Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 75[a]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;(A)
people tell of your wonderful deeds.(B)
2 You say, “I choose the appointed time;(C)
it is I who judge with equity.(D)
3 When the earth and all its people quake,(E)
it is I who hold its pillars(F) firm.[b]
4 To the arrogant(G) I say, ‘Boast no more,’(H)
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.[c](I)
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak so defiantly.(J)’”
6 No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.
7 It is God who judges:(K)
He brings one down, he exalts another.(L)
8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup
full of foaming wine mixed(M) with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
drink it down to its very dregs.(N)
9 As for me, I will declare(O) this forever;
I will sing(P) praise to the God of Jacob,(Q)
10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”(R)
Psalm 76[d]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1 God is renowned in Judah;
in Israel his name is great.(S)
2 His tent is in Salem,(T)
his dwelling place in Zion.(U)
3 There he broke the flashing arrows,(V)
the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.[e](W)
4 You are radiant with light,(X)
more majestic than mountains rich with game.
5 The valiant(Y) lie plundered,
they sleep their last sleep;(Z)
not one of the warriors
can lift his hands.
6 At your rebuke,(AA) God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot(AB) lie still.
7 It is you alone who are to be feared.(AC)
Who can stand(AD) before you when you are angry?(AE)
8 From heaven you pronounced judgment,
and the land feared(AF) and was quiet—
9 when you, God, rose up to judge,(AG)
to save all the afflicted(AH) of the land.
10 Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,(AI)
and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[f]
Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd,(A) I lack nothing.(B)
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,(C)
3 he refreshes my soul.(D)
He guides me(E) along the right paths(F)
for his name’s sake.(G)
4 Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a](H)
I will fear no evil,(I)
for you are with me;(J)
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
Psalm 27
Of David.
1 The Lord is my light(A) and my salvation(B)—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold(C) of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?(D)
2 When the wicked advance against me
to devour[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.(E)
3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;(F)
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.(G)
4 One thing(H) I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,(I)
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.
5 For in the day of trouble(J)
he will keep me safe(K) in his dwelling;
he will hide me(L) in the shelter of his sacred tent
and set me high upon a rock.(M)
6 Then my head will be exalted(N)
above the enemies who surround me;(O)
at his sacred tent I will sacrifice(P) with shouts of joy;(Q)
I will sing(R) and make music(S) to the Lord.
7 Hear my voice(T) when I call, Lord;
be merciful to me and answer me.(U)
8 My heart says of you, “Seek his face!(V)”
Your face, Lord, I will seek.
9 Do not hide your face(W) from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;(X)
you have been my helper.(Y)
Do not reject me or forsake(Z) me,
God my Savior.(AA)
10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the Lord will receive me.
11 Teach me your way,(AB) Lord;
lead me in a straight path(AC)
because of my oppressors.(AD)
12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses(AE) rise up against me,
spouting malicious accusations.
5 Now there was in the citadel of Susa a Jew of the tribe of Benjamin, named Mordecai son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish,(A) 6 who had been carried into exile from Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, among those taken captive with Jehoiachin[a](B) king of Judah.(C) 7 Mordecai had a cousin named Hadassah, whom he had brought up because she had neither father nor mother. This young woman, who was also known as Esther,(D) had a lovely figure(E) and was beautiful. Mordecai had taken her as his own daughter when her father and mother died.
8 When the king’s order and edict had been proclaimed, many young women were brought to the citadel of Susa(F) and put under the care of Hegai. Esther also was taken to the king’s palace and entrusted to Hegai, who had charge of the harem.
15 When the turn came for Esther (the young woman Mordecai had adopted, the daughter of his uncle Abihail(A)) to go to the king,(B) she asked for nothing other than what Hegai, the king’s eunuch who was in charge of the harem, suggested. And Esther won the favor(C) of everyone who saw her. 16 She was taken to King Xerxes in the royal residence in the tenth month, the month of Tebeth, in the seventh year of his reign.
17 Now the king was attracted to Esther more than to any of the other women, and she won his favor and approval more than any of the other virgins. So he set a royal crown on her head and made her queen(D) instead of Vashti. 18 And the king gave a great banquet,(E) Esther’s banquet, for all his nobles and officials.(F) He proclaimed a holiday throughout the provinces and distributed gifts with royal liberality.(G)
Mordecai Uncovers a Conspiracy
19 When the virgins were assembled a second time, Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate.(H) 20 But Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up.(I)
21 During the time Mordecai was sitting at the king’s gate, Bigthana[a] and Teresh, two of the king’s officers(J) who guarded the doorway, became angry(K) and conspired to assassinate King Xerxes. 22 But Mordecai found out about the plot and told Queen Esther, who in turn reported it to the king, giving credit to Mordecai. 23 And when the report was investigated and found to be true, the two officials were impaled(L) on poles. All this was recorded in the book of the annals(M) in the presence of the king.(N)
In Athens
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue(A) with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news(B) about Jesus and the resurrection.(C) 19 Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus,(D) where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching(E) is that you are presenting? 20 You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians(F) and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus(G) and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.(H) 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship(I)—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24 “The God who made the world and everything in it(J) is the Lord of heaven and earth(K) and does not live in temples built by human hands.(L) 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.(M) 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.(N) 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.(O) 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’[a](P) As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’[b]
29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.(Q) 30 In the past God overlooked(R) such ignorance,(S) but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.(T) 31 For he has set a day when he will judge(U) the world with justice(V) by the man he has appointed.(W) He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”(X)
32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead,(Y) some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus,(Z) also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me.(A) 45 The one who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me.(B) 46 I have come into the world as a light,(C) so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness.
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.(D) 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them(E) at the last day. 49 For I did not speak on my own, but the Father who sent me commanded me(F) to say all that I have spoken. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life.(G) So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”(H)
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