Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101
A Vow of Integrity
A Davidic psalm.
1 I will sing of faithful love and justice;
I will sing praise to You, Lord.(A)
2 I will pay attention to the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will live with a heart of integrity in my house.(B)
3 I will not set anything worthless before my eyes.
I hate the practice of transgression;
it will not cling to me.(C)
4 A devious heart will be far from me;
I will not be involved with[a] evil.(D)
5 I will destroy anyone
who secretly slanders his neighbor;(E)
I cannot tolerate anyone
with haughty eyes or an arrogant heart.(F)
6 My eyes favor the faithful of the land
so that they may sit down with me.
The one who follows the way of integrity
may serve me.(G)
7 No one who acts deceitfully
will live in my palace;
no one who tells lies
will remain in my presence.[b](H)
8 Every morning I will destroy
all the wicked of the land,
eliminating all evildoers from the Lord’s city.(I)
Psalm 109
Prayer against an Enemy
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 God of my praise, do not be silent.(A)
2 For wicked and deceitful mouths open against me;
they speak against me with lying tongues.(B)
3 They surround me with hateful words
and attack me without cause.(C)
4 In return for my love they accuse me,
but I continue to pray.[a](D)
5 They repay me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.(E)
6 Set a wicked person over him;
let an accuser[b] stand at his right hand.(F)
7 When he is judged, let him be found guilty,
and let his prayer be counted as sin.(G)
8 Let his days be few;
let another take over his position.(H)
9 Let his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.(I)
10 Let his children wander as beggars,
searching for food far[c] from their demolished homes.(J)
11 Let a creditor seize all he has;
let strangers plunder what he has worked for.(K)
12 Let no one show him kindness,
and let no one be gracious to his fatherless children.(L)
13 Let the line of his descendants be cut off;
let their name be blotted out in the next generation.(M)
14 Let his ancestors’ guilt
be remembered before the Lord,(N)
and do not let his mother’s sin be blotted out.(O)
15 Let their sins[d] always remain before the Lord,
and let Him erase[e] all memory of them from the earth.(P)
16 For he did not think to show kindness,
but pursued the afflicted, poor, and brokenhearted
in order to put them to death.(Q)
17 He loved cursing—let it fall on him;
he took no delight in blessing—let it be far from him.(R)
18 He wore cursing like his coat—
let it enter his body like water
and go into his bones like oil.(S)
19 Let it be like a robe he wraps around himself,
like a belt he always wears.(T)
20 Let this be the Lord’s payment to my accusers,
to those who speak evil against me.(U)
21 But You, Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name;(V)
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.(W)
22 For I am afflicted and needy;(X)
my heart is wounded within me.(Y)
23 I fade away like a lengthening shadow;(Z)
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees are weak from fasting,
and my body is emaciated.[f](AA)
25 I have become an object of ridicule to my accusers;[g]
when they see me, they shake their heads in scorn.(AB)
26 Help me, Lord my God;
save me according to Your faithful love(AC)
27 so they may know that this is Your hand
and that You, Lord, have done it.(AD)
28 Though they curse, You will bless.
When they rise up, they will be put to shame,
but Your servant will rejoice.(AE)
29 My accusers will be clothed with disgrace;
they will wear their shame like a cloak.(AF)
30 I will fervently thank the Lord with my mouth;
I will praise Him in the presence of many.(AG)
ע Ayin
121 I have done what is just and right;(A)
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Guarantee Your servant’s well-being;(B)
do not let the arrogant oppress me.
123 My eyes grow weary(C) looking for Your salvation
and for Your righteous promise.
124 Deal with Your servant based on Your faithful love;(D)
teach me Your statutes.
125 I am Your servant;(E) give me understanding(F)
so that I may know Your decrees.
126 It is time for the Lord to act,(G)
for they have violated Your instruction.
127 Since I love Your commands(H)
more than gold, even the purest gold,
128 I carefully follow[a] all Your precepts(I)
and hate every false way.(J)
פ Pe
129 Your decrees are wonderful;(K)
therefore I obey them.(L)
130 The revelation of Your words(M) brings light
and gives understanding to the inexperienced.(N)
131 I open my mouth and pant(O)
because I long for Your commands.
132 Turn to me and be gracious to me,(P)
as is Your practice toward those who love Your name.
133 Make my steps steady through Your promise;(Q)
don’t let any sin dominate me.(R)
134 Redeem me from human oppression,(S)
and I will keep Your precepts.
135 Show favor to Your servant,(T)
and teach me Your statutes.(U)
136 My eyes pour out streams of tears(V)
because people do not follow Your instruction.
צ Tsade
137 You are righteous, Lord,(W)
and Your judgments are just.
138 The decrees You issue are righteous
and altogether trustworthy.(X)
139 My anger overwhelms me
because my foes forget Your words.(Y)
140 Your word is completely pure,(Z)
and Your servant loves it.(AA)
141 I am insignificant and despised,(AB)
but I do not forget Your precepts.(AC)
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and Your instruction is true.(AD)
143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commands are my delight.(AE)
144 Your decrees are righteous forever.(AF)
Give me understanding, and I will live.
