Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 66[a]
For the music director, a song, a psalm.
66 Shout out praise to God, all the earth!
2 Sing praises about the majesty of his reputation.[b]
Give him the honor he deserves![c]
3 Say to God:
“How awesome are your deeds!
Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear[d] before you.
4 All the earth worships[e] you
and sings praises to you.
They sing praises to your name.” (Selah)
5 Come and witness[f] God’s exploits![g]
His acts on behalf of people are awesome.[h]
6 He turned the sea into dry land;[i]
they passed through the river on foot.[j]
Let us rejoice in him there.[k]
7 He rules[l] by his power forever;
he watches[m] the nations.
Stubborn rebels should not exalt[n] themselves. (Selah)
8 Praise[o] our God, you nations.
Loudly proclaim his praise.[p]
9 He preserves our lives[q]
and does not allow our feet to slip.
10 For[r] you, O God, tested us;
you purified us like refined silver.
11 You led us into a trap;[s]
you caused us to suffer.[t]
12 You allowed men to ride over our heads;
we passed through fire and water,
but you brought us out into a wide open place.[u]
13 I will enter[v] your temple with burnt sacrifices;
I will fulfill the vows I made to you,
14 which my lips uttered
and my mouth spoke when I was in trouble.
15 I will offer up to you fattened animals as burnt sacrifices,
along with the smell of sacrificial rams.
I will offer cattle and goats. (Selah)
16 Come! Listen, all you who are loyal to God.[w]
I will declare what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him for help[x]
and praised him with my tongue.[y]
18 If I had harbored sin in my heart,[z]
the Lord would not have listened.
19 However, God heard;
he listened to my prayer.
20 God deserves praise,[aa]
for[ab] he did not reject my prayer
or abandon his love for me.[ac]
Psalm 67[ad]
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a psalm, a song.
67 May God show us his favor[ae] and bless us.[af]
May he smile on us.[ag] (Selah)
2 Then those living on earth will know what you are like;
all nations will know how you deliver your people.[ah]
3 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[ai]
4 Let foreigners[aj] rejoice and celebrate.
For you execute justice among the nations,
and govern the people living on earth.[ak] (Selah)
5 Let the nations thank you, O God.
Let all the nations thank you.[al]
6 The earth yields its crops.
May God, our God, bless us.
7 May God bless us.[am]
Then all the ends of the earth will give him the honor he deserves.[an]
Psalm 19[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
19 The heavens declare the glory of God;[b]
the sky displays his handiwork.[c]
2 Day after day it speaks out;[d]
night after night it reveals his greatness.[e]
3 There is no actual speech or word,
nor is its[f] voice literally heard.
4 Yet its voice[g] echoes[h] throughout the earth;
its[i] words carry[j] to the distant horizon.[k]
In the sky[l] he has pitched a tent for the sun.[m]
5 Like a bridegroom it emerges[n] from its chamber;[o]
like a strong man it enjoys[p] running its course.[q]
6 It emerges from the distant horizon,[r]
and goes from one end of the sky to the other;[s]
nothing can escape[t] its heat.
7 The law of the Lord is perfect
and preserves one’s life.[u]
The rules set down by the Lord[v] are reliable[w]
and impart wisdom to the inexperienced.[x]
8 The Lord’s precepts are fair[y]
and make one joyful.[z]
The Lord’s commands[aa] are pure[ab]
and give insight for life.[ac]
9 The commands to fear the Lord are right[ad]
and endure forever.[ae]
The judgments given by the Lord are trustworthy
and absolutely just.[af]
10 They are of greater value[ag] than gold,
than even a great amount of pure gold;
they bring greater delight[ah] than honey,
than even the sweetest honey from a honeycomb.
11 Yes, your servant finds moral guidance there;[ai]
those who obey them receive a rich reward.[aj]
12 Who can know all his errors?[ak]
Please do not punish me for sins I am unaware of.[al]
13 Moreover, keep me from committing flagrant sins;[am]
do not allow such sins to control me.[an]
Then I will be blameless,
and innocent of blatant[ao] rebellion.
14 May my words and my thoughts
be acceptable in your sight,[ap]
O Lord, my sheltering rock[aq] and my redeemer.[ar]
Psalm 46[a]
For the music director, by the Korahites; according to the alamoth style;[b] a song.
