Book of Common Prayer
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be ashamed;
(C)In Your righteousness deliver me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be to me a (E)rock of [a]strength,
A stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my [b]rock and (F)my fortress;
For (G)Your name’s sake You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have (K)ransomed me, O Lord, (L)God of [c]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)regard [d]vain idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your lovingkindness,
Because You have (P)seen my affliction;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)given me over into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body also.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And (W)my [e]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)reproach,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten as a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [f](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face to shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your lovingkindness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, O Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [g]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be mute,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of men!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of man;
You keep them secretly in a [h]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has made (AV)marvelous His lovingkindness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried to You.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up for (D)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (J)without cause they (K)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [d]pit for my soul.
8 Let (L)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (N)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (Z)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me without cause [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (AR)You have seen it, O Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (AZ)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (BA)clothed with shame and dishonor who (BB)magnify themselves over me.
10 Then Moses said to the Lord, “Please, Lord, (A)I have never been [a]eloquent, neither [b]recently nor in time past, nor since You have spoken to Your servant; for I am [c]slow of speech and [d]slow of tongue.” 11 The Lord said to him, “Who has made man’s mouth? Or (B)who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing or blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12 Now then go, and (C)I, even I, will be with your mouth, and (D)teach you what you are to say.” 13 But he said, “Please, Lord, now [e]send the message by whomever You will.”
Aaron to Be Moses’ Mouthpiece
14 Then the anger of the Lord burned against Moses, and He said, “Is there not your brother Aaron the Levite? I know that [f]he speaks fluently. And moreover, behold, (E)he is coming out to meet you; when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 You are to speak to him and (F)put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do. 16 Moreover, (G)he shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him. 17 You shall take in your hand (H)this staff, (I)with which you shall perform the signs.”
18 Then Moses departed and returned to [g]Jethro (J)his father-in-law and said to him, “Please, let me go, that I may return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see if they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.” 19 Now the Lord said to Moses in Midian, “Go [h]back to Egypt, for (K)all the men who were seeking your life are dead.” 20 So Moses took his wife and his (L)sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the (M)staff of God in his hand.
21 The Lord said to Moses, “When you go [i]back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all (N)the wonders which I have put in your [j]power; but (O)I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go. 22 Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord, “(P)Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23 So I said to you, ‘(Q)Let My son go that he may serve Me’; but you have refused to let him go. Behold, (R)I will kill your son, your firstborn.”’”
24 Now it came about at the lodging place on the way that the Lord met him and (S)sought to put him to death. 25 Then Zipporah took (T)a flint and cut off her son’s foreskin and [k]threw it at Moses’ feet, and she said, “You are indeed a bridegroom of blood to me.” 26 So He let him alone. At that time she said, “You are a bridegroom of blood”—[l]because of the circumcision.
27 (U)Now the Lord said to Aaron, “Go to meet Moses in the wilderness.” So he went and met him at the (V)mountain of God and kissed him. 28 (W)Moses told Aaron all the words of the Lord with which He had sent him, and (X)all the signs that He had commanded him to do. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and (Y)assembled all the elders of the sons of Israel; 30 and (Z)Aaron spoke all the words which the Lord had spoken to Moses. He then performed the (AA)signs in the sight of the people. 31 So (AB)the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord [m](AC)was concerned about the sons of Israel and that He had seen their affliction, then (AD)they bowed low and worshiped.
Prophecy a Superior Gift
14 (A)Pursue love, yet (B)desire earnestly (C)spiritual gifts, but especially that you may (D)prophesy. 2 For one who (E)speaks in a tongue does not speak to men but to God; for no one [a]understands, but [b]in his spirit he speaks (F)mysteries. 3 But one who prophesies speaks to men for (G)edification and (H)exhortation and consolation. 4 One who (I)speaks in a tongue (J)edifies himself; but one who (K)prophesies (L)edifies the church. 5 Now I wish that you all (M)spoke in tongues, but (N)even more that you would prophesy; and greater is one who prophesies than one who (O)speaks in tongues, unless he interprets, so that the church may receive (P)edifying.
6 But now, brethren, if I come to you speaking in tongues, what will I profit you unless I speak to you either by way of (Q)revelation or of (R)knowledge or of (S)prophecy or of (T)teaching? 7 Yet even lifeless things, either flute or harp, in producing a sound, if they do not produce a distinction in the tones, how will it be known what is played on the flute or on the harp? 8 For if (U)the [c]bugle produces an indistinct sound, who will prepare himself for battle? 9 So also you, unless you utter by the tongue speech that is clear, how will it be known what is spoken? For you will be (V)speaking into the air. 10 There are, perhaps, a great many kinds of [d]languages in the world, and no kind is without meaning. 11 If then I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be to the one who speaks a [e](W)barbarian, and the one who speaks will be a [f]barbarian [g]to me. 12 So also you, since you are zealous of [h]spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the (X)edification of the church.
13 Therefore let one who speaks in a tongue pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful. 15 (Y)What is the outcome then? I will pray with the spirit and I will pray with the mind also; I will (Z)sing with the spirit and I will sing with the mind also. 16 Otherwise if you bless [i]in the spirit only, how will the one who fills the place of the [j]ungifted say (AA)the “Amen” at your (AB)giving of thanks, since he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you are giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not (AC)edified. 18 I thank God, I speak in tongues more than you all; 19 however, in the church I desire to speak five words with my mind so that I may instruct others also, rather than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Death and Resurrection Foretold
30 (A)From there they went out and began to go through Galilee, and He did not want anyone to know about it. 31 For He was teaching His disciples and telling them, “(B)The Son of Man is to be [a]delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him; and when He has been killed, He will rise three days later.” 32 But (C)they [b]did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask Him.
33 (D)They came to Capernaum; and when He [c]was in (E)the house, He began to question them, “What were you discussing on the way?” 34 But they kept silent, for on the way (F)they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, He called the twelve and *said to them, “(G)If anyone wants to be first, [d]he shall be last of all and servant of all.” 36 Taking a child, He set him [e]before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, 37 “(H)Whoever receives [f]one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me.”
Dire Warnings
38 (I)John said to Him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in Your name, and (J)we tried to prevent him because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me. 40 (K)For he who is not against us is [g]for us. 41 For (L)whoever gives you a cup of water to drink [h]because of your name as followers of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.