25 When Laban overtook Jacob, Jacob had pitched his tent in the hill country, and Laban and his brothers also pitched their tents in the hill country of Gilead. 26 Then Laban said to Jacob, “What have you done? You have deceived me and taken my daughters away like prisoners of war! 27 Why did you secretly flee from me, deceive me, and not tell me? I would have sent you away with joy and singing, with tambourines and lyres, 28 but you didn’t even let me kiss my grandchildren and my daughters. You have acted foolishly. 29 I could do you great harm, but last night the God of your father said to me: ‘Watch yourself. Don’t say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.’ 30 Now you have gone off because you long for your father—but why have you stolen my gods?”(A)
31 Jacob answered, “I was afraid, for I thought you would take your daughters from me by force. 32 If you find your gods with anyone here, he will not live!(B) Before our relatives, point out anything that is yours and take it.” Jacob did not know that Rachel had stolen the idols.
33 So Laban went into Jacob’s tent, then Leah’s tent, and then the tents of the two female slaves, but he found nothing. Then he left Leah’s tent and entered Rachel’s. 34 Now Rachel had taken Laban’s household idols, put them in the saddlebag of the camel, and sat on them. Laban searched the whole tent but found nothing.
35 She said to her father, “Sir, don’t be angry that I cannot stand up in your presence;(C) I am having my period.” So Laban searched, but could not find the household idols.
Jacob’s Covenant with Laban
36 Then Jacob became incensed and brought charges against Laban. “What is my crime?” he said to Laban. “What is my sin, that you have pursued me? 37 You’ve searched all my possessions! Have you found anything of yours? Put it here before my relatives and yours, and let them decide between the two of us. 38 I’ve been with you these 20 years. Your ewes and female goats have not miscarried, and I have not eaten the rams from your flock. 39 I did not bring you any of the flock torn by wild beasts; I myself bore the loss. You demanded payment from me for what was stolen by day or by night. 40 There I was—the heat consumed me by day and the frost by night, and sleep fled from my eyes. 41 For 20 years I have worked in your household—14 years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks(D)—and you have changed my wages 10 times! 42 If the God of my father, the God of Abraham, the Fear of Isaac, had not been with me, certainly now you would have sent me off empty-handed. But God has seen my affliction and my hard work,[a] and He issued His verdict last night.”
43 Then Laban answered Jacob, “The daughters are my daughters; the sons, my sons; and the flocks, my flocks! Everything you see is mine! But what can I do today for these daughters of mine or for the children they have borne? 44 Come now, let’s make a covenant, you and I.(E) Let it be a witness between the two of us.”
45 So Jacob picked out a stone and set it up as a marker.(F) 46 Then Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” And they took stones and made a mound, then ate there by the mound. 47 Laban named the mound Jegar-sahadutha, but Jacob named it Galeed.[b]
48 Then Laban said, “This mound is a witness between you and me today.” Therefore the place was called Galeed 49 and also Mizpah,[c](G) for he said, “May the Lord watch between you and me when we are out of each other’s sight. 50 If you mistreat my daughters or take other wives, though no one is with us, understand that God will be a witness between you and me.”(H)
Reasons for Writing
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins have been forgiven
because of Jesus’ name.(A)
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the One who is from the beginning.(B)
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have had victory over the evil one.(C)
14 I have written to you, children,
because you have come to know the Father.
I have written to you, fathers,
because you have come to know
the One who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
because you are strong,
God’s word(D) remains in you,
and you have had victory over the evil one.
A Warning about the World
15 Do not love the world(E) or the things that belong to[a] the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him. 16 For everything that belongs to[b] the world—the lust of the flesh,(F) the lust of the eyes,(G) and the pride(H) in one’s lifestyle—is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world with its lust is passing away,(I) but the one who does God’s will(J) remains forever.(K)
The Ideal Shepherd
10 “I assure you: Anyone who doesn’t enter the sheep pen by the door but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.(A) 2 The one who enters by the door is the shepherd(B) of the sheep.(C) 3 The doorkeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought all his own outside, he goes ahead of them. The sheep follow him because they recognize his voice. 5 They will never follow a stranger; instead they will run away from him, because they don’t recognize the voice of strangers.”
6 Jesus gave them this illustration, but they did not understand(D) what He was telling them.
The Good Shepherd
7 So Jesus said again, “I assure you: I am(E) the door of the sheep.(F) 8 All who came before Me[a] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved and will come in and go out and find pasture. 10 A thief comes only to steal(G) and to kill and to destroy.(H) I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.
11 “I am the good shepherd.(I) The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.(J) 12 The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them[b] and runs away when he sees a wolf(K) coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired man and doesn’t care about the sheep.
14 “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, 15 as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father.(L) I lay down My life(M) for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep(N) that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd.(O) 17 This is why the Father loves Me,(P) because I am laying down My life(Q) so I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.”(R)
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