Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 137[a]
137 By the rivers of Babylon
we sit down and weep[b]
when we remember Zion.
2 On the poplars in her midst
we hang our harps,
3 for there our captors ask us to compose songs;[c]
those who mock us demand that we be happy, saying:[d]
“Sing for us a song about Zion!”[e]
4 How can we sing a song to the Lord
in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand be crippled.[f]
6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
and do not give Jerusalem priority
over whatever gives me the most joy.[g]
7 Remember, O Lord, what the Edomites did
on the day Jerusalem fell.[h]
They said, “Tear it down, tear it down,[i]
right to its very foundation!”
8 O daughter Babylon, soon to be devastated,[j]
how blessed will be the one who repays you
for what you dished out to us.[k]
9 How blessed will be the one who grabs your babies
and smashes them on a rock.[l]
Psalm 144[a]
By David.
144 The Lord, my Protector,[b] deserves praise[c]—
the one who trains my hands for battle,[d]
and my fingers for war,
2 who loves me[e] and is my stronghold,
my refuge[f] and my deliverer,
my shield and the one in whom I take shelter,
who makes nations submit to me.[g]
3 O Lord, of what importance is the human race,[h] that you should notice them?
Of what importance is mankind,[i] that you should be concerned about them?[j]
4 People[k] are like a vapor,
their days like a shadow that disappears.[l]
5 O Lord, make the sky sink[m] and come down.[n]
Touch the mountains and make them smolder.[o]
6 Hurl lightning bolts and scatter the enemy.
Shoot your arrows and rout them.[p]
7 Reach down[q] from above.
Grab me and rescue me from the surging water,[r]
from the power of foreigners,[s]
8 who speak lies,
and make false promises.[t]
9 O God, I will sing a new song to you.
Accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, I will sing praises to you,
10 the one who delivers[u] kings,
and rescued David his servant from a deadly[v] sword.
11 Grab me and rescue me from the power of foreigners,[w]
who speak lies,
and make false promises.[x]
12 Then[y] our sons will be like plants,
that quickly grow to full size.[z]
Our daughters will be like corner pillars,[aa]
carved like those in a palace.[ab]
13 Our storehouses[ac] will be full,
providing all kinds of food.[ad]
Our sheep will multiply by the thousands
and fill[ae] our pastures.[af]
14 Our cattle will be weighted down with produce.[ag]
No one will break through our walls,
no one will be taken captive,
and there will be no terrified cries in our city squares.[ah]
15 How blessed are the people who experience these things.[ai]
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 104[a]
104 Praise the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord my God, you are magnificent.[b]
You are robed in splendor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as if it were a garment.
He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,
3 and lays the beams of the upper rooms of his palace on the rain clouds.[c]
He makes the clouds his chariot,
and travels on the wings of the wind.[d]
4 He makes the winds his messengers,
and the flaming fire his attendant.[e]
5 He established the earth on its foundations;
it will never be moved.
6 The watery deep covered it[f] like a garment;
the waters reached[g] above the mountains.[h]
7 Your shout made the waters retreat;
at the sound of your thunderous voice they hurried off—
8 as the mountains rose up,
and the valleys went down—
to the place you appointed for them.[i]
9 You set up a boundary for them that they could not cross,
so that they would not cover the earth again.[j]
10 He turns springs into streams;[k]
they flow between the mountains.
11 They provide water for all the animals in the field;
the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky live beside them;
they chirp among the bushes.[l]
13 He waters the mountains from the upper rooms of his palace;[m]
the earth is full of the fruit you cause to grow.[n]
14 He provides grass[o] for the cattle,
and crops for people to cultivate,[p]
so they can produce food from the ground,[q]
15 as well as wine that makes people glad,[r]
and olive oil to make their faces shine,[s]
as well as bread that sustains them.[t]
16 The trees of the Lord[u] receive all the rain they need,[v]
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted,
17 where the birds make nests,
near the evergreens in which the herons live.[w]
18 The wild goats live in the high mountains;[x]
the rock badgers find safety in the cliffs.
19 He made the moon to mark the months,[y]
and the sun sets according to a regular schedule.[z]
20 You make it dark and night comes,[aa]
during which all the beasts of the forest prowl around.
21 The lions roar for prey,
seeking their food from God.[ab]
22 When the sun rises, they withdraw
and sleep[ac] in their dens.
23 People then go out to do their work,
and they labor until evening.[ad]
24 How many living things you have made, O Lord![ae]
You have exhibited great skill in making all of them;[af]
the earth is full of the living things you have made.
25 Over here is the deep, wide sea,[ag]
which teems with innumerable swimming creatures,[ah]
living things both small and large.
26 The ships travel there,
and over here swims the whale[ai] you made to play in it.
