Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 83[a]
A song, a psalm of Asaph.
83 O God, do not be silent.
Do not ignore us.[b] Do not be inactive, O God.
2 For look, your enemies are making a commotion;
those who hate you are hostile.[c]
3 They carefully plot[d] against your people,
and make plans to harm[e] the ones you cherish.[f]
4 They say, “Come on, let’s annihilate them so they are no longer a nation.[g]
Then the name of Israel will be remembered no more.”
5 Yes,[h] they devise a unified strategy;[i]
they form an alliance[j] against you.
6 It includes[k] the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,[l]
7 Gebal,[m] Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia and the inhabitants of Tyre.
8 Even Assyria has allied with them,
lending its strength to the descendants of Lot.[n] (Selah)
9 Do to them as you did to Midian[o]—
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.[p]
10 They were destroyed at Endor;[q]
their corpses were like manure[r] on the ground.
11 Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,[s]
and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna,[t]
12 who said,[u] “Let’s take over[v] the pastures of God.”
13 O my God, make them like dead thistles,[w]
like dead weeds blown away by[x] the wind.
14 Like the fire that burns down the forest,
or the flames that consume the mountainsides,[y]
15 chase them with your gale winds,
and terrify[z] them with your windstorm.
16 Cover[aa] their faces with shame,
so they might seek[ab] you,[ac] O Lord.
17 May they be humiliated and continually terrified.[ad]
May they die in shame.[ae]
18 Then they will know[af] that you alone are the Lord,[ag]
the Most High[ah] over all the earth.
Psalm 146[a]
146 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, O my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord as long as I live.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I exist.
3 Do not trust in princes,
or in human beings, who cannot deliver.[b]
4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground.
On that day their plans die.[c]
5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,
6 the one who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who remains forever faithful,[d]
7 vindicates the oppressed,[e]
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord releases the imprisoned.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up all who are bent over.[f]
The Lord loves the godly.
9 The Lord protects the resident foreigner.
He lifts up the fatherless and the widow,[g]
but he opposes the wicked.[h]
10 The Lord rules forever,
your God, O Zion, throughout the generations to come.[i]
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 147[j]
147 Praise the Lord,
for it is good to sing praises to our God.
Yes,[k] praise is pleasant and appropriate.
2 The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem,
and gathers the exiles of Israel.
3 He heals[l] the brokenhearted,
and bandages their wounds.
4 He counts the number of the stars;
he names all of them.
5 Our Lord is great and has awesome power;[m]
there is no limit to his wisdom.[n]
6 The Lord lifts up the oppressed,
but knocks[o] the wicked to the ground.
7 Offer to the Lord a song of thanks.[p]
Sing praises to our God to the accompaniment of a harp.
8 He covers[q] the sky with clouds,
provides the earth with rain,
and causes grass to grow on the hillsides.[r]
9 He gives food to the animals,
and to the young ravens when they chirp.[s]
10 He is not enamored with the strength of a horse,
nor is he impressed by the warrior’s strong legs.[t]
11 The Lord takes delight in his faithful followers,[u]
and in those who wait for his loyal love.
12 Extol the Lord, O Jerusalem.
Praise your God, O Zion.
13 For he makes the bars of your gates strong.
He blesses your children[v] within you.
14 He[w] brings peace to your territory.[x]
He abundantly provides for you[y] the best grain.
15 He[z] sends his command through the earth;[aa]
swiftly his order reaches its destination.[ab]
16 He sends the snow that is white like wool;
he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.[ac]
17 He throws his hailstones[ad] like crumbs.
Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?[ae]
18 He then orders it all to melt;[af]
he breathes on it,[ag] and the water flows.
19 He proclaims his word to Jacob,
his statutes and regulations to Israel.
20 He has not done so with any other nation;
they are not aware of his regulations.
Praise the Lord!
Psalm 85[a]
For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.[b]
2 You pardoned[c] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave[d] all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.[e]
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.[f]
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?[g]
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[h]
For he will make[i] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[j]
Yet they must not[k] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[l]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[m]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[n]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[o]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[p]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[q]
and our land will yield[r] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[s] before him,
and prepares[t] a pathway for him.[u]
Psalm 86[v]
A prayer of David.
86 Listen,[w] O Lord. Answer me.
For I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me,[x] for I am loyal.
You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me,[y] O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long.
4 Make your servant[z] glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray.[aa]
5 Certainly,[ab] O Lord, you are kind[ac] and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
6 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord.
