Book of Common Prayer
In God I Trust
To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A (A)Miktam[a] of David, when the (B)Philistines seized him in Gath.
56 (C)Be gracious to me, O God, for man (D)tramples on me;
all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2 my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many attack me proudly.
3 When I am afraid,
I (E)put my trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; (F)I shall not be afraid.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day long they injure my cause;[b]
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They (G)stir up strife, they (H)lurk;
they (I)watch my steps,
as they have waited for my life.
7 For their crime will they escape?
(J)In wrath (K)cast down the peoples, O God!
8 You have kept count of my tossings;[c]
(L)put my tears in your bottle.
(M)Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back
(N)in the day when I call.
This I know, that[d] (O)God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; (P)I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my (Q)vows to you, O God;
I will (R)render thank offerings to you.
13 (S)For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
(T)that I may walk before God
(U)in the light of life.
Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to (V)Do Not Destroy. A (W)Miktam[e] of David, when he fled from Saul, in (X)the cave.
57 (Y)Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
for in you my soul (Z)takes refuge;
in (AA)the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
(AB)till the storms of destruction pass by.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who (AC)fulfills his purpose for me.
3 (AD)He will send from heaven and save me;
he will put to shame (AE)him who tramples on me. Selah
(AF)God will send out (AG)his steadfast love and his faithfulness!
4 My soul is in the midst of (AH)lions;
I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose (AI)teeth are spears and arrows,
whose (AJ)tongues are sharp swords.
5 (AK)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
6 They set (AL)a net for my steps;
my soul was (AM)bowed down.
They (AN)dug a pit in my way,
but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7 (AO)My heart is (AP)steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
8 (AQ)Awake, (AR)my glory![f]
Awake, (AS)O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn!
9 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10 For your (AT)steadfast love is great to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.
11 (AU)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
Let your glory be over all the earth!
God Who Judges the Earth
To the choirmaster: according to (AV)Do Not Destroy. A (AW)Miktam[g] of David.
58 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?[h]
Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands (AX)deal out violence on earth.
3 The wicked are (AY)estranged from the womb;
they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4 (AZ)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5 so that it (BA)does not hear the voice of charmers
or of the cunning enchanter.
6 O God, (BB)break the teeth in their mouths;
tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
7 Let them (BC)vanish like water that runs away;
when he (BD)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8 Let them be like the snail (BE)that dissolves into slime,
like (BF)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of (BG)thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he (BH)sweep them away![i]
Hide Me from the Wicked
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my (A)complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2 Hide me from (B)the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
3 who (C)whet their tongues like swords,
who (D)aim bitter words like arrows,
4 shooting from (E)ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and (F)without fear.
5 They (G)hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of (H)laying snares secretly,
thinking, (I)“Who can see them?”
6 They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For (J)the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.
7 (K)But God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
8 They are brought to ruin, with their own (L)tongues turned against them;
all who (M)see them will (N)wag their heads.
9 Then all mankind (O)fears;
they (P)tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.
10 Let (Q)the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
and (R)take refuge in him!
Let all (S)the upright in heart exult!
O God of Our Salvation
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.
65 Praise (T)is due to you,[a] O God, in Zion,
and to you shall (U)vows be performed.
2 O you who (V)hear prayer,
to you (W)shall all flesh come.
3 When (X)iniquities prevail against me,
you (Y)atone for our transgressions.
4 (Z)Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to (AA)dwell in your courts!
We shall be (AB)satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
5 By (AC)awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all (AD)the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being (AE)girded with might;
7 who (AF)stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
(AG)the tumult of the peoples,
8 so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
9 You visit the earth and (AH)water it;[b]
you greatly enrich it;
(AI)the river of God is full of water;
(AJ)you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with (AK)showers,
and blessing its growth.
11 You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks (AL)overflow with abundance.
12 (AM)The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
the hills (AN)gird themselves with joy,
13 (AO)the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they (AP)shout and sing together for joy.
