Book of Common Prayer
105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on him.
Make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to praise him.
Meditate on all the miracles he has performed.
3 Brag about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Search for the Lord and his strength.
Always seek his presence.
5 Remember the miracles he performed,
the amazing things he did, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you descendants of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God.
His judgments are pronounced throughout the earth.
8 He always remembers his promise,[a]
the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the promise that he made to Abraham,
and his sworn oath to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it as a law for Jacob,
as an everlasting promise to Israel,
11 by saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It is your share of the inheritance.”
12 While the people of Israel were few in number,
a small group of foreigners living in that land,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 He didn’t permit anyone to oppress them.
He warned kings about them:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones
or harm my prophets.”
16 He brought famine to the land.
He took away their food supply.
17 He sent a man ahead of them.
He sent Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They hurt his feet with shackles,
and cut into his neck with an iron collar.
19 The Lord’s promise tested him through fiery trials
until his prediction came true.
20 The king sent someone to release him.
The ruler of nations set him free.
21 He made Joseph the master of his palace
and the ruler of all his possessions.
22 Joseph trained the king’s officers the way he wanted
and taught his respected leaders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord made his people grow rapidly in number
and stronger than their enemies.
25 He changed their minds so that they hated his people,
and they dealt treacherously with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and he sent Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They displayed his miraculous signs among them
and did amazing things in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made ⌞their land⌟ dark.
They did not rebel against his orders.
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 He made their land swarm with frogs,
even in the kings’ bedrooms.
31 He spoke, and swarms of flies and gnats
infested their whole territory.
32 He gave them hail and lightning
instead of rain throughout their land.
33 He struck their grapevines and fig trees
and smashed the trees in their territory.
34 He spoke, and countless locusts and grasshoppers came.
35 They devoured all the plants in the land.
They devoured the crops in the fields.
36 He killed all the firstborn sons,
the first ones born in the land when their fathers were young.
37 He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were terrified of Israel,
so they were glad when Israel left.
39 He spread out a cloud as a protective covering
and a fire to light up the night.
40 The Israelites asked, and he brought them quail
and filled them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed
and flowed like a river through the dry places.
42 He remembered his holy promise to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with a song of joy.
44 He gave them the lands of ⌞other⌟ nations,
and they inherited what others had worked for
45 so that they would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Hallelujah!
Everyone Will Suffer for His Own Sins
18 The Lord spoke his word to me. He said, 2 “What do you mean when you use this proverb about the land of Israel: ‘Fathers have eaten sour grapes, and their children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, you will no longer use this proverb in Israel. 4 The life of every person belongs to me. Fathers and their children belong to me. The person who sins will die.
19 “But you ask, ‘Why isn’t the son punished for his father’s sin?’ It is because the son has done what is fair and right. He obeyed my rules and followed them. He will certainly live. 20 The person who sins will die. A son will not be punished for his father’s sins, and a father will not be punished for his son’s sins. The righteousness of the righteous person will be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked person will be his own.
21 “But suppose a wicked person turns away from all the sins that he has done. He obeys all my laws and does what is fair and right. He will certainly live. He will not die. 22 All the rebellious things that he did will not be remembered. He will live because of the right things that he did. 23 I don’t want wicked people to die.” declares the Almighty Lord. “I want them to turn from their evil ways and live.
24 “But suppose a righteous person turns away from doing right and he does evil things. He does all the disgusting things that the wicked person did. Will he live? All the right things that he has done will not be remembered because of his unfaithfulness and because of his sin. He will die because of them.
25 “But you say, ‘The Lord’s way is unfair.’ Listen, nation of Israel, isn’t my way fair? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair? 26 When a righteous person turns away from doing right and does evil things, he will die. He will die because of the evil things he has done. 27 When a wicked person turns away from the wicked things that he has done and does what is fair and right, he will live. 28 He realized what he was doing and turned away from all the rebellious things that he had done. He will certainly live. He will not die.
29 “But the nation of Israel says, ‘The Lord’s way is unfair.’ Isn’t my way fair, nation of Israel? Isn’t it your ways that are unfair?
30 “That is why I will judge each of you by what you have done, people of Israel,” declares the Almighty Lord. “Change the way you think and act. Turn away from all the rebellious things that you have done so that you will not fall into sin. 31 Stop all the rebellious things that you are doing. Get yourselves new hearts and new spirits. Why do you want to die, nation of Israel? 32 I don’t want anyone to die,” declares the Almighty Lord. “Change the way you think and act!”
18 The former requirements are rejected because they are weak and useless. 19 Moses’ Teachings couldn’t accomplish everything that God required. But we have something else that gives us greater confidence and allows us to approach God.
20 None of this happened without an oath. The men from the tribe of Levi may have become priests without an oath, 21 but Jesus became a priest when God took an oath. God said about him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever.” 22 In this way Jesus has become the guarantee of a better promise.[a]
23 There was a long succession of priests because when a priest died he could no longer serve. 24 But Jesus lives forever, so he serves as a priest forever. 25 That is why he is always able to save those who come to God through him. He can do this because he always lives and intercedes for them.
26 We need a chief priest who is holy, innocent, pure, set apart from sinners, and who holds the honored position—the one next to God the Father on the heavenly throne. 27 We need a priest who doesn’t have to bring daily sacrifices as those chief priests did. First they brought sacrifices for their own sins, and then they brought sacrifices for the sins of the people. Jesus brought the sacrifice for the sins of the people once and for all when he sacrificed himself. 28 Moses’ Teachings designated mortals as chief priests even though they had weaknesses. But God’s promise, which came after Moses’ Teachings, designated the Son who forever accomplished everything that God required.
A Story about a Good Samaritan
25 Then an expert in Moses’ Teachings stood up to test Jesus. He asked, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
26 Jesus answered him, “What is written in Moses’ Teachings? What do you read there?”
27 He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind. And love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ ”
28 Jesus told him, “You’re right! Do this, and life will be yours.”
29 But the man wanted to justify his question. So he asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
30 Jesus replied, “A man went from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way robbers stripped him, beat him, and left him for dead.
31 “By chance, a priest was traveling along that road. When he saw the man, he went around him and continued on his way. 32 Then a Levite came to that place. When he saw the man, he, too, went around him and continued on his way.
33 “But a Samaritan, as he was traveling along, came across the man. When the Samaritan saw him, he felt sorry for the man, 34 went to him, and cleaned and bandaged his wounds. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. 35 The next day the Samaritan took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. He told the innkeeper, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than that, I’ll pay you on my return trip.’
36 “Of these three men, who do you think was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by robbers?”
37 The expert said, “The one who was kind enough to help him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and imitate his example!”
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