Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 101
Of David. A psalm.
1 I will sing of your love(A) and justice;
to you, Lord, I will sing praise.
2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life(B)—
when will you come to me?
I will conduct the affairs(C) of my house
with a blameless heart.
3 I will not look with approval
on anything that is vile.(D)
I hate what faithless people do;(E)
I will have no part in it.
4 The perverse of heart(F) shall be far from me;
I will have nothing to do with what is evil.
5 Whoever slanders their neighbor(G) in secret,
I will put to silence;
whoever has haughty eyes(H) and a proud heart,
I will not tolerate.
6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that they may dwell with me;
the one whose walk is blameless(I)
will minister to me.
7 No one who practices deceit
will dwell in my house;
no one who speaks falsely
will stand in my presence.
Psalm 109
For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
1 My God, whom I praise,(A)
do not remain silent,(B)
2 for people who are wicked and deceitful(C)
have opened their mouths against me;
they have spoken against me with lying tongues.(D)
3 With words of hatred(E) they surround me;
they attack me without cause.(F)
4 In return for my friendship they accuse me,
but I am a man of prayer.(G)
5 They repay me evil for good,(H)
and hatred for my friendship.
6 Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
let an accuser(I) stand at his right hand.
7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty,(J)
and may his prayers condemn(K) him.
8 May his days be few;(L)
may another take his place(M) of leadership.
9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.(N)
10 May his children be wandering beggars;(O)
may they be driven[a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor(P) seize all he has;
may strangers plunder(Q) the fruits of his labor.(R)
12 May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity(S) on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,(T)
their names blotted out(U) from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers(V) be remembered before the Lord;
may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before(W) the Lord,
that he may blot out their name(X) from the earth.
16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
but hounded to death the poor
and the needy(Y) and the brokenhearted.(Z)
17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
may it come back on him.(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing(AB) as his garment;
it entered into his body like water,(AC)
into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped(AD) about him,
like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the Lord’s payment(AE) to my accusers,
to those who speak evil(AF) of me.
21 But you, Sovereign Lord,
help me for your name’s sake;(AG)
out of the goodness of your love,(AH) deliver me.(AI)
22 For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;(AJ)
I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give(AK) way from fasting;(AL)
my body is thin and gaunt.(AM)
25 I am an object of scorn(AN) to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.(AO)
26 Help me,(AP) Lord my God;
save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know(AQ) that it is your hand,
that you, Lord, have done it.
28 While they curse,(AR) may you bless;
may those who attack me be put to shame,
but may your servant rejoice.(AS)
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
and wrapped in shame(AT) as in a cloak.
30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
in the great throng(AU) of worshipers I will praise him.
ע Ayin
121 I have done what is righteous and just;(A)
do not leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure your servant’s well-being;(B)
do not let the arrogant oppress me.(C)
123 My eyes fail,(D) looking for your salvation,(E)
looking for your righteous promise.(F)
124 Deal with your servant according to your love(G)
and teach me your decrees.(H)
125 I am your servant;(I) give me discernment
that I may understand your statutes.(J)
126 It is time for you to act, Lord;
your law is being broken.(K)
127 Because I love your commands(L)
more than gold,(M) more than pure gold,(N)
128 and because I consider all your precepts right,(O)
I hate every wrong path.(P)
פ Pe
129 Your statutes are wonderful;(Q)
therefore I obey them.(R)
130 The unfolding of your words gives light;(S)
it gives understanding to the simple.(T)
131 I open my mouth and pant,(U)
longing for your commands.(V)
132 Turn to me(W) and have mercy(X) on me,
as you always do to those who love your name.(Y)
133 Direct my footsteps according to your word;(Z)
let no sin rule(AA) over me.
134 Redeem me from human oppression,(AB)
that I may obey your precepts.(AC)
135 Make your face shine(AD) on your servant
and teach me your decrees.(AE)
136 Streams of tears(AF) flow from my eyes,
for your law is not obeyed.(AG)
צ Tsadhe
137 You are righteous,(AH) Lord,
and your laws are right.(AI)
138 The statutes you have laid down are righteous;(AJ)
they are fully trustworthy.(AK)
139 My zeal wears me out,(AL)
for my enemies ignore your words.
140 Your promises(AM) have been thoroughly tested,(AN)
and your servant loves them.(AO)
141 Though I am lowly and despised,(AP)
I do not forget your precepts.(AQ)
142 Your righteousness is everlasting
and your law is true.(AR)
143 Trouble and distress have come upon me,
but your commands give me delight.(AS)
144 Your statutes are always righteous;
give me understanding(AT) that I may live.
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat(A) for you.”
16 The angel of the Lord replied, “Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,(B) offer it to the Lord.” (Manoah did not realize(C) that it was the angel of the Lord.)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord, “What is your name,(D) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?”
18 He replied, “Why do you ask my name?(E) It is beyond understanding.[a]” 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock(F) to the Lord. And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame(G) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.(H) 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized(I) that it was the angel of the Lord.
22 “We are doomed(J) to die!” he said to his wife. “We have seen(K) God!”
23 But his wife answered, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this.”(L)
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.(M) He grew(N) and the Lord blessed him,(O)
The Choosing of the Seven
6 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing,(A) the Hellenistic Jews[a](B) among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows(C) were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.(D) 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples(E) together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God(F) in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters,(G) choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit(H) and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them(I) 4 and will give our attention to prayer(J) and the ministry of the word.”
5 This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen,(K) a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit;(L) also Philip,(M) Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. 6 They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed(N) and laid their hands on them.(O)
7 So the word of God spread.(P) The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly,(Q) and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Stephen Seized
8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs(R) among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called)—Jews of Cyrene(S) and Alexandria as well as the provinces of Cilicia(T) and Asia(U)—who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke.(V)
11 Then they secretly(W) persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”(X)
12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin.(Y) 13 They produced false witnesses,(Z) who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place(AA) and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place(AB) and change the customs Moses handed down to us.”(AC)
15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin(AD) looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.
Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman
4 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John(A)— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea(B) and went back once more to Galilee.
4 Now he had to go through Samaria.(C) 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.(D) 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?”(E) 8 (His disciples had gone into the town(F) to buy food.)
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan(G) woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.[a])
10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”(H)
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well(I) and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?”
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.(J) Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water(K) welling up to eternal life.”(L)
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty(M) and have to keep coming here to draw water.”
16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.”
17 “I have no husband,” she replied.
Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.”
19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet.(N) 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,(O) but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.”(P)
21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming(Q) when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.(R) 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know;(S) we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews.(T) 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come(U) when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit(V) and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit,(W) and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”
25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ)(X) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”
26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”(Y)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.