Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
31 In you, O Lord, I have taken shelter.
Never let me be humiliated.
Vindicate me by rescuing me.[b]
2 Listen to me.[c]
Quickly deliver me.
Be my protector and refuge,[d]
a stronghold where I can be safe.[e]
3 For you are my high ridge[f] and my stronghold;
for the sake of your own reputation[g] you lead me and guide me.[h]
4 You will free me[i] from the net they hid for me,
for you are my place of refuge.
5 Into your hand I entrust my life;[j]
you will rescue[k] me, O Lord, the faithful God.
6 I hate those who serve worthless idols,[l]
but I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be happy and rejoice in your faithfulness,
because you notice my pain
and you are aware of how distressed I am.[m]
8 You do not deliver me over to the power of the enemy;
you enable me to stand[n] in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress!
My eyes grow dim[o] from suffering.[p]
I have lost my strength.[q]
10 For my life nears its end in pain;
my years draw to a close as I groan.[r]
My strength fails me because of[s] my sin,
and my bones become brittle.[t]
11 Because of all my enemies, people disdain me;[u]
my neighbors are appalled by my suffering[v]—
those who know me are horrified by my condition;[w]
those who see me in the street run away from me.
12 I am forgotten, like a dead man no one thinks about;[x]
I am regarded as worthless, like a broken jar.[y]
13 For I hear what so many are saying,[z]
the terrifying news that comes from every direction.[aa]
When they plot together against me,
they figure out how they can take my life.
14 But I trust in you, O Lord!
I declare, “You are my God!”
15 You determine my destiny.[ab]
Rescue me from the power of my enemies and those who chase me.
16 Smile[ac] on your servant.
Deliver me because of your faithfulness.
17 O Lord, do not let me be humiliated,
for I call out to you.
May evil men be humiliated.
May they go wailing to the grave.[ad]
18 May lying lips be silenced—
lips[ae] that speak defiantly against the innocent[af]
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is your favor,[ag]
which you store up for your loyal followers.[ah]
In plain sight of everyone you bestow it on those who take shelter[ai] in you.[aj]
20 You hide them with you, where they are safe from the attacks[ak] of men;[al]
you conceal them in a shelter, where they are safe from slanderous attacks.[am]
21 The Lord deserves praise[an]
for he demonstrated his amazing faithfulness to me when I was besieged by enemies.[ao]
22 I jumped to conclusions and said,[ap]
“I am cut off from your presence!”[aq]
But you heard my plea for mercy when I cried out to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all you faithful followers[ar] of his!
The Lord protects those who have integrity,
but he pays back in full the one who acts arrogantly.[as]
24 Be strong and confident,[at]
all you who wait on the Lord.
Psalm 35[a]
By David.
35 O Lord, fight[b] those who fight with me.
Attack those who attack me.
2 Grab your small shield and large shield,[c]
and rise up to help me.
3 Use your spear and lance[d] against[e] those who chase me.
Assure me with these words:[f] “I am your deliverer.”
4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated.
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.[g]
5 May they be[h] like wind-driven chaff,
as the angel of the Lord[i] attacks them.[j]
6 May their path be[k] dark and slippery,
as the angel of the Lord chases them.
7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me.[l]
8 Let destruction take them by surprise.[m]
Let the net they hid catch them.
