Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
For the music director, according to the al-tashcheth style;[b] a psalm of Asaph, a song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God. We give thanks.
You reveal your presence;[c]
people tell about your amazing deeds.
2 God says,[d]
“At the appointed times,[e]
I judge[f] fairly.
3 When the earth and all its inhabitants dissolve in fear,[g]
I make its pillars secure.”[h] (Selah)
4 [i] I say to the proud, “Do not be proud,”
and to the wicked, “Do not be so confident of victory.[j]
5 Do not be so certain you have won.[k]
Do not speak with your head held so high.[l]
6 For victory does not come from the east or west,
or from the wilderness.[m]
7 For God is the judge.[n]
He brings one down and exalts another.[o]
8 For the Lord holds in his hand a cup
full of foaming wine mixed with spices,[p]
and pours it out.[q]
Surely all the wicked of the earth
will slurp it up and drink it to its very last drop.”[r]
9 As for me, I will continually tell what you have done;[s]
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 God says,[t]
“I will bring down all the power of the wicked;
the godly will be victorious.”[u]
Psalm 76[v]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm of Asaph, a song.
76 God has revealed himself in Judah;[w]
in Israel his reputation[x] is great.
2 He lives in Salem;[y]
he dwells in Zion.[z]
3 There he shattered the arrows,[aa]
the shield, the sword, and the rest of the weapons of war.[ab] (Selah)
4 You shine brightly and reveal your majesty,
as you descend from the hills where you killed your prey.[ac]
5 The bravehearted[ad] were plundered;[ae]
they “fell asleep.”[af]
All the warriors were helpless.[ag]
6 At the sound of your battle cry,[ah] O God of Jacob,
both rider[ai] and horse “fell asleep.”[aj]
7 You are awesome! Yes, you!
Who can withstand your intense anger?[ak]
8 From heaven you announced what their punishment would be.[al]
The earth[am] was afraid and silent
9 when God arose to execute judgment,
and to deliver all the oppressed of the earth. (Selah)
10 Certainly[an] your angry judgment upon men will bring you praise;[ao]
you reveal your anger in full measure.[ap]
11 Make vows to the Lord your God and repay them.
Let all those who surround him[aq] bring tribute to the awesome one.
12 He humbles princes;[ar]
the kings of the earth regard him as awesome.[as]
Psalm 23[a]
A psalm of David.
23 The Lord is my shepherd,[b]
I lack nothing.[c]
2 He takes me to lush pastures,[d]
he leads me to refreshing water.[e]
3 He restores my strength.[f]
He leads me down[g] the right paths[h]
for the sake of his reputation.[i]
4 Even when I must walk through the darkest valley,[j]
I fear[k] no danger,[l]
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff reassure me.[m]
5 You prepare a feast before me[n]
in plain sight of my enemies.
You refresh[o] my head with oil;
my cup is completely full.[p]
6 Surely your goodness and faithfulness[q] will pursue[r] me all my days,[s]
and I will live in[t] the Lord’s house[u] for the rest of my life.[v]
Psalm 27[a]
By David.
27 The Lord is my light[b] and my salvation.
I fear no one.[c]
The Lord protects my life.
I am afraid of no one.[d]
2 When evil men attack me[e]
to devour my flesh,[f]
when my adversaries and enemies attack me,[g]
they stumble and fall.[h]
3 Even when an army is deployed against me,
I do not fear.[i]
Even when war is imminent,[j]
I remain confident.[k]
4 I have asked the Lord for one thing—
this is what I desire!
I want to live[l] in the Lord’s house[m] all the days of my life,
so I can gaze at the splendor[n] of the Lord
and contemplate in his temple.
5 He will surely[o] give me shelter[p] in the day of danger;[q]
he will hide me in his home.[r]
He will place me[s] on an inaccessible rocky summit.[t]
6 Now I will triumph
over my enemies who surround me.[u]
I will offer sacrifices in his dwelling place and shout for joy.[v]
I will sing praises to the Lord.
7 Hear me,[w] O Lord, when I cry out.
Have mercy on me and answer me.
8 My heart tells me to pray to you,[x]
and I do pray to you, O Lord.[y]
9 Do not reject me.[z]
Do not push your servant away in anger.
You are my deliverer.[aa]
Do not forsake or abandon me,
O God who vindicates me.
10 Even if my father and mother abandoned me,[ab]
the Lord would take me in.[ac]
11 Teach me how you want me to live,[ad] Lord;
lead me along a level path[ae] because of those who wait to ambush me.[af]
12 Do not turn me over to my enemies,[ag]
for false witnesses who want to destroy me testify against me.[ah]
13 Where would I be if I did not believe I would experience
the Lord’s favor in the land of the living?[ai]
14 Rely[aj] on the Lord!
Be strong and confident![ak]
Rely on the Lord!
28 The young woman ran and told her mother’s household all about[a] these things. 29 (Now Rebekah had a brother named Laban.)[b] Laban rushed out to meet the man at the spring. 30 When he saw the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and the nose ring[c] and heard his sister Rebekah say,[d] “This is what the man said to me,” he went out to meet the man. There he was, standing[e] by the camels near the spring. 31 Laban said to him,[f] “Come, you who are blessed by the Lord![g] Why are you standing out here when I have prepared[h] the house and a place for the camels?”
