Book of Common Prayer

The Eternal Reign of the Lord

A Song of Praise to God Coming in Judgment^(A)

The Happiness of Those Who Trust in God

A Psalm of David ^(A)when he pretended madness before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

Confession of Improper Marriages

10 Now ^(A)while Ezra was praying, and while he was confessing, weeping, and bowing down ^(B)before the house of God, a very large assembly of men, women, and children gathered to him from Israel; for the people wept very ^(C)bitterly. ² And Shechaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, spoke up and said to Ezra, “We have ^(D)trespassed^[a] against our God, and have taken pagan wives from the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope in Israel in spite of this. ³ Now therefore, let us make ^(E)a covenant with our God to put away all these wives and those who have been born to them, according to the advice of my master and of those who ^(F)tremble at ^(G)the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the ^(H)law. ⁴ Arise, for this matter is your responsibility. We also are with you. ^(I)Be of good courage, and do it.”

⁵ Then Ezra arose, and made the leaders of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel ^(J)swear an oath that they would do according to this word. So they swore an oath. ⁶ Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came there, he ^(K)ate no bread and drank no water, for he mourned because of the guilt of those from the captivity.

⁷ And they issued a proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem to all the descendants of the captivity, that they must gather at Jerusalem, ⁸ and that whoever would not come within three days, according to the instructions of the leaders and elders, all his property would be confiscated, and he himself would be separated from the assembly of those from the captivity.

⁹ So all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered at Jerusalem within three days. It was the ninth month, on the twentieth of the month; and ^(L)all the people sat in the open square of the house of God, trembling because of this matter and because of heavy rain. ¹⁰ Then Ezra the priest stood up and said to them, “You have ^[b]transgressed and ^[c]have taken pagan wives, adding to the guilt of Israel. ¹¹ Now therefore, ^(M)make confession to the Lord God of your fathers, and do His will; ^(N)separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the pagan wives.”

¹² Then all the assembly answered and said with a loud voice, “Yes! As you have said, so we must do. ¹³ But there are many people; it is the season for heavy rain, and we are not able to stand outside. Nor is this the work of one or two days, for there are many of us who have transgressed in this matter. ¹⁴ Please, let the leaders of our entire assembly stand; and let all those in our cities who have taken pagan wives come at appointed times, together with the elders and judges of their cities, until ^(O)the fierce wrath of our God is turned away from us in this matter.” ¹⁵ Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahaziah the son of Tikvah opposed this, and ^(P)Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite gave them support.

¹⁶ Then the descendants of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain ^(Q)heads of the fathers’ households, were set apart by the fathers’ households, each of them by name; and they sat down on the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. ¹⁷ By the first day of the first month they finished questioning all the men who had taken pagan wives.

The Defense Before Felix

¹⁰ Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: “Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, ¹¹ because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem ^(A)to worship. ^12 (B)And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³ Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. ¹⁴ But this I confess to you, that according to ^(C)the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the ^(D)God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in ^(E)the Law and in the Prophets. ^15 (F)I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, ^(G)that there will be a resurrection ^[a]of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. ^16 (H)This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.

¹⁷ “Now after many years ^(I)I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, ^18 (J)in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me ^(K)purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. ^19 (L)They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. ²⁰ Or else let those who are here themselves say ^[b]if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, ²¹ unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, ^(M)‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day.’ ”

¹² Then He also said to him who invited Him, “When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. ¹³ But when you give a feast, invite ^(A)the poor, the ^[a]maimed, the lame, the blind. ¹⁴ And you will be ^(B)blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

The Parable of the Great Supper^(C)

¹⁵ Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, ^(D)“Blessed is he who shall eat ^[b]bread in the kingdom of God!”

^16 (E)Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, ¹⁷ and ^(F)sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ ¹⁸ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ ¹⁹ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ ²⁰ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ ²¹ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the ^[c]maimed and the lame and the blind.’ ²² And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ ²³ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. ²⁴ For I say to you ^(G)that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”