Book of Common Prayer
The Lord Reigns
93 (A)The Lord reigns; he is (B)robed in majesty;
the Lord is (C)robed; he has (D)put on strength as his belt.
(E)Yes, the world is established; (F)it shall never be moved.
2 (G)Your throne is established from of old;
(H)you are from everlasting.
Worship in the Splendor of Holiness
96 (A)Oh sing to the Lord (B)a new song;
sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
(C)tell of his salvation from day to day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For (D)great is the Lord, and (E)greatly to be praised;
he is to be feared above (F)all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord (G)made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
(H)strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O (I)families of the peoples,
(J)ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord (K)the glory due his name;
bring (L)an offering, and (M)come into his courts!
9 Worship the Lord in (N)the splendor of holiness;[a]
(O)tremble before him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, (P)“The Lord reigns!
Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
he will (Q)judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let (R)the heavens be glad, and let (S)the earth rejoice;
let (T)the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let (U)the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall all (V)the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for he comes,
for he comes (W)to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
[a] Of David, when he (A)changed his behavior before (B)Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
34 I will bless the Lord (C)at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul (D)makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and (E)be glad.
3 Oh, (F)magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are (H)radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 (I)This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and (J)saved him out of all his troubles.
7 (K)The angel of the Lord (L)encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, (M)taste and see that (N)the Lord is good!
(O)Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 (P)The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who (Q)seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 (R)Come, O children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (T)What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may (U)see good?
13 (V)Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from (W)speaking deceit.
14 (X)Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and (Y)pursue it.
15 (Z)The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
(AA)and his ears toward their cry.
16 (AB)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 (AD)When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to (AE)the brokenhearted
and saves (AF)the crushed in spirit.
19 (AG)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(AH)but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
(AI)not one of them is broken.
21 (AJ)Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord (AK)redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be (AL)condemned.
The Birth of Samuel
1 There was a certain man of (A)Ramathaim-zophim of (B)the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, (C)an Ephrathite. 2 He had two wives. The name of the one was Hannah, and the name of the other, Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
7 So it went on year by year. As often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she used to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. 8 And Elkanah, her husband, said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not eat? And why is your heart sad? (A)Am I not more to you than ten sons?”
9 After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of (B)the temple of the Lord. 10 She was (C)deeply distressed and prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 And she (D)vowed a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if you will indeed (E)look on the affliction of your servant and (F)remember me and not forget your servant, but will give to your servant a son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, (G)and no razor shall touch his head.”
12 As she continued praying before the Lord, Eli observed her mouth. 13 Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and her voice was not heard. Therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman. 14 And Eli said to her, “How long will you go on being drunk? Put your wine away from you.” 15 But Hannah answered, “No, my lord, I am a woman troubled in spirit. I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but (H)I have been pouring out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not regard your servant as (I)a worthless woman, for all along I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation.” 17 Then Eli answered, (J)“Go in peace, and the God of Israel (K)grant your petition that you have made to him.” 18 And she said, (L)“Let your servant find favor in your eyes.” Then the woman (M)went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
19 They rose early in the morning and worshiped before the Lord; then they went back to their house at (N)Ramah. And Elkanah knew Hannah his wife, and the Lord (O)remembered her. 20 And in due time Hannah conceived and bore a son, and she called his name Samuel, for she said, “I have asked for him from the Lord.”[a]
Samuel Given to the Lord
21 The man Elkanah and all his house (P)went up to offer to the Lord the yearly sacrifice and to pay his vow. 22 But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “As soon as the child is weaned, I will bring him, so that he may appear in the presence of the Lord (Q)and dwell there forever.” 23 (R)Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you; wait until you have weaned him; (S)only, may the Lord establish his word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24 And when she had weaned him, (T)she took him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull,[b] an ephah[c] of flour, and a skin of wine, and she brought him to (U)the house of the Lord at Shiloh. And the child was young. 25 Then they slaughtered the bull, and they brought the child to Eli. 26 And she said, “Oh, my lord! (V)As you live, my lord, I am the woman who was standing here in your presence, praying to the Lord. 27 For this child I prayed, (W)and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. 28 Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord.”
(X)And he worshiped the Lord there.
9 And so, (A)from the day we heard, (B)we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that (C)you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all (D)spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as (E)to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, (F)fully pleasing to him: (G)bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 (H)being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for (I)all endurance and patience (J)with joy; 12 (K)giving thanks[a] to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in (L)the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He (M)has delivered us from (N)the domain of darkness and transferred us to (O)the kingdom of (P)his beloved Son, 14 (Q)in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Preeminence of Christ
15 (R)He is the image of (S)the invisible God, (T)the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[c] him all things were created, (U)in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether (V)thrones or (W)dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created (X)through him and for him. 17 And (Y)he is before all things, and in him all things (Z)hold together. 18 And (AA)he is the head of the body, the church. He is (AB)the beginning, (AC)the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For (AD)in him all the (AE)fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and (AF)through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, (AG)making peace (AH)by the blood of his cross.
Jesus Presented at the Temple
22 And (A)when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem (B)to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in (C)the Law of the Lord, (D)“Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord”) 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in (E)the Law of the Lord, (F)“a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.” 25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was (G)righteous and (H)devout, (I)waiting for (J)the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not (K)see death before he had seen (L)the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when (M)the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and (N)blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant[a] depart (O)in peace,
(P)according to your word;
30 for (Q)my eyes have seen your (R)salvation
31 (S)that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 (T)a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and (U)for glory to (V)your people Israel.”
33 And (W)his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed (X)for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign (Y)that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
36 And there was (Z)a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four.[b] She did not depart from the temple, (AA)worshiping with (AB)fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were (AC)waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The Return to Nazareth
39 And when they had performed everything according to (AD)the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of (AE)Nazareth. 40 (AF)And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.