Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 45[a]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[b] by the Korahites, a well-written poem,[c] a love song.
45 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.[d]
I say, “I have composed this special song[e] for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”[f]
2 You are the most handsome of all men.[g]
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.[h]
For this reason[i] God grants you continual blessings.[j]
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.[k]
Appear in your majestic splendor.[l]
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.[m]
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,[n]
on behalf of justice.[o]
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.[p]
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.[q]
6 Your throne,[r] O God, is permanent.[s]
The scepter[t] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love[u] justice and hate evil.[v]
For this reason God, your God,[w] has anointed you[x]
with the oil of joy,[y] elevating you above your companions.[z]
8 All your garments are perfumed with[aa] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces[ab] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.[ac]
9 Princesses[ad] are among your honored women.[ae]
Your bride[af] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.[ag]
10 Listen, O princess.[ah]
Observe and pay attention![ai]
Forget your homeland[aj] and your family.[ak]
11 Then[al] the king will be attracted by[am] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[an] to him.[ao]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[ap]
13 The princess[aq] looks absolutely magnificent,[ar]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[as]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[at]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[au]
16 Your[av] sons will carry on[aw] the dynasty of your ancestors;[ax]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[ay]
then the nations will praise you[az] forever.
Psalm 47[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a psalm.
47 All you nations, clap your hands.
Shout out to God in celebration.[b]
2 For the Lord Most High[c] is awe-inspiring;[d]
he is the great king who rules the whole earth![e]
3 He subdued nations beneath us[f]
and countries[g] under our feet.
4 He picked out for us a special land[h]
to be a source of pride for[i] Jacob,[j] whom he loves.[k] (Selah)
5 God has ascended his throne[l] amid loud shouts;[m]
the Lord has ascended amid the blaring of ram’s horns.[n]
6 Sing to God! Sing!
Sing to our king! Sing!
7 For God is king of the whole earth.
Sing a well-written song.[o]
8 God reigns[p] over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The nobles of the nations assemble,
along with the people of the God of Abraham,[q]
for God has authority over the rulers[r] of the earth.
He is highly exalted.[s]
Psalm 48[t]
A song, a psalm by the Korahites.
48 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise
in the city of our God,[u] his holy hill.
2 It is lofty and pleasing to look at,[v]
a source of joy to the whole earth.[w]
Mount Zion resembles the peaks of Zaphon;[x]
it is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its fortresses;
he reveals himself as its defender.[y]
4 For[z] look, the kings assemble;[aa]
they advance together.
5 As soon as they see,[ab] they are shocked;[ac]
they are terrified, they quickly retreat.[ad]
6 Look at them shake uncontrollably,[ae]
like a woman writhing in childbirth.[af]
7 With an east wind
you shatter[ag] the large ships.[ah]
8 We heard about God’s mighty deeds; now we have seen them,[ai]
in the city of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[aj]
in the city of our God.
God makes it permanently secure.[ak] (Selah)
9 Within your temple
we reflect on your loyal love, O God.
10 The praise you receive as far away as the ends of the earth
is worthy of your reputation, O God.[al]
You execute justice.[am]
11 Mount Zion rejoices;
the towns[an] of Judah are happy,[ao]
because of your acts of judgment.[ap]
12 Walk around[aq] Zion. Encircle it.
Count its towers.
13 Consider its defenses.[ar]
Walk through[as] its fortresses,
so you can tell the next generation about it.[at]
14 For God, our God, is our defender forever.[au]
He guides[av] us.[aw]
The Death of Samuel
25 Samuel died, and all Israel assembled and mourned him. They buried him at his home in Ramah. Then David left and went down to the wilderness of Paran.[a]
David Marries Abigail the Widow of Nabal
2 There was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel. This man was very wealthy;[b] he owned 3,000 sheep and 1,000 goats. At that time he was shearing his sheep in Carmel. 3 The man’s name was Nabal,[c] and his wife’s name was Abigail. She was both wise[d] and beautiful, but the man was harsh and his deeds were evil. He was a Calebite.
4 When David heard in the wilderness that Nabal was shearing his sheep, 5 he[e] sent ten servants,[f] saying to them,[g] “Go up to Carmel to see Nabal and give him greetings in my name.[h] 6 Then you will say to my brother,[i] ‘Peace to you and your house! Peace to all that is yours! 7 Now I hear that they are shearing sheep for you. When your shepherds were with us, we neither insulted them nor harmed them the whole time they were in Carmel. 8 Ask your own servants; they can tell you! May my servants find favor in your sight, for we have come[j] at the time of a holiday. Please provide us—your servants[k] and your son David—with whatever you can spare.’”[l]
9 So David’s servants went and spoke all these words to Nabal in David’s name. Then they paused. 10 But Nabal responded to David’s servants, “Who is David, and who is this son of Jesse? This is a time when many servants are breaking away from their masters! 11 Should I take my bread and my water and my meat that I have slaughtered for my shearers and give them to these men? I don’t even know where they came from!”
