Book of Common Prayer
Give the King Your Justice
Of (A)Solomon.
72 Give the king your (B)justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he (C)judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear (D)prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you[a] while (E)the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, (F)throughout all generations!
6 May he be like (G)rain that falls on (H)the mown grass,
like (I)showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may (J)the righteous flourish,
and (K)peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from (L)sea to sea,
and from (M)the River[b] to the (N)ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes (O)bow down before him,
and his enemies (P)lick the dust!
10 May the kings of (Q)Tarshish and of (R)the coastlands
render him (S)tribute;
may the kings of (T)Sheba and (U)Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings (V)fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 For he delivers (W)the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and (X)precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may (Y)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made (Z)for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people (AA)blossom in the cities
like the (AB)grass of the field!
17 (AC)May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
(AD)May people be blessed in him,
(AE)all nations call him blessed!
Yodh
73 (A)Your hands have made and fashioned me;
(B)give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you shall see me and (C)rejoice,
because I have (D)hoped in your word.
75 I know, O Lord, that your rules are (E)righteous,
and that in (F)faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 Let your steadfast love comfort me
according to your promise to your servant.
77 Let your (G)mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my (H)delight.
78 Let (I)the insolent be put to (J)shame,
because they have (K)wronged me with falsehood;
as for me, I will (L)meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you (M)turn to me,
that they may know your testimonies.
80 May my heart be (N)blameless in your statutes,
(O)that I may not be put to shame!
Kaph
81 My soul (P)longs for your salvation;
I (Q)hope in your word.
82 My (R)eyes long for your promise;
I ask, (S)“When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have (T)become like a (U)wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84 (V)How long must your servant endure?[a]
(W)When will you judge those who persecute me?
85 (X)The insolent have (Y)dug pitfalls for me;
they do not live according to your law.
86 All your commandments are (Z)sure;
they persecute me (AA)with falsehood; (AB)help me!
87 They have almost made an end of me on earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88 In your steadfast love (AC)give me life,
that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth.
Lamedh
89 Forever, O Lord, your (AD)word
is firmly fixed in the heavens.
90 Your (AE)faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have (AF)established the earth, and it (AG)stands fast.
91 By your (AH)appointment they stand this day,
for all things are your servants.
92 If your law had not been my (AI)delight,
I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have (AJ)given me life.
94 I am yours; save me,
(AK)for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your testimonies.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly (AL)broad.
4 Now before this, (A)Eliashib the priest, who (B)was appointed over the chambers of the house of our God, and who was related to (C)Tobiah, 5 prepared for Tobiah a large chamber where they had previously put the grain offering, the frankincense, the vessels, and the tithes of grain, wine, and oil, (D)which were given by commandment to the Levites, singers, and gatekeepers, and the contributions for the priests. 6 While this was taking place, I was not in Jerusalem, for (E)in the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes (F)king of Babylon I went to the king. And after some time I asked leave of the king 7 and came to Jerusalem, and I then discovered the evil that Eliashib had done for Tobiah, (G)preparing for him a chamber in the courts of the house of God. 8 And I was very angry, and I threw all the household furniture of Tobiah out of the chamber. 9 Then I gave orders, and they (H)cleansed the chambers, and I brought back there the vessels of the house of God, with the grain offering and the frankincense.
10 I also found out that (I)the portions of the Levites had not been given to them, so that the Levites and the singers, who did the work, had fled each (J)to his field. 11 (K)So I confronted the officials and said, (L)“Why is the house of God forsaken?” And I gathered them together and set them in their stations. 12 Then all Judah brought (M)the tithe of the grain, wine, and oil into the storehouses. 13 And (N)I appointed as treasurers over the storehouses Shelemiah the priest, Zadok the scribe, and Pedaiah of the Levites, and as their assistant Hanan the son of Zaccur, son of Mattaniah, (O)for they were considered reliable, and their duty was to distribute to their brothers. 14 (P)Remember me, O my God, concerning this, and do not wipe out my good deeds that I have done for the house of my God and for his service.
15 In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses (Q)on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, (R)which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And (S)I warned them on the day when they sold food. 16 Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! 17 (T)Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, (U)profaning the Sabbath day? 18 (V)Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster[a] on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
19 As soon as it (W)began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. 20 Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. 21 (X)But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath. 22 Then I commanded the Levites (Y)that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the Sabbath day holy. (Z)Remember this also in my favor, O my God, and spare me according to the greatness of your steadfast love.
The Woman and the Dragon
12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman (A)clothed with (B)the sun, with (C)the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and (D)was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great (E)red dragon, (F)with seven heads and (G)ten horns, and on his heads (H)seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down (I)a third of the stars of heaven and (J)cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child (K)he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, (L)one who is to rule[a] all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was (M)caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for (N)1,260 days.
Satan Thrown Down to Earth
7 Now war arose in heaven, (O)Michael and (P)his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And (Q)the great dragon was thrown down, (R)that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, (S)the deceiver of the whole world—(T)he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now (U)the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers[b] has been thrown down, (V)who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And (W)they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for (X)they loved not their lives (Y)even unto death. 12 Therefore, (Z)rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But (AA)woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because (AB)he knows that his time is short!”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 (A)and coming to (B)his hometown (C)he taught them in their synagogue, so that (D)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 (E)Is not this (F)the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not (G)his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And (H)they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, (I)“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, (J)because of their unbelief.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.