Book of Common Prayer
מ Mem
97 How I love your instruction!(A)
It is my meditation all day long.(B)
98 Your command makes me wiser than my enemies,(C)
for it is always with me.
99 I have more insight than all my teachers
because your decrees are my meditation.(D)
100 I understand more than the elders(E)
because I obey your precepts.(F)
101 I have kept my feet from every evil path(G)
to follow your word.
102 I have not turned from your judgments,(H)
for you yourself have instructed me.
103 How sweet your word is(I) to my taste—
sweeter than honey in my mouth.
104 I gain understanding from your precepts;(J)
therefore I hate every false way.(K)
נ Nun
105 Your word is a lamp for my feet(L)
and a light on my path.
106 I have solemnly sworn(M)
to keep your righteous judgments.
107 I am severely afflicted;
Lord, give me life according to your word.(N)
108 Lord, please accept my freewill offerings of praise,(O)
and teach me your judgments.(P)
109 My life is constantly in danger,[a]
yet I do not forget your instruction.(Q)
110 The wicked have set a trap for me,(R)
but I have not wandered from your precepts.(S)
111 I have your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart.(T)
112 I am resolved to obey your statutes
to the very end.[b](U)
ס Samek
113 I hate those who are double-minded,(V)
but I love your instruction.(W)
114 You are my shelter and my shield;(X)
I put my hope in your word.(Y)
115 Depart from me,(Z) you evil ones,
so that I may obey my God’s commands.(AA)
116 Sustain me as you promised,(AB) and I will live;
do not let me be ashamed of my hope.(AC)
117 Sustain me so that I can be safe(AD)
and always be concerned about your statutes.(AE)
118 You reject all who stray from your statutes,(AF)
for their deceit is a lie.
119 You remove all the wicked on earth
as if they were[c] dross from metal;(AG)
therefore, I love your decrees.(AH)
120 I tremble[d] in awe of you;(AI)
I fear your judgments.
Psalm 81
A Call to Obedience
For the choir director: on the Gittith. Of Asaph.(A)
1 Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.(B)
2 Lift up a song—play the tambourine,
the melodious lyre, and the harp.(C)
3 Blow the ram’s horn on the day of our feasts[a]
during the new moon(D)
and during the full moon.
4 For this is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.(E)
5 He set it up as a decree for Joseph
when he went throughout[b] the land of Egypt.(F)
I heard an unfamiliar language:
6 “I relieved his shoulder from the burden;
his hands were freed from carrying the basket.(G)
7 You called out in distress, and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud.(H)
I tested you at the Waters of Meribah.(I)Selah
8 Listen, my people, and I will admonish you.
Israel, if you would only listen to me!(J)
9 There must not be a strange god among you;
you must not bow down to a foreign god.(K)
10 I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.(L)
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.(M)
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel did not obey me.(N)
12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own plans.(O)
13 If only my people would listen to me
and Israel would follow my ways,(P)
14 I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.”(Q)
15 Those who hate the Lord
would cower to him;(R)
their doom would last forever.(S)
16 But he would feed Israel[c] with the best wheat.
“I would satisfy you with honey from the rock.”(T)
Psalm 82
A Plea for Righteous Judgment
A psalm of Asaph.(U)
1 God stands in the divine assembly;
he pronounces judgment among the gods:[d](V)
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?(W)Selah
3 Provide justice for the needy and the fatherless;
uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.(X)
4 Rescue the poor and needy;
save them from the power of the wicked.”(Y)
5 They do not know or understand;
they wander in darkness.(Z)
All the foundations of the earth are shaken.(AA)
6 I said, “You are gods;(AB)
you are all sons of the Most High.(AC)
7 However, you will die like humans
and fall like any other ruler.”(AD)
8 Rise up, God, judge the earth,
for all the nations belong to you.(AE)
The Return for Jacob
16 When the news reached Pharaoh’s palace, “Joseph’s brothers have come,” Pharaoh and his servants were pleased. 17 Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Tell your brothers, ‘Do this: Load your animals and go on back to the land of Canaan. 18 Get your father and your families, and come back to me. I will give you the best of the land of Egypt, and you can eat from the richness of the land.’ 19 You are also commanded to tell them, ‘Do this: Take wagons from the land of Egypt for your dependents and your wives and bring your father here.(A) 20 Do not be concerned about your belongings, for the best of all the land of Egypt is yours.’”(B)
21 The sons of Israel did this. Joseph gave them wagons as Pharaoh had commanded, and he gave them provisions for the journey. 22 He gave each of the brothers changes of clothes,(C) but he gave Benjamin three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of clothes.(D) 23 He sent his father the following: ten donkeys carrying the best products of Egypt and ten female donkeys carrying grain, food, and provisions for his father on the journey. 24 So Joseph sent his brothers on their way, and as they were leaving, he said to them, “Don’t argue[a] on the way.”
