Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37[a]
By David.
37 Do not fret[b] when wicked men seem to succeed.[c]
Do not envy evildoers.
2 For they will quickly dry up like grass,
and wither away like plants.[d]
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is right.
Settle in the land and maintain your integrity.[e]
4 Then you will take delight in the Lord,[f]
and he will answer your prayers.[g]
5 Commit your future to the Lord.[h]
Trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.[i]
6 He will vindicate you in broad daylight,
and publicly defend your just cause.[j]
7 Wait patiently for the Lord![k]
Wait confidently[l] for him!
Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner,[m]
a man who carries out wicked schemes.
8 Do not be angry and frustrated.[n]
Do not fret. That only leads to trouble.
9 Wicked men[o] will be wiped out,[p]
but those who rely on the Lord are the ones who will possess the land.[q]
10 Evil men will soon disappear;[r]
you will stare at the spot where they once were, but they will be gone.[s]
11 But the oppressed will possess the land
and enjoy great prosperity.[t]
12 Evil men plot against the godly[u]
and viciously attack them.[v]
13 The Lord laughs in disgust[w] at them,
for he knows that their day is coming.[x]
14 Evil men draw their swords
and prepare their bows,
to bring down[y] the oppressed and needy,
and to slaughter those who are godly.[z]
15 Their swords will pierce[aa] their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.
16 The little bit that a godly man owns is better than
the wealth of many evil men,[ab]
17 for evil men will lose their power,[ac]
but the Lord sustains[ad] the godly.
18 The Lord watches over the innocent day by day,[ae]
and they possess a permanent inheritance.[af]
19 They will not be ashamed when hard times come;[ag]
when famine comes they will have enough to eat.[ah]
20 But[ai] evil men will die;
the Lord’s enemies will be incinerated[aj]—
they will go up in smoke.[ak]
21 Evil men borrow, but do not repay their debt,
but the godly show compassion and are generous.[al]
22 Surely[am] those favored by the Lord[an] will possess the land,
but those rejected[ao] by him will be wiped out.[ap]
23 The Lord grants success to the one
whose behavior he finds commendable.[aq]
24 Even if[ar] he trips, he will not fall headlong,[as]
for the Lord holds[at] his hand.
25 I was once young, now I am old.
I have never seen the godly abandoned,
or their children[au] forced to search for food.[av]
26 All day long they show compassion and lend to others,[aw]
and their children[ax] are blessed.
27 Turn away from evil. Do what is right.[ay]
Then you will enjoy lasting security.[az]
28 For the Lord promotes[ba] justice,
and never abandons[bb] his faithful followers.
They are permanently secure,[bc]
but the children[bd] of the wicked are wiped out.[be]
29 The godly will possess the land
and will dwell in it permanently.
30 The godly speak wise words
and promote justice.[bf]
31 The law of their God controls their thinking;[bg]
their[bh] feet do not slip.
32 The wicked set an ambush for the godly
and try to kill them.[bi]
33 But the Lord does not surrender the godly,
or allow them to be condemned in a court of law.[bj]
34 Rely[bk] on the Lord. Obey his commands.[bl]
Then he will permit you[bm] to possess the land;
you will see the demise of the wicked.[bn]
35 I have seen ruthless, wicked people[bo]
growing in influence, like a green tree grows in its native soil.[bp]
36 But then one passes by, and suddenly they have disappeared.[bq]
I looked for them, but they could not be found.
37 Take note of the one who has integrity. Observe the upright.
For the one who promotes peace has a future.[br]
38 Sinful rebels are totally destroyed;[bs]
the wicked have no future.[bt]
39 But the Lord delivers the godly;[bu]
he protects them in times of trouble.[bv]
40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,[bw]
for they seek his protection.
13 So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah? 14 I have heard about you, how there is a spirit of the gods in you, and how you have[a] insight, discernment, and extraordinary wisdom. 15 Now the wise men and[b] astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message. 16 However, I have heard[c] that you are able to provide interpretations and to solve difficult problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third[d] ruler in the kingdom.”
Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall
17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else. However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its[e] interpretation. 18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty.[f] 19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear[g] before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared[h] whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished. 20 And when his mind[i] became arrogant[j] and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him. 21 He was driven from human society; his mind[k] was changed to that of an animal. He lived[l] with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.
22 “But you, his son[m] Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself,[n] although you knew all this. 23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods[o] that cannot see or hear or comprehend. But you have not glorified the God who has in his control[p] your very breath and all your ways! 24 Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.
25 “This is the writing that was inscribed: mene, mene,[q] teqel, and pharsin.[r] 26 This is the interpretation of the words:[s] As for Mene[t]—God has numbered your kingdom’s days and brought it to an end. 27 As for Teqel—you are weighed on the balances and found to be lacking. 28 As for Peres[u]—your kingdom is divided and given over to the Medes and Persians.”
29 Then, on Belshazzar’s orders,[v] Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom. 30 And that very night Belshazzar, the Babylonian king,[w] was killed.[x]
Assurance of Eternal Life
13 I have written these things[a] to you who believe[b] in the name of the Son of God so that[c] you may know that you have eternal life.
14 And this is the confidence that we have before him: that[d] whenever[e] we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know[f] that he hears us in regard to whatever we ask, then we know that we have the requests that we have asked from him. 16 If[g] anyone sees his fellow Christian[h] committing a sin not resulting in death,[i] he should ask, and God[j] will grant[k] life to the person who commits a sin not resulting in death.[l] There is a sin[m] resulting in death.[n] I do not say that he should ask about that. 17 All unrighteousness[o] is sin, but there is sin not resulting in death.[p]
18 We know that everyone fathered[q] by God does not sin, but God[r] protects[s] the one he has fathered, and the evil one cannot touch him. 19 We know that we are from God,[t] and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us insight to know[u] him who is true, and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. This one[v] is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.[w]
The Call of the Disciples
5 Now[a] Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[b] and the crowd was pressing around him[c] to hear the word of God. 2 He[d] saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into[e] one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then[f] Jesus[g] sat down[h] and taught the crowds from the boat.[i] 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower[j] your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon[k] answered,[l] “Master,[m] we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word[n] I will lower[o] the nets.” 6 When[p] they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear.[q] 7 So[r] they motioned[s] to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink.[t] 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord,[u] for I am a sinful man!”[v] 9 For[w] Peter[x] and all who were with him were astonished[y] at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners.[z] Then[aa] Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on[ab] you will be catching people!”[ac] 11 So[ad] when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed[ae] him.
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