Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 Lord, I seek refuge in you;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For you are my rock and my fortress;(C)
you lead and guide me
for your name’s sake.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for you are my refuge.(E)
5 Into your hand I entrust my spirit;(F)
you have redeemed me,[a] Lord, God of truth.(G)
6 I[b] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(H)
7 I will rejoice and be glad in your faithful love
because you have seen my affliction.
You know the troubles of my soul(I)
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.(J)
You have set my feet in a spacious place.(K)
9 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;(L)
my eyes are worn out from frustration—
my whole being[c] as well.(M)
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;(N)
my strength has failed
because of my iniquity,[d]
and my bones waste away.(O)
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.(P)
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery.(Q)
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.(R)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.(S)
14 But I trust in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(T)
15 The course of my life is in your power;(U)
rescue me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.(V)
16 Make your face shine on your servant;(W)
save me by your faithful love.(X)
17 Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on you.(Y)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be quiet[e][f] in Sheol.(Z)
18 Let lying lips(AA)
that arrogantly speak against the righteous
in proud contempt be silenced.(AB)
19 How great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you.
In the presence of everyone[g] you have acted
for those who take refuge in you.(AC)
20 You hide them in the protection of your presence;(AD)
you conceal them in a shelter
from human schemes,
from quarrelsome tongues.(AE)
21 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his faithful love to me
in a city under siege.(AF)
22 In my alarm I said,
“I am cut off from your sight.”(AG)
But you heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to you for help.(AH)
Psalm 35
Prayer for Victory
Of David.
1 Oppose my opponents, Lord;
fight those who fight me.(A)
2 Take your shields—large and small—
and come to my aid.(B)
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me, “I am your deliverance.”(C)
4 Let those who intend to take my life
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.(D)
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away.(E)
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.(F)
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.(G)
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his ruin.(H)
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will delight in his deliverance.(I)
10 All my bones will say,
“Lord, who is like you,(J)
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him?” (K)
11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.(L)
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.(M)
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.[a](N)
14 I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning for a mother.(O)
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.(P)
16 With godless mockery[b]
they gnashed their teeth at me.(Q)
17 Lord, how long will you look on?(R)
Rescue me from their ravages;
rescue my precious life from the young lions.(S)
18 I will praise you in the great assembly;
I will exalt you among many people.(T)
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause(U)
wink at me maliciously.(V)
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive fraudulent schemes[c]
against those who live peacefully in the land.(W)
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it!” [d](X)
22 You saw it, Lord; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.(Y)
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!(Z)
24 Vindicate me, Lord my God,
in keeping with your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.(AA)
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up!” (AB)
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.(AC)
26 Now Solomon’s servant,(A) Jeroboam son of Nebat, was an Ephraimite from Zeredah. His widowed mother’s name was Zeruah. Jeroboam rebelled(B) against Solomon, 27 and this is the reason he rebelled against the king: Solomon had built the supporting terraces(C) and repaired the opening in the wall of the city of his father David. 28 Now the man Jeroboam was capable, and Solomon noticed the young man because he was getting things done. So he appointed him over the entire labor force of the house of Joseph.(D)
29 During that time, the prophet Ahijah the Shilonite(E) met Jeroboam on the road as Jeroboam came out of Jerusalem. Now Ahijah had wrapped himself with a new cloak, and the two of them were alone in the open field. 30 Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak he had on, tore it into twelve pieces,(F) 31 and said to Jeroboam, “Take ten pieces for yourself, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I am about to tear the kingdom out of Solomon’s hand. I will give you ten tribes, 32 but one tribe will remain his for the sake of my servant David(G) and for the sake of Jerusalem, the city I chose out of all the tribes of Israel.(H) 33 For they have abandoned me; they have bowed down to Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, to Chemosh, the god of Moab, and to Milcom, the god of the Ammonites.(I) They have not walked in my ways to do what is right in my sight and to carry out my statutes and my judgments as his father David did.(J)
34 “‘However, I will not take the whole kingdom from him but will let him be ruler all the days of his life for the sake of my servant David, whom I chose and who kept my commands and my statutes. 35 I will take ten tribes of the kingdom from his son and give them to you. 36 I will give one tribe(K) to his son,(L) so that my servant David will always have a lamp[a] before me(M) in Jerusalem, the city I chose for myself to put my name there.(N) 37 I will appoint you,(O) and you will reign as king(P) over all you want,(Q) and you will be king over Israel.
38 “‘After that, if you obey all I command you, walk in my ways, and do what is right in my sight in order to keep my statutes and my commands as my servant David did, I will be with you.(R) I will build you a lasting dynasty just as I built for David,(S) and I will give you Israel. 39 I will humble David’s descendants, because of their unfaithfulness, but not forever.’”[b](T)
40 Therefore, Solomon tried to kill Jeroboam,(U) but he fled to Egypt,(V) to King Shishak of Egypt,(W) where he remained until Solomon’s death.
Solomon’s Death
41 The rest of the events of Solomon’s reign, along with all his accomplishments and his wisdom, are written in the Book of Solomon’s Events.(X) 42 The length of Solomon’s reign in Jerusalem over all Israel totaled forty years.(Y) 43 Solomon rested with his ancestors and was buried in the city of his father David. His son Rehoboam(Z) became king in his place.(AA)
Our Will and God’s Will
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”(A) 14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.(B)
15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 But as it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.(C) 17 So it is sin to know the good and yet not do it.(D)
Warning to the Rich
5 Come now, you rich(E) people, weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your wealth has rotted and your clothes are moth-eaten.(F) 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have stored up treasure in the last days.(G) 4 Look! The pay that you withheld from the workers(H) who mowed your fields cries out, and the outcry of the harvesters has reached the ears of the Lord of Armies.(I) 5 You have lived luxuriously on the earth and have indulged yourselves. You have fattened your hearts(J) in a day of slaughter.(K) 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the righteous, who does not resist you.(L)
22 They(A) brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of the Skull(B)). 23 They tried to give him wine(C) mixed with myrrh,(D) but he did not take it.
24 Then they crucified him and divided his clothes, casting lots(E) for them to decide what each would get. 25 Now it was nine in the morning[a] when they crucified him. 26 The inscription of the charge written against him was: The King(F) of the Jews.(G) 27 They(H) crucified two criminals[b](I) with him, one on his right and one on his left.[c]
29 Those(J) who passed by were yelling insults(K) at[d] him, shaking their heads,(L) and saying, “Ha! The one who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,(M) 30 save yourself by coming down from the cross!”(N) 31 In the same way, the chief priests with the scribes(O) were mocking him among themselves and saying, “He saved others, but he cannot save himself! 32 Let the Messiah,(P) the King(Q) of Israel,(R) come down now from the cross,(S) so that we may see and believe.”(T) Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.
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