32 So Abraham’s servant[i] went to the house and unloaded[j] the camels. Straw and feed were given[k] to the camels, and water was provided so that he and the men who were with him could wash their feet.[l] 33 When food was served,[m] he said, “I will not eat until I have said what I want to say.”[n] “Tell us,” Laban said.[o]
34 “I am the servant of Abraham,” he began. 35 “The Lord has richly blessed my master and he has become very wealthy.[p] The Lord[q] has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. 36 My master’s wife Sarah bore a son to him[r] when she was old,[s] and my master[t] has given him everything he owns. 37 My master made me swear an oath. He said, ‘You must not acquire a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I am living, 38 but you must go to the family of my father and to my relatives to find[u] a wife for my son.’
49 Now, if you will show faithful love to my master, tell me. But if not, tell me as well, so that I may go on my way.”[a]
50 Then Laban and Bethuel replied, “This is the Lord’s doing.[b] Our wishes are of no concern.[c] 51 Rebekah stands here before you. Take her and go so that she may become[d] the wife of your master’s son, just as the Lord has decided.”[e]
12 Therefore, strengthen[a] your listless hands and your weak knees,[b] 13 and make straight paths for your feet,[c] so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but be healed.
Do Not Reject God’s Warning
14 Pursue peace with everyone, and holiness,[d] for without it no one will see the Lord. 15 See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no one be like a bitter root springing up[e] and causing trouble, and through it many become defiled. 16 And see to it that no one becomes[f] an immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.[g] 17 For you know that[h] later when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no opportunity for repentance, although he sought the blessing[i] with tears. 18 For you have not come to something that can be touched,[j] to a burning fire and darkness and gloom and a whirlwind 19 and the blast of a trumpet and a voice uttering words[k] such that those who heard begged to hear no more.[l] 20 For they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned.”[m] 21 In fact, the scene[n] was so terrifying that Moses said, “I shudder with fear.”[o] 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, the city[p] of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly 23 and congregation of the firstborn, who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous, who have been made perfect, 24 and to Jesus, the mediator[q] of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of something better than Abel’s does.[r]
25 Take care not to refuse the one who is speaking! For if they did not escape when they refused the one who warned them on earth, how much less shall we, if we reject the one who warns from heaven? 26 Then his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “I will once more shake not only the earth but heaven too.”[s] 27 Now this phrase “once more” indicates the removal of what is shaken, that is, of created things, so that what is unshaken may remain. 28 So since we are receiving an unshakable kingdom, let us give thanks, and through this let us offer worship pleasing to God in devotion and awe. 29 For our God is indeed a devouring fire.[t]
Teaching in the Temple
14 When the feast was half over, Jesus went up to the temple courts[a] and began to teach.[b] 15 Then the Jewish leaders[c] were astonished[d] and said, “How does this man know so much when he has never had formal instruction?”[e] 16 So Jesus replied,[f] “My teaching is not from me, but from the one who sent me.[g] 17 If anyone wants to do God’s will,[h] he will know about my teaching, whether it is from God or whether I speak from my own authority.[i] 18 The person who speaks on his own authority[j] desires[k] to receive honor[l] for himself; the one who desires[m] the honor[n] of the one who sent him is a man of integrity,[o] and there is no unrighteousness in him. 19 Hasn’t Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps[p] the law! Why do you want[q] to kill me?”
20 The crowd[r] answered, “You’re possessed by a demon![s] Who is trying to kill you?”[t] 21 Jesus replied,[u] “I performed one miracle[v] and you are all amazed.[w] 22 However, because Moses gave you the practice of circumcision[x] (not that it came from Moses, but from the forefathers), you circumcise a male child[y] on the Sabbath. 23 But if a male child[z] is circumcised[aa] on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses is not broken,[ab] why are you angry with me because I made a man completely well[ac] on the Sabbath? 24 Do not judge according to external appearance,[ad] but judge with proper[ae] judgment.”
Questions About Jesus’ Identity
25 Then some of the residents of Jerusalem began to say, “Isn’t this the man[af] they are trying[ag] to kill? 26 Yet here he is, speaking publicly,[ah] and they are saying nothing to him.[ai] Do the ruling authorities[aj] really know that this man[ak] is the Christ?[al] 27 But we know where this man[am] comes from.[an] Whenever the Christ[ao] comes, no one will know where he comes from.”[ap]
28 Then Jesus, while teaching in the temple courts,[aq] cried out,[ar] “You both know me and know where I come from![as] And I have not come on my own initiative,[at] but the one who sent me[au] is true. You do not know him,[av] 29 but[aw] I know him, because I have come from him[ax] and he[ay] sent me.”
30 So then they tried to seize Jesus,[az] but no one laid a hand on him, because his time[ba] had not yet come. 31 Yet many of the crowd[bb] believed in him and said, “Whenever the Christ[bc] comes, he won’t perform more miraculous signs than this man did, will he?”[bd]
32 The Pharisees[be] heard the crowd[bf] murmuring these things about Jesus,[bg] so the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers[bh] to arrest him.[bi] 33 Then Jesus said, “I will be with you for only a little while longer,[bj] and then[bk] I am going to the one who sent me. 34 You will look for me[bl] but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come.”
35 Then the Jewish leaders[bm] said to one another, “Where is he[bn] going to go that we cannot find him?[bo] He is not going to go to the Jewish people dispersed[bp] among the Greeks and teach the Greeks, is he?[bq] 36 What did he mean by saying,[br] ‘You will look for me[bs] but will not find me, and where I am you cannot come’?”
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