Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 93
God’s Eternal Reign
1 The Lord reigns! He is robed in majesty;
the Lord is robed, enveloped in strength.
The world is firmly established;
it cannot be shaken.(A)
2 Your throne has been established
from the beginning;[a]
you are from eternity.(B)
3 The floods have lifted up, Lord,
the floods have lifted up their voice;
the floods lift up their pounding waves.(C)
4 Greater than the roar of a huge torrent—
the mighty breakers of the sea—
the Lord on high is majestic.(D)
Psalm 96(A)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
let the whole earth sing to the Lord.(B)
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation from day to day.(C)
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wondrous works among all peoples.(D)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
he is feared above all gods.(E)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(F)
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.(G)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(H)
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;(I)
bring an offering and enter his courts.(J)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;(K)
let the whole earth tremble before him.(L)
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.(M)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(N)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(O)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(P)
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(Q)
13 before the Lord, for he is coming—
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with his faithfulness.(R)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,(A) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.(B)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(C)
the humble will hear and be glad.(D)
3 Proclaim the Lord’s greatness with me;(E)
let us exalt his name together.(F)
4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me
and rescued me from all my fears.(G)
5 Those who look to him are[a] radiant with joy;(H)
their faces will never be ashamed.(I)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(J)
7 The angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear him, and rescues them.(K)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(L)
How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!(M)
9 You who are his holy ones, fear the Lord,
for those who fear him lack nothing.(N)
10 Young lions[b] lack food and go hungry,(O)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(P)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(Q)
12 Who is someone who desires life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(R)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(S)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(T)
seek peace and pursue it.(U)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry for help.(V)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(W)
to remove[c] all memory of them from the earth.(X)
17 The righteous[d] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.(Y)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he saves those crushed in spirit.(Z)
19 One who is righteous has many adversities,
but the Lord rescues him from them all.(AA)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(AB)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(AC)
22 The Lord redeems the life of his servants,
and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.(AD)
The Shunammite Woman’s Hospitality
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem.(A) A prominent woman who lived there persuaded him to eat some food. So whenever he passed by, he stopped there to eat.(B) 9 Then she said to her husband, “I know that the one who often passes by here is a holy man of God, 10 so let’s make a small, walled-in upper room and put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Whenever he comes, he can stay there.”(C)
The Shunammite Woman’s Son
11 One day he came there and stopped at the upstairs room to lie down. 12 He ordered his attendant Gehazi,(D) “Call this Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she stood before him.
13 Then he said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can we do for you?(E) Can we speak on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”
She answered, “I am living among my own people.”
14 So he asked, “Then what should be done for her?”
Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 “Call her,” Elisha said. So Gehazi called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 Elisha said, “At this time next year you will have a son in your arms.”(F)
Then she said, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your servant.”(G)
17 The woman conceived and gave birth to a son at the same time the following year, as Elisha had promised her.
The Shunammite’s Son Raised
18 The child grew and one day went out to his father and the harvesters.(H) 19 Suddenly he complained to his father, “My head! My head!”
His father told his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 So he picked him up and took him to his mother. The child sat on her lap until noon and then died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, shut him in, and left.
22 She summoned her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, so I can hurry to the man of God and come back again.”
23 But he said, “Why go to him today? It’s not a New Moon or a Sabbath.”(I)
She replied, “It’s all right.”(J)
24 Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Go fast; don’t slow the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she came to the man of God at Mount Carmel.(K)
When the man of God saw her at a distance, he said to his attendant Gehazi,(L) “Look, there’s the Shunammite woman.(M) 26 Run out to meet her and ask, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your son all right?’”
And she answered, “It’s all right.”
27 When she came up to the man of God at the mountain, she clung to his feet.(N) Gehazi came to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone—she is in severe anguish,(O) and the Lord has hidden it from me. He hasn’t told me.”
28 Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Didn’t I say, ‘Do not lie to me?’” (P)
29 So Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your mantle(Q) under your belt, take my staff with you, and go. If you meet anyone, don’t stop to greet him, and if a man greets you, don’t answer him.(R) Then place my staff on the boy’s face.”
30 The boy’s mother said to Elisha, “As the Lord lives and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.”(S) So he got up and followed her.
31 Gehazi went ahead of them and placed the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or sign of life, so he went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy didn’t wake up.”(T)
32 When Elisha got to the house, he discovered the boy lying dead on his bed.(U) 33 So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the Lord.(V) 34 Then he went up and lay on the boy:(W) he put mouth to mouth, eye to eye, hand to hand. While he bent down over him, the boy’s flesh became warm.(X) 35 Elisha got up, went into the house, and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him again. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.(Y)
36 Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” He called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came, fell at his feet, and bowed to the ground; she picked up her son and left.(Z)
Saul’s Baptism
10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”
“Here I am, Lord,” he replied.(A)
11 “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus(B) named Saul, since he is praying there. 12 In a vision[a] he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”(C)
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.(D) 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”(E)
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument(F) to take my name to Gentiles,(G) kings, and Israelites.(H) 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”(I)
17 Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”(J)
18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength.(K)
Saul Proclaiming the Messiah
Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues: “He is the Son of God.”(L)
21 All who heard him were astounded and said, “Isn’t this the man in Jerusalem who was causing havoc for those who called on this name and came here for the purpose of taking them as prisoners to the chief priests?” (M)
22 But Saul grew stronger and kept confounding the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plot. So they were watching the gates day and night intending to kill him,(N) 25 but his disciples took him by night and lowered him in a large basket through an opening in the wall.(O)
Saul in Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem,(P) he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly(Q) in the name of Jesus.(R) 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.(S) 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.(T)
The Church’s Growth
31 So the church(U) throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
7 He then said to the crowds who came out to be baptized by him, “Brood of vipers!(A) Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?(B) 8 Therefore produce fruit(C) consistent with repentance. And don’t start saying to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’(D) for I tell you that God is able to raise up children for Abraham from these stones. 9 The ax is already at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that doesn’t produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”(E)
10 “What then should we do?” (F) the crowds were asking him.
11 He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”(G)
12 Tax collectors(H) also came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” (I)
13 He told them, “Don’t collect any more than what you have been authorized.”
14 Some soldiers also questioned him, “What should we do?”
He said to them, “Don’t take money from anyone by force or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”
15 Now the people were waiting expectantly, and all of them were questioning in their hearts whether John might be the Messiah.(J) 16 John answered them all,(K) “I baptize you with water, but one who is more powerful than I am is coming. I am not worthy to untie the strap of his sandals. He will baptize you with[a] the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 His winnowing shovel(L) is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and gather the wheat into his barn,(M) but the chaff he will burn with fire that never goes out.”(N) 18 Then, along with many other exhortations, he proclaimed good news to the people.
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