Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 131
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud,(A) Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;(B)
I do not concern myself with great matters(C)
or things too wonderful for me.(D)
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,(E)
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.(F)
Psalm 132(I)
A song of ascents.
1 Lord, remember David
and all his self-denial.(J)
2 He swore an oath to the Lord,
he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob:(K)
3 “I will not enter my house(L)
or go to my bed,
4 I will allow no sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5 till I find a place(M) for the Lord,
a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 We heard it in Ephrathah,(N)
we came upon it in the fields of Jaar:[a](O)
7 “Let us go to his dwelling place,(P)
let us worship at his footstool,(Q) saying,
8 ‘Arise, Lord,(R) and come to your resting place,
you and the ark of your might.
9 May your priests be clothed with your righteousness;(S)
may your faithful people(T) sing for joy.’”
10 For the sake of your servant David,
do not reject your anointed one.
11 The Lord swore an oath to David,(U)
a sure oath he will not revoke:
“One of your own descendants(V)
I will place on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant(W)
and the statutes I teach them,
then their sons will sit
on your throne(X) for ever and ever.”
13 For the Lord has chosen Zion,(Y)
he has desired it for his dwelling,(Z) saying,
14 “This is my resting place for ever and ever;(AA)
here I will sit enthroned,(AB) for I have desired it.
15 I will bless her with abundant provisions;
her poor I will satisfy with food.(AC)
16 I will clothe her priests(AD) with salvation,
and her faithful people will ever sing for joy.(AE)
17 “Here I will make a horn[b] grow(AF) for David
and set up a lamp(AG) for my anointed one.(AH)
18 I will clothe his enemies with shame,(AI)
but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.”(AJ)
Psalm 133
A song of ascents. Of David.
2 It is like precious oil poured on the head,(AM)
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
3 It is as if the dew(AN) of Hermon(AO)
were falling on Mount Zion.(AP)
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,(AQ)
even life forevermore.(AR)
Psalm 134
A song of ascents.
1 Praise the Lord, all you servants(AS) of the Lord
who minister(AT) by night(AU) in the house of the Lord.
2 Lift up your hands(AV) in the sanctuary(AW)
and praise the Lord.(AX)
Psalm 135(BA)
1 Praise the Lord.[c]
Praise the name of the Lord;
praise him, you servants(BB) of the Lord,
2 you who minister in the house(BC) of the Lord,
in the courts(BD) of the house of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;(BE)
sing praise to his name,(BF) for that is pleasant.(BG)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob(BH) to be his own,
Israel to be his treasured possession.(BI)
5 I know that the Lord is great,(BJ)
that our Lord is greater than all gods.(BK)
6 The Lord does whatever pleases him,(BL)
in the heavens and on the earth,(BM)
in the seas and all their depths.
7 He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
he sends lightning with the rain(BN)
and brings out the wind(BO) from his storehouses.(BP)
8 He struck down the firstborn(BQ) of Egypt,
the firstborn of people and animals.
9 He sent his signs(BR) and wonders into your midst, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.(BS)
10 He struck down many(BT) nations
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon(BU) king of the Amorites,(BV)
Og king of Bashan,(BW)
and all the kings of Canaan(BX)—
12 and he gave their land as an inheritance,(BY)
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 Your name, Lord, endures forever,(BZ)
your renown,(CA) Lord, through all generations.
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people(CB)
and have compassion on his servants.(CC)
15 The idols of the nations(CD) are silver and gold,
made by human hands.(CE)
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,(CF)
eyes, but cannot see.
17 They have ears, but cannot hear,
nor is there breath(CG) in their mouths.
18 Those who make them will be like them,
and so will all who trust in them.
19 All you Israelites, praise the Lord;(CH)
house of Aaron, praise the Lord;
20 house of Levi, praise the Lord;
you who fear him, praise the Lord.
21 Praise be to the Lord from Zion,(CI)
to him who dwells in Jerusalem.(CJ)
Praise the Lord.
Leaders and Prophets Rebuked
3 Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders(A) of Jacob,
you rulers of Israel.
Should you not embrace justice,
2 you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people
and the flesh from their bones;(B)
3 who eat my people’s flesh,(C)
strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces;(D)
who chop(E) them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?(F)”
4 Then they will cry out to the Lord,
but he will not answer them.(G)
At that time he will hide his face(H) from them
because of the evil they have done.(I)
5 This is what the Lord says:
“As for the prophets
who lead my people astray,(J)
they proclaim ‘peace’(K)
if they have something to eat,
but prepare to wage war against anyone
who refuses to feed them.
6 Therefore night will come over you, without visions,
and darkness, without divination.(L)
The sun will set for the prophets,(M)
and the day will go dark for them.(N)
7 The seers will be ashamed(O)
and the diviners disgraced.(P)
They will all cover(Q) their faces(R)
because there is no answer from God.(S)”
8 But as for me, I am filled with power,
with the Spirit of the Lord,
and with justice and might,
to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.(T)
Paul’s Trial Before Felix
24 Five days later the high priest Ananias(A) went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges(B) against Paul before the governor.(C) 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. 3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent(D) Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.
5 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots(E) among the Jews(F) all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene(G) sect(H) 6 and even tried to desecrate the temple;(I) so we seized him. [7] [a] 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”
9 The other Jews joined in the accusation,(J) asserting that these things were true.
10 When the governor(K) motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. 11 You can easily verify that no more than twelve days(L) ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 12 My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple,(M) or stirring up a crowd(N) in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city. 13 And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.(O) 14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our ancestors(P) as a follower of the Way,(Q) which they call a sect.(R) I believe everything that is in accordance with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,(S) 15 and I have the same hope in God as these men themselves have, that there will be a resurrection(T) of both the righteous and the wicked.(U) 16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear(V) before God and man.
17 “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor(W) and to present offerings. 18 I was ceremonially clean(X) when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.(Y) 19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia,(Z) who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.(AA) 20 Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin— 21 unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.’”(AB)
22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way,(AC) adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.” 23 He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard(AD) but to give him some freedom(AE) and permit his friends to take care of his needs.(AF)
Jesus Anointed by a Sinful Woman(A)(B)
36 When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. 37 A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 38 As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
39 When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet,(C) he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”
40 Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”
“Tell me, teacher,” he said.
41 “Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii,[a] and the other fifty. 42 Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
43 Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
44 Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet,(D) but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You did not give me a kiss,(E) but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. 46 You did not put oil on my head,(F) but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
48 Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”(G)
49 The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?”
50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you;(H) go in peace.”(I)
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