Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 37
Instruction in Wisdom
Of David.
1 Do not be agitated by evildoers;
do not envy those who do wrong.(A)
2 For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.(B)
3 Trust in the Lord and do what is good;(C)
dwell in the land and live securely.[a](D)
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.(E)
5 Commit your way to the Lord;
trust in him, and he will act,(F)
6 making your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like the noonday.(G)
7 Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him;(H)
do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,
by the person who carries out evil plans.(I)
8 Refrain from anger and give up your rage;
do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.(J)
9 For evildoers will be destroyed,
but those who put their hope in the Lord
will inherit the land.(K)
10 A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;
though you look for him, he will not be there.(L)
11 But the humble will inherit the land(M)
and will enjoy abundant prosperity.(N)
12 The wicked person schemes against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him.(O)
13 The Lord laughs at him(P)
because he sees that his day is coming.(Q)
14 The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the[b] bow
to bring down the poor and needy
and to slaughter those whose way is upright.(R)
15 Their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.(S)
16 The little that the righteous person has is better
than the abundance of many wicked people.(T)
17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken,(U)
but the Lord supports the righteous.(V)
18 The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,
and their inheritance will last forever.(W)
19 They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.(X)
20 But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.(Y)
21 The wicked person borrows and does not repay,
but the righteous one is gracious and giving.(Z)
22 Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be destroyed.(AA)
23 A person’s steps are established by the Lord,
and he takes pleasure in his way.(AB)
24 Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.(AC)
25 I have been young and now I am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned
or his children begging for bread.(AD)
26 He is always generous, always lending,
and his children are a blessing.(AE)
27 Turn away from evil, do what is good,
and settle permanently.(AF)
28 For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful ones.(AG)
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.(AH)
29 The righteous will inherit the land
and dwell in it permanently.(AI)
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;
his tongue speaks what is just.(AJ)
31 The instruction of his God is in his heart;
his steps do not falter.(AK)
32 The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous
and intends to kill him;(AL)
33 the Lord will not leave him
in the power of the wicked one
or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.(AM)
34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land.
You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.(AN)
35 I have seen a wicked, violent person
well-rooted,[c] like a flourishing native tree.(AO)
36 Then I[d] passed by and noticed he was gone;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.(AP)
24 So David hid in the countryside.
At the New Moon, the king sat down to eat the meal. 25 He sat at his usual place on the seat by the wall. Jonathan sat facing him[a] and Abner took his place beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.(A) 26 Saul did not say anything that day because he thought, “Something unexpected has happened; he must be ceremonially unclean—yes, that’s it, he is unclean.”(B)
27 However, the day after the New Moon, the second day, David’s place was still empty, and Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why didn’t Jesse’s son come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
28 Jonathan answered, “David asked for my permission to go to Bethlehem.(C) 29 He said, ‘Please let me go because our clan is holding a sacrifice in the town, and my brother has told me to be there. So now, if I have found favor with you, let me go so I can see my brothers.’ That’s why he didn’t come to the king’s table.”
30 Then Saul became angry with Jonathan and shouted, “You son of a perverse and rebellious woman! Don’t I know that you are siding with Jesse’s son to your own shame and to the disgrace of your mother?[b] 31 Every day Jesse’s son lives on earth you and your kingship are not secure. Now send for him and bring him to me—he must die!” (D)
32 Jonathan answered his father back, “Why is he to be killed? What has he done?” (E)
33 Then Saul threw his spear at Jonathan to kill him,(F) so he knew that his father was determined to kill David.(G) 34 He got up from the table fiercely angry and did not eat any food that second day of the New Moon, for he was grieved because of his father’s shameful behavior toward David.
35 In the morning Jonathan went out to the countryside for the appointed meeting with David. A young servant was with him. 36 He said to the servant, “Run and find the arrows I’m shooting.”(H) As the servant ran, Jonathan shot an arrow beyond him. 37 He came to the location of the arrow that Jonathan had shot, but Jonathan called to him and said, “The arrow is beyond you, isn’t it?” (I) 38 Then Jonathan called to him, “Hurry up and don’t stop!” Jonathan’s servant picked up the arrow and returned to his master. 39 He did not know anything; only Jonathan and David knew the arrangement. 40 Then Jonathan gave his equipment to the servant who was with him and said, “Go, take it back to the city.”
41 When the servant had gone, David got up from the south side of the stone Ezel, fell facedown to the ground, and paid homage three times.(J) Then he and Jonathan kissed each other and wept with each other, though David wept more.(K)
42 Jonathan then said to David, “Go in the assurance the two of us pledged in the name of the Lord when we said, ‘The Lord will be a witness between you and me and between my offspring and your offspring forever.’”(L) Then David left, and Jonathan went into the city.
Preparing for the Mission Field
13 Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, a close friend of Herod the tetrarch,(A) and Saul.
2 As they were worshiping[a] the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”(B) 3 Then after they had fasted, prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them off.(C)
The Mission to Cyprus
4 So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their assistant.(D) 6 When they had traveled the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.(E) 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and wanted to hear the word of God.(F) 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (that is the meaning of his name) opposed(G) them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.(H)
9 But Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at Elymas 10 and said, “You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, you son of the devil(I) and enemy of all that is right. Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths(J) of the Lord? 11 Now, look, the Lord’s hand is against you.(K) You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Immediately a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12 Then, when he saw what happened, the proconsul believed, because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.(L)
Lord of the Sabbath
23 On(A) the Sabbath he was going through the grainfields, and his disciples(B) began to make their way, picking some heads of grain. 24 The Pharisees(C) said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is not lawful(D) on the Sabbath?”
25 He said to them, “Have you never read what David(E) and those who were with him did when he was in need(F) and hungry(G) — 26 how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar(H) the high priest(I) and ate the bread of the Presence(J) —which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests(K) —and also gave some to his companions?” 27 Then he told them, “The Sabbath was made for[a] man and not man for the Sabbath.(L) 28 So then, the Son of Man(M) is Lord(N) even of the Sabbath.”(O)
3 Jesus(P) entered the synagogue(Q) again, and a man was there who had a shriveled(R) hand. 2 In order to accuse(S) him, they were watching him closely(T) to see whether he would heal(U) him on the Sabbath.(V) 3 He told the man with the shriveled hand, “Stand before us.” 4 Then he said to them, “Is it lawful(W) to do good(X) on the Sabbath or to do evil,(Y) to save life(Z) or to kill?”(AA) But they were silent.(AB) 5 After looking around at them with anger,(AC) he was grieved at the hardness(AD) of their hearts and told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.(AE) 6 Immediately the Pharisees(AF) went out and started plotting(AG) with the Herodians(AH) against him, how they might kill(AI) him.
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