Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 88[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter(A) of the Most High
will rest in the shadow(B) of the Almighty.[a]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge(C) and my fortress,(D)
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare(E)
and from the deadly pestilence.(F)
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;(G)
his faithfulness will be your shield(H) and rampart.
5 You will not fear(I) the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.(J)
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm(K) will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels(L) concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;(M)
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(N)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.(O)
14 “Because he[b] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.(P)
16 With long life(Q) I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.(R)”
Psalm 92[c]
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to praise the Lord
and make music(S) to your name,(T) O Most High,(U)
2 proclaiming your love in the morning(V)
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(W)
and the melody of the harp.(X)
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy(Y) at what your hands have done.(Z)
5 How great are your works,(AA) Lord,
how profound your thoughts!(AB)
6 Senseless people(AC) do not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.(AD)
8 But you, Lord, are forever exalted.
9 For surely your enemies(AE), Lord,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.(AF)
10 You have exalted my horn[d](AG) like that of a wild ox;(AH)
fine oils(AI) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(AJ)
12 The righteous will flourish(AK) like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(AL)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.(AM)
14 They will still bear fruit(AN) in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(AO)”
The King’s Edict in Behalf of the Jews
8 That same day King Xerxes gave Queen Esther the estate of Haman,(A) the enemy of the Jews. And Mordecai came into the presence of the king, for Esther had told how he was related to her. 2 The king took off his signet ring,(B) which he had reclaimed from Haman, and presented it to Mordecai. And Esther appointed him over Haman’s estate.(C)
3 Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite,(D) which he had devised against the Jews. 4 Then the king extended the gold scepter(E) to Esther and she arose and stood before him.
5 “If it pleases the king,” she said, “and if he regards me with favor(F) and thinks it the right thing to do, and if he is pleased with me, let an order be written overruling the dispatches that Haman son of Hammedatha, the Agagite, devised and wrote to destroy the Jews in all the king’s provinces. 6 For how can I bear to see disaster fall on my people? How can I bear to see the destruction of my family?”(G)
7 King Xerxes replied to Queen Esther and to Mordecai the Jew, “Because Haman attacked the Jews, I have given his estate to Esther, and they have impaled(H) him on the pole he set up. 8 Now write another decree(I) in the king’s name in behalf of the Jews as seems best to you, and seal(J) it with the king’s signet ring(K)—for no document written in the king’s name and sealed with his ring can be revoked.”(L)
The Triumph of the Jews
15 When Mordecai(A) left the king’s presence, he was wearing royal garments of blue and white, a large crown of gold(B) and a purple robe of fine linen.(C) And the city of Susa held a joyous celebration.(D) 16 For the Jews it was a time of happiness and joy,(E) gladness and honor.(F) 17 In every province and in every city to which the edict of the king came, there was joy(G) and gladness among the Jews, with feasting and celebrating. And many people of other nationalities became Jews because fear(H) of the Jews had seized them.(I)
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided[a] to go to Jerusalem,(A) passing through Macedonia(B) and Achaia.(C) “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”(D) 22 He sent two of his helpers,(E) Timothy(F) and Erastus,(G) to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia(H) a little longer.
The Riot in Ephesus
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.(I) 24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. 25 He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.(J) 26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus(K) and in practically the whole province of Asia.(L) He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.(M) 27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”(N) 29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius(O) and Aristarchus,(P) Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia,(Q) and all of them rushed into the theater together. 30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples(R) would not let him. 31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another.(S) Most of the people did not even know why they were there. 33 The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned(T) for silence in order to make a defense before the people. 34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”(U)
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians,(V) doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. 37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples(W) nor blasphemed our goddess. 38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen(X) have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls.(Y) They can press charges. 39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. 40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” 41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Jesus Drives Out an Impure Spirit(A)
31 Then he went down to Capernaum,(B) a town in Galilee, and on the Sabbath he taught the people. 32 They were amazed at his teaching,(C) because his words had authority.(D)
33 In the synagogue there was a man possessed by a demon, an impure spirit. He cried out at the top of his voice, 34 “Go away! What do you want with us,(E) Jesus of Nazareth?(F) Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are(G)—the Holy One of God!”(H)
35 “Be quiet!” Jesus said sternly.(I) “Come out of him!” Then the demon threw the man down before them all and came out without injuring him.
36 All the people were amazed(J) and said to each other, “What words these are! With authority(K) and power he gives orders to impure spirits and they come out!” 37 And the news about him spread throughout the surrounding area.(L)
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