Book of Common Prayer
A Song Celebrating the King’s Marriage.
For the choir director; according to the [a]Shoshannim. A [b]Maskil of the sons of Korah. A Song of Love.
45 My heart [c]overflows with a good theme;
I [d]address my [e]verses to the [f]King;
My tongue is the pen of (A)a ready writer.
2 You are fairer than the sons of men;
(B)Grace is poured [g]upon Your lips;
Therefore God has (C)blessed You forever.
3 Gird (D)Your sword on Your thigh, O [h](E)Mighty One,
In Your splendor and Your majesty!
4 And in Your majesty ride on victoriously,
For the cause of truth and (F)meekness and righteousness;
Let Your (G)right hand teach You [i]awesome things.
5 Your (H)arrows are sharp;
The (I)peoples fall under You;
Your arrows are (J)in the heart of the King’s enemies.
6 (K)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever;
A scepter of (L)uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
7 You have (M)loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, Your God, has (N)anointed You
With the oil of joy above Your fellows.
8 All Your garments are fragrant with (O)myrrh and aloes and cassia;
Out of ivory palaces (P)stringed instruments have made You glad.
9 Kings’ daughters are among (Q)Your noble ladies;
At Your (R)right hand stands the queen in (S)gold from Ophir.
10 Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear:
(T)Forget your people and your father’s house;
11 Then the King will desire your beauty.
Because He is your (U)Lord, (V)bow down to Him.
12 The daughter of (W)Tyre will come with a gift;
The (X)rich among the people will seek your favor.
13 The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is (Y)interwoven with gold.
14 She will be (Z)led to the King (AA)in embroidered work;
The (AB)virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to You.
15 They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
God the King of the Earth.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.
47 O (A)clap your hands, all peoples;
(B)Shout to God with the voice of [a]joy.
2 For the Lord Most High is to be (C)feared,
A (D)great King over all the earth.
3 He (E)subdues peoples under us
And nations under our feet.
4 He chooses our (F)inheritance for us,
The (G)glory of Jacob whom He loves. [b]Selah.
5 God has (H)ascended [c]with a shout,
The Lord, [d]with the (I)sound of a trumpet.
6 (J)Sing praises to God, sing praises;
Sing praises to (K)our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the (L)King of all the earth;
Sing praises (M)with a [e]skillful psalm.
8 God (N)reigns over the nations,
God [f]sits on (O)His holy throne.
9 The [g](P)princes of the people have assembled themselves as the (Q)people of the God of Abraham,
For the (R)shields of the earth belong to God;
He [h]is (S)highly exalted.
The Beauty and Glory of Zion.
A Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.
48 (T)Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
In the (U)city of our God, His (V)holy mountain.
2 (W)Beautiful in elevation, (X)the joy of the whole earth,
Is Mount Zion in the far north,
The (Y)city of the great King.
3 God, in her palaces,
Has made Himself known as a (Z)stronghold.
4 For, lo, the (AA)kings assembled themselves,
They passed by together.
5 They saw it, then they were amazed;
They were (AB)terrified, they [i]fled in alarm.
6 [j]Panic seized them there,
Anguish, as of (AC)a woman in childbirth.
7 With the (AD)east wind
You (AE)break the (AF)ships of Tarshish.
8 As we have heard, so have we seen
In the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God;
God will (AG)establish her forever. [k]Selah.
9 We have thought on (AH)Your lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of Your temple.
10 As is Your (AI)name, O God,
So is Your (AJ)praise to the ends of the earth;
Your (AK)right hand is full of righteousness.
11 Let Mount (AL)Zion be glad,
Let the (AM)daughters of Judah rejoice
Because of Your judgments.
12 Walk about Zion and go around her;
Count her (AN)towers;
13 Consider her (AO)ramparts;
Go through her palaces,
That you may (AP)tell it to the next generation.
14 For [l]such is God,
Our God forever and ever;
He will (AQ)guide us [m]until death.
12 Then his brothers went to pasture their father’s flock in Shechem. 13 Israel said to Joseph, “Are not your brothers pasturing the flock in (A)Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them.” And he said to him, “[a]I will go.” 14 Then he said to him, “Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock, and bring word back to me.” So he sent him from the valley of (B)Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
15 A man found him, and behold, he was wandering in the field; and the man asked him, “[b]What are you looking for?” 16 He said, “I am looking for my brothers; please tell me where they are pasturing the flock.” 17 Then the man said, “They have moved from here; for I heard them say, ‘Let us go to (C)Dothan.’” So Joseph went after his brothers and found them at Dothan.
The Plot against Joseph
18 [c]When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they (D)plotted against him to put him to death. 19 They said to one another, “[d]Here comes this dreamer! 20 Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and (E)we will say, ‘A wild beast devoured him.’ Then let us see what will become of his dreams!” 21 But (F)Reuben heard this and rescued him out of their hands and said, “Let us not [e]take his life.” 22 Reuben further said to them, “Shed no blood. Throw him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but do not lay hands on him”—that he might rescue him out of their hands, to restore him to his father. 23 So it came about, when Joseph [f]reached his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his [g]tunic, the varicolored tunic that was on him; 24 and they took him and threw him into the pit. Now the pit was empty, without any water in it.
20 (A)Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of (B)this age? Has not God (C)made foolish the wisdom of (D)the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God (E)the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, (F)God was well-pleased through the (G)foolishness of the [a]message preached to (H)save those who believe. 22 For indeed (I)Jews ask for [b]signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we preach [c](J)Christ crucified, (K)to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles (L)foolishness, 24 but to those who are (M)the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ (N)the power of God and (O)the wisdom of God. 25 Because the (P)foolishness of God is wiser than men, and (Q)the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For [d]consider your (R)calling, brethren, that there were (S)not many wise according to [e]the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but (T)God has chosen the foolish things of (U)the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of (V)the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of (W)the world and the despised God has chosen, (X)the things that are not, so that He may (Y)nullify the things that are, 29 so that (Z)no [f]man may boast before God. 30 But [g]by His doing you are in (AA)Christ Jesus, who became to us (AB)wisdom from God, [h]and (AC)righteousness and (AD)sanctification, and (AE)redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “(AF)Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
Jesus Preaches in Galilee
14 (A)Now after John had been [a]taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, [b](B)preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, “(C)The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God [c]is at hand; (D)repent and [d]believe in the gospel.”
16 (E)As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” 18 Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. 19 Going on a little farther, He saw [e]James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who were also in the boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately He called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired servants, and went away [f]to follow Him.
21 (F)They *went into Capernaum; and immediately on the Sabbath (G)He entered the synagogue and began to teach. 22 (H)They were amazed at His teaching; for He was teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23 Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, 24 saying, “(I)What [g]business do we have with each other, Jesus [h]of (J)Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—(K)the Holy One of God!” 25 And Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” 26 Throwing him into convulsions, the unclean spirit cried out with a loud voice and came out of him. 27 They were all (L)amazed, so that they debated among themselves, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” 28 Immediately the news about Him spread everywhere into all the surrounding district of Galilee.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.