25 So they went up from Egypt and came to their father Jacob in the land of Canaan. 26 They said, “Joseph is still alive, and he is ruler over all the land of Egypt!” Jacob was stunned,[b] for he did not believe them. 27 But when they told Jacob all that Joseph had said to them, and when he saw the wagons that Joseph had sent to transport him, the spirit of their father Jacob revived.
28 Then Israel said, “Enough! My son Joseph is still alive. I will go to see him before I die.”
Food Offered to Idols
8 Now about food sacrificed to idols:(A) We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge puffs up,(B) but love(C) builds up. 2 If anyone thinks he knows anything, he does not yet know it as he ought to know it.(D) 3 But if anyone loves God,(E) he is known(F) by him.
4 About eating food sacrificed to idols, then, we know that “an idol is nothing in the world,”[a] and that “there is no God but one.”(G) 5 For even if there are so-called gods,(H) whether in heaven or on earth—as there are many “gods” and many “lords”— 6 yet for us there is one God, the Father.(I) All things are from him,(J) and we exist for him. And there is one Lord, Jesus Christ. All things are through him, and we exist through him.(K)
7 However, not everyone has this knowledge. Some have been so used to idolatry up until now that when they eat food sacrificed to an idol, their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8 Food will not bring us close to God.[b] We are not worse off if we don’t eat, and we are not better if we do eat.(L) 9 But be careful that this right of yours in no way becomes a stumbling block(M) to the weak. 10 For if someone sees you, the one who has knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, won’t his weak conscience be encouraged[c] to eat food offered to idols? 11 So the weak person, the brother or sister for whom Christ died,(N) is ruined[d](O) by your knowledge.(P) 12 Now when you sin like this against brothers and sisters and wound their weak conscience, you are sinning against Christ. 13 Therefore, if food causes my brother or sister to fall, I will never again eat meat,(Q) so that I won’t cause my brother or sister to fall.
13 They drove out many demons,(A) anointed(B) many sick(C) people with oil(D) and healed them.(E)
John the Baptist Beheaded
14 King(F) Herod(G) heard about it, because Jesus’s name(H) had become well known. Some[a] said, “John the Baptist(I) has been raised from the dead,(J) and that’s why miraculous powers(K) are at work(L) in him.” 15 But others said, “He’s Elijah.”(M) Still others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets from long ago.”(N)
16 When Herod(O) heard of it, he said, “John,(P) the one I beheaded, has been raised!” (Q)
17 For(R) Herod himself had given orders to arrest John and to chain(S) him in prison on account of Herodias,(T) his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.(U) 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful(V) for you to have your brother’s wife.”(W) 19 So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill(X) him. But she could not, 20 because Herod feared(Y) John and protected him, knowing he was a righteous(Z) and holy(AA) man. When Herod heard him he would be very perplexed,[b](AB) and yet he liked to listen to him.(AC)
21 An opportune time came on his birthday, when Herod gave a banquet(AD) for his nobles,(AE) military commanders,(AF) and the leading men of Galilee.(AG) 22 When Herodias’s own daughter[c] came in and danced,(AH) she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me whatever you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 He promised her with an(AI) oath:(AJ) “Whatever you ask me I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”(AK)
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
“John the Baptist’s(AL) head,” she said.
25 At once she hurried to the king and said, “I want you to give me John the Baptist’s(AM) head on a platter(AN) immediately.” 26 Although the king was deeply distressed,(AO) because of his oaths(AP) and the guests[d] he did not want to refuse(AQ) her. 27 The king immediately sent for an executioner and commanded him to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded him in prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s disciples(AR) heard about it, they came and removed his corpse and placed it in a tomb.(AS)
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