Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,[l]
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.[m]
8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand[n] in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim[o] from suffering.[p]
I have lost my strength.[q]
10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.[r]
My strength fails me because of[s] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.[t]
11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;[u]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering[v]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;[w]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;[x]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.[y]
13 For I hear what so many are saying,[z]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.[aa]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
15 You determine my destiny.[ab]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
16 Smile[ac] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.[ad]
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips[ae] that speak defiantly against the innocent[af]
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is your favor,[ag]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[ah]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[ai] in you.[aj]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[ak] of men;[al]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[am]
21 The Lord deserves praise[an]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[ao]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[ap]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[aq]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[ar] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[as]
24 Be strong and confident,[at]
all you who wait on the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
The Altar is Rebuilt
3 When the seventh month arrived and the Israelites[a] were living[b] in their[c] towns, the people assembled[d] in[e] Jerusalem. 2 Then Jeshua the son of Jozadak[f] and his priestly colleagues[g] and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his colleagues[h] started to build[i] the altar of the God of Israel so they could offer burnt offerings on it as required by[j] the law of Moses the man of God. 3 They established the altar on its foundations, even though they were in terror of the local peoples,[k] and they offered burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and the evening offerings. 4 They observed the Feast of Shelters[l] as required[m] and offered the proper number of[n] daily burnt offerings according to the requirement for each day. 5 Afterward they offered the continual burnt offerings and those for the new moons and those for all the holy assemblies of the Lord and all those that were being voluntarily offered to the Lord. 6 From the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord. However, the Lord’s temple was not at that time established.[o]
Preparations for Rebuilding the Temple
7 So they provided money[p] for the masons and carpenters, and food, beverages, and olive oil for the people of Sidon and Tyre, so that they would bring cedar timber from Lebanon to the seaport[q] at Joppa, in accord with the edict of King Cyrus of Persia. 8 In the second year after they had come to the temple of God in Jerusalem, in the second month, Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel and Jeshua the son of Jozadak initiated the work,[r] along with the rest of their associates,[s] the priests and the Levites, and all those who were coming to Jerusalem from the exile. They appointed[t] the Levites who were at least twenty years old[u] to take charge of the work on the Lord’s temple. 9 So Jeshua appointed both his sons and his relatives,[v] Kadmiel and his sons (the sons of Yehudah[w]), to take charge of the workers in the temple of God, along with the sons of Henadad, their sons, and their relatives[x] the Levites. 10 When the builders established the Lord’s temple, the priests, ceremonially attired and with their clarions,[y] and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with their cymbals, stood to praise the Lord according to the instructions left by[z] King David of Israel.[aa] 11 With antiphonal response they sang,[ab] praising and glorifying the Lord:
“For he is good;
his loyal love toward Israel is forever.”
All the people gave a loud[ac] shout as they praised the Lord when the temple of the Lord was established. 12 Many of the priests, the Levites, and the leaders[ad]—older people who had seen with their own eyes the former temple while it was still established[ae]—were weeping loudly,[af] and many others raised their voice in a joyous shout. 13 People were unable to tell the difference between the sound of joyous shouting and the sound of the people’s weeping, for the people were shouting so loudly[ag] that the sound was heard a long way off.
10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he has nothing to fear among you, for he is doing the Lord’s work, as I am too. 11 So then, let no one treat him with contempt. But send him on his way in peace so that he may come to me. For I am expecting him with the brothers.[a]
12 With regard to our brother Apollos: I strongly encouraged him to visit you with the other brothers,[b] but it was simply not his intention to come now.[c] He will come when he has the opportunity.
Final Challenge and Blessing
13 Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong. 14 Everything you do should be done in love.
15 Now, brothers and sisters,[d] you know about the household of Stephanus, that as the first converts[e] of Achaia, they devoted themselves to ministry for the saints. I urge you 16 also to submit to people like this, and to everyone who cooperates in the work and labors hard. 17 I was glad about the arrival of Stephanus, Fortunatus, and Achaicus because they have supplied the fellowship with you that I lacked.[f] 18 For they refreshed my spirit and yours. So then, recognize people like this.
19 The churches in the province of Asia[g] send greetings to you. Aquila and Prisca[h] greet[i] you warmly in the Lord, with the church that meets in their house. 20 All the brothers and sisters[j] send greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.
21 I, Paul, send this greeting with my own hand.
22 Let anyone who has no love for the Lord be accursed. Our Lord, come![k]
23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.
24 My love be with all of you in Christ Jesus.[l]
Jesus and Beelzebul
22 Then they brought to him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute. Jesus[a] healed him so that he could speak and see.[b] 23 All the crowds were amazed and said, “Could this one be the Son of David?” 24 But when the Pharisees[c] heard this they said, “He does not cast out demons except by the power of Beelzebul,[d] the ruler[e] of demons!” 25 Now when Jesus[f] realized what they were thinking, he said to them,[g] “Every kingdom divided against itself is destroyed,[h] and no town or house divided against itself will stand. 26 So if[i] Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons[j] cast them[k] out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God[l] has already overtaken[m] you. 29 How[n] else can someone enter a strong man’s[o] house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house.[p] 30 Whoever is not with me is against me,[q] and whoever does not gather with me scatters.[r] 31 For this reason I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy,[s] but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven.[t] But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven,[u] either in this age or in the age to come.
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