Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 140[a]
For the music director, a psalm of David.
140 O Lord, rescue me from wicked men.[b]
Protect me from violent men,[c]
2 who plan ways to harm me.[d]
All day long they stir up conflict.[e]
3 Their tongues wound like a serpent;[f]
a viper’s[g] venom is behind[h] their lips. (Selah)
4 O Lord, shelter me from the power[i] of the wicked.
Protect me from violent men,
who plan to knock me over.[j]
5 Proud men hide a snare for me;
evil men[k] spread a net by the path.
They set traps for me. (Selah)
6 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
O Lord, pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 O Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,[l]
you shield[m] my head in the day of battle.
8 O Lord, do not let the wicked have their way.[n]
Do not allow their[o] plan to succeed when they attack.[p] (Selah)
9 As for the heads of those who surround me—
may the harm done by[q] their lips overwhelm them.
10 May he rain down[r] fiery coals upon them.
May he throw them into the fire.
From bottomless pits they will not escape.[s]
11 A slanderer[t] will not endure on[u] the earth;
calamity will hunt down a violent man and strike him down.[v]
12 I know[w] that the Lord defends the cause of the oppressed
and vindicates the poor.[x]
13 Certainly the godly will give thanks to your name;
the morally upright will live in your presence.
Psalm 142[a]
A well-written song[b] by David, when he was in the cave;[c] a prayer.
142 To the Lord I cry out;[d]
to the Lord I plead for mercy.[e]
2 I pour out my lament before him;
I tell him about[f] my troubles.
3 Even when my strength leaves me,[g]
you watch my footsteps.[h]
In the path where I walk
they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see.
No one cares about me.[i]
I have nowhere to run;[j]
no one is concerned about my life.[k]
5 I cry out to you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my shelter,
my security[l] in the land of the living.”
6 Listen to my cry for help,
for I am in serious trouble.[m]
Rescue me from those who chase me,
for they are stronger than I am.
7 Free me[n] from prison,
that I may give thanks to your name.
Because of me the godly will assemble,[o]
for you will vindicate me.[p]
Psalm 141[a]
A psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I cry out to you. Come quickly to me.
Pay attention to me when I cry out to you.
2 May you accept my prayer like incense,
my uplifted hands like the evening offering.[b]
3 O Lord, place a guard on my mouth.
Protect the opening[c] of my lips.[d]
4 Do not let me have evil desires,[e]
or participate in sinful activities
with men who behave wickedly.[f]
I will not eat their delicacies.[g]
5 May the godly strike me in love and correct me.
May my head not refuse[h] choice oil.[i]
Indeed, my prayer is a witness against their evil deeds.[j]
6 They will be thrown over the side of a cliff by their judges.[k]
They[l] will listen to my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the soil,[m]
so our bones are scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
8 Surely I am looking to you,[n] O Sovereign Lord.
In you I take shelter.
Do not expose me to danger.[o]
9 Protect me from the snare they have laid for me,
and the traps the evildoers have set.[p]
10 Let the wicked fall[q] into their[r] own nets,
while I escape.[s]
Psalm 143[a]
A psalm of David.
143 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for help.
Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me.
2 Do not sit in judgment on[b] your servant,
for no one alive is innocent before you.[c]
3 Certainly[d] my enemies[e] chase me.
They smash me into the ground.[f]
They force me to live[g] in dark regions,[h]
like those who have been dead for ages.
4 My strength leaves me;[i]
I am absolutely shocked.[j]
5 I recall the old days.[k]
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on your accomplishments.[l]
6 I spread my hands out to you in prayer;[m]
my soul thirsts for you in a parched[n] land.[o] (Selah)
7 Answer me quickly, Lord.
My strength is fading.[p]
Do not reject me,[q]
or I will join[r] those descending into the grave.[s]
8 May I hear about your loyal love in the morning,[t]
for I trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,[u]
because I long for you.[v]
9 Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord.
I run to you for protection.[w]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,[x]
for you are my God.