27 All your creatures[aj] wait for you
to provide them with food on a regular basis.[ak]
28 You give food to them and they receive it;
you open your hand and they are filled with food.[al]
29 When you ignore them, they panic.[am]
When you take away their life’s breath,
they die and return to dust.
30 When you send your life-giving breath, they are created,
and you replenish the surface of the ground.
31 May the splendor of the Lord endure.[an]
May the Lord find pleasure in the living things he has made.[ao]
32 He looks down on the earth and it shakes;
he touches the mountains and they start to smolder.
33 I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I exist.[ap]
34 May my thoughts[aq] be pleasing to him.
I will rejoice in the Lord.
35 May sinners disappear[ar] from the earth,
and the wicked vanish.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
Praise the Lord.
16 Saul’s watchmen at Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin[a] looked on[b] as the crowd of soldiers seemed to melt away first in one direction and then in another.[c] 17 So Saul said to the army that was with him, “Muster the troops and see who is no longer with us.” When they mustered the troops,[d] Jonathan and his armor-bearer were not there. 18 So Saul said to Ahijah, “Bring near the ephod,”[e] for he was at that time wearing the ephod in front of the Israelites.[f] 19 While[g] Saul spoke to the priest, the panic in the Philistines’ camp was becoming greater and greater. So Saul said to the priest, “Withdraw your hand.”
20 Saul and all the army assembled and marched into battle, where they found[h] the Philistines in total panic killing one another with their swords.[i] 21 The Hebrews who had earlier gone over to the Philistine side[j] joined the Israelites who were with Saul and Jonathan. 22 When all the Israelites who had hidden themselves in the hill country of Ephraim heard that the Philistines had fled, they too pursued them in battle. 23 So the Lord delivered Israel that day, and the battle shifted over to Beth Aven.[k]
Jonathan Violates Saul’s Oath
24 Now the men of Israel were hard pressed that day, for Saul had made the army agree to this oath: “Cursed be the man who eats food before evening. I will get my vengeance on my enemies!” So no one in the army ate anything.
25 Now the whole army[l] entered the forest, and there was honey on the ground.[m] 26 When the army entered the forest, they saw[n] the honey flowing, but no one ate any of it,[o] for the army was afraid of the oath. 27 But Jonathan had not heard about the oath his father had made the army take. He extended the end of his staff that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb. When he ate it,[p] his eyes gleamed.[q] 28 Then someone from the army informed him, “Your father put the army under a strict oath[r] saying, ‘Cursed be the man who eats food today.’ That is why the army is tired.” 29 Then Jonathan said, “My father has caused trouble for the land. See how my eyes gleamed[s] when I tasted just a little of this honey. 30 Certainly if the army had eaten some of the enemies’ provisions that they came across today, would not the slaughter of the Philistines have been even greater?”
10 Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The[a] Lord[b] said to him in a vision, “Ananias,” and he replied, “Here I am,[c] Lord.” 11 Then the Lord told him, “Get up and go to the street called ‘Straight,’[d] and at Judas’ house look for a man from Tarsus named Saul. For he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision[e] a man named Ananias come in and place his hands on him so that he may see again.” 13 But Ananias replied,[f] “Lord, I have heard from many people[g] about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem, 14 and here he has authority from the chief priests to imprison[h] all who call on your name!”[i] 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, because this man is my chosen instrument[j] to carry my name before Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel.[k] 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”[l] 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, placed[m] his hands on Saul[n] and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came here,[o] has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”[p] 18 Immediately[q] something like scales[r] fell from his eyes, and he could see again. He[s] got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, his strength returned.
For several days[t] he was with the disciples in Damascus,
32 Two other criminals[a] were also led away to be executed with him. 33 So[b] when they came to the place that is called “The Skull,”[c] they crucified[d] him there, along with the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. 34 [But Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”][e] Then[f] they threw dice[g] to divide his clothes.[h] 35 The people also stood there watching, but the leaders ridiculed[i] him, saying, “He saved others. Let him save[j] himself if[k] he is the Christ[l] of God, his chosen one!” 36 The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine,[m] 37 and saying, “If[n] you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 There was also an inscription[o] over him, “This is the king of the Jews.”
39 One of the criminals who was hanging there railed at him, saying, “Aren’t[p] you the Christ?[q] Save yourself and us!” 40 But the other rebuked him, saying,[r] “Don’t[s] you fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?[t] 41 And we rightly so, for we are getting what we deserve for what we did, but this man has done nothing[u] wrong.” 42 Then[v] he said, “Jesus, remember me[w] when you come in[x] your kingdom.” 43 And Jesus[y] said to him, “I tell you the truth,[z] today[aa] you will be with me in paradise.”[ab]
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