nations gather together,
and the kingdoms pay tribute to the Lord.[ak]
23 He has taken away my strength in the middle of life;[al]
he has cut short my days.
24 I say, “O my God, please do not take me away in the middle of my life.[am]
You endure through all generations.[an]
25 In earlier times you established the earth;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 They will perish,
but you will endure.[ao]
They will wear out like a garment;
like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.[ap]
27 But you remain;[aq]
your years do not come to an end.
28 The children of your servants will settle down here,
and their descendants[ar] will live securely in your presence.”[as]
Book 5 (Psalms 107-150)
Psalm 107[a]
107 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Let those delivered by the Lord speak out,[c]
those whom he delivered[d] from the power[e] of the enemy,
3 and gathered from foreign lands,[f]
from east and west,
from north and south.
4 They wandered through the wilderness, in a wasteland;[g]
they found no road to a city in which to live.
5 They were hungry and thirsty;
they fainted from exhaustion.[h]
6 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
7 He led them on a level road,[i]
that they might find a city in which to live.
8 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[j]
9 For he has satisfied those who thirst,[k]
and those who hunger he has filled with food.[l]
10 They sat in utter darkness,[m]
bound in painful iron chains,[n]
11 because they had rebelled against God’s commands,[o]
and rejected the instructions of the Most High.[p]
12 So he used suffering to humble them;[q]
they stumbled and no one helped them up.
13 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
14 He brought them out of the utter darkness,[r]
and tore off their shackles.
15 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[s]
16 For he shattered the bronze gates,
and hacked through the iron bars.[t]
17 They acted like fools in their rebellious ways,[u]
and suffered because of their sins.
18 They lost their appetite for all food,[v]
and they drew near the gates of death.
19 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
20 He sent them an assuring word[w] and healed them;
he rescued them from the pits where they were trapped.[x]
21 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[y]
22 Let them present thank offerings,
and loudly proclaim what he has done.[z]
23 [aa] Some traveled on[ab] the sea in ships,
and carried cargo over the vast waters.[ac]
24 They witnessed the acts of the Lord,
his amazing feats on the deep water.
25 He gave the order for a windstorm,[ad]
and it stirred up the waves of the sea.[ae]
26 They[af] reached up to the sky,
then dropped into the depths.
The sailors’ strength[ag] left them[ah] because the danger was so great.[ai]
27 They swayed[aj] and staggered like drunks,
and all their skill proved ineffective.[ak]
28 They cried out to the Lord in their distress;
he delivered them from their troubles.
29 He calmed the storm,[al]
and the waves[am] grew silent.
30 The sailors[an] rejoiced because the waves[ao] grew quiet,
and he led them to the harbor[ap] they desired.
31 Let them give thanks to the Lord for his loyal love,
and for the amazing things he has done for people.[aq]
32 Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people.
Let them praise him in the place where the leaders preside.[ar]
Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship
10 Israel was a fertile vine
that yielded fruit.
As his fruit multiplied,
he multiplied altars to Baal.[a]
As his land prospered,
they adorned the fertility pillars.
2 Their hearts are slipping;
soon they will be punished for their guilt.
The Lord[b] will break their altars;
he will completely destroy their fertility pillars.
The Lord Will Punish Israel by Removing Its Kings
3 Very soon they will say, “We have no king
since we did not fear the Lord.
But what can a king do for us anyway?”
4 They[c] utter empty words,[d]
taking[e] false oaths and making empty[f] agreements.
Therefore legal disputes sprout up
like poisonous weeds[g] in the furrows of a plowed field.
The Calf Idol and Idolaters of Samaria Will Be Exiled
5 The inhabitants[h] of Samaria will lament[i] over the calf idol[j] of Beth Aven.[k]
Its people will mourn over it;
its idolatrous priests will wail[l] over it,[m]
because its splendor will be taken from them[n] into exile.
6 Even the calf idol[o] will be carried to Assyria,
as tribute for the great king.[p]
Ephraim will be disgraced;
Israel will be put to shame because[q] of its wooden idol.[r]
7 Samaria and its king will be carried off[s]
like a twig[t] on the surface of the waters.
8 The high places of the “House[u] of Wickedness”[v] will be destroyed;
it is the place where Israel sins.
Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Failure to Learn from the Sin and Judgment of Gibeah
9 O Israel, you have sinned since the time[w] of Gibeah,
and there you have remained.
Did not war overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?
10 When I please,[x] I will discipline them;[y]
I will gather nations together to attack them,[z]
to bind them in chains[aa] for their two sins.[ab]
Fertility Imagery: Plowing, Sowing, and Reaping
11 Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain;
I myself put a fine yoke[ac] on her neck.
