Book of Common Prayer
I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul
A Song of (A)Ascents. Of David.
131 O Lord, my heart is not (B)lifted up;
my eyes are not (C)raised too high;
I do not (D)occupy myself with things
too great and (E)too marvelous for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned (F)child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.
3 (G)O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.
The Lord Has Chosen Zion
A Song of (H)Ascents.
132 Remember, O Lord, in David's favor,
all (I)the hardships he endured,
2 how he swore to the Lord
and (J)vowed to (K)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I will not enter my house
or get into my bed,
4 I will not (L)give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I (M)find a place for the Lord,
a dwelling place for (N)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard of it in (O)Ephrathah;
we found it in (P)the fields of Jaar.
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place;
let us (Q)worship at his (R)footstool!”
8 (S)Arise, O Lord, and go to your (T)resting place,
you and the ark of your (U)might.
9 Let your (V)priests be (W)clothed with righteousness,
and let your (X)saints shout for joy.
10 For the sake of your servant David,
(Y)do not turn away the face of (Z)your anointed one.
11 (AA)The Lord swore to David a sure oath
(AB)from which he will not turn back:
(AC)“One of the sons of your body[a]
I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant
and my testimonies that I shall teach them,
their sons also forever
shall (AD)sit on your throne.”
13 For the Lord has (AE)chosen Zion;
he has (AF)desired it for his dwelling place:
14 “This is my (AG)resting place forever;
here I will (AH)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (AI)bless her provisions;
I will (AJ)satisfy her poor with bread.
16 Her (AK)priests I will clothe with salvation,
and her (AL)saints will shout for joy.
17 There I will make (AM)a horn to sprout for David;
I have prepared (AN)a lamp for (AO)my anointed.
18 His enemies I will (AP)clothe with shame,
but on him his crown will shine.”
When Brothers Dwell in Unity
A Song of (AQ)Ascents. Of David.
133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when (AR)brothers dwell in unity![b]
2 It is like the precious (AS)oil on (AT)the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on (AU)the collar of his robes!
3 It is like (AV)the dew of (AW)Hermon,
which falls on (AX)the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord (AY)has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.
Come, Bless the Lord
A Song of (AZ)Ascents.
134 Come, bless the Lord, all you (BA)servants of the Lord,
who (BB)stand (BC)by night in the house of the Lord!
2 (BD)Lift up your hands to (BE)the holy place
and bless the Lord!
Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever
135 (BI)Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O (BJ)servants of the Lord,
2 who (BK)stand in the house of the Lord,
in (BL)the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for (BM)the Lord is good;
sing to his name, (BN)for it is pleasant![c]
4 For the Lord has (BO)chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his (BP)own possession.
5 For I know that (BQ)the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 (BR)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 (BS)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who (BT)makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his (BU)storehouses.
8 He it was who (BV)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent (BW)signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 (BX)who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 (BY)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and (BZ)Og, king of Bashan,
and (CA)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and (CB)gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 (CC)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
(CD)your renown,[d] O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 (CE)For the Lord will vindicate his people
and (CF)have compassion on his servants.
15 (CG)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths, but do not speak;
they have eyes, but do not see;
17 they have ears, but do not hear,
nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them.
Joab Rebukes David
19 It was told Joab, “Behold, the king is weeping and mourning for Absalom.” 2 So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard that day, “The king is grieving for his son.” 3 And the people stole into the city that day as people steal in who are ashamed when they flee in battle. 4 The king (A)covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, (B)“O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!” 5 Then Joab came into the house to the king and said, “You have today covered with shame the faces of all your servants, who have this day saved your life and the lives of your sons and your daughters and the lives of your wives and your concubines, 6 because you love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you, for today I know that if Absalom were alive and all of us were dead today, then you would be pleased. 7 Now therefore arise, go out and speak (C)kindly to your servants, for I swear by the Lord, if you do not go, not a man will stay with you this night, and this will be worse for you than all the evil that has come upon you from your youth until now.” 8 Then the king arose and took his (D)seat in the gate. And the people were all told, “Behold, the king is sitting in the gate.” And all the people came before the king.
David Returns to Jerusalem
Now Israel had (E)fled every man to his own home. 9 And all the people were arguing throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, (F)“The king delivered us from the hand of our enemies and (G)saved us from the hand of the Philistines, and now (H)he has fled out of the land from Absalom. 10 But Absalom, whom we anointed over us, is dead in battle. Now therefore why do you say nothing about bringing the king back?”
11 And King David sent this message to (I)Zadok and Abiathar the priests: “Say to the elders of Judah, ‘Why should you be the last to bring the king back to his house, when the word of all Israel has come to the king?[a] 12 You are my brothers; (J)you are my bone and my flesh. Why then should you be the last to bring back the king?’ 13 And say to Amasa, (K)‘Are you not my bone and my flesh? (L)God do so to me and more also, if you are not (M)commander of my army from now on in place of Joab.’” 14 And he swayed the heart of all the men of Judah (N)as one man, so that they sent word to the king, “Return, both you and all your servants.” 15 So the king came back to the Jordan, and Judah came to Gilgal to meet the king and to bring the king over the Jordan.
David Pardons His Enemies
16 And (O)Shimei the son of Gera, the Benjaminite, from Bahurim, hurried to come down with the men of Judah to meet King David. 17 And with him were a thousand men from Benjamin. And (P)Ziba the servant of the house of Saul, with his fifteen sons and his twenty servants, rushed down to the Jordan before the king, 18 and they crossed the ford to bring over the king's household and to do his pleasure. And Shimei the son of Gera fell down before the king, as he was about to cross the Jordan, 19 and said to the king, (Q)“Let not my lord hold me guilty or remember how your servant (R)did wrong on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. Do not let the king take it to heart. 20 For your servant knows that I have sinned. Therefore, behold, I have come this day, the first (S)of all the house of Joseph to come down to meet my lord the king.” 21 Abishai the son of Zeruiah answered, “Shall not Shimei be put to death for this, because (T)he cursed the Lord's anointed?” 22 But David said, (U)“What have I to do with you, you sons of Zeruiah, that you should this day be as an adversary to me? (V)Shall anyone be put to death in Israel this day? For do I not know that I am this day king over Israel?” 23 (W)And the king said to Shimei, “You shall not die.” And the king gave him his oath.
Paul Before Felix at Caesarea
24 And (A)after five days the high priest (B)Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before (C)the governor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, (D)most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain[a] you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, (E)one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of (F)the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 (G)He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him.[b] 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that (H)it is not more than twelve days since I (I)went up (J)to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and (K)they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 (L)Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to (M)the Way, which they call (N)a sect, (O)I worship (P)the God of our fathers, believing everything (Q)laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 (R)having (S)a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be (T)a resurrection (U)of both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always (V)take pains to have a (W)clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now (X)after several years (Y)I came to bring alms to (Z)my nation and to present (AA)offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me (AB)purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But (AC)some Jews from Asia— 19 (AD)they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing (AE)that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”
Paul Kept in Custody
22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of (AF)the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.” 23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he (AG)should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that (AH)none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.
The Great Commandment
28 (A)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” 29 Jesus answered, “The most important is, (B)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, (C)the Lord is one. 30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 (D)The second is this: (E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment (F)greater than these.” 32 And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that (G)he is one, and (H)there is no other besides him. 33 And to love him with all the heart and with all (I)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, (J)is much more than all (K)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” (L)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.