Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83[a]
A song, a psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, do not be silent.
Do not ignore us.[b] Do not be inactive, O God.
2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile.[c]
3 They carefully plot[d] against your people,
and make plans to harm[e] the ones you cherish.[f]
4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation.[g]
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
5 Yes,[h] they devise a unified strategy;[i]
they form an alliance[j] against you.
6 It includes[k] the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,[l]
7 Gebal,[m] Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot.[n] (Selah)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian[o]—
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.[p]
10 They were destroyed at Endor;[q]
their corpses were like manure[r] on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,[s]
and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna,[t]
12 who said,[u] “Let’s take over[v] the pastures of God.”
13 O my God, make them like dead thistles,[w]
like dead weeds blown away by[x] the wind.
14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,
or the flames that consume the mountainsides,[y]
15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify[z] them with your windstorm.
16 Cover[aa] their faces with shame,
so they might seek[ab] you,[ac] O Lord.
17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified.[ad]
May they die in shame.[ae]
18 Then they will know[af] that you alone are the Lord,[ag]
the Most High[ah] over all the earth.
Psalm 34[a]
By David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away.[b]
34 I will praise[c] the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him.[d]
2 I will boast[e] in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice.[f]
3 Magnify the Lord with me.
Let us praise[g] his name together.
4 I sought the Lord’s help[h] and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Look to him and be radiant;
do not let your faces be ashamed.[i]
6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him[j] from all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord camps around
the Lord’s[k] loyal followers[l] and delivers them.[m]
8 Taste[n] and see that the Lord is good.
How blessed[o] is the one[p] who takes shelter in him.[q]
9 Fear the Lord, you chosen people of his,[r]
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come children. Listen to me.
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord.[s]
12 Do you want to really live?[t]
Would you love to live a long, happy life?[u]
13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words[v]
or use deceptive speech.[w]
14 Turn away from evil and do what is right.[x]
Strive for peace and promote it.[y]
15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help.[z]
16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth.[aa]
17 The godly[ab] cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles.[ac]
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers[ad] those who are discouraged.[ae]
19 The godly[af] face many dangers,[ag]
but the Lord saves[ah] them[ai] from each one of them.
20 He protects[aj] all his bones;[ak]
not one of them is broken.[al]
21 Evil people self-destruct;[am]
those who hate the godly are punished.[an]
22 The Lord rescues his servants;[ao]
all who take shelter in him escape punishment.[ap]
Psalm 85[a]
For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.[b]
2 You pardoned[c] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave[d] all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.[e]
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.[f]
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?[g]
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[h]
For he will make[i] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[j]
Yet they must not[k] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[l]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[m]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[n]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[o]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[p]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[q]
and our land will yield[r] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[s] before him,
and prepares[t] a pathway for him.[u]
Psalm 86[v]
A prayer of David.
86 Listen,[w] O Lord. Answer me.
For I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me,[x] for I am loyal.
You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me,[y] O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long.
4 Make your servant[z] glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray.[aa]
5 Certainly,[ab] O Lord, you are kind[ac] and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
6 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord.
Your exploits are incomparable.[ad]
9 All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you,[ae] O Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.[af]
Then I will obey your commands.[ag]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.[ah]
12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.[ai]
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me,[aj]
and will deliver my life[ak] from the depths of Sheol.[al]
14 O God, arrogant men attack me;[am]
a gang[an] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.[ao]
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient[ap] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.[aq]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.[ar]
17 Show me evidence of your favor.[as]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,[at]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.[au]
Miriam and Aaron Oppose Moses
12 [a] Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against[b] Moses because of the Cushite[c] woman he had married[d] (for he had married an Ethiopian woman). 2 They[e] said, “Has the Lord spoken only[f] through Moses? Has he not also spoken through us?”[g] And the Lord heard it.[h]
3 (Now the man Moses was very humble,[i] more so than any man on the face of the earth.)
The Response of the Lord
4 The Lord spoke immediately to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: “The three of you come to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them went. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent; he then called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.
6 The Lord[j] said, “Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you,[k] I the Lord[l] will make myself known to him in a vision; I will speak with him in a dream. 7 My servant[m] Moses is not like this; he is faithful[n] in all my house. 8 With him I will speak face to face,[o] openly[p] and not in riddles, and he will see the form[q] of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 The anger of the Lord burned against them, and he departed. 10 After the cloud had departed[r] from above the tent, there was[s] Miriam, leprous[t] like snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and realized[u] that she was leprous.
The Intercession of Moses
11 So Aaron said to Moses, “O my lord,[v] please do not hold this sin against us, in which we have acted foolishly and have sinned! 12 Do not let her be like a baby born dead, whose flesh is half consumed when it comes out of its[w] mother’s womb!”
13 Then Moses cried to the Lord, “Heal her now, O God.”[x] 14 The Lord said to Moses, “If her father had only spit[y] in her face, would she not have been disgraced for seven days? Shut her out from the camp seven days, and afterward she can be brought back in again.”
15 So Miriam was shut outside of the camp for seven days, and the people did not journey on until Miriam was brought back in.[z] 16 After that the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.
12 For all who have sinned apart from the law[a] will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.[b] 14 For whenever the Gentiles,[c] who do not have the law, do by nature[d] the things required by the law,[e] these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 15 They[f] show that the work of the law is written[g] in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend[h] them,[i] 16 on the day when God will judge[j] the secrets of human hearts,[k] according to my gospel[l] through Christ Jesus.
The Condemnation of the Jew
17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law[m] and boast of your relationship to God[n] 18 and know his will[o] and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law,[p] 19 and if you are convinced[q] that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth— 21 therefore[r] you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor[s] idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”[t]
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
10 “See that you do not disdain one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.[a] 12 What do you think? If someone[b] owns a hundred[c] sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go look for the one that went astray?[d] 13 And if he finds it, I tell you the truth,[e] he will rejoice more over it than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that one of these little ones be lost.
Restoring Christian Relationships
15 “If[f] your brother[g] sins,[h] go and show him his fault[i] when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established.[j] 17 If[k] he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If[l] he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like[m] a Gentile[n] or a tax collector.[o]
18 “I tell you the truth,[p] whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven. 19 Again, I tell you the truth,[q] if two of you on earth agree about whatever you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.[r] 20 For where two or three are assembled in my name, I am there among them.”
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