I will harness Ephraim.
Let Judah plow![ad]
Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground[ae] for himself!
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves,
reap unfailing love.
Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes and showers deliverance[af] on you.
13 But you have plowed wickedness;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your chariots;[ag]
you have relied[ah] on your many warriors.
Bethel Will Be Destroyed Like Beth Arbel
14 The roar of battle will rise against your people;
all your fortresses will be devastated,
just as Shalman devastated[ai] Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
15 So will it happen to you, O Bethel,
because of your great wickedness!
When that day dawns,[aj]
the king of Israel will be destroyed.[ak]
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,[a] he said[b] to the commanding officer,[c] “May I say[d] something to you?” The officer[e] replied,[f] “Do you know Greek?[g] 38 Then you’re not that Egyptian who started a rebellion[h] and led the 4,000 men of the ‘Assassins’[i] into the wilderness[j] some time ago?”[k] 39 Paul answered,[l] “I am a Jew[m] from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city.[n] Please[o] allow me to speak to the people.” 40 When the commanding officer[p] had given him permission,[q] Paul stood[r] on the steps and gestured[s] to the people with his hand. When they had become silent,[t] he addressed[u] them in Aramaic,[v]
Paul’s Defense
22 “Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense[w] that I now[x] make to you.” 2 (When they heard[y] that he was addressing[z] them in Aramaic,[aa] they became even[ab] quieter.)[ac] Then[ad] Paul said, 3 “I am a Jew,[ae] born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up[af] in this city, educated with strictness[ag] under[ah] Gamaliel[ai] according to the law of our ancestors,[aj] and was[ak] zealous[al] for God just as all of you are today. 4 I[am] persecuted this Way[an] even to the point of death,[ao] tying up[ap] both men and women and putting[aq] them in prison, 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders[ar] can testify about me. From them[as] I also received[at] letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way[au] to make arrests there and bring[av] the prisoners[aw] to Jerusalem[ax] to be punished. 6 As[ay] I was en route and near Damascus,[az] about noon a very bright[ba] light from heaven[bb] suddenly flashed[bc] around me. 7 Then I[bd] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand[be] the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 So I asked,[bf] ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up[bg] and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything[bh] that you have been designated[bi] to do.’ 11 Since I could not see because of[bj] the brilliance[bk] of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of[bl] those who were with me. 12 A man named Ananias,[bm] a devout man according to the law,[bn] well spoken of by all the Jews who live there,[bo] 13 came[bp] to me and stood beside me[bq] and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight!’[br] And at that very moment[bs] I looked up and saw him.[bt] 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors[bu] has already chosen[bv] you to know his will, to see[bw] the Righteous One,[bx] and to hear a command[by] from his mouth, 15 because you will be his witness[bz] to all people[ca] of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for?[cb] Get up,[cc] be baptized, and have your sins washed away,[cd] calling on his name.’[ce]
Choosing the Twelve Apostles
12 Now[a] it was during this time that Jesus[b] went out to the mountain[c] to pray, and he spent all night[d] in prayer to God.[e] 13 When[f] morning came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles:[g] 14 Simon[h] (whom he named Peter), and his brother Andrew; and James, John, Philip, Bartholomew,[i] 15 Matthew, Thomas,[j] James the son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot,[k] 16 Judas the son of James, and Judas Iscariot,[l] who became a traitor.
The Sermon on the Plain
17 Then[m] he came down with them and stood on a level place.[n] And a large number[o] of his disciples had gathered[p] along with[q] a vast multitude from all over Judea, from[r] Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon.[s] They came to hear him and to be healed[t] of their diseases, 18 and those who suffered from[u] unclean[v] spirits were cured. 19 The[w] whole crowd was trying to touch him, because power[x] was coming out from him and healing them all.
20 Then[y] he looked up[z] at his disciples and said:
“Blessed[aa] are you who are poor,[ab] for the kingdom of God belongs[ac] to you.
21 “Blessed are you who hunger[ad] now, for you will be satisfied.[ae]
“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.[af]
22 “Blessed are you when people[ag] hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject you as evil[ah] on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and jump for joy, because[ai] your reward is great in heaven. For their ancestors[aj] did the same things to the prophets.[ak]
24 “But woe[al] to you who are rich, for you have received[am] your comfort[an] already.
25 “Woe to you who are well satisfied with food[ao] now, for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you[ap] who laugh[aq] now, for you will mourn and weep.
26 “Woe to you[ar] when all people[as] speak well of you, for their ancestors[at] did the same things to the false prophets.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.