Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 80[a]
For the music director, according to the shushan-eduth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph.
80 O Shepherd of Israel, pay attention,
you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep.
You who sit enthroned above the cherubim,[c] reveal your splendor.[d]
2 In the sight of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh reveal[e] your power.
Come and deliver us.[f]
3 O God, restore us.
Smile on us.[g] Then we will be delivered.[h]
4 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[i]
how long will you remain angry at your people while they pray to you?[j]
5 You have given them tears as food;[k]
you have made them drink tears by the measure.[l]
6 You have made our neighbors dislike us,[m]
and our enemies insult us.
7 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[n] restore us.
Smile on us.[o] Then we will be delivered.[p]
8 You uprooted a vine[q] from Egypt;
you drove out nations and transplanted it.
9 You cleared the ground for it;[r]
it took root,[s]
and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered by its shadow,
the highest cedars[t] by its branches.
11 Its branches reached the Mediterranean Sea,[u]
and its shoots the Euphrates River.[v]
12 Why did you break down its walls,[w]
so that all who pass by pluck its fruit?[x]
13 The wild boars of the forest ruin it;[y]
the insects[z] of the field feed on it.
14 O God of Heaven’s Armies,[aa] come back.
Look down from heaven and take notice.
Take care of this vine,
15 the root[ab] your right hand planted,
the shoot you made to grow.[ac]
16 It is burned[ad] and cut down.
May those who did this die because you are displeased with them.[ae]
17 May you give support to the one you have chosen,[af]
to the one whom you raised up for yourself.[ag]
18 Then we will not turn away from you.
Revive us and we will pray to you.[ah]
19 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[ai] restore us.
Smile on us.[aj] Then we will be delivered.[ak]
Psalm 77[a]
For the music director, Jeduthun; a psalm of Asaph.
77 I will cry out to God[b] and call for help.
I will cry out to God and he will pay attention[c] to me.
2 In my time of trouble I sought[d] the Lord.
I kept my hand raised in prayer throughout the night.[e]
I[f] refused to be comforted.
3 I said, “I will remember God while I groan;
I will think about him while my strength leaves me.”[g] (Selah)
4 You held my eyelids open;[h]
I was troubled and could not speak.[i]
5 I thought about the days of old,
about ancient times.[j]
6 I said, “During the night I will remember the song I once sang;
I will think very carefully.”
I tried to make sense of what was happening.[k]
7 I asked,[l] “Will the Lord reject me forever?
Will he never again show me his favor?
8 Has his loyal love disappeared forever?
Has his promise[m] failed forever?
9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has his anger stifled his compassion?” (Selah)
10 Then I said, “I am sickened by the thought
that the Most High[n] might become inactive.[o]
11 I will remember the works of the Lord.
Yes, I will remember the amazing things you did long ago.[p]
12 I will think about all you have done;
I will reflect upon your deeds.”
13 [q] O God, your deeds are extraordinary.[r]
What god can compare to our great God?[s]
14 You are the God who does amazing things;
you have revealed your strength among the nations.
15 You delivered[t] your people by your strength[u]—
the children of Jacob and Joseph. (Selah)
16 The waters[v] saw you, O God,
the waters saw you and trembled.[w]
Yes, the depths of the sea[x] shook with fear.[y]
17 The clouds poured down rain;[z]
the skies thundered.[aa]
Yes, your arrows[ab] flashed about.
18 Your thunderous voice was heard in the wind;
the lightning bolts lit up the world.
The earth trembled and shook.[ac]
19 You walked through the sea;[ad]
you passed through the surging waters,[ae]
but left no footprints.[af]
20 You led your people like a flock of sheep,
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 79[a]
A psalm of Asaph.
79 O God, foreigners[b] have invaded your chosen land;[c]
they have polluted your holy temple
and turned Jerusalem into a heap of ruins.
2 They have given the corpses of your servants
to the birds of the sky,[d]
the flesh of your loyal followers
to the beasts of the earth.
3 They have made their blood flow like water
all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.[e]
4 We have become an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[f]
5 How long will this go on, O Lord?[g]
Will you stay angry forever?
How long will your rage[h] burn like fire?
6 Pour out your anger on the nations that do not acknowledge you,[i]
on the kingdoms that do not pray to you.[j]
7 For they have devoured Jacob
and destroyed his home.
8 Do not hold us accountable for the sins of earlier generations.[k]
Quickly send your compassion our way,[l]
for we are in serious trouble.[m]
9 Help us, O God, our deliverer!
For the sake of your glorious reputation,[n] rescue us.
