Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks.
You reveal your presence;[c]
people tell about your amazing deeds.
2 God says,[d]
“At the appointed times,[e]
I judge[f] fairly.
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,[g]
I make its pillars secure.”[h] (Selah)
4 [i] I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.[j]
5 Do not be so certain you have won.[k]
Do not speak with your head held so high.[l]
6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.[m]
7 For God is the judge.[n]
He brings one down and exalts another.[o]
8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices,[p]
and pours it out.[q]
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”[r]
9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;[s]
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 God says,[t]
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”[u]
Psalm 76[v]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.
76 God has revealed himself in Judah;[w]
in Israel his reputation[x] is great.
2 He lives in Salem;[y]
he dwells in Zion.[z]
3 There he shattered the arrows,[aa]
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war.[ab] (Selah)
4 You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey.[ac]
5 The bravehearted[ad] were plundered;[ae]
they “fell asleep.”[af]
All the warriors were helpless.[ag]
6 At the sound of your battle cry,[ah] O God of Jacob,
both rider[ai] and horse “fell asleep.”[aj]
7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?[ak]
8 From heaven you announced what their punishment would be.[al]
The earth[am] was afraid and silent
9 when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10 Certainly[an] your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise;[ao]
you reveal your anger in full measure.[ap]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them.
Let all those who surround him[aq] bring tribute to the awesome one.
12 He humbles princes;[ar]
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome.[as]
Psalm 23[a]
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd,[b]
I lack nothing.[c]
2 He takes me to lush pastures,[d]
he leads me to refreshing water.[e]
3 He restores my strength.[f]
He leads me down[g] the right paths[h]
for the sake of his reputation.[i]
4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,[j]
I fear[k] no danger,[l]
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.[m]
5 You prepare a feast before me[n]
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh[o] my head with oil;
my cup is completely full.[p]
6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness[q] will pursue[r] me all my days,[s]
and I will live in[t] the Lord’s house[u] for the rest of my life.[v]
Psalm 27[a]
By David.
27 The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation.
I fear no one.[c]
The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one.[d]
2 When evil men attack me[e]
to devour my flesh,[f]
when my adversaries and enemies attack me,[g]
they stumble and fall.[h]
3 Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear.[i]
Even when war is imminent,[j]
I remain confident.[k]
4 I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live[l] in the Lord’s house[m] all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor[n] of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
5 He will surely[o] give me shelter[p] in the day of danger;[q]
he will hide me in his home.[r]
He will place me[s] on an inaccessible rocky summit.[t]
6 Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.[u]
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.[v]
I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear me,[w] O Lord, when I cry out.
Have mercy on me and answer me.
8 My heart tells me to pray to you,[x]
and I do pray to you, O Lord.[y]
9 Do not reject me.[z]
Do not push your servant away in anger.
You are my deliverer.[aa]
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me.
10 Even if my father and mother abandoned me,[ab]
the Lord would take me in.[ac]
11 Teach me how you want me to live,[ad] Lord;
lead me along a level path[ae] because of those who wait to ambush me.[af]
12 Do not turn me over to my enemies,[ag]
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.[ah]
13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience
the Lord’s favor in the land of the living?[ai]
14 Rely[aj] on the Lord!
Be strong and confident![ak]
Rely on the Lord!
16 When Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the servant who was over his household, “Bring the men to the house. Slaughter an animal and prepare it, for the men will eat with me at noon.” 17 The man did just as Joseph said; he[a] brought the men into Joseph’s house.[b]
18 But the men were afraid when they were brought to Joseph’s house. They said, “We are being brought in because of[c] the money that was returned in our sacks last time.[d] He wants to capture us,[e] make us slaves, and take[f] our donkeys!” 19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house. 20 They said, “My lord, we did indeed come down[g] the first time[h] to buy food. 21 But when we came to the place where we spent the night, we opened our sacks and each of us found his money—the full amount[i]—in the mouth of his sack. So we have returned it.[j] 22 We have brought additional money with us to buy food. We do not know who put the money in our sacks!”
23 “Everything is fine,”[k] the man in charge of Joseph’s household told them. “Don’t be afraid. Your God and the God of your father has given you treasure in your sacks.[l] I had your money.”[m] Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24 The servant in charge[n] brought the men into Joseph’s house. He gave them water, and they washed their feet. Then he gave food to their donkeys. 25 They got their gifts ready for Joseph’s arrival[o] at noon, for they had heard[p] that they were to have a meal[q] there.