Naboth's Vineyard
21 Now Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard in (A)Jezreel, beside the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. 2 And after this Ahab said to Naboth, (B)“Give me your vineyard, that I may have it for a vegetable garden, because it is near my house, and I will give you a better vineyard for it; or, if it seems good to you, I will give you its value in money.” 3 But Naboth said to Ahab, “The Lord forbid (C)that I should give you the inheritance of my fathers.” 4 And Ahab (D)went into his house vexed and sullen because of what Naboth the Jezreelite had said to him, for he had said, “I will not give you the inheritance of my fathers.” And he lay down on his bed and turned away his face and would eat no food.
5 But Jezebel his wife came to him and said to him, “Why is your spirit so vexed that you eat no food?” 6 And he said to her, “Because I spoke to Naboth the Jezreelite and said to him, ‘Give me your vineyard for money, or else, if it please you, I will give you another vineyard for it.’ And he answered, ‘I will not give you my vineyard.’” 7 And Jezebel his wife said to him, “Do you now govern Israel? Arise and eat bread and let your heart be cheerful; I will give you the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.”
8 (E)So she wrote letters in Ahab's name and sealed them with his seal, and she sent the letters to (F)the elders and the leaders who lived with Naboth in his city. 9 And she wrote in the letters, “Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth at the head of the people. 10 And set two (G)worthless men opposite him, and let them bring a charge against him, saying, (H)‘You have cursed[a] God and the king.’ Then take him out and stone him to death.” 11 And the men of his city, (I)the elders and the leaders who lived in his city, did as Jezebel had sent word to them. As it was written in the letters that she had sent to them, 12 (J)they proclaimed a fast and set Naboth at the head of the people. 13 And the two worthless men came in and sat opposite him. And the worthless men brought a charge against Naboth in the presence of the people, saying, “Naboth cursed God and the king.” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death with stones. 14 Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, “Naboth has been stoned; he is dead.”
15 As soon as Jezebel heard that Naboth had been stoned and was dead, Jezebel said to Ahab, “Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give you for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead.” 16 And as soon as Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, Ahab arose to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.
Greeting
1 Paul, (A)called (B)by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes,
2 To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those (C)sanctified in Christ Jesus, (D)called to be saints together with all those who in every place (E)call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:
3 (F)Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving
4 I (G)give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, 5 that in every way (H)you were enriched in him in all (I)speech and all knowledge— 6 even as (J)the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— 7 so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you (K)wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 (L)who will sustain you to the end, (M)guiltless (N)in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 (O)God is faithful, by whom you were called into the (P)fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Divisions in the Church
10 I appeal to you, brothers,[a] by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no (Q)divisions among you, but that you be united (R)in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe's people that there is (S)quarreling among you, my brothers. 12 What I mean is that (T)each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow (U)Apollos,” or “I follow (V)Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” 13 (W)Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you (X)baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except (Y)Crispus and (Z)Gaius, 15 so that no one may say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (I did baptize also (AA)the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.) 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and (AB)not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
18 For the word of the cross is (AC)folly to (AD)those who are perishing, but to us (AE)who are being saved it is (AF)the power of God. 19 For it is written,
(AG)“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
The Temptation of Jesus
4 (A)Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness (B)to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after fasting (C)forty days and forty nights, he (D)was hungry. 3 And (E)the tempter came and said to him, “If you are (F)the Son of God, command (G)these stones to become loaves of bread.” 4 But he answered, (H)“It is written,
(I)“‘Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
5 (J)Then the devil took him to (K)the holy city and set him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written,
(L)“‘He will command his angels concerning you,’
and
“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”
7 Jesus said to him, “Again (M)it is written, (N)‘You shall not (O)put the Lord your God to the test.’” 8 (P)Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, (Q)Satan! For (R)it is written,
11 Then the devil left him, and behold, (U)angels came and were ministering to him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.