Forgive our sins for the sake of your reputation.[o]
10 Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Before our very eyes may the shed blood of your servants
be avenged among the nations.[p]
11 Listen to the painful cries of the prisoners.[q]
Use your great strength to set free those condemned to die.[r]
12 Pay back our neighbors in full.[s]
May they be insulted the same way they insulted you, O Lord.[t]
13 Then we, your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will continually thank you.[u]
We will tell coming generations of your praiseworthy acts.[v]
Jacob and Esau
19 This is the account of Isaac,[a] the son of Abraham.
Abraham became the father of Isaac. 20 When Isaac was forty years old, he married Rebekah,[b] the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.[c]
21 Isaac prayed[d] to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 But the children struggled[e] inside her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?”[f] So she asked the Lord,[g] 23 and the Lord said to her,
“Two nations[h] are in your womb,
and two peoples will be separated from within you.
One people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for Rebekah to give birth,[i] there were[j] twins in her womb. 25 The first came out reddish[k] all over,[l] like a hairy[m] garment, so they named him Esau.[n] 26 When his brother came out with[o] his hand clutching Esau’s heel, they named him Jacob.[p] Isaac was sixty years old[q] when they were born.
27 When the boys grew up, Esau became a skilled[r] hunter, a man of the open fields, but Jacob was an even-tempered man, living in tents.[s] 28 Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for fresh game,[t] but Rebekah loved[u] Jacob.
29 Now Jacob cooked some stew,[v] and when Esau came in from the open fields, he was famished. 30 So Esau said to Jacob, “Feed[w] me some of the red stuff—yes, this red stuff—because I’m starving!” (That is why he was also called[x] Edom.)[y]
31 But Jacob replied, “First[z] sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look,” said Esau, “I’m about to die! What use is the birthright to me?”[aa] 33 But Jacob said, “Swear an oath to me now.”[ab] So Esau[ac] swore an oath to him and sold his birthright[ad] to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and lentil stew; Esau ate and drank, then got up and went out.[ae] So Esau despised his birthright.[af]
Final Exhortations
13 Brotherly love must continue. 2 Do not neglect hospitality, because through it some have entertained angels without knowing it.[a] 3 Remember those in prison as though you were in prison with them,[b] and those ill-treated as though you too felt their torment.[c] 4 Marriage must be honored among all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 5 Your conduct must be free from the love of money and you must be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you and I will never abandon you.”[d] 6 So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, and[e] I will not be afraid. What can people do to me?”[f] 7 Remember your leaders, who spoke God’s message to you; reflect on the outcome of their lives and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever! 9 Do not be carried away by all sorts of strange teachings.[g] For it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not ritual meals,[h] which have never benefited those who participated in them. 10 We have an altar that those who serve in the tabernacle have no right to eat from. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood the high priest brings[i] into the sanctuary as an offering for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore, to sanctify the people by his own blood, Jesus also suffered outside the camp. 13 We must go out to him, then, outside the camp, bearing the abuse he experienced.[j] 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, acknowledging his name. 16 And do not neglect to do good and to share what you have,[k] for God is pleased with such sacrifices.
Teaching About the Spirit
37 On the last day of the feast, the greatest day,[a] Jesus stood up and shouted out,[b] “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and 38 let the one who believes in me drink.[c] Just as the scripture says, ‘From within him[d] will flow rivers of living water.’”[e] 39 (Now he said this about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were going to receive, for the Spirit had not yet been given,[f] because Jesus was not yet glorified.)[g]
Differing Opinions About Jesus
40 When they heard these words, some of the crowd[h] began to say, “This really[i] is the Prophet!”[j] 41 Others said, “This is the Christ!”[k] But still others said, “No,[l] for the Christ doesn’t come from Galilee, does he?[m] 42 Don’t the scriptures say that the Christ is a descendant[n] of David[o] and comes from Bethlehem,[p] the village where David lived?”[q] 43 So there was a division in the crowd[r] because of Jesus.[s] 44 Some of them were wanting to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.[t]
Lack of Belief
45 Then the officers[u] returned[v] to the chief priests and Pharisees,[w] who said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him back with you?”[x] 46 The officers replied, “No one ever spoke like this man!” 47 Then the Pharisees answered,[y] “You haven’t been deceived too, have you?[z] 48 None of the members of the ruling council[aa] or the Pharisees have believed in him, have they?[ab] 49 But this rabble[ac] who do not know the law are accursed!”
50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus[ad] before and who was one of the rulers,[ae] said,[af] 51 “Our law doesn’t condemn[ag] a man unless it first hears from him and learns[ah] what he is doing, does it?”[ai] 52 They replied,[aj] “You aren’t from Galilee too, are you?[ak] Investigate carefully and you will see that no prophet[al] comes from Galilee!”
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