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)
15 Now the day before Saul’s arrival, the Lord had informed Samuel,(A) 16 “At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin. Anoint him ruler over my people Israel.(B) He will save them from the Philistines because I have seen the affliction of my people,(C) for their cry has come to me.” 17 When Samuel saw Saul, the Lord told him, “Here is the man I told you about;(D) he will govern my people.”
18 Saul approached Samuel in the city gate and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
19 “I am the seer,” Samuel answered.[a] “Go up ahead of me to the high place and eat with me today. When I send you off in the morning, I’ll tell you everything that’s in your heart. 20 As for the donkeys that wandered away from you three days ago,(E) don’t worry about them because they’ve been found. And who does all Israel desire(F) but you and all your father’s family?”
21 Saul responded, “Am I not a Benjaminite(G) from the smallest of Israel’s tribes and isn’t my clan the least important of all the clans of the Benjaminite tribe?(H) So why have you said something like this to me?”
22 Samuel took Saul and his servant, brought them to the banquet hall, and gave them a place at the head of the thirty[b] or so men who had been invited. 23 Then Samuel said to the cook, “Get the portion of meat that I gave you and told you to set aside.”
24 The cook picked up the thigh(I) and what was attached to it and set it before Saul. Then Samuel said, “Notice that the reserved piece is set before you. Eat it because it was saved for you for this solemn event at the time I said, ‘I’ve invited the people.’” So Saul ate with Samuel that day. 25 Afterward, they went down from the high place to the city, and Samuel spoke with Saul on the roof.[c](J)
26 They got up early, and just before dawn, Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get up, and I’ll send you on your way!” Saul got up, and both he and Samuel went outside. 27 As they were going down to the edge of the city, Samuel said to Saul, “Tell the servant to go on ahead of us, but you stay for a while, and I’ll reveal the word of God to you.” So the servant went on.
10 Samuel took the flask of oil,(K) poured it out on Saul’s head,(L) kissed him, and said, “Hasn’t the Lord anointed you(M) ruler over his inheritance?[d](N)
30 After forty years had passed, an angel[a] appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he was approaching to look at it, the voice of the Lord came: 32 I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.[b](A) Moses began to tremble and did not dare to look.
33 “The Lord said to him: Take off the sandals from your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt; I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. And now, come, I will send you to Egypt.[c](B)
35 “This Moses, whom they rejected when they said, Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?[d]—this one God sent as a ruler and a deliverer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.(C) 36 This man led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt,(D) at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.(E)
Israel’s Rebellion against God
37 “This is the Moses who said to the Israelites: God[e] will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your brothers.[f](F) 38 He is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors.(G) He received living oracles to give to us.(H) 39 Our ancestors were unwilling to obey him. Instead, they pushed him aside, and in their hearts turned back to Egypt.(I) 40 They told Aaron: Make us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who brought us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what’s happened to him.[g](J) 41 They even made a calf in those days, offered sacrifice to the idol, and were celebrating what their hands had made.(K) 42 God turned away(L) and gave them up to worship(M) the stars of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:
The Prayer in the Garden
39 He went out and made his way(A) as usual(B) to the Mount of Olives,(C) and the disciples followed him. 40 When he reached the place,(D) he told them, “Pray that you may not fall into temptation.”(E) 41 Then he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, knelt down, and began to pray,(F) 42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup(G) away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
43 Then an angel from heaven(H) appeared to him, strengthening him. 44 Being in anguish,(I) he prayed more fervently, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground.[a] 45 When he got up from prayer and came to the disciples, he found them sleeping, exhausted from their grief. 46 “Why are you sleeping?” he asked them. “Get up and pray, so that you won’t fall into temptation.”
Judas’s Betrayal of Jesus
47 While(J) he was still speaking, suddenly a mob came, and one of the Twelve named Judas was leading them. He came near Jesus to kiss him, 48 but Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”
49 When those around him saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Lord, should we strike with the sword?” 50 Then one of them struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear.
51 But Jesus responded, “No more of this!” And touching his ear, he healed him.
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