Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 5[a]
For the director of music. For pipes. A psalm of David.
1 Listen(A) to my words, Lord,
consider my lament.(B)
2 Hear my cry for help,(C)
my King and my God,(D)
for to you I pray.
3 In the morning,(E) Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly.(F)
4 For you are not a God who is pleased with wickedness;
with you, evil people(G) are not welcome.
5 The arrogant(H) cannot stand(I)
in your presence.
You hate(J) all who do wrong;
6 you destroy those who tell lies.(K)
The bloodthirsty and deceitful
you, Lord, detest.
7 But I, by your great love,
can come into your house;
in reverence(L) I bow down(M)
toward your holy temple.(N)
8 Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness(O)
because of my enemies—
make your way straight(P) before me.
9 Not a word from their mouth can be trusted;
their heart is filled with malice.
Their throat is an open grave;(Q)
with their tongues they tell lies.(R)
10 Declare them guilty, O God!
Let their intrigues be their downfall.
Banish them for their many sins,(S)
for they have rebelled(T) against you.
11 But let all who take refuge in you be glad;
let them ever sing for joy.(U)
Spread your protection over them,
that those who love your name(V) may rejoice in you.(W)
12 Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous;(X)
you surround them(Y) with your favor as with a shield.(Z)
Psalm 6[b]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. According to sheminith.[c] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger(AA)
or discipline me in your wrath.
2 Have mercy on me,(AB) Lord, for I am faint;(AC)
heal me,(AD) Lord, for my bones are in agony.(AE)
3 My soul is in deep anguish.(AF)
How long,(AG) Lord, how long?
4 Turn,(AH) Lord, and deliver me;
save me because of your unfailing love.(AI)
5 Among the dead no one proclaims your name.
Who praises you from the grave?(AJ)
Psalm 10[a]
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,(C)
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boasts(D) about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.(E)
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.(F)
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”(G)
7 His mouth is full(H) of lies and threats;(I)
trouble and evil are under his tongue.(J)
8 He lies in wait(K) near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.(L)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;(M)
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.(N)
10 His victims are crushed,(O) they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;(P)
he covers his face and never sees.”(Q)
12 Arise,(R) Lord! Lift up your hand,(S) O God.
Do not forget the helpless.(T)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?(U)
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?(V)
14 But you, God, see the trouble(W) of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;(X)
you are the helper(Y) of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;(Z)
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(AA)
the nations(AB) will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;(AC)
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,(AD)
18 defending the fatherless(AE) and the oppressed,(AF)
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
Psalm 11
For the director of music. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge.(AG)
How then can you say to me:
“Flee(AH) like a bird to your mountain.(AI)
2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;(AJ)
they set their arrows(AK) against the strings
to shoot from the shadows(AL)
at the upright in heart.(AM)
3 When the foundations(AN) are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;(AO)
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.(AP)
He observes everyone on earth;(AQ)
his eyes examine(AR) them.
5 The Lord examines the righteous,(AS)
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.(AT)
6 On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;(AU)
a scorching wind(AV) will be their lot.
Towns for the Levites
35 On the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho,(A) the Lord said to Moses, 2 “Command the Israelites to give the Levites towns to live in(B) from the inheritance the Israelites will possess. And give them pasturelands(C) around the towns. 3 Then they will have towns to live in and pasturelands for the cattle they own and all their other animals.(D)
9 Then the Lord said to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into Canaan,(A) 11 select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone(B) accidentally(C) may flee. 12 They will be places of refuge from the avenger,(D) so that anyone accused of murder(E) may not die before they stand trial before the assembly.(F) 13 These six towns you give will be your cities of refuge.(G) 14 Give three on this side of the Jordan and three in Canaan as cities of refuge. 15 These six towns will be a place of refuge for Israelites and for foreigners residing among them, so that anyone who has killed another accidentally can flee there.
30 “‘Anyone who kills a person is to be put to death as a murderer only on the testimony of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.(A)
31 “‘Do not accept a ransom(B) for the life of a murderer, who deserves to die. They are to be put to death.
32 “‘Do not accept a ransom for anyone who has fled to a city of refuge and so allow them to go back and live on their own land before the death of the high priest.
33 “‘Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land,(C) and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. 34 Do not defile the land(D) where you live and where I dwell,(E) for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites.’”
More Than Conquerors
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things?(A) If God is for us,(B) who can be against us?(C) 32 He who did not spare his own Son,(D) but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge(E) against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns?(F) No one. Christ Jesus who died(G)—more than that, who was raised to life(H)—is at the right hand of God(I) and is also interceding for us.(J) 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?(K) Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?(L) 36 As it is written:
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors(N) through him who loved us.(O) 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither the present nor the future,(P) nor any powers,(Q) 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God(R) that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.(S)
Seven Woes on the Teachers of the Law and the Pharisees
13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites!(A) You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.(B) [14] [a]
15 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert,(C) and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell(D) as you are.
16 “Woe to you, blind guides!(E) You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gold of the temple is bound by that oath.’(F) 17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?(G) 18 You also say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but anyone who swears by the gift on the altar is bound by that oath.’ 19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?(H) 20 Therefore, anyone who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. 21 And anyone who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells(I) in it. 22 And anyone who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.(J)
23 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth(K) of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness.(L) You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides!(M) You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish,(N) but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.(O) 26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
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