Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
Psalm 96[a]
96 Sing to the Lord a new song.[b]
Sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord. Praise his name.
Announce every day how he delivers.[c]
3 Tell the nations about his splendor.
Tell[d] all the nations about his amazing deeds.
4 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise;
he is more awesome than all gods.[e]
5 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,[f]
but the Lord made the sky.
6 Majestic splendor emanates from him;[g]
his sanctuary is firmly established and beautiful.[h]
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength.
8 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves.[i]
Bring an offering and enter his courts.
9 Worship the Lord in holy attire.[j]
Tremble before him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
The world is established; it cannot be moved.
He judges the nations fairly.”
11 Let the sky rejoice, and the earth be happy.
Let the sea and everything in it shout.
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[k]
and the nations in accordance with his justice.[l]
Psalm 34[a]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]
34 I will praise[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[d]
2 I will boast[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[f]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[g] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[i]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[j] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[k] loyal followers[l] and delivers them.[m]
8 Taste[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[o] is the one[p] who takes shelter in him.[q]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[s]
12 Do you want to really live?[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[u]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[v]
or use deceptive speech.[w]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.[y]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[z]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[aa]
17 The godly[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[ac]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[ad] those who are discouraged.[ae]
19 The godly[af] face many dangers,[ag]
but the Lord saves[ah] them[ai] from each one of them.
20 He protects[aj] all his bones;[ak]
not one of them is broken.[al]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.[an]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[ap]
The People Confess Their Sins
10 While Ezra was praying and confessing, weeping and throwing himself to the ground before the temple of God, a very large crowd of Israelites—men, women, and children alike—gathered around him. The people wept loudly.[a] 2 Then Shecaniah son of Jehiel, from the descendants of Elam,[b] addressed Ezra:
“We have been unfaithful to our God by marrying[c] foreign women from the local peoples.[d] Nonetheless, there is still hope for Israel in this regard.[e] 3 Therefore let us enact[f] a covenant with our God to send away all these women and their offspring, in keeping with your counsel, my lord,[g] and that of those who respect[h] the commandments of our God. And let it be done according to the law. 4 Get up, for this matter concerns you. We are with you, so be strong and act decisively!”
5 So Ezra got up and made the leading priests and Levites and all Israel take an oath to carry out this plan.[i] And they all took a solemn oath. 6 Then Ezra got up from in front of the temple of God and went to the room of Jehohanan son of Eliashib. While he stayed[j] there, he did not eat food or drink water, for he was in mourning over the infidelity of the exiles.
7 A proclamation[k] was circulated[l] throughout Judah and Jerusalem that all the exiles were to be assembled in Jerusalem. 8 Everyone who did not come within three days would thereby forfeit all his property, in keeping with the counsel of the officials and the elders. Furthermore, he himself would be excluded from the assembly of the exiles.
9 All the men of Judah and Benjamin were gathered in Jerusalem within the three days. (It was in the ninth month, on the twentieth day of that month.) All the people sat in the square at the temple of God, trembling because of this matter and because of the rains.
10 Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have behaved in an unfaithful manner by taking foreign wives! This has contributed to the guilt of Israel. 11 Now give praise to the Lord God of your fathers, and do his will. Separate yourselves from the local residents[m] and from these foreign wives.”
12 All the assembly replied in a loud voice: “We will do just as you have said![n] 13 However, the people are numerous and it is the rainy season.[o] We are unable to stand here outside. Furthermore, this business cannot be resolved in a day or two, for we have sinned greatly in this matter. 14 Let our leaders take steps[p] on behalf of all the assembly. Let all those in our towns who have married foreign women come at an appointed time, and with them the elders of each town and its judges, until the hot anger of our God is turned away from us in this matter.”
15 Only Jonathan son of Asahel and Jahzeiah son of Tikvah were[q] against this, assisted by Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite. 16 So the exiles proceeded accordingly. Ezra the priest separated out[r] by name men who were leaders in their family groups.[s] They sat down to consider this matter on the first day of the tenth month, 17 and on the first day of the first month they finished considering all the men who had married foreign wives.
Paul’s Defense Before Felix
10 When the governor gestured for him to speak, Paul replied, “Because I know[a] that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I confidently make my defense.[b] 11 As you can verify[c] for yourself, not more than twelve days ago[d] I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 They did not find me arguing[e] with anyone or stirring up a crowd[f] in the temple courts[g] or in the synagogues[h] or throughout the city,[i] 13 nor can they prove[j] to you the things[k] they are accusing me of doing.[l] 14 But I confess this to you, that I worship[m] the God of our ancestors[n] according to the Way (which they call a sect), believing everything that is according to the law[o] and that is written in the prophets. 15 I have[p] a hope in God (a hope[q] that[r] these men[s] themselves accept too) that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.[t] 16 This is the reason[u] I do my best to always[v] have a clear[w] conscience toward God and toward people.[x] 17 After several years[y] I came to bring to my people gifts for the poor[z] and to present offerings,[aa] 18 which I was doing when they found me in the temple, ritually purified,[ab] without a crowd or a disturbance.[ac] 19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia[ad] who should be here before you and bring charges,[ae] if they have anything against me. 20 Or these men here[af] should tell what crime[ag] they found me guilty of[ah] when I stood before the council,[ai] 21 other than[aj] this one thing[ak] I shouted out while I stood before[al] them: ‘I am on trial before you today concerning the resurrection of the dead.’”[am]
12 He[a] said also to the man[b] who had invited him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet,[c] don’t invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors so you can be invited by them in return and get repaid. 13 But when you host an elaborate meal,[d] invite the poor, the crippled,[e] the lame, and[f] the blind.[g] 14 Then[h] you will be blessed,[i] because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid[j] at the resurrection of the righteous.”
The Parable of the Great Banquet
15 When[k] one of those at the meal with Jesus[l] heard this, he said to him, “Blessed is everyone[m] who will feast[n] in the kingdom of God!”[o] 16 But Jesus[p] said to him, “A man once gave a great banquet[q] and invited[r] many guests.[s] 17 At[t] the time for the banquet[u] he sent his slave[v] to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, because everything is now ready.’ 18 But one after another they all[w] began to make excuses.[x] The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field,[y] and I must go out and see it. Please excuse me.’[z] 19 Another[aa] said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen,[ab] and I am going out[ac] to examine them. Please excuse me.’ 20 Another[ad] said, ‘I just got married, and I cannot come.’[ae] 21 So[af] the slave came back and reported this to his master. Then the master of the household was furious[ag] and said to his slave, ‘Go out quickly[ah] to the streets and alleys of the city,[ai] and bring in the poor,[aj] the crippled,[ak] the blind, and the lame.’ 22 Then[al] the slave said, ‘Sir, what you instructed has been done, and there is still room.’[am] 23 So[an] the master said to his[ao] slave, ‘Go out to the highways[ap] and country roads[aq] and urge[ar] people[as] to come in, so that my house will be filled.[at] 24 For I tell you, not one of those individuals[au] who were invited[av] will taste my banquet!’”[aw]
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