Book of Common Prayer
Your Throne, O God, Is Forever
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil[a] of (A)the Sons of Korah; a love song.
45 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of (B)a ready scribe.
2 You are (C)the most handsome of the sons of men;
(D)grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 (E)Gird your (F)sword on your thigh, O (G)mighty one,
in (H)your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty (I)ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you (J)awesome deeds!
5 Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king's enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6 (K)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The (L)scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 (M)you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore (N)God, your God, has (O)anointed you
with the oil of (P)gladness (Q)beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with (R)myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces (S)stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
(T)at your right hand stands the queen in (U)gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your (V)lord, (W)bow to him.
12 The people[b] of Tyre will (X)seek your favor with (Y)gifts,
(Z)the richest of the people.[c]
God Is King over All the Earth
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah.
47 (B)Clap your hands, all peoples!
(C)Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2 For the Lord, the Most High, (D)is to be feared,
(E)a great king over all the earth.
3 He (F)subdued peoples under us,
and nations under our feet.
4 He chose our (G)heritage for us,
(H)the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah
5 God (I)has gone up with a shout,
the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is (J)the King of all the earth;
sing praises (K)with a psalm![a]
8 God (L)reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
9 (M)The princes of the peoples gather
as the people of the God of Abraham.
For (N)the shields of the earth belong to God;
he is highly exalted!
Zion, the City of Our God
A Song. A Psalm of (O)the Sons of Korah.
48 (P)Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised
in (Q)the city of our God!
His (R)holy mountain, 2 (S)beautiful in elevation,
is (T)the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
(U)the city of the great King.
3 Within her citadels God
has made himself known as a fortress.
4 For behold, (V)the kings assembled;
they came on together.
5 As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
they were in panic; they took to flight.
6 (W)Trembling took hold of them there,
anguish (X)as of a woman in labor.
7 By (Y)the east wind you (Z)shattered
the ships of (AA)Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
in the city of the Lord of hosts,
in (AB)the city of our God,
which God will (AC)establish forever. Selah
9 We have thought on your (AD)steadfast love, O God,
in the midst of your temple.
10 As your (AE)name, O God,
so your praise reaches to (AF)the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount (AG)Zion be glad!
Let (AH)the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of your judgments!
16 For of the wise as of the fool there is (A)no enduring remembrance, seeing that in the days to come all will have been long forgotten. (B)How the wise dies just like the fool! 17 So I hated life, because what is done under the sun was grievous to me, for (C)all is vanity and a striving after wind.
The Vanity of Toil
18 I hated (D)all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must (E)leave it to the man who will come after me, 19 and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. 20 So I (F)turned about and gave my heart up to despair (G)over all the toil of my labors under the sun, 21 because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil. 22 What has a man from (H)all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? 23 For (I)all his days are full of sorrow, and his (J)work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. This also is vanity.
24 (K)There is nothing better for a person than that he should (L)eat and drink and find enjoyment[a] in his toil. This also, I saw, is (M)from the hand of God, 25 for apart from him[b] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? 26 For to the one who pleases him (N)God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given (O)the business of gathering and collecting, (P)only to give to one who pleases God. (Q)This also is vanity and a striving after wind.
18 Then (A)after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James (B)the Lord's brother. 20 (In what I am writing to you, (C)before God, I do not lie!) 21 (D)Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown in person to (E)the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.
Paul Accepted by the Apostles
2 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those (F)who seemed influential) the gospel that (G)I proclaim among the Gentiles, (H)in order to make sure I was not running or had not (I)run in vain. 3 But even Titus, who was with me, (J)was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4 (K)Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who (L)slipped in to spy out (M)our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, (N)so that they might bring us into slavery— 5 to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that (O)the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6 And from those (P)who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; (Q)God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential (R)added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been (S)entrusted with (T)the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised 8 (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9 and when James and Cephas and John, (U)who seemed to be (V)pillars, perceived the (W)grace that was given to me, they (X)gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only, they asked us to remember the poor, (Y)the very thing I was eager to do.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 (A)and coming to (B)his hometown (C)he taught them in their synagogue, so that (D)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 (E)Is not this (F)the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not (G)his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And (H)they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, (I)“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, (J)because of their unbelief.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.