Book of Common Prayer
Unjust Judgments Rebuked.
A Psalm of Asaph.
82 God takes His (A)stand in [a]His own congregation;
He (B)judges in the midst of the [b](C)rulers.
2 How long will you (D)judge unjustly
And (E)show partiality to the wicked? [c]Selah.
3 (F)Vindicate the weak and fatherless;
Do justice to the afflicted and destitute.
4 (G)Rescue the weak and needy;
Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.
5 They (H)do not know nor do they understand;
They (I)walk about in darkness;
All the (J)foundations of the earth are shaken.
6 [d]I (K)said, “You are gods,
And all of you are (L)sons of the Most High.
7 “Nevertheless (M)you will die like men
And fall like any (N)one of the princes.”
8 (O)Arise, O God, (P)judge the earth!
For it is You who (Q)possesses all the nations.
A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.
A Psalm.
98 O sing to the Lord a (A)new song,
For He has done (B)wonderful things,
His (C)right hand and His (D)holy arm have [a]gained the victory for Him.
2 (E)The Lord has made known His salvation;
He has (F)revealed His [b]righteousness in the sight of the nations.
3 He has (G)remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel;
(H)All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
The Purifier
3 “(A)Behold, I am going to send (B)My [a]messenger, and he will [b](C)clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; [c]and the [d](D)messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts. 2 “But who can (E)endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a (F)refiner’s fire and like [e]fullers’ soap. 3 He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will (G)purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may (H)present to the Lord [f]offerings in righteousness. 4 Then the [g]offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be (I)pleasing to the Lord as in the (J)days of old and as in former years.
5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the (K)sorcerers and against the (L)adulterers and against those who (M)swear falsely, and against those who oppress the (N)wage earner in his wages, the (O)widow and the [h]orphan, and those who turn aside the [i](P)alien and do not [j]fear Me,” says the Lord of hosts.
John’s Last Testimony
22 After these things Jesus and His (A)disciples came into the land of Judea, and there He was spending time with them and (B)baptizing. 23 John also was baptizing in Aenon near Salim, because there was much water there; and people were coming and were being baptized— 24 for (C)John had not yet been thrown into prison.
25 Therefore there arose a discussion on the part of John’s disciples with a Jew about (D)purification. 26 And they came to John and said to him, “(E)Rabbi, He who was with you (F)beyond the Jordan, to whom you (G)have testified, behold, He is baptizing and all are coming to Him.” 27 John answered and said, “(H)A man can receive nothing unless it (I)has been given him from heaven. 28 You yourselves [a]are my witnesses that I said, ‘(J)I am not the [b]Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent ahead of Him.’ 29 He who has the bride is (K)the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. So this (L)joy of mine has been made full. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.
God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.
For the choir director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.
80 Oh, give ear, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
You who lead (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
2 Before (D)Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, (E)stir up Your power
And come to save us!
3 O God, (F)restore us
And (G)cause Your face to shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.
4 O (H)Lord God of hosts,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
5 You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them to drink tears in [e]large measure.
6 You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
7 O God of hosts, restore us
And cause Your face to shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.
8 You removed a (L)vine from Egypt;
You (M)drove out the [h]nations and (N)planted it.
9 You (O)cleared the ground before it,
And it (P)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [i]the cedars of God with its (Q)boughs.
11 It was sending out its branches (R)to the sea
And its shoots to the River.
12 Why have You (S)broken down its [j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (T)eats it away
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.
14 O God of hosts, (U)turn again now, we beseech You;
(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 Even the [k](W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And on the [l]son whom You have [m]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish at the (Y)rebuke of Your countenance.
17 Let (Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (AA)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we shall not (AB)turn back from You;
(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 O Lord God of hosts, (AD)restore us;
Cause Your face to shine upon us, [n]and we will be saved.
2 (A)Now when (B)John, [a]while imprisoned, heard of the works of Christ, he sent word by his disciples 3 and said to Him, “Are You (C)the [b]Expected One, or shall we look for someone else?” 4 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 (D)the blind receive sight and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the (E)poor have the [c]gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he [d]who (F)does not [e]take offense at Me.”
Jesus’ Tribute to John
7 As these men were going away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John, “What did you go out into (G)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? 8 [f]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ [g]palaces! 9 [h]But what did you go out to see? (H)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. 10 This is the one about whom it [i]is written,
11 Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is [k]least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 (J)From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven [l]suffers violence, and violent men [m]take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John. 14 And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is (K)Elijah who [n]was to come. 15 (L)He who has ears to hear, [o]let him hear.
16 “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children, 17 and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not [p]mourn.’ 18 For John came neither (M)eating nor (N)drinking, and they say, ‘(O)He has a demon!’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a [q]drunkard, (P)a friend of tax collectors and [r]sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.