Book of Common Prayer
I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord
A Maskil[a] of (A)Ethan the Ezrahite.
89 (B)I will sing of (C)the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will make known your (D)faithfulness to all generations.
2 For I said, (E)“Steadfast love will be built up forever;
in the heavens (F)you will establish your (G)faithfulness.”
3 You have said, “I have made (H)a covenant with my (I)chosen one;
I have (J)sworn to David my servant:
4 ‘I will establish your (K)offspring forever,
and build your (L)throne for all generations.’” Selah
5 Let (M)the heavens praise your (N)wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of (O)the holy ones!
6 For (P)who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
(Q)Who among the heavenly beings[b] is like the Lord,
7 a God greatly (R)to be feared in the council of (S)the holy ones,
and awesome above all (T)who are around him?
8 O Lord God of hosts,
(U)who is mighty as you are, O (V)Lord,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you (W)still them.
10 You (X)crushed (Y)Rahab like a carcass;
you (Z)scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 (AA)The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
(AB)the world and all that is in it, you have (AC)founded them.
12 (AD)The north and the south, you have created them;
(AE)Tabor and (AF)Hermon (AG)joyously praise your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14 (AH)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
(AI)steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15 Blessed are the people who know (AJ)the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in (AK)the light of your face,
16 who exult in your (AL)name all the day
and in your righteousness are (AM)exalted.
17 For you are (AN)the glory of their strength;
by your favor our (AO)horn is exalted.
18 For our (AP)shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to (AQ)the Holy One of Israel.
19 (AR)Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,[c] and said:
“I have (AS)granted help to one who is (AT)mighty;
I have exalted one (AU)chosen from the people.
20 (AV)I have found David, my servant;
with my holy oil I have (AW)anointed him,
21 so that my (AX)hand shall be established with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
(AY)the wicked shall not humble him.
23 I will (AZ)crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24 My (BA)faithfulness and my (BB)steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name shall his (BC)horn be exalted.
25 I will set his hand on (BD)the sea
and his right hand on (BE)the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my (BF)Father,
my God, and (BG)the Rock of my salvation.’
27 And I will make him the (BH)firstborn,
(BI)the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
and my (BJ)covenant will stand firm[d] for him.
29 I will establish his (BK)offspring forever
and his (BL)throne as (BM)the days of the heavens.
30 (BN)If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my rules,[e]
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with (BO)the rod
and their iniquity with stripes,
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my (BP)covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35 Once for all I have sworn (BQ)by my holiness;
I will not (BR)lie to David.
36 His (BS)offspring shall endure forever,
(BT)his (BU)throne as long as (BV)the sun before me.
37 Like (BW)the moon it shall be established forever,
(BX)a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have (BY)cast off and rejected;
you are full of wrath against your (BZ)anointed.
39 You have (CA)renounced (CB)the covenant with your servant;
you have (CC)defiled his (CD)crown in the dust.
40 You have (CE)breached all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41 (CF)All who pass by plunder him;
he has become (CG)the scorn of his neighbors.
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43 You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not made him stand in battle.
44 You have made his splendor to cease
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short (CH)the days of his youth;
you have (CI)covered him with shame. Selah
46 (CJ)How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath (CK)burn like fire?
47 (CL)Remember (CM)how short my (CN)time is!
For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
48 (CO)What man can live and never (CP)see death?
Who can deliver his soul from the power of (CQ)Sheol? Selah
49 Lord, where is your (CR)steadfast love of old,
which by your (CS)faithfulness you swore to David?
50 (CT)Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
and how I bear in my (CU)heart the insults[f] of all the many nations,
51 with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
with which they mock (CV)the footsteps of your (CW)anointed.
52 (CX)Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.
