Book of Common Prayer
I Cry Out Day and Night Before You
A Song. A Psalm of (A)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to (B)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil[a] of (C)Heman the Ezrahite.
88 O Lord, (D)God of my salvation,
I (E)cry out day and night before you.
2 Let my prayer come before you;
(F)incline your ear to my cry!
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and (G)my life draws near to (H)Sheol.
4 I am counted among those who (I)go down to the pit;
I am a man who has no strength,
5 like one set loose among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom (J)you remember no more,
for they are (K)cut off from your hand.
6 You have put me in (L)the depths of the pit,
in the (M)regions dark and (N)deep.
7 Your wrath (O)lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with (P)all your waves. Selah
8 You have caused (Q)my companions to shun me;
you have made me (R)a horror[b] to them.
I am (S)shut in so that I cannot escape;
9 (T)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
I (U)spread out my hands to you.
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
(V)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your (W)wonders known in (X)the darkness,
or your righteousness in the land of (Y)forgetfulness?
13 But I, O Lord, cry (Z)to you;
(AA)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14 O Lord, why (AB)do you cast my soul away?
Why (AC)do you hide your face from me?
15 Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.[c]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your (AD)dreadful assaults destroy me.
17 They (AE)surround me like a flood (AF)all day long;
they (AG)close in on me together.
18 You have caused (AH)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
my companions have become darkness.[d]
My Refuge and My Fortress
91 He who dwells in (A)the shelter of the Most High
will abide in (B)the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say[a] to the Lord, “My (C)refuge and my (D)fortress,
my God, in whom I (E)trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from (F)the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will (G)cover you with his pinions,
and under his (H)wings you will (I)find refuge;
his (J)faithfulness is (K)a shield and buckler.
5 (L)You will not fear (M)the terror of the night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes
and (N)see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made the Lord your (O)dwelling place—
the Most High, who is my (P)refuge[b]—
10 (Q)no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
(R)no plague come near your tent.
11 (S)For he will command his (T)angels concerning you
to (U)guard you in all your ways.
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you (V)strike your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on (W)the lion and the (X)adder;
the young lion and (Y)the serpent you will (Z)trample underfoot.
14 “Because he (AA)holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
I will protect him, because he (AB)knows my name.
15 When he (AC)calls to me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will rescue him and (AD)honor him.
16 With (AE)long life I will satisfy him
and (AF)show him my salvation.”
How Great Are Your Works
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath.
92 (AG)It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, (AH)O Most High;
2 to declare your (AI)steadfast love in (AJ)the morning,
and your (AK)faithfulness by (AL)night,
3 to the music of (AM)the lute and (AN)the harp,
to the melody of (AO)the lyre.
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your (AP)work;
at (AQ)the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How (AR)great are your works, O Lord!
Your (AS)thoughts are very (AT)deep!
6 The stupid man cannot know;
the fool cannot understand this:
7 that though (AU)the wicked sprout like grass
and all (AV)evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
8 but you, O Lord, are (AW)on high forever.
9 For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
for behold, your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be (AX)scattered.
10 But you have exalted my (AY)horn like that of (AZ)the wild ox;
you have (BA)poured over me[c] fresh oil.
11 My (BB)eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12 (BC)The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in (BD)the courts of our God.
14 They still bear fruit in old age;
they are ever full of sap and green,
15 (BE)to declare that the Lord is upright;
he is my (BF)rock, and there is (BG)no unrighteousness in him.
Spies Sent into Canaan
13 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 (A)“Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from (B)the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel.
21 So they went up and spied out the land (A)from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, (B)near Lebo-hamath. 22 They went up into (C)the Negeb and came to (D)Hebron. (E)Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the (F)descendants of Anak, were there. ((G)Hebron was built seven years before (H)Zoan in Egypt.) 23 And (I)they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol,[a] because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.
Report of the Spies
25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at (J)Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It (K)flows with milk and honey, (L)and this is its fruit. 28 (M)However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 (N)The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. (O)And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
30 But (P)Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
25 For circumcision indeed is of value (A)if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if (B)a man who is uncircumcised keeps (C)the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded[a] as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically[b] uncircumcised but keeps the law (D)will condemn you who have (E)the written code[c] and circumcision but break the law. 28 For (F)no one is a Jew (G)who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 But a Jew is one (H)inwardly, and (I)circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. (J)His praise is not from man but from God.
God's Righteousness Upheld
3 Then what advantage has the Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision? 2 Much in every way. To begin with, (K)the Jews were entrusted with (L)the oracles of God. 3 (M)What if some were unfaithful? (N)Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4 By no means! (O)Let God be true though (P)every one were a liar, as it is written,
5 But if our unrighteousness serves to show the righteousness of God, what shall we say? That God is unrighteous to inflict (S)wrath on us? ((T)I speak in a human way.) 6 By no means! For then how could (U)God judge the world? 7 But if through my lie God's truth abounds to his glory, (V)why am I still being condemned as a sinner? 8 And why not (W)do evil that good may come?—as some people slanderously charge us with saying. Their condemnation is just.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often (A)will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? (B)As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished (C)to settle accounts with his servants.[a] 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him (D)ten thousand (E)talents.[b] 25 (F)And since he could not pay, his master ordered him (G)to be sold, with his wife and (H)children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant[c] (I)fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and (J)forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred (K)denarii,[d] and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 (L)And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 (M)And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,[e] (N)until he should pay all his debt. 35 (O)So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother (P)from your heart.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.