46 God is our strong refuge;[c]
he is truly our helper in times of trouble.[d]
2 For this reason we do not fear[e] when the earth shakes,[f]
and the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,[g]
3 when its waves[h] crash[i] and foam,
and the mountains shake[j] before the surging sea.[k] (Selah)
4 The river’s channels bring joy to the city of God,[l]
the special, holy dwelling place of[m] the Most High.[n]
5 God lives within it,[o] it cannot be moved.[p]
God rescues it[q] at the break of dawn.[r]
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms are overthrown.[s]
God[t] gives a shout,[u] the earth dissolves.[v]
7 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side.[w]
The God of Jacob[x] is our stronghold.[y] (Selah)
8 Come, Witness the exploits[z] of the Lord,
who brings devastation to the earth.[aa]
9 He brings an end to wars throughout the earth.[ab]
He shatters[ac] the bow and breaks[ad] the spear;
he burns[ae] the shields with fire.[af]
10 He says,[ag] “Stop your striving and recognize[ah] that I am God.
I will be exalted[ai] over[aj] the nations! I will be exalted over[ak] the earth!”
11 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is on our side![al]
The God of Jacob[am] is our stronghold![an] (Selah)
14 There[a] we found[b] some brothers[c] and were invited to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. 15 The brothers from there,[d] when they heard about us, came as far as the Forum of Appius[e] and Three Taverns[f] to meet us. When he saw them,[g] Paul thanked God and took courage. 16 When we entered Rome, Paul was allowed to live[h] by himself, with the soldier who was guarding him.
Paul Addresses the Jewish Community in Rome
17 After three days[i] Paul[j] called the local Jewish leaders[k] together. When they had assembled, he said to them, “Brothers,[l] although I had done[m] nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors,[n] from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans.[o] 18 When[p] they had heard my case,[q] they wanted to release me,[r] because there was no basis for a death sentence[s] against me. 19 But when the Jews objected,[t] I was forced to appeal to Caesar[u]—not that I had some charge to bring[v] against my own people.[w] 20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel.”[x] 21 They replied,[y] “We have received no letters from Judea about you, nor have any of the brothers come from there[z] and reported or said anything bad about you. 22 But we would like to hear from you what you think, for regarding this sect we know[aa] that people[ab] everywhere speak against[ac] it.”
23 They set[ad] a day to meet with him,[ae] and they came to him where he was staying[af] in even greater numbers.[ag] From morning until evening he explained things[ah] to them,[ai] testifying[aj] about the kingdom of God[ak] and trying to convince[al] them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets.
The Parable of the Clever Steward
16 Jesus[a] also said to the disciples, “There was a rich man who was informed of accusations[b] that his manager[c] was wasting[d] his assets. 2 So[e] he called the manager[f] in and said to him, ‘What is this I hear about you?[g] Turn in the account of your administration,[h] because you can no longer be my manager.’ 3 Then[i] the manager said to himself, ‘What should I do, since my master is taking my position[j] away from me? I’m not strong enough to dig,[k] and I’m too ashamed[l] to beg. 4 I know[m] what to do so that when I am put out of management, people will welcome me into their homes.’[n] 5 So[o] he contacted[p] his master’s debtors one by one. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’ 6 The man[q] replied, ‘100 measures[r] of olive oil.’ The manager[s] said to him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and write fifty.’[t] 7 Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ The second man[u] replied, ‘100 measures[v] of wheat.’ The manager[w] said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write 80.’[x] 8 The[y] master commended the dishonest[z] manager because he acted shrewdly.[aa] For the people[ab] of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries[ac] than the people[ad] of light. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by how you use worldly wealth,[ae] so that when it runs out you will be welcomed[af] into the eternal homes.[ag]
10 “The one who is faithful in a very little[ah] is also faithful in much, and the one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you haven’t been trustworthy[ai] in handling worldly wealth,[aj] who will entrust you with the true riches?[ak] 12 And if you haven’t been trustworthy[al] with someone else’s property,[am] who will give you your own[an] ? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate[ao] the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise[ap] the other. You cannot serve God and money.”[aq]
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