26 When Joseph came home, they presented him with the gifts they had brought inside,[r] and they bowed down to the ground before him. 27 He asked them how they were doing.[s] Then he said, “Is your aging father well, the one you spoke about? Is he still alive?” 28 “Your servant our father is well,” they replied. “He is still alive.” They bowed down in humility.[t]
29 When Joseph looked up[u] and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother’s son, he said, “Is this your youngest brother, whom you told me about?” Then he said, “May God be gracious to you, my son.”[v] 30 Joseph hurried out, for he was overcome by affection for his brother[w] and was at the point of tears.[x] So he went to his room and wept there.
31 Then he washed his face and came out. With composure he said,[y] “Set out the food.” 32 They set a place for him, a separate place for his brothers,[z] and another for the Egyptians who were eating with him. (The Egyptians are not able to eat with Hebrews, for the Egyptians think it is disgusting[aa] to do so.)[ab] 33 They sat before him, arranged by order of birth, beginning with the firstborn and ending with the youngest.[ac] The men looked at each other in astonishment.[ad] 34 He gave them portions of the food set before him,[ae] but the portion for Benjamin was five times greater than the portions for any of the others. They drank with Joseph until they all became drunk.[af]
10 To the married I give this command—not I, but the Lord[a]—a wife should not divorce a husband 11 (but if she does, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband), and a husband should not divorce his wife.
12 To the rest I say—I, not the Lord[b]—if a brother has a wife who is not a believer and she is happy to live with him, he should not divorce her. 13 And if a woman has a husband who is not a believer and he is happy to live with her, she should not divorce him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified because of the wife, and the unbelieving wife because of her husband.[c] Otherwise your children are unclean, but now they are holy. 15 But if the unbeliever wants a divorce, let it take place. In these circumstances the brother or sister is not bound.[d] God has called you in peace. 16 For how do you know, wife, whether you will bring your husband to salvation?[e] Or how do you know, husband, whether you will bring your wife to salvation?[f]
The Circumstances of Your Calling
17 Nevertheless,[g] as the Lord has assigned to each one, as God has called each person, so must he live. I give this sort of direction in all the churches. 18 Was anyone called after he had been circumcised? He should not try to undo his circumcision.[h] Was anyone called who is uncircumcised? He should not get circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Instead, keeping God’s commandments is what counts. 20 Let each one remain in that situation in life[i] in which he was called. 21 Were you called as a slave?[j] Do not worry about it. But if indeed you are able to be free, make the most of the opportunity. 22 For the one who was called in the Lord as a slave is the Lord’s freedman. In the same way, the one who was called as a free person is Christ’s slave. 23 You were bought with a price. Do not become slaves of men. 24 In whatever situation someone was called, brothers and sisters,[k] let him remain in it with God.
Healing of a Demoniac
5 So[a] they came to the other side of the lake, to the region of the Gerasenes.[b] 2 Just as Jesus[c] was getting out of the boat,[d] a man with an unclean spirit[e] came from the tombs and met him.[f] 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles,[g] but[h] he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Each night and every day among the tombs and in the mountains, he would cry out and cut himself with stones. 6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and bowed down before him. 7 Then[i] he cried out with a loud voice, “Leave me alone,[j] Jesus, Son of the Most High God! I implore you by God[k]—do not torment me!” 8 (For Jesus[l] had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”)[m] 9 Jesus[n] asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “My name is Legion,[o] for we are many.” 10 He begged Jesus[p] repeatedly not to send them out of the region. 11 There on the hillside,[q] a great herd of pigs was feeding. 12 And the demonic spirits[r] begged him, “Send us into the pigs. Let us enter them.” 13 Jesus[s] gave them permission.[t] So[u] the unclean spirits came out and went into the pigs. Then the herd rushed down the steep slope into the lake, and about 2,000 were drowned in the lake.
14 Now[v] the herdsmen ran off and spread the news in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. 15 They came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed man sitting there, clothed and in his right mind—the one who had the “Legion”—and they were afraid. 16 Those who had seen what had happened to the demon-possessed man reported it, and they also told about the pigs. 17 Then[w] they began to beg Jesus[x] to leave their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat the man who had been demon-possessed asked if he could go[y] with him. 19 But[z] Jesus[aa] did not permit him to do so. Instead, he said to him, “Go to your home and to your people and tell them what the Lord has done for you,[ab] that he had mercy on you.” 20 So[ac] he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis[ad] what Jesus had done for him,[ae] and all were amazed.
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