Your exploits are incomparable.[ad]
9 All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you,[ae] O Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.[af]
Then I will obey your commands.[ag]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.[ah]
12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.[ai]
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me,[aj]
and will deliver my life[ak] from the depths of Sheol.[al]
14 O God, arrogant men attack me;[am]
a gang[an] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.[ao]
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient[ap] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.[aq]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.[ar]
17 Show me evidence of your favor.[as]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,[at]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.[au]
30 Isaac had just finished blessing Jacob, and Jacob had scarcely left[a] his father’s[b] presence, when his brother Esau returned from the hunt.[c] 31 He also prepared some tasty food and brought it to his father. Esau[d] said to him, “My father, get up[e] and eat some of your son’s wild game. Then you can bless me.”[f] 32 His father Isaac asked,[g] “Who are you?” “I am your firstborn son,”[h] he replied, “Esau!” 33 Isaac began to shake violently[i] and asked, “Then who else hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it just before you arrived, and I blessed him.[j] He will indeed be blessed!”
34 When Esau heard[k] his father’s words, he wailed loudly and bitterly.[l] He said to his father, “Bless me too, my father!” 35 But Isaac[m] replied, “Your brother came in here deceitfully and took away[n] your blessing.” 36 Esau exclaimed, “Jacob is the right name for him![o] He has tripped me up[p] two times! He took away my birthright, and now, look, he has taken away my blessing!” Then he asked, “Have you not kept back a blessing for me?”
37 Isaac replied to Esau, “Look! I have made him lord over you. I have made all his relatives his servants and provided him with grain and new wine. What is left that I can do for you, my son?” 38 Esau said to his father, “Do you have only that one blessing, my father? Bless me too!”[q] Then Esau wept loudly.[r]
39 So his father Isaac said to him,
“See here,[s] your home will be by[t] the richness[u] of the earth,
and by the dew of the sky above.
40 You will live by your sword
but you will serve your brother.
When you grow restless,
you will tear off his yoke
from your neck.”[v]
41 So Esau hated[w] Jacob because of the blessing his father had given to his brother.[x] Esau said privately,[y] “The time[z] of mourning for my father is near; then I will kill[aa] my brother Jacob!”
42 When Rebekah heard what her older son Esau had said,[ab] she quickly summoned[ac] her younger son Jacob and told him, “Look, your brother Esau is planning to get revenge by killing you.[ad] 43 Now then, my son, do what I say.[ae] Run away immediately[af] to my brother Laban in Haran. 44 Live with him for a little while[ag] until your brother’s rage subsides. 45 Stay there[ah] until your brother’s anger against you subsides and he forgets what you did to him. Then I’ll send someone to bring you back from there.[ai] Why should I lose both of you in one day?”[aj]
Conduct in Love
9 Love must be[a] without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil, cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another with mutual love, showing eagerness in honoring one another. 11 Do not lag in zeal, be enthusiastic in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, endure in suffering, persist in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints, pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly.[b] Do not be conceited.[c] 17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil; consider what is good before all people.[d] 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all people.[e] 19 Do not avenge yourselves, dear friends, but give place to God’s wrath,[f] for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay,”[g] says the Lord. 20 Rather, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in doing this you will be heaping burning coals on his head.[h] 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
Where Jesus Came From and Where He is Going
21 Then Jesus[a] said to them again,[b] “I am going away, and you will look for me[c] but will die in your sin.[d] Where I am going you cannot come.” 22 So the Jewish leaders[e] began to say,[f] “Perhaps he is going to kill himself, because he says, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.’” 23 Jesus replied,[g] “You people[h] are from below; I am from above. You people are from this world; I am not from this world. 24 Thus I told you[i] that you will die in your sins. For unless you believe that I am he,[j] you will die in your sins.”
25 So they said to him, “Who are you?” Jesus replied,[k] “What I have told you from the beginning. 26 I have many things to say and to judge[l] about you, but the Father[m] who sent me is truthful,[n] and the things I have heard from him I speak to the world.”[o] 27 (They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father.)[p]
28 Then Jesus said,[q] “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he,[r] and I do nothing on my own initiative,[s] but I speak just what the Father taught me.[t] 29 And the one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone,[u] because I always do those things that please him.” 30 While he was saying these things, many people[v] believed in him.
Abraham’s Children and the Devil’s Children
31 Then Jesus said to those Judeans[w] who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching,[x] you are really[y] my disciples 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”[z]
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