Book of Common Prayer
God Himself Is Judge
A Psalm of (A)Asaph.
50 (B)The Mighty One, God the Lord,
speaks and summons the earth
(C)from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2 Out of Zion, (D)the perfection of beauty,
(E)God shines forth.
3 Our God comes; he (F)does not keep silence;[a]
before him is a devouring (G)fire,
around him a mighty tempest.
4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5 “Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made (I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
for (K)God himself is judge! Selah
7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
O Israel, I will testify against you.
(M)I am God, your God.
8 Not for your sacrifices (N)do I rebuke you;
your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9 I will not accept a bull from your house
or goats from your folds.
10 For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12 “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,[b]
and (R)perform your vows to the Most High,
15 and (S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
I will (T)deliver you, and you shall (U)glorify me.”
16 But to the wicked God says:
“What right have you to recite my statutes
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 (V)For you hate discipline,
(W)and you cast my words behind you.
18 If you see a thief, (X)you are pleased with him,
(Y)and you keep company with adulterers.
19 “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
(Z)and your tongue frames deceit.
20 You sit and speak against your brother;
you slander your own mother's son.
21 These things you have done, and I (AA)have been silent;
you thought that I[c] was one like yourself.
But now I (AB)rebuke you and (AC)lay the charge before you.
Deliver Me from My Enemies
To the choirmaster: according to (A)Do Not Destroy. A (B)Miktam[a] of David, (C)when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.
59 (D)Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
(E)protect me from those who (F)rise up against me;
2 deliver me from (G)those who work evil,
and save me from (H)bloodthirsty men.
3 For behold, they (I)lie in wait for my life;
fierce men (J)stir up strife against me.
(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
4 for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
5 You, (M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah
6 Each evening they (N)come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
7 There they are, (O)bellowing with their mouths
with (P)swords in their lips—
for (Q)“Who,” they think,[b] “will hear us?”
8 But you, O Lord, (R)laugh at them;
you hold all the nations in derision.
9 O my Strength, I will watch for you,
for you, O God, are (S)my fortress.
10 (T)My God in his steadfast love[c] (U)will meet me;
God will let me (V)look in triumph on my enemies.
11 Kill them not, lest my people forget;
make them totter[d] by your power and (W)bring them down,
O Lord, our (X)shield!
12 For (Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
13 (Z)consume them in wrath;
consume them till they are no more,
that they may (AA)know that God rules over Jacob
to (AB)the ends of the earth. Selah
14 (AC)Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
15 They (AD)wander about for food
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16 But I will sing of your strength;
I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me (AE)a fortress
and (AF)a refuge in (AG)the day of my distress.
17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, (AH)are my fortress,
(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.
He Will Tread Down Our Foes
To the choirmaster: according to (AJ)Shushan Eduth. A (AK)Miktam[e] of David; (AL)for instruction; when he (AM)strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.
60 O God, (AN)you have rejected us, (AO)broken our defenses;
you have been angry; (AP)oh, restore us.
2 You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
(AQ)repair its breaches, for it totters.
3 (AR)You have made your people see hard things;
(AS)you have given us (AT)wine to drink that made us stagger.
4 You have set up (AU)a banner for those who fear you,
that they may flee to it (AV)from the bow.[f] Selah
5 (AW)That your (AX)beloved ones may be delivered,
give salvation by your right hand and answer us!
6 God has spoken (AY)in his holiness:[g]
“With exultation (AZ)I will divide up (BA)Shechem
and portion out the Vale of (BB)Succoth.
7 (BC)Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
(BD)Ephraim is (BE)my helmet;
Judah is my (BF)scepter.
8 (BG)Moab is my washbasin;
upon Edom I (BH)cast my shoe;
over (BI)Philistia I shout in triumph.”[h]
9 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
(BJ)Who will lead me to Edom?
10 Have you not (BK)rejected us, O God?
You (BL)do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11 Oh, grant us help against the foe,
for (BM)vain is the salvation of man!
12 With God we shall (BN)do valiantly;
it is he who will (BO)tread down our foes.
The Law of the Lord Is Perfect
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
19 (A)The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above[a] proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 (B)Their (C)voice[b] goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for (D)the sun,
5 (E)which comes out like (F)a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 (G)The law of the Lord is perfect,[c]
(H)reviving the soul;
(I)the testimony of the Lord is (J)sure,
(K)making wise (L)the simple;
8 (M)the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is (N)pure,
(O)enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules[d] of the Lord are (P)true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than (Q)gold,
even much (R)fine gold;
(S)sweeter also than honey
and drippings of (T)the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
(U)in keeping them there is great reward.
