Book of Common Prayer
33 He (A)turns rivers into a [a]wilderness,
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;
34 And a (B)fruitful land into a (C)salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.
35 He (D)turns a [b]wilderness into a pool of water,
And a dry land into springs of water;
36 And He has the hungry live there,
So that they may establish [c](E)an inhabited city,
37 And sow fields and (F)plant vineyards,
And [d]gather a fruitful harvest.
38 He also blesses them and they (G)multiply greatly,
And He (H)does not let their cattle decrease.
39 When they (I)become few and (J)lowly
Because of oppression, misery, and sorrow,
40 He (K)pours contempt upon noblemen
And (L)makes them wander (M)in a pathless wasteland.
41 But He (N)sets the needy [e]securely on high, away from affliction,
And (O)makes his families like a flock.
42 The (P)upright see it and are glad;
But all (Q)injustice shuts its mouth.
43 Who is (R)wise? He is to pay attention to these things,
And consider the (S)mercy of the Lord.
God Praised and Pleas to Give Victory.
A Song, a Psalm of David.
108 (T)My heart is steadfast, God;
I will sing, I will sing praises also with my [f]soul.
2 Awake, harp and lyre;
I will awaken the dawn!
3 I will give thanks to You, Lord, among the peoples,
And I will sing praises to You among the nations.
4 For Your (U)mercy is great (V)above the heavens,
And Your truth reaches to the skies.
5 (W)Be exalted above the heavens, God,
And may Your glory be above all the earth.
6 (X)So that Your beloved may be rescued,
Save with Your right hand, and answer me!
7 God has spoken in His [g]holiness:
“I will triumph, I will divide up Shechem,
And measure out the Valley of Succoth.
8 Gilead is Mine, Manasseh is Mine;
Ephraim also is the [h]helmet of My head;
(Y)Judah is My [i]scepter.
9 Moab is My washbowl;
I will throw My sandal over Edom;
I will shout aloud over Philistia.”
10 (Z)Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who [j]will lead me to Edom?
11 God, have You Yourself not (AA)rejected us?
And will You not go forth with our armies, God?
12 Give us help against the enemy,
For (AB)deliverance [k]by man is worthless.
13 [l]Through God we will do valiantly,
And (AC)it is He who will trample down our enemies.
Praise to the Creator and Protector.
33 (A)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is (B)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (D)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (E)new song;
Play skillfully with (F)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (G)is right,
And all His work is done (H)in faithfulness.
5 He (I)loves righteousness and justice;
The (J)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
6 By the (K)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (L)by the breath of His mouth (M)all their [a]lights.
7 He gathers the (N)waters of the sea together [b]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
8 Let (O)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (P)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (Q)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [c]stood firm.
10 The Lord (R)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
11 The (S)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The (T)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (U)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has (V)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (W)looks from heaven;
He (X)sees all the sons of mankind;
14 From (Y)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (Z)fashions [d]the hearts of them all,
He who (AA)understands all their works.
16 (AB)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
17 A (AC)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (AD)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who (AE)wait for His faithfulness,
19 To (AF)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive (AG)in famine.
20 Our soul (AH)waits for the Lord;
He is our (AI)help and our shield.
21 For our (AJ)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.
Ziba, a False Servant
16 Now when David had gone on (A)a little beyond the summit, behold, (B)Ziba the servant of Mephibosheth met him (C)with a team of saddled donkeys, and on them were two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred summer fruits, and a jug of wine. 2 And the king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?” And Ziba said, “(D)The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine, (E)for whoever is weary in the wilderness to drink.” 3 Then the king said, “And where is (F)your master’s son?” And (G)Ziba said to the king, “Behold, he is staying in Jerusalem, for he said, ‘Today the house of Israel will restore the kingdom of my father to me.’” 4 So the king said to Ziba, “Behold, all that belongs to Mephibosheth is yours.” And Ziba said, “I prostrate myself; may I find favor in your sight, my lord, the king!”
