Book of Common Prayer
33 He turns rivers into desert,
springs into thirsty ground,(A)
34 and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.(B)
35 He turns a desert into a pool,
dry land into springs.(C)
36 He causes the hungry to settle there,
and they establish a city where they can live.(D)
37 They sow fields and plant vineyards
that yield a fruitful harvest.(E)
38 He blesses them, and they multiply greatly;(F)
he does not let their livestock decrease.(G)
39 When they are diminished and are humbled
by cruel oppression and sorrow,(H)
40 he pours contempt on nobles(I)
and makes them wander in a trackless wasteland.(J)
41 But he lifts the needy out of their suffering(K)
and makes their families multiply like flocks.(L)
42 The upright see it and rejoice,(M)
and all injustice shuts its mouth.(N)
43 Let whoever is wise pay attention to these things
and consider the Lord’s acts of faithful love.(O)
Psalm 108
A Plea for Victory
A song. A psalm of David.
1 My heart is confident, God;
I will sing; I will sing praises
with the whole of my being.[a](P)
2 Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.(Q)
3 I will praise you, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to you among the nations.(R)
4 For your faithful love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.(S)
5 God, be exalted above the heavens,(T)
and let your glory be over the whole earth.(U)
6 Save with your right hand and answer me
so that those you love may be rescued.(V)
7 God has spoken in his sanctuary:[b]
“I will celebrate!
I will divide up Shechem.(W)
I will apportion the Valley of Succoth.(X)
8 Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine,
and Ephraim is my helmet;(Y)
Judah is my scepter.(Z)
9 Moab is my washbasin;(AA)
I throw my sandal on Edom.(AB)
I shout in triumph over Philistia.”(AC)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(A)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to him with a ten-stringed harp.(B)
3 Sing a new song to him;(C)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(D)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all his work is trustworthy.(E)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(F)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(G)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(H)
and all the stars, by the breath of his mouth.(I)
7 He gathers the water of the sea into a heap;[a]
he puts the depths into storehouses.(J)
8 Let the whole earth fear the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.(K)
9 For he spoke, and it came into being;
he commanded, and it came into existence.(L)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
he thwarts the plans of the peoples.(M)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of his heart from generation to generation.(N)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord—
the people he has chosen to be his own possession!(O)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he observes everyone.(P)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from his dwelling place.(Q)
15 He forms the hearts of them all;
he considers all their works.(R)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be rescued by great strength.(S)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(T)
False Prophets Condemned
9 Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me,(A)
and all my bones tremble.
I have become like a drunkard,
like a man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord,
because of his holy words.
10 For the land is full of adulterers;(B)
the land mourns(C) because of the curse,(D)
and the grazing lands in the wilderness have dried up.
Their way of life[a] has become evil,
and their power is not rightly used
11 because both prophet and priest are ungodly,(E)
even in my house(F) I have found their evil.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 Therefore, their way will seem
like slippery paths in the gloom.(G)
They will be driven away and fall down there,
for I will bring disaster on them,
the year of their punishment.(H)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13 Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw something disgusting:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.(I)
14 Among the prophets of Jerusalem also
I saw a horrible thing:(J)
They commit adultery and walk in lies.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
and none turns his back on evil.
They are all like Sodom(K) to me;
Jerusalem’s residents are like Gomorrah.
15 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Armies says concerning the prophets:
Israel’s Rejection of Christ
9 I speak the truth in Christ(A)—I am not lying; my conscience testifies to me through the Holy Spirit[a]— 2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. 3 For I could wish(B) that I myself were cursed(C) and cut off[b] from Christ for the benefit of my brothers and sisters, my own flesh and blood. 4 They are Israelites,(D) and to them belong the adoption,(E) the glory,(F) the covenants,(G) the giving of the law,(H) the temple service,(I) and the promises.(J) 5 The ancestors are theirs,(K) and from them, by physical descent,[c] came the Christ,(L) who is God(M) over all,(N) praised forever.[d](O) Amen.
God’s Gracious Election of Israel
6 Now it is not as though the word of God has failed,(P) because not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.(Q) 7 Neither is it the case that all of Abraham’s children are his descendants.[e](R) On the contrary, your offspring will be traced[f] through Isaac.[g](S) 8 That is, it is not the children by physical descent[h] who are God’s children,(T) but the children of the promise(U) are considered to be the offspring. 9 For this is the statement of the promise: At this time I will come, and Sarah will have a son.[i](V) 10 And not only that,(W) but Rebekah conceived children(X) through one man, our father Isaac. 11 For though her sons had not been born yet or done anything good or bad, so that God’s purpose according to election might stand(Y)— 12 not from works but from the one who calls—she was told, The older will serve the younger.[j](Z) 13 As it is written: I have loved Jacob, but I have hated Esau.[k](AA)
God’s Selection Is Just
14 What should we say then?(AB) Is there injustice with God?(AC) Absolutely not!(AD) 15 For he tells Moses, I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.[l](AE) 16 So then, it does not depend on human will or effort(AF) but on God who shows mercy.(AG) 17 For the Scripture tells Pharaoh, I raised you up for this reason so that I may display my power in you and that my name may be proclaimed in the whole earth.[m](AH) 18 So then, he has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy and he hardens whom he wants to harden.(AI)
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60 Therefore, when many of his disciples heard this, they said, “This teaching is hard. Who can accept[a] it?”
61 Jesus, knowing in himself(A) that his disciples were grumbling about this, asked them, “Does this offend you? 62 Then what if you were to observe the Son of Man(B) ascending(C) to where he was before? 63 The Spirit(D) is the one who gives life. The flesh doesn’t help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life. 64 But there are some among you who don’t believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning(E) those who did not[b] believe and the one who would betray(F) him.) 65 He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me(G) unless it is granted to him by the Father.”
66 From that moment[c] many of his disciples turned back and no longer accompanied him. 67 So Jesus said to the Twelve,(H) “You don’t want to go away too, do you?”
68 Simon Peter(I) answered, “Lord, to whom will we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”[d](J)
70 Jesus replied to them, “Didn’t I choose you, the Twelve?(K) Yet one of you is a devil.”(L) 71 He was referring to Judas,(M) Simon Iscariot’s son,[e] one of the Twelve, because he was going to betray(N) him.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.