Absalom Murders Amnon
23 After two full years Absalom had (A)sheepshearers at Baal-hazor, which is near Ephraim, and Absalom invited all the king's sons. 24 And Absalom came to the king and said, “Behold, your servant has sheepshearers. Please let the king and his servants go with your servant.” 25 But the king said to Absalom, “No, my son, let us not all go, lest we be burdensome to you.” He pressed him, but he would not go but gave him his blessing. 26 Then Absalom said, “If not, please let my brother Amnon go with us.” And the king said to him, “Why should he go with you?” 27 But Absalom pressed him until he let Amnon and all the king's sons go with him. 28 Then Absalom commanded his servants, “Mark when Amnon's (B)heart is merry with wine, and when I say to you, ‘Strike Amnon,’ then kill him. Do not fear; have I not commanded you? Be courageous and be valiant.” 29 So the servants of Absalom did to Amnon as Absalom had commanded. Then all the king's sons arose, and each mounted his mule and fled.
30 While they were on the way, news came to David, “Absalom has struck down all the king's sons, and not one of them is left.” 31 Then the king arose and (C)tore his garments and (D)lay on the earth. And all his servants who were standing by tore their garments. 32 But (E)Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David's brother, said, “Let not my lord suppose that they have killed all the young men, the king's sons, for Amnon alone is dead. For by the command of Absalom this has been determined from the day he violated his sister Tamar. 33 Now therefore let not my lord the king so (F)take it to heart as to suppose that all the king's sons are dead, for Amnon alone is dead.”
Absalom Flees to Geshur
34 (G)But Absalom fled. And the young man who kept the watch lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, many people were coming from the road behind him[a] by the side of the mountain. 35 And Jonadab said to the king, “Behold, the king's sons have come; as your servant said, so it has come about.” 36 And as soon as he had finished speaking, behold, the king's sons came and lifted up their voice and wept. And the king also and all his servants wept very bitterly.
37 (H)But Absalom fled and went to (I)Talmai the son of Ammihud, king of (J)Geshur. And David mourned for his son day after day. 38 (K)So Absalom fled and went to Geshur, and was there three years. 39 And the spirit of the king[b] longed to go out[c] to Absalom, because (L)he was comforted about Amnon, since he was dead.
Paul Speaks to the Ephesian Elders
17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called (A)the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them:
(B)“You yourselves know (C)how I lived among you the whole time (D)from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 (E)serving the Lord (F)with all humility and with (G)tears and with trials that happened to me through (H)the plots of the Jews; 20 how I (I)did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and (J)teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 (K)testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of (L)repentance toward God and of (M)faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.[a] 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained (N)by[b] the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that (O)the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that (P)imprisonment and (Q)afflictions await me. 24 But (R)I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only (S)I may finish my course and (T)the ministry (U)that I received from the Lord Jesus, (V)to testify to (W)the gospel of (X)the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, (Y)I know that none of you among whom I have gone about (Z)proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore (AA)I testify to you this day that (AB)I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for (AC)I did not shrink from declaring to you (AD)the whole counsel of God. 28 (AE)Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all (AF)the flock, in which (AG)the Holy Spirit has made you (AH)overseers, (AI)to care for (AJ)the church of God,[c] which he (AK)obtained (AL)with his own blood.[d] 29 I (AM)know that after my departure (AN)fierce wolves will come in among you, (AO)not sparing the flock; 30 and (AP)from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore (AQ)be alert, remembering that (AR)for three years I did not cease night or day (AS)to admonish every one (AT)with tears. 32 And now (AU)I commend you to God and to (AV)the word of his grace, which is able to (AW)build you up and to give you (AX)the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 (AY)I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34 (AZ)You yourselves know that (BA)these hands ministered to my necessities and (BB)to those who were with me. 35 In all things (BC)I have shown you that (BD)by working hard in this way we must (BE)help the weak and (BF)remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed (BG)to give than to receive.’”
36 And when he had said these things, (BH)he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And (BI)there was much weeping on the part of all; (BJ)they embraced Paul and (BK)kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of (BL)the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And (BM)they accompanied him to the ship.
Temptations to Sin
42 (A)“Whoever causes one of (B)these little ones who believe in me to sin,[a] (C)it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43 (D)And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to (E)hell,[b] to (F)the unquenchable fire.[c] 45 (G)And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into (H)hell. 47 (I)And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into (J)hell, 48 ‘where (K)their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire.[d] 50 (L)Salt is good, (M)but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? (N)Have salt in yourselves, and (O)be at peace with one another.”
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.