God Is Our Fortress
To the choirmaster. Of (A)the Sons of Korah. According to (B)Alamoth.[a] A Song.
46 God is our (C)refuge and strength,
a very (D)present[b] help in (E)trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear (F)though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into (G)the heart of the sea,
3 though (H)its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is (I)a river whose streams make glad (J)the city of God,
the holy (K)habitation of the Most High.
5 (L)God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
6 (M)The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he (N)utters his voice, the earth (O)melts.
7 (P)The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 (Q)Come, behold the works of the Lord,
how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 (R)He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he (S)breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
(T)he burns the chariots with fire.
10 (U)“Be still, and know that I am God.
(V)I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 (W)The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Joseph and Potiphar's Wife
39 Now Joseph had been brought down to Egypt, and (A)Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, the captain of the guard, an Egyptian, (B)had bought him from the (C)Ishmaelites who had brought him down there. 2 (D)The Lord was with Joseph, and he became a successful man, and he was in the house of his Egyptian master. 3 His master saw that the Lord was with him and that the Lord (E)caused all that he did to succeed in his hands. 4 So Joseph (F)found favor in his sight and attended him, and he made him overseer of his house (G)and put him in charge of all that he had. 5 From the time that he made him overseer in his house and over all that he had, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house (H)for Joseph's sake; the blessing of the Lord was on all that he had, in house and field. 6 So he left all that he had in Joseph's charge, and because of him he had no concern about anything but the food he ate.
Now Joseph was (I)handsome in form and appearance. 7 And after a time his master's wife cast her eyes on Joseph and said, “Lie with me.” 8 But he refused and said to his master's wife, “Behold, because of me my master has no concern about anything in the house, and (J)he has put everything that he has in my charge. 9 He is not greater in this house than I am, nor has he kept back anything from me except you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness and (K)sin against God?” 10 And as she spoke to Joseph day after day, he (L)would not listen to her, to lie beside her or to be with her.
11 But one day, when he went into the house to do his work and none of the men of the house was there in the house, 12 (M)she caught him by his garment, saying, “Lie with me.” But he left his garment in her hand and fled and got out of the house. 13 And as soon as she saw that he had left his garment in her hand and had fled out of the house, 14 she called to the men of her household and said to them, “See, he has brought among us a Hebrew to laugh at us. He came in to me to lie with me, and I cried out with a loud voice. 15 And as soon as he heard that I lifted up my voice and cried out, he left his garment beside me and fled and got out of the house.” 16 Then she laid up his garment by her until his master came home, 17 and she told him the same story, saying, “The Hebrew servant, whom you have brought among us, came in to me to laugh at me. 18 But as soon as I lifted up my voice and cried, he left his garment beside me and fled out of the house.”
19 As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph's master took him and (N)put him into the (O)prison, the place where the king's prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison. 21 But (P)the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love (Q)and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison. 22 And the keeper of the prison (R)put Joseph in charge of all the prisoners who were in the prison. Whatever was done there, he was the one who did it. 23 The keeper of the prison paid no attention to anything that was in Joseph's charge, because (S)the Lord was with him. And whatever he did, the Lord made it succeed.
14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are (A)folly to him, and (B)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 15 The (C)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. 16 (D)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But (E)we have the mind of Christ.
Divisions in the Church
3 But I, brothers,[a] could not address you as (F)spiritual people, but as (G)people of the flesh, as (H)infants in Christ. 2 (I)I fed you with milk, not solid food, for (J)you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, 3 for you are still of the flesh. For while there is (K)jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 4 For (L)when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” (M)are you not being merely human?
5 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? (N)Servants through whom you believed, (O)as the Lord assigned to each. 6 (P)I planted, (Q)Apollos watered, (R)but God gave the growth. 7 So (S)neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each (T)will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are (U)God's fellow workers. You are God's field, (V)God's building.
10 (W)According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled[b] master builder I laid a (X)foundation, and (Y)someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. 11 For no one can lay a (Z)foundation other (AA)than that which is laid, (AB)which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 (AC)each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed (AD)by fire, and (AE)the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, (AF)he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, (AG)but only as through fire.
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
2 And when he returned to (A)Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 (B)And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, (C)they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus (D)saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, (E)your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? (F)He is blaspheming! (G)Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, (H)perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that (I)the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and (J)glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.