David Is Cursed
5 When King David came to (H)Bahurim, behold, a man was coming out from there from the family of the house of Saul, and (I)his name was Shimei, the son of Gera; he was coming out, (J)cursing as he came. 6 He also threw stones at David and all the servants of King David; and all the people and all the warriors were on his right and on his left. 7 This is what Shimei said when he cursed: “Go away, go away, (K)you man of bloodshed and worthless man! 8 (L)The Lord has brought back upon you all (M)the bloodshed of the house of Saul, in whose place you have become king; and the Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. And behold, you are caught in your own evil, for you are a man of bloodshed!”
9 Then (N)Abishai the son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should (O)this dead dog (P)curse my lord the king? Now let me go over and [a]cut off his head.” 10 But the king said, “[b](Q)What business of mine is yours, you sons of Zeruiah? (R)If he curses, and if the Lord has told him, ‘Curse David,’ (S)then who should say, ‘Why have you done so?’” 11 Then David said to Abishai and to all his servants, “Behold, (T)my son who came out of my own body seeks my life; how much more now this Benjaminite? Leave him alone and let him curse, (U)for the Lord has told him. 12 Perhaps the Lord will look on my [c]misery and [d](V)return good to me instead of his cursing this day.” 13 So David and his men went on the road; and Shimei kept going on the hillside close beside him, and as he went he cursed and threw stones and dirt at him. 14 And the king and all the people who were with him arrived exhausted, and he refreshed himself there.
Absalom Enters Jerusalem
15 (W)Then Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, entered Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him. 16 Now it came about, when (X)Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, that (Y)Hushai said to Absalom, “(Z)Long live the king! Long live the king!” 17 But Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your [e]loyalty to your friend? (AA)Why did you not go with your friend?” 18 So Hushai said to Absalom, “No! For whomever the Lord, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I shall be, and with him I shall remain. 19 Besides, (AB)whom should I serve? Should I not serve in the presence of his son? Just as I have served in your father’s presence, so I shall be in your presence.”
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your advice. What should we do?” 21 Ahithophel said to Absalom, “(AC)Have relations with your father’s concubines, whom he has left behind to take care of the house; then all Israel will hear that you have made yourself repulsive to your father. The hands of all who are with you will also be strengthened.” 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, (AD)and Absalom had relations with his father’s concubines (AE)in the sight of all Israel. 23 Now (AF)the advice of Ahithophel, which he [f]gave in those days, was taken as though one inquired of the word of God; (AG)so was all the advice of Ahithophel regarded by both David and Absalom.
17 “It happened when I (A)returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I (B)fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘(C)Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another (D)I used to imprison and (E)beat those who believed in You. 20 And (F)when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving, and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’ 21 And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away (G)to the Gentiles.’”
22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, “(H)Away with such a man from the earth, for (I)he should not be allowed to live!” 23 And as they were shouting and (J)throwing off their cloaks and (K)tossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into (L)the barracks, saying that he was to be (M)interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out [a]with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it [b]lawful for you to flog (N)a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.” 27 The commander came and said to [c]Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The commander answered, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.” And Paul said, “But I was actually born a citizen.” 29 Therefore, those who were about to (O)interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also (P)was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had [d](Q)put him in chains.
The Triumphal Entry
11 (A)And as they *approached Jerusalem, at Bethphage and (B)Bethany, near (C)the Mount of Olives, He *sent two of His disciples, 2 and *said to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat; untie it and bring it here. 3 And if anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it’; and immediately he [a]will send it back here.” 4 They went away and found a colt tied at the door, outside in the street; and they *untied it. 5 And some of the bystanders were saying to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 And they told them just as Jesus had said, and they gave them permission. 7 (D)They *brought the colt to Jesus and *put their cloaks on it; and He sat on it. 8 And many people spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those who went in front and those who followed were shouting:
“[b]Hosanna!
(E)Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David;
[c]Hosanna (F)in the highest!”
11 (G)And Jesus entered Jerusalem and came into the temple area; and after looking around at everything, (H)He left for Bethany with the twelve, since it was already late.
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