Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 38[a]
A psalm of David, written to get God’s attention.[b]
38 O Lord, do not continue to rebuke me in your anger.
Do not continue to punish me in your raging fury.[c]
2 For your arrows pierce[d] me,
and your hand presses me down.[e]
3 My whole body is sick because of your judgment;[f]
I am deprived of health because of my sin.[g]
4 For my sins overwhelm me;[h]
like a heavy load, they are too much for me to bear.
5 My wounds[i] are infected and starting to smell,[j]
because of my foolish sins.[k]
6 I am dazed[l] and completely humiliated;[m]
all day long I walk around mourning.
7 For I am overcome with shame,[n]
and my whole body is sick.[o]
8 I am numb with pain and severely battered;[p]
I groan loudly because of the anxiety I feel.[q]
9 O Lord, you understand my heart’s desire;[r]
my groaning is not hidden from you.
10 My heart beats quickly;
my strength leaves me.
I can hardly see.[s]
11 Because of my condition,[t] even my friends and acquaintances keep their distance;[u]
my neighbors stand far away.[v]
12 Those who seek my life try to entrap me;[w]
those who want to harm me speak destructive words.
All day long they say deceitful things.
13 But I am like a deaf man—I hear nothing;
I am like a mute who cannot speak.[x]
14 I am like a man who cannot hear
and is incapable of arguing his defense.[y]
15 Yet[z] I wait for you, O Lord!
You will respond, O Lord, my God!
16 I have prayed for deliverance, because otherwise they will gloat over me;[aa]
when my foot slips they will arrogantly taunt me.[ab]
17 For I am about to stumble,
and I am in constant pain.[ac]
18 Yes,[ad] I confess my wrongdoing,
and I am concerned about my sins.
19 But those who are my enemies for no reason are numerous;[ae]
those who hate me without cause outnumber me.[af]
20 They repay me evil for the good I have done;
though I have tried to do good to them, they hurl accusations at me.[ag]
21 Do not abandon me, O Lord.
My God, do not remain far away from me.
22 Hurry and help me,[ah] O Lord, my deliverer.
ד (Dalet)
25 I collapse in the dirt.[a]
Revive me with your word.[b]
26 I told you about my ways[c] and you answered me.
Teach me your statutes.
27 Help me to understand what your precepts mean.[d]
Then I can meditate[e] on your marvelous teachings.[f]
28 I collapse[g] from grief.
Sustain me by your word.[h]
29 Remove me from the path of deceit.[i]
Graciously give me[j] your law.
30 I choose the path of faithfulness;
I am committed to[k] your regulations.
31 I hold fast[l] to your rules.
O Lord, do not let me be ashamed.
32 I run along the path of your commands,
for you enable me to do so.[m]
ה (He)
33 Teach me, O Lord, the lifestyle prescribed by your statutes,[n]
so that I might observe it continually.[o]
34 Give me understanding so that I might observe your law,
and keep it with all my heart.[p]
35 Guide me[q] in the path of your commands,
for I delight to walk in it.[r]
36 Give me a desire for your rules,[s]
rather than for wealth gained unjustly.[t]
37 Turn my eyes away from what is worthless.[u]
Revive me with your word.[v]
38 Confirm to your servant your promise,[w]
which you made to the one who honors you.[x]
39 Take away the insults that I dread.[y]
Indeed,[z] your regulations are good.
40 Look, I long for your precepts.
Revive me with your deliverance.[aa]
ו (Vav)
41 May I experience your loyal love,[ab] O Lord,
and your deliverance,[ac] as you promised.[ad]
42 Then I will have a reply for the one who insults me,[ae]
for I trust in your word.
43 Do not completely deprive me of a truthful testimony,[af]
for I await your justice.
44 Then I will keep[ag] your law continually
now and for all time.[ah]
45 I will be secure,[ai]
for I seek your precepts.
46 I will speak[aj] about your regulations before kings
and not be ashamed.
47 I will find delight in your commands,
which I love.
48 I will lift my hands to[ak] your commands,
which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
Isaiah’s Commission
6 In the year of King Uzziah’s death,[a] I saw the Lord[b] seated on a high, elevated throne. The hem of his robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphs[c] stood over him; each one had six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,[d] and they used the remaining two to fly. 3 They called out to one another, “Holy, holy, holy[e] is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies![f] His majestic splendor fills the entire earth!” 4 The sound of their voices shook the door frames,[g] and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 I said, “Woe to me! I am destroyed,[h] for my lips are contaminated by sin,[i] and I live among people whose lips are contaminated by sin.[j] My eyes have seen the king, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”[k] 6 But then one of the seraphs flew toward me. In his hand was a hot coal he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said, “Look, this coal has touched your lips. Your evil is removed; your sin is forgiven.”[l] 8 I heard the voice of the Lord say, “Whom will I send? Who will go on our behalf?”[m] I answered, “Here I am, send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell these people:
“‘Listen continually, but don’t understand.
Look continually, but don’t perceive.’
10 Make the hearts of these people calloused;
make their ears deaf and their eyes blind.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
their hearts might understand and they might repent and be healed.”[n]
11 I replied, “How long, Lord?” He said,
“Until cities are in ruins and unpopulated,
and houses are uninhabited,
and the land is ruined and devastated,
12 and the Lord has sent the people off to a distant place,
and the very heart of the land is completely abandoned.[o]
13 Even if only a tenth of the people remain in the land,
it will again be destroyed,[p]
like one of the large sacred trees[q] or an Asherah pole,[r]
when a sacred pillar[s] on a high place[t] is thrown down.[u]
That sacred pillar symbolizes the special chosen family.”[v]
Salutation
1 From Paul[a] and Silvanus and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Grace and peace to you[b] from God the[c] Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!
Thanksgiving
3 We ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters,[d] and rightly so,[e] because your faith flourishes more and more and the love of each one of you all for one another is ever greater. 4 As a result we ourselves boast about you in the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and afflictions you are enduring.
Encouragement in Persecution
5 This is evidence of God’s righteous judgment, to make you worthy[f] of the kingdom of God, for which in fact you are suffering. 6 For it is right[g] for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to you who are being afflicted to give rest together with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed[h] from heaven with his mighty angels.[i] 8 With flaming fire he will mete out[j] punishment on those who do not know God[k] and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They[l] will undergo the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his strength,[m] 10 when he comes to be glorified among his saints and admired[n] on that day among all who have believed—and you did in fact believe our testimony.[o] 11 And in this regard we pray for you always, that our God will make you worthy of his calling[p] and fulfill by his power your every desire for goodness and every work of faith, 12 that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to[q] the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
A Woman Caught in Adultery[a]
53 [[ And each one departed to his own house. 8 1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.[b] 2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach[c] them. 3 The experts in the law[d] and the Pharisees[e] brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them 4 and said to Jesus,[f] “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death[g] such women.[h] What then do you say?” 6 (Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against[i] him.)[j] Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.[k] 7 When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight[l] and replied,[m] “Whoever among you is guiltless[n] may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then[o] he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones,[p] until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up straight[q] and said to her, “Woman,[r] where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]][s]
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