Book of Common Prayer
Taste and See That the Lord Is Good
[a] Of David, when he (A)changed his behavior before (B)Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.
34 I will bless the Lord (C)at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul (D)makes its boast in the Lord;
let the humble hear and (E)be glad.
3 Oh, (F)magnify the Lord with me,
and let us exalt his name together!
4 I (G)sought the Lord, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are (H)radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6 (I)This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and (J)saved him out of all his troubles.
7 (K)The angel of the Lord (L)encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8 Oh, (M)taste and see that (N)the Lord is good!
(O)Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
10 (P)The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who (Q)seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 (R)Come, O children, listen to me;
(S)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (T)What man is there who desires life
and loves many days, that he may (U)see good?
13 (V)Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from (W)speaking deceit.
14 (X)Turn away from evil and do good;
seek peace and (Y)pursue it.
15 (Z)The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
(AA)and his ears toward their cry.
16 (AB)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 (AD)When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to (AE)the brokenhearted
and saves (AF)the crushed in spirit.
19 (AG)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
(AH)but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
(AI)not one of them is broken.
21 (AJ)Affliction will slay the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord (AK)redeems the life of his servants;
none of those who take refuge in him will be (AL)condemned.
The Lord Will Restore Israel
14 (A)“Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when it shall no longer be said, (B)‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,’ 15 but (C)‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel (D)out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.’ For (E)I will bring them back to their own land that I gave to their fathers.
16 “Behold, (F)I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them. And afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out (G)of the clefts of the rocks. 17 For (H)my eyes are on all their ways. (I)They are not hidden from me, (J)nor is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18 But first (K)I will doubly repay their iniquity and their sin, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and (L)have filled my inheritance with their abominations.”
19 (M)O Lord, my strength and my stronghold,
(N)my refuge in the day of trouble,
(O)to you shall the nations come
from the ends of the earth and say:
“Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
(P)worthless things in which there is no profit.
20 Can man make for himself (Q)gods?
Such are not gods!”
21 “Therefore, behold, I will make them know, this once I will make them know my power and my might, and they shall know that (R)my name is the Lord.”
Jesus Begins His Ministry
14 (A)Now after John was arrested, Jesus (B)came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, 15 and saying, (C)“The time is fulfilled, and (D)the kingdom of God is at hand;[a] (E)repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus Calls the First Disciples
16 (F)Passing alongside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become (G)fishers of men.”[b] 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 And going on a little farther, he saw James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 And immediately he called them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants and followed him.
The Steadfast Love of the Lord
33 (A)Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!
(B)Praise befits the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (C)lyre;
make melody to him with (D)the harp of (E)ten strings!
3 Sing to him (F)a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4 For the word of the Lord is upright,
and all his work is done in (G)faithfulness.
5 He (H)loves righteousness and justice;
(I)the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.
6 By (J)the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
and by (K)the breath of his mouth all (L)their host.
7 He gathers the waters of the sea as (M)a heap;
he (N)puts the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9 For (O)he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded, and it stood firm.
10 The Lord (P)brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 (Q)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart to all generations.
12 (R)Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has (S)chosen as his heritage!
13 The Lord (T)looks down from heaven;
he sees all the children of man;
14 from (U)where he sits enthroned he (V)looks out
on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 he who fashions the hearts of them all
and observes all their deeds.
16 (W)The king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17 (X)The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
and by its great might it cannot rescue.
Persecution Will Come
16 (A)“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be (B)wise as serpents and (C)innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for (D)they will deliver you over to courts and flog you (E)in their synagogues, 18 (F)and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, (G)to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 (H)When (I)they deliver you over, (J)do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for (K)what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 (L)For it is not you who speak, but (M)the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 (N)Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 (O)and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. (P)But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they (Q)persecute you in one town, (R)flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel (S)before the Son of Man comes.
24 (T)“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant[a] above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. (U)If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign[b] those of his household.
Have No Fear
26 “So have no fear of them, (V)for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on (W)the housetops. 28 And (X)do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him (Y)who can destroy both soul and body in hell.[c] 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?[d] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But (Z)even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; (AA)you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 (AB)So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.