12 So David’s servants went on their way. When they had returned, they came and told David[m] all these things. 13 Then David instructed his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So each one strapped on his sword, and David also strapped on his sword. About 400 men followed David, while 200 stayed behind with the equipment.
14 But one of the servants told Nabal’s wife Abigail, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to greet[n] our lord, but he screamed at them. 15 These men were very good to us. They did not insult us, nor did we sustain any loss during the entire time we were together[o] in the field. 16 Both night and day they were a protective wall for us the entire time we were with them, while we were tending our flocks. 17 Now be aware of this, and see what you can do. For disaster has been planned for our lord and his entire household.[p] He is such a wicked person[q] that no one tells him anything!”
18 So Abigail quickly took 200 loaves of bread, two containers[r] of wine, five prepared sheep, five seahs[s] of roasted grain, 100 bunches of raisins, and 200 lumps of pressed figs. She loaded them on donkeys 19 and said to her servants, “Go on ahead of me. I will come after you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 Riding on her donkey, she went down under cover of the mountain. David and his men were coming down to meet her, and she encountered them. 21 Now David had been thinking,[t] “In vain I guarded everything that belonged to this man in the wilderness. I didn’t take anything from him. But he has repaid my good with evil. 22 God will severely punish David,[u] if I leave alive until morning even one male[v] from all those who belong to him!”
Paul and Barnabas at Iconium
14 The same thing happened in Iconium[a] when Paul and Barnabas[b] went into the Jewish synagogue[c] and spoke in such a way that a large group[d] of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe[e] stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds[f] against the brothers. 3 So they stayed there[g] for a considerable time, speaking out courageously for the Lord, who testified[h] to the message[i] of his grace, granting miraculous signs[j] and wonders to be performed through their hands. 4 But the population[k] of the city was divided; some[l] sided with the Jews, and some with the apostles. 5 When both the Gentiles and the Jews (together with their rulers) made[m] an attempt to mistreat[n] them and stone them,[o] 6 Paul and Barnabas[p] learned about it[q] and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra[r] and Derbe[s] and the surrounding region. 7 There[t] they continued to proclaim[u] the good news.
Paul and Barnabas at Lystra
8 In[v] Lystra[w] sat a man who could not use his feet,[x] lame from birth,[y] who had never walked. 9 This man was listening to Paul as he was speaking. When Paul[z] stared[aa] intently at him and saw he had faith to be healed, 10 he said with a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.”[ab] And the man[ac] leaped up and began walking.[ad] 11 So when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted[ae] in the Lycaonian language,[af] “The gods have come down to us in human form!”[ag] 12 They began to call[ah] Barnabas Zeus[ai] and Paul Hermes,[aj] because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of the temple[ak] of Zeus,[al] located just outside the city, brought bulls[am] and garlands[an] to the city gates; he and the crowds wanted to offer sacrifices to them.[ao] 14 But when the apostles[ap] Barnabas and Paul heard about[aq] it, they tore[ar] their clothes and rushed out[as] into the crowd, shouting,[at] 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures[au] just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn[av] from these worthless[aw] things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth,[ax] the sea, and everything that is in them. 16 In[ay] past[az] generations he allowed all the nations[ba] to go their own ways, 17 yet he did not leave himself without a witness by doing good,[bb] by giving you rain from heaven[bc] and fruitful seasons, satisfying you[bd] with food and your hearts with joy.”[be] 18 Even by saying[bf] these things, they scarcely persuaded[bg] the crowds not to offer sacrifice to them.
The Parable of the Lamp
21 He also said to them, “A lamp[a] isn’t brought to be put under a basket[b] or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be revealed,[c] and nothing concealed except to be brought to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!”[d] 24 And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive,[e] and more will be added to you. 25 For whoever has will be given more, but[f] whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”[g]
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “The kingdom of God[h] is like someone who spreads seed on the ground. 27 He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain[i] in the head. 29 And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle[j] because the harvest has come.”[k]
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 He also asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God,[l] or what parable can we use to present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed[m] that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground— 32 when it is sown, it grows up,[n] becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds[o] can nest in its shade.”[p]
The Use of Parables
33 So[q] with many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable. But privately he explained everything to his own disciples.
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