Book of Common Prayer
(A special psalm by Asaph.)
What God Has Done for His People
1 My friends, I beg you
to listen as I teach.
2 (A) I will give instruction
and explain the mystery
of what happened long ago.
3 These are things we learned
from our ancestors,
4 and we will tell them
to the next generation.
We won't keep secret
the glorious deeds
and the mighty miracles
of the Lord.
5 God gave his Law
to Jacob's descendants,
the people of Israel.
And he told our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so that each new generation
would know his Law
and tell it to the next.
7 Then they would trust God
and obey his teachings,
without forgetting anything
God had done.
8 They would be different
from their ancestors,
who were stubborn, rebellious,
and unfaithful to God.
9 The warriors from Ephraim
were armed with arrows,
but they ran away
when the battle began.
10 They broke their agreement
with God,
and they turned their backs
on his teaching.
11 They forgot all he had done,
even the mighty miracles
12 (B)(C) he did for their ancestors
near Zoan[a] in Egypt.
13 (D) God made a path in the sea
and piled up the water
as he led them across.
14 (E) He guided them during the day
with a cloud,
and each night he led them
with a flaming fire.
15 (F) God made water flow
from rocks he split open
in the desert,
and his people drank freely,
as though from a lake.
16 He made streams gush out
like rivers from rocks.
17 But in the desert,
the people of God Most High
kept sinning and rebelling.
18 (G) They stubbornly tested God
and demanded from him
what they wanted to eat.
19 They challenged God by saying,
“Can God provide food
out here in the desert?
20 It's true God struck the rock
and water gushed out
like a river,
but can he give his people
bread and meat?”
21 When the Lord heard this,
he was angry and furious
with Jacob's descendants,
the people of Israel.
22 They had refused to trust him,
and they had doubted
his saving power.
23 But God gave a command
to the clouds,
and he opened the doors
in the skies.
24 (H) From heaven he sent grain
that they called manna.[b]
25 He gave them more than enough,
and each one of them ate
this special food.
26 God's mighty power
sent a strong wind
from the southeast,
27 and it brought birds
that covered the ground,
like sand on the beach.
28 Then God made the birds fall
in the camp of his people
near their tents.
29 God gave his people
all they wanted,
and each of them ate
until they were full.
30 But before they had swallowed
the last bite,
31 God became angry and killed
the strongest and best
from the families of Israel.
32 But the rest kept on sinning
and would not trust
God's miracles.
33 So he cut their lives short
and made them terrified.
34 After he killed some of them,
the others turned to him
with all their hearts.
35 They remembered God Most High,
the mighty rock[c]
that kept them safe.
36 But they tried to flatter God,
and they told him lies;
37 (I) they were unfaithful
and broke their promises.
38 Yet God was kind.
He kept forgiving their sins
and didn't destroy them.
He often became angry,
but never lost his temper.
39 God remembered that they
were made of flesh
and were like a wind
that blows once
and then dies down.
40 While they were in the desert,
they often rebelled
and made God sad.
41 They kept testing him
and caused terrible pain
for the Holy One of Israel.
42 They forgot about his power
and how he had rescued them
from their enemies.
43 God showed them all kinds
of wonderful miracles
near Zoan[d] in Egypt.
44 (J) He turned the rivers of Egypt
into blood,
and no one could drink
from the streams.
45 (K) He sent swarms of flies
to pester the Egyptians,
and he sent frogs
to cause them trouble.
46 (L) God let worms and grasshoppers
eat their crops.
47 (M) He destroyed their grapevines
and their fig trees
with hail and floods.[e]
48 Then he killed their cattle
with hail
and their other animals
with lightning.
49 God was so angry and furious
that he went into a rage
and caused them great trouble
by sending swarms
of destroying angels.
50 God released his anger
and slaughtered them
in a terrible way.
51 (N) He killed the first-born son
of each Egyptian family.
52 (O) Then God led his people
out of Egypt
and guided them in the desert
like a flock of sheep.
53 (P) He led them safely along,
and they were not afraid,
but their enemies drowned
in the sea.
54 (Q) God brought his people
to the sacred mountain
that he had taken
by his own power.
55 (R) He made nations run
from the tribes of Israel,
and he let the tribes
take over their land.
56 (S) But the people tested
God Most High,
and they refused
to obey his laws.
57 They were as unfaithful
as their ancestors,
and they were as crooked
as a twisted arrow.
58 God demanded all their love,
but they made him angry
by worshiping idols.
59 So God became furious
and completely rejected
the people of Israel.
60 (T) Then he deserted his home
at Shiloh, where he lived
here on earth.
61 (U) He let enemies capture
the sacred chest[f]
and let them dishonor him.