Let them fall into destruction.[n]
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance.[o]
10 With all my strength I will say,[p]
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue[q] the oppressed from those who try to overpower them,[r]
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.”[s]
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[t]
and falsely accuse me.[u]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[v]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[w]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[x]
and refrained from eating food.[y]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[z]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[aa]
I bowed down[ab] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[ac]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[ad]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[ae]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[af]
and tried to bite me.[ag]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[ah] me[ai] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[aj] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[ak]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[al]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[am] gloat[an] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[ao]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[ap]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[aq]
21 They are ready to devour me;[ar]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[as]
22 But you take notice,[at] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[au] and vindicate me.[av]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[aw]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ax] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[ay] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[az]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ba]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[bb]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[bc] “May the Lord be praised,[bd] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[be]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[bf]
and praise you all day long.[bg]
10 Then Moses said to the Lord,[a] “O[b] my Lord,[c] I am not an eloquent man,[d] neither in the past[e] nor since you have spoken to your servant, for I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”[f]
11 The Lord said to him, “Who gave[g] a mouth to man, or who makes a person mute or deaf or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?[h] 12 So now go, and I will be with your mouth[i] and will teach you[j] what you must say.”[k]
13 But Moses said,[l] “O[m] my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!”[n]
14 Then the Lord became angry with[o] Moses, and he said, “What about[p] your brother Aaron the Levite?[q] I know that he can speak very well.[r] Moreover, he is coming[s] to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad in his heart.[t]
15 “So you are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And as for me, I will be with your mouth[u] and with his mouth,[v] and I will teach you both[w] what you must do.[x] 16 He[y] will speak for you to the people, and it will be as if[z] he[aa] were your mouth[ab] and as if you were his God.[ac] 17 You will also take in your hand this staff, with which you will do the signs.”[ad]
The Return of Moses
18 [ae] So Moses went back[af] to his father-in-law Jethro and said to him, “Let me go, so that I may return[ag] to my relatives[ah] in Egypt and see[ai] if they are still alive.” Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 The Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go back[aj] to Egypt, because all the men who were seeking your life are dead.”[ak] 20 Then Moses took[al] his wife and sons[am] and put them on a donkey and headed back[an] to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand. 21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt,[ao] see that you[ap] do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control.[aq] But I will harden[ar] his heart[as] and[at] he will not let the people go. 22 You must say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord has said, “Israel is my son, my firstborn,[au] 23 and I said to you, ‘Let my son go that he may serve[av] me,’ but since you have refused to let him go,[aw] I will surely kill[ax] your son, your firstborn!”’”
24 Now on the way, at a place where they stopped for the night,[ay] the Lord met Moses and sought to kill him.[az] 25 But Zipporah took a flint knife, cut off the foreskin of her son and touched it to Moses’ feet,[ba] and said, “Surely you are a bridegroom of blood[bb] to me.” 26 So the Lord[bc] let him alone. (At that time[bd] she said, “A bridegroom of blood,” referring to[be] the circumcision.)
27 The Lord said[bf] to Aaron, “Go to the wilderness to meet Moses. So he went and met him at the mountain of God[bg] and greeted him with a kiss.[bh] 28 Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord who had[bi] sent him and all the signs that he had commanded him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and brought together all the Israelite elders.[bj] 30 Aaron spoke[bk] all the words that the Lord had spoken to Moses and did the signs in the sight of the people, 31 and the people believed. When they heard[bl] that the Lord had attended to[bm] the Israelites and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed down close to the ground.[bn]
Prophecy and Tongues
14 Pursue love and be eager for the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy. 2 For the one speaking in a tongue does not speak to people but to God, for no one understands; he is speaking mysteries by the Spirit.[a] 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening,[b] encouragement, and consolation. 4 The one who speaks in a tongue builds himself up,[c] but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 5 I wish you all spoke in tongues, but even more that you would prophesy. The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be strengthened.
6 Now, brothers and sisters,[d] if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I help you unless I speak to you with a revelation or with knowledge or prophecy or teaching? 7 It is similar for lifeless things that make a sound, like a flute or harp. Unless they make a distinction in the notes, how can what is played on the flute or harp be understood? 8 If, for example, the trumpet makes an unclear sound, who will get ready for battle? 9 It is the same for you. If you do not speak clearly with your tongue, how will anyone know what is being said? For you will be speaking into the air. 10 There are probably many kinds of languages in the world, and none is without meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of a language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 12 It is the same with you. Since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit,[e] seek to abound in order to strengthen the church.
13 So then, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 If[f] I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unproductive. 15 What should I do?[g] I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will also sing praises with my mind. 16 Otherwise, if you are praising God with your spirit, how can someone without the gift[h] say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are certainly giving thanks well, but the other person is not strengthened. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you, 19 but in the church I want to speak five words with my mind to instruct others, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
30 They went out from there and passed through Galilee. But[a] Jesus[b] did not want anyone to know, 31 for he was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man will be betrayed into the hands of men.[c] They[d] will kill him,[e] and after three days he will rise.”[f] 32 But they did not understand this statement and were afraid to ask him.
Questions About the Greatest
33 Then[g] they came to Capernaum.[h] After Jesus[i] was inside the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. 35 After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” 36 He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes[j] one of these little children[k] in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”
On Jesus’ Side
38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to say anything bad about me. 40 For whoever is not against us is for us. 41 For I tell you the truth,[l] whoever gives you a cup of water because[m] you bear Christ’s[n] name will never lose his reward.
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