Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131[a]
A song of ascents,[b] by David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not proud,
nor do I have a haughty look.[c]
I do not have great aspirations,
or concern myself with things that are beyond me.[d]
2 Indeed,[e] I have calmed and quieted myself[f]
like a weaned child with its mother;[g]
I am content like a young child.[h]
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
now and forevermore!
Psalm 132[i]
A song of ascents.[j]
132 O Lord, for David’s sake remember
all his strenuous effort,[k]
2 and how he made a vow to the Lord,
and swore an oath to the Powerful One of Jacob.
3 He said,[l] “I will not enter my own home,[m]
or get into my bed.[n]
4 I will not allow my eyes to sleep,
or my eyelids to slumber,
5 until I find a place for the Lord,
a fine dwelling place[o] for the Powerful One of Jacob.”[p]
6 Look, we heard about it[q] in Ephrathah;[r]
we found it in the territory of Jaar.[s]
7 Let us go to his dwelling place.
Let us worship[t] before his footstool.
8 Ascend, O Lord, to your resting place,
you and the ark of your strength.
9 May your priests be clothed with integrity.[u]
May your loyal followers shout for joy.
10 For the sake of David, your servant,
do not reject your chosen king.[v]
11 The Lord made a reliable promise to David;[w]
he will not go back on his word.[x]
He said,[y] “I will place one of your descendants[z] on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and the rules I teach them,
their sons will also sit on your throne forever.”
13 Certainly[aa] the Lord has chosen Zion;
he decided to make it his home.[ab]
14 He said,[ac] “This will be my resting place forever;
I will live here, for I have chosen it.[ad]
15 I will abundantly supply what she needs;[ae]
I will give her poor all the food they need.[af]
16 I will protect her priests,[ag]
and her godly people will shout exuberantly.[ah]
17 There I will make David strong;[ai]
I have determined that my chosen king’s dynasty will continue.[aj]
18 I will humiliate his enemies,[ak]
and his crown will shine.”
Psalm 133[al]
A song of ascents;[am] by David.
133 Look! How good and how pleasant it is
when brothers truly live in unity.[an]
2 It is like fine oil poured on the head,
which flows down the beard[ao]—
Aaron’s beard,
and then flows down his garments.[ap]
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,[aq]
which flows down upon the hills of Zion.[ar]
Indeed,[as] that is where the Lord has decreed
a blessing will be available—eternal life.[at]
Psalm 140[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
140 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men.[b]
Protect me from violent men,[c]
2 who plan ways to harm me.[d]
All day long they stir up conflict.[e]
3 Their tongues wound like a serpent;[f]
a viper’s[g] venom is behind[h] their lips. (Selah)
4 O Lord, shelter me from the power[i] of the wicked.
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over.[j]
5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men[k] spread a net by the path.
They set traps for me. (Selah)
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,[l]
you shield[m] my head in the day of battle.
8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way.[n]
Do not allow their[o] plan to succeed when they attack.[p] (Selah)
9 As for the heads of those who surround me—
may the harm done by[q] their lips overwhelm them.
10 May he rain down[r] fiery coals upon them.
May he throw them into the fire.
From bottomless pits they will not escape.[s]
11 A slanderer[t] will not endure on[u] the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down.[v]
12 I know[w] that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed
and vindicates the poor.[x]
13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;
the morally upright will live in your presence.
Psalm 142[a]
A well-written song[b] by David, when he was in the cave;[c] a prayer.
142 To the Lord I cry out;[d]
to the Lord I plead for mercy.[e]
2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about[f] my troubles.
3 Even when my strength leaves me,[g]
you watch my footsteps.[h]
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see.
No one cares about me.[i]
I have nowhere to run;[j]
no one is concerned about my life.[k]
5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security[l] in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble.[m]
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
7 Free me[n] from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble,[o]
for you will vindicate me.[p]
Plague Two: Frogs
25 [a] Seven full days passed[b] after the Lord struck[c] the Nile. 8 1 (7:26)[d] Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Release my people in order that they may serve me! 2 But if you refuse to release them, then I am going to plague[e] all your territory with frogs.[f] 3 The Nile will swarm[g] with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs.[h] 4 Frogs[i] will come up against you, your people, and all your servants.”’”[j]
5 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff[k] over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.’” 6 So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs[l] came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7 The magicians did the same[m] with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too.[n]
8 Then Pharaoh summoned[o] Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray[p] to the Lord that he may take the frogs away[q] from me and my people, and I will release[r] the people that they may sacrifice[s] to the Lord.” 9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me[t]—when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed[u] from you and your houses, so that[v] they will be left[w] only in the Nile?” 10 He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said,[x] “It will be[y] as you say,[z] so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 11 The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”
12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried[aa] to the Lord because of[ab] the frogs that he had brought on[ac] Pharaoh. 13 The Lord did as Moses asked[ad]—the frogs died[ae] in the houses, the villages, and the fields. 14 The Egyptians[af] piled them in countless heaps,[ag] and the land stank. 15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was relief,[ah] he hardened[ai] his heart and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.[aj]
Plague Three: Gnats
16 [ak] The Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and it will become[al] gnats[am] throughout all the land of Egypt.’” 17 They did so; Aaron extended his hand with his staff, he struck the dust of the ground, and it became gnats on people[an] and on animals. All the dust of the ground became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. 18 When[ao] the magicians attempted[ap] to bring forth gnats by their secret arts, they could not. So there were gnats on people and on animals. 19 The magicians said[aq] to Pharaoh, “It is the finger[ar] of God!” But Pharaoh’s heart remained hard,[as] and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.
The Greater Glory of the Spirit’s Ministry
7 But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets[a]—came with glory, so that the Israelites[b] could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face[c] (a glory[d] which was made ineffective),[e] 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be?[f] 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation,[g] how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness[h] excel[i] in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now[j] has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it.[k] 11 For if what was made ineffective[l] came with[m] glory, how much more has what remains[n] come in glory! 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness,[o] 13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites[p] from staring[q] at the result[r] of the glory that was made ineffective.[s] 14 But their minds were closed.[t] For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read.[u] It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away.[v] 15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,[w] 16 but when one[x] turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.[y] 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present,[z] there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord,[aa] are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,[ab] which is from[ac] the Lord, who is the Spirit.[ad]
The Rich Man
17 Now[a] as Jesus[b] was starting out on his way, someone ran up to him, fell on his knees, and said, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”[c] 18 Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good?[d] No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’”[e] 20 The man[f] said to him, “Teacher, I have wholeheartedly obeyed[g] all these laws[h] since my youth.”[i] 21 As Jesus looked at him, he felt love for him and said, “You lack one thing. Go, sell whatever you have and give the money[j] to the poor, and you will have treasure[k] in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But at this statement, the man[l] looked sad and went away sorrowful, for he was very rich.[m]
23 Then[n] Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!”[o] 24 The disciples were astonished at these words. But again Jesus said to them,[p] “Children, how hard it is[q] to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel[r] to go through the eye of a needle[s] than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” 26 They were even more astonished and said[t] to one another, “Then[u] who can be saved?”[v] 27 Jesus looked at them and replied, “This is impossible for mere humans,[w] but not for God; all things are possible for God.”
28 Peter began to speak to him, “Look,[x] we have left everything to follow you!”[y] 29 Jesus said, “I tell you the truth,[z] there is no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for my sake and for the sake of the gospel 30 who will not receive in this age[aa] a hundred times as much—homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields, all with persecutions[ab]—and in the age to come, eternal life.[ac] 31 But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.