Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
140 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men.[b]
Protect me from violent men,[c]
2 who plan ways to harm me.[d]
All day long they stir up conflict.[e]
3 Their tongues wound like a serpent;[f]
a viper’s[g] venom is behind[h] their lips. (Selah)
4 O Lord, shelter me from the power[i] of the wicked.
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over.[j]
5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men[k] spread a net by the path.
They set traps for me. (Selah)
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,[l]
you shield[m] my head in the day of battle.
8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way.[n]
Do not allow their[o] plan to succeed when they attack.[p] (Selah)
9 As for the heads of those who surround me—
may the harm done by[q] their lips overwhelm them.
10 May he rain down[r] fiery coals upon them.
May he throw them into the fire.
From bottomless pits they will not escape.[s]
11 A slanderer[t] will not endure on[u] the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down.[v]
12 I know[w] that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed
and vindicates the poor.[x]
13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;
the morally upright will live in your presence.
Psalm 142[a]
A well-written song[b] by David, when he was in the cave;[c] a prayer.
142 To the Lord I cry out;[d]
to the Lord I plead for mercy.[e]
2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about[f] my troubles.
3 Even when my strength leaves me,[g]
you watch my footsteps.[h]
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see.
No one cares about me.[i]
I have nowhere to run;[j]
no one is concerned about my life.[k]
5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security[l] in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble.[m]
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
7 Free me[n] from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble,[o]
for you will vindicate me.[p]
Psalm 141[a]
A psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me.
Pay attention to me when I cry out to you.
2 May you accept my prayer like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering.[b]
3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth.
Protect the opening[c] of my lips.[d]
4 Do not let me have evil desires,[e]
or participate in sinful activities
with men who behave wickedly.[f]
I will not eat their delicacies.[g]
5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me.
May my head not refuse[h] choice oil.[i]
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds.[j]
6 They will be thrown over the side of a cliff by their judges.[k]
They[l] will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil,[m]
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 Surely I am looking to you,[n] O Sovereign Lord.
In you I take shelter.
Do not expose me to danger.[o]
9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,
and the traps the evildoers have set.[p]
10 Let the wicked fall[q] into their[r] own nets,
while I escape.[s]
Psalm 143[a]
A psalm of David.
143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
2 Do not sit in judgment on[b] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[c]
3 Certainly[d] my enemies[e] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[f]
They force me to live[g] in dark regions,[h]
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;[i]
I am absolutely shocked.[j]
5 I recall the old days.[k]
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.[l]
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;[m]
my soul thirsts for you in a parched[n] land.[o] (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, Lord.
My strength is fading.[p]
Do not reject me,[q]
or I will join[r] those descending into the grave.[s]
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,[t]
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,[u]
because I long for you.[v]
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I run to you for protection.[w]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,[x]
for you are my God.
May your kind presence[y]
lead me[z] into a level land.[aa]
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,[ab] revive me.[ac]
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble.[ad]
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,[ae] destroy my enemies.
Annihilate[af] all who threaten my life,[ag]
for I am your servant.
19 A blacksmith could not be found in all the land of Israel, for the Philistines had said, “This will prevent the Hebrews from making swords and spears.” 20 So all Israel had to go down to the Philistines in order to get their plowshares, cutting instruments, axes, and sickles[a] sharpened. 21 They charged[b] two-thirds of a shekel[c] to sharpen plowshares and cutting instruments, and one-third of a shekel[d] to sharpen picks and axes, and to set ox goads. 22 So on the day of the battle no sword or spear was to be found in the hand of anyone in the army that was with Saul and Jonathan. No one but Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
Jonathan Ignites a Battle
23 A garrison of the Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.
14 Then one day Jonathan son of Saul said to his armor-bearer,[e] “Come on, let’s go over to the Philistine garrison that is opposite us.” But he did not let his father know.
2 Now Saul was sitting under a pomegranate tree in Migron, on the outskirts of Gibeah. The army that was with him numbered about 600 men. 3 Now Ahijah was carrying[f] an ephod. He was the son of Ahitub, who was the brother of Ichabod and a son of Phinehas, son of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh. The army was unaware that Jonathan had left.
4 Now there was a steep cliff on each side of the pass through which Jonathan intended to go to reach the Philistine garrison. One cliff was named Bozez, the other Seneh. 5 The cliff to the north was closer to Micmash, the one to the south closer to Geba.
6 Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come on, let’s go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised men. Perhaps the Lord will intervene[g] for us. Nothing can prevent the Lord from delivering, whether by many or by a few.” 7 His armor-bearer said to him, “Do everything that is on your mind.[h] Do as you’re inclined. I’m with you all the way!”[i]
8 Jonathan replied, “All right.[j] We’ll go over to these men and fight them. 9 If they say to us, ‘Stay put until we approach you,’ we will stay[k] right there and not go up to them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come up against us,’ we will go up. For in that case the Lord has given them into our hand—it will be a sign to us.”
11 When they[l] made themselves known to the Philistine garrison, the Philistines said, “Look! The Hebrews are coming out of the holes in which they hid themselves.” 12 Then the men of the garrison said to Jonathan and his armor-bearer, “Come on up to us so we can teach you a thing or two!”[m] Then Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, “Come up behind me, for the Lord has given[n] them into the hand of Israel!”
13 Jonathan crawled up on his hands and feet, with his armor-bearer following behind him. Jonathan struck down the Philistines,[o] while his armor-bearer came along behind him and killed them.[p] 14 In this initial skirmish Jonathan and his armor-bearer struck down about twenty men in an area that measured half an acre.
15 Then fear overwhelmed[q] those who were in the camp, those who were in the field, all the army in the garrison, and the raiding bands. They trembled and the ground shook. This fear was caused by God.[r]
The Conversion of Saul
9 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats[a] to murder[b] the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues[c] in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way,[d] either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners[e] to Jerusalem.[f] 3 As he was going along, approaching[g] Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed[h] around him. 4 He[i] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul,[j] why are you persecuting me?”[k] 5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 6 But stand up[l] and enter the city and you will be told[m] what you must do.” 7 (Now the men[n] who were traveling with him stood there speechless,[o] because they heard the voice but saw no one.)[p] 8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open,[q] he could see nothing.[r] Leading him by the hand, his companions[s] brought him into Damascus. 9 For[t] three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.[u]
The Crucifixion
26 As[a] they led him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene,[b] who was coming in from the country.[c] They placed the cross on his back and made him carry it behind Jesus.[d] 27 A great number of the people followed him, among them women[e] who were mourning[f] and wailing for him. 28 But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem,[g] do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves[h] and for your children. 29 For this is certain:[i] The days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, the wombs that never bore children, and the breasts that never nursed!’[j] 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains,[k] ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’[l] 31 For if such things are done[m] when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”[n]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.