62 God took out his anger
on his chosen ones
and let them be killed
by enemy swords.
63 Fire destroyed the young men,
and the young women were left
with no one to marry.
64 Priests died violent deaths,
but their widows
were not allowed to mourn.
65 Finally the Lord woke up,
like a soldier
startled from a drunken sleep.
66 God scattered his enemies
and made them ashamed
forever.
67 Then the Lord decided
not to make his home
with Joseph's descendants
in Ephraim.[g]
68 Instead he chose the tribe
of Judah,
and he chose Mount Zion,
the place he loves.
69 There he built his temple
as lofty as the mountains
and as solid as the earth
he made to last forever.
70 (V) The Lord God chose David
to be his servant and took him
from tending sheep
71 and from caring for lambs.
Then God made him the leader
of Israel, his own nation.
72 David treated the people fairly
and guided them with wisdom.
19 “Go on home, and don't worry about that,” Elisha replied. Then Naaman left.
Elisha Places a Curse on Gehazi
After Naaman had gone only a short distance, 20 Gehazi said to himself, “Elisha let that Syrian off too easy. He should have taken Naaman's gift. I swear by the living Lord that I will talk to Naaman myself and get something from him.” 21 So he hurried after Naaman.
When Naaman saw Gehazi running after him, he got out of his chariot to meet him. Naaman asked, “Is everything all right?”
22 “Yes,” Gehazi answered. “But my master has sent me to tell you about two young prophets from the hills of Ephraim. They came asking for help, and now Elisha wants to know if you would give them 3,000 pieces of silver and some new clothes?”
23 “Sure,” Naaman replied. “But why don't you take twice that amount of silver?” He convinced Gehazi to take it all, then put the silver in two bags. He handed the bags and the clothes to his two servants, and they carried them for Gehazi.
24 When they reached the hill where Gehazi lived, he took the bags from the servants and placed them in his house, then sent the men away. After they had gone, 25 Gehazi went in and stood in front of Elisha, who asked, “Gehazi, where have you been?”
“Nowhere, sir,” Gehazi answered.
26 Elisha asked, “Don't you know that my spirit was there when Naaman got out of his chariot to talk with you? Gehazi, you have no right to accept money or clothes, olive orchards or vineyards, sheep or cattle, or servants. 27 Because of what you've done, Naaman's leprosy[a] will now be on you and your descendants forever!”
Suddenly, Gehazi's skin became white with leprosy, and he left.
Immoral Followers
5 (A) I have heard terrible things about some of you. In fact, you are behaving worse than Gentiles. A man is even sleeping with his own stepmother.[a] 2 You are proud, when you ought to feel bad enough to chase away anyone who acts like this.
3-4 I am with you only in my thoughts. But in the name of our Lord Jesus I have already judged this man, as though I were with you in person. So when you meet together and the power of the Lord Jesus is with you, I will be there too. 5 You must then hand that man over to Satan. His body will be destroyed, but his spirit will be saved when the Lord Jesus returns.
6 (B) Stop being proud! Don't you know how a little yeast can spread through the whole batch of dough? 7 (C) Get rid of the old yeast! Then you will be like fresh bread made without yeast, and this is what you are. Our Passover lamb is Christ, who has already been sacrificed. 8 (D) So don't celebrate the festival by being evil and sinful, which is like serving bread made with yeast. Be pure and truthful and celebrate by using bread made without yeast.
Marriage
27 (A) You know the commandment which says, “Be faithful in marriage.” 28 But I tell you if you look at another woman and want her, you are already unfaithful in your thoughts. 29 (B) If your right eye causes you to sin, poke it out and throw it away. It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to end up in hell. 30 (C) If your right hand causes you to sin, chop it off and throw it away! It is better to lose one part of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.
Divorce
(Matthew 19.9; Mark 10.11,12; Luke 16.18)
31 (D) You have been taught that a man who divorces his wife must write out divorce papers for her.[a] 32 (E) But I tell you not to divorce your wife unless she has committed some terrible sexual sin.[b] If you divorce her, you will cause her to be unfaithful, just as any man who marries her is guilty of taking another man's wife.
Promises
33 (F) You know our ancestors were told, “Don't use the Lord's name to make a promise unless you are going to keep it.” 34 (G) But I tell you not to swear by anything when you make a promise! Heaven is God's throne, so don't swear by heaven. 35 (H) The earth is God's footstool, so don't swear by the earth. Jerusalem is the city of the great king, so don't swear by it. 36 Don't swear by your own head. You cannot make one hair white or black. 37 When you make a promise, say only “Yes” or “No.” Anything else comes from the devil.
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