May your kind presence[y]
lead me[z] into a level land.[aa]
11 O Lord, for the sake of your reputation,[ab] revive me.[ac]
Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble.[ad]
12 As a demonstration of your loyal love,[ae] destroy my enemies.
Annihilate[af] all who threaten my life,[ag]
for I am your servant.
Satan’s Additional Charge
2 Again the day came when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also arrived among them to present himself before the Lord.[a] 2 And the Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord,[b] “From roving about on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.”[c] 3 Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a pure and upright man, one who fears God and turns away from evil. And he still holds firmly[d] to his integrity,[e] so that[f] you stirred me up to destroy him[g] without reason.”[h]
4 But[i] Satan answered the Lord, “Skin for[j] skin![k] Indeed, a man will give up[l] all that he has to save his life.[m] 5 But extend your hand and strike his bone and his flesh,[n] and he will no doubt[o] curse you to your face!”
6 So the Lord said to Satan, “All right,[p] he is[q] in your power;[r] only preserve[s] his life.”
Job’s Integrity in Suffering
7 So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord, and he afflicted[t] Job with a malignant ulcer[u] from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.[v] 8 Job took a shard of broken pottery to scrape[w] himself[x] with while he was sitting[y] among the ashes.[z]
9 Then[aa] his wife said to him, “Are you still holding firmly to your integrity?[ab] Curse[ac] God, and die!”[ad] 10 But he replied,[ae] “You’re talking like one of the godless women[af] would do! Should we receive[ag] what is good from God, and not also[ah] receive[ai] what is evil?”[aj] In all this Job did not sin by what he said.[ak]
The Visit of Job’s Friends[al]
11 When Job’s three friends heard about all this calamity that had happened to him, each of them came from his own country[am]—Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite.[an] They met together[ao] to come to show sympathy[ap] for him and to console[aq] him. 12 But when they gazed intently[ar] from a distance but did not recognize[as] him, they began to weep loudly. Each of them tore his robes, and they threw dust into the air over their heads.[at] 13 Then they sat down with him on the ground for seven days and seven nights, yet no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his pain[au] was very great.[av]
The Conversion of Saul
9 Meanwhile Saul, still breathing out threats[a] to murder[b] the Lord’s disciples, went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues[c] in Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way,[d] either men or women, he could bring them as prisoners[e] to Jerusalem.[f] 3 As he was going along, approaching[g] Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed[h] around him. 4 He[i] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul,[j] why are you persecuting me?”[k] 5 So he said, “Who are you, Lord?” He replied, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting! 6 But stand up[l] and enter the city and you will be told[m] what you must do.” 7 (Now the men[n] who were traveling with him stood there speechless,[o] because they heard the voice but saw no one.)[p] 8 So Saul got up from the ground, but although his eyes were open,[q] he could see nothing.[r] Leading him by the hand, his companions[s] brought him into Damascus. 9 For[t] three days he could not see, and he neither ate nor drank anything.[u]
27 Do not work for the food that disappears,[a] but for the food that remains to eternal life—the food[b] which the Son of Man will give to you. For God the Father has put his seal of approval on him.”[c]
28 So then they said to him, “What must we do to accomplish the deeds[d] God requires?”[e] 29 Jesus replied,[f] “This is the deed[g] God requires[h]—to believe in the one whom he[i] sent.” 30 So they said to him, “Then what miraculous sign will you perform, so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors[j] ate the manna in the wilderness, just as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”[k]
32 Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the solemn truth,[l] it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but my Father is giving you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is the one who[m] comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir,[n] give us this bread all the time!”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. The one who comes to me will never go hungry, and the one who believes in me will never be thirsty.[o] 36 But I told you[p] that you have seen me[q] and still do not believe. 37 Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never send away.[r] 38 For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. 39 Now this is the will of the one who sent me—that I should not lose one person of every one he has given me, but raise them all up[s] at the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father—for everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him to have eternal life, and I will raise him up[t] at the last day.”[u]
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