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)
Ziba Helps David
16 When David had gone a little beyond the summit,[a] Ziba, Mephibosheth’s servant,(A) was right there to meet him. He had a pair of saddled donkeys loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, one hundred clusters of raisins, one hundred bunches of summer fruit, and a clay jar of wine. 2 The king said to Ziba, “Why do you have these?”
Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride, the bread and summer fruit are for the young men to eat, and the wine is for those to drink who become exhausted in the wilderness.”
3 “Where is your master’s grandson?” the king asked.
“Why, he’s staying in Jerusalem,” Ziba replied to the king, “for he said, ‘Today, the house of Israel will restore my grandfather’s kingdom to me.’”(B)
4 The king said to Ziba, “All that belongs to Mephibosheth is now yours!” (C)
“I bow before you,” Ziba said. “May I find favor with you, my lord the king!”
Shimei Curses David
5 When King David got to Bahurim, a man belonging to the family of the house of Saul was just coming out.(D) His name was Shimei son of Gera,(E) and he was yelling curses as he approached. 6 He threw stones at David and at all the royal[b] servants, the people and the warriors on David’s right and left. 7 Shimei said as he cursed, “Get out, get out, you man of bloodshed, you wicked man!(F) 8 The Lord has paid you back for all the blood of the house of Saul in whose place you became king, and the Lord has handed the kingdom over to your son Absalom. Look, you are in trouble because you’re a man of bloodshed!”
9 Then Abishai son of Zeruiah said to the king, “Why should this dead dog(G) curse my lord the king?(H) Let me go over and remove his head!”
10 The king replied, “Sons of Zeruiah, do we agree on anything?(I) He curses(J) me this way because the Lord[c] told him, ‘Curse David!’ (K) Therefore, who can say, ‘Why did you do that?’” 11 Then David said to Abishai and all his servants, “Look, my own son, my own flesh and blood,[d] intends to take my life(L)—how much more now this Benjaminite! Leave him alone and let him curse me; the Lord has told him to. 12 Perhaps the Lord will see my affliction[e] and restore goodness to me instead of Shimei’s curses today.” 13 So David and his men proceeded along the road as Shimei was going along the ridge of the hill opposite him. As Shimei went, he cursed David, threw stones at him, and kicked up dust. 14 Finally, the king and all the people with him arrived[f] exhausted, so they rested there.
Absalom’s Advisers
15 Now Absalom and all the Israelites came to Jerusalem. Ahithophel was also with him. 16 When David’s friend Hushai the Archite came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” (M)
17 “Is this your loyalty to your friend?” Absalom asked Hushai. “Why didn’t you go with your friend?”
18 “Not at all,” Hushai answered Absalom. “I am on the side of the one that the Lord, this people, and all the men of Israel have chosen. I will stay with him. 19 Furthermore, whom will I serve if not his son? As I served in your father’s presence, I will also serve in yours.”(N)
20 Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me your advice. What should we do?”
21 Ahithophel replied to Absalom, “Sleep with your father’s concubines whom he left to take care of the palace.(O) When all Israel hears that you have become repulsive to your father, everyone with you will be encouraged.”[g] 22 So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.(P)
23 Now the advice Ahithophel gave in those days was like someone asking about a word from God(Q)—such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance(A) 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.(B) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval[a] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’(C)
21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”(D)
Paul’s Roman Protection
22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!” (E)
23 As they were yelling and flinging aside their garments and throwing dust into the air,(F) 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, directing that he be interrogated with the scourge to discover the reason they were shouting against him like this. 25 As they stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing by, “Is it legal for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and is uncondemned?” (G)
26 When the centurion heard this, he went and reported to the commander, saying, “What are you going to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes,” he said.
28 The commander replied, “I bought this citizenship for a large amount of money.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul said.
29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. The commander too was alarmed when he realized Paul was a Roman citizen and he had bound him.(H)
The Triumphal Entry
11 When(A) they approached Jerusalem,(B) at Bethphage and Bethany(C) near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples 2 and told them, “Go into the village ahead of you. As soon as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it. 3 If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it and will send it back here right away.’”
4 So they went and found a colt outside in the street, tied by a door. They untied it, 5 and some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?” 6 They answered them just as Jesus had said; so they let them go.
7 They brought the colt to Jesus and threw their clothes on it, and he sat on it. 8 Many people spread their clothes on the road,(D) and others spread leafy branches cut from the fields.[a] 9 Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted:
Hosanna!
Blessed is he who comes
in the name(E) of the Lord
10 Blessed is the coming kingdom(G)
of our father David!(H)
Hosanna(I) in the highest heaven!
11 He went into Jerusalem(J) and into the temple.(K) After looking around at everything, since it was already late, he went out to Bethany(L) with the Twelve.
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