Book of Common Prayer
God Saved Israel from Egypt
A maskil of Asaph.
78 My people, listen to my teaching.
Listen to what I say.
2 I will speak using stories.
I will tell things that have been secret since long ago.
3 We have heard them and know them.
Our fathers told them to us.
4 We will not keep them from our children.
We will tell those who come later
about the praises of the Lord.
We will tell about his power
and the miracles he has done.
5 The Lord made an agreement with Jacob.
He gave the teachings to Israel.
And he commanded our ancestors
to teach them to their children.
6 Then their children would know them,
even their children not yet born.
And they would tell their children.
7 So they would all trust God.
They would not forget what God had done.
Instead, they would obey his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors
who were stubborn and disobedient.
Their hearts were not loyal to God.
They were not true to him.
9 The men of Ephraim had bows for weapons.
But they ran away on the day of battle.
10 They didn’t keep their agreement with God.
They refused to live by his teachings.
11 They forgot what he had done
and the miracles he had shown them.
12 He did miracles while their ancestors watched,
in the fields of Zoan in Egypt.
13 He divided the Red Sea and led them through.
He made the water stand up like a wall.
14 He led them with a cloud by day.
And he led them at night by the light of a fire.
15 He split the rocks in the desert.
And he gave them much water, as if it were from the deep ocean.
16 He brought streams out of the rock.
The water flowed down like rivers.
17 But the people continued to sin against him.
In the desert they turned against God Most High.
18 They decided to test God
by asking for the food they wanted.
19 Then they spoke against God.
They said, “Can God prepare food in the desert?
20 When he hit the rock, water poured out.
Rivers flowed down.
But can he give us bread also?
Will he provide his people with meat?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was very angry.
His anger was like fire to the people of Jacob.
His anger grew against the people of Israel.
22 They had not believed God.
They had not trusted him to save them.
23 But he gave a command to the clouds above.
The doors of heaven opened.
24 He rained manna down on them to eat.
He gave them grain from heaven.
25 So they ate the bread of angels.
He sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He sent the east wind from heaven.
He led the south wind by his power.
27 He rained meat on them like dust.
The birds were as many as the sand of the sea.
28 He made the birds fall inside the camp,
all around the tents.
29 So the people ate and became very full.
God had given them what they wanted.
30 While they were still eating,
and while the food was still in their mouths,
31 God became angry with them.
He killed some of the healthiest of them.
He struck down the best young men of Israel.
32 But they kept on sinning.
They did not believe even with the miracles.
33 So he ended their days without meaning
and their years in terror.
34 Anytime he killed them, some would look to him for help.
They would come back to God and follow him.
35 They would remember that God was their Rock,
that God Most High had saved them.
36 But their words were false.
Their tongues lied to him.
37 Their hearts were not really loyal to God.
They did not keep his agreement.
38 Still God was merciful.
He forgave their sins.
He did not destroy them.
Many times he held back his anger.
He did not stir up all his anger.
39 He remembered that they were only human.
They were like a wind that blows and does not come back.
40 They turned against God so often in the desert!
There they made him very sad.
41 Again and again they tested God.
They brought pain to the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember his power
or the time he saved them from the enemy.
43 They forgot the signs he did in Egypt
and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned the rivers to blood.
So no one could drink the water.
45 He sent flies that bit the people.
He sent frogs that destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to grasshoppers
and what they worked for to locusts.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore trees with sleet.
48 He killed their animals with hail
and their cattle with lightning.
49 He showed them his hot anger.
He sent his strong anger against them.
He sent his destroying angels.
50 He found a way to show his anger.
He did not keep them from dying.
He let them die by a terrible disease.
51 God killed all the firstborn sons in Egypt,
the oldest son of each family of Ham.[a]
52 But God led out his people like sheep.
He guided them like a flock through the desert.
53 He led them to safety. They had nothing to fear.
But their enemies drowned in the sea.
54 So God brought them to his holy land.
He brought them to the mountain country he took with his own power.
55 He forced out the other nations.
And he had his people inherit the land.
He let the tribes of Israel settle there in tents.
56 But they tested God
and turned against the Most High.
They did not keep his rules.
57 They turned away and sinned just like their ancestors.
They were like a crooked bow that does not shoot straight.
58 They made God angry by building places to worship false gods.
They made him jealous with their idols.
59 When God heard them, he became very angry.
And he rejected the people of Israel completely.
60 He left his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
61 He let his Ark of the Covenant be captured.
He let the Ark of the Covenant, which was his glory, be taken by enemies.
62 He let his people be killed.
He was very angry with his children.
63 The young men died by fire.
The young women had no one to marry.
64 Their priests fell by the sword.
But their widows were not allowed to cry.
65 Then the Lord got up as if he had been asleep.
He awoke like a man who was drunk with wine.
66 He struck down his enemies.
He disgraced them forever.
67 But God rejected the family of Joseph.
He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 And he built his Temple high like the mountains.
Like the earth, he built it to last forever.
70 He chose David to be his servant.
He took him from the sheep pens.
71 He brought him from tending the sheep
so he could lead the flock, the people of Jacob.
This flock was his own people, the people of Israel.
72 And David led them with an innocent heart.
He guided them with skillful hands.
Joseph Reveals Who He Is
45 Joseph could not control himself in front of his servants any longer. He cried out, “Have everyone leave me.” When only the brothers were left with Joseph, he told them who he was. 2 Joseph cried so loudly that the Egyptians heard him. And the people in the king’s palace heard about it. 3 He said to his brothers, “I am Joseph. Is my father still alive?” But the brothers could not answer him, because they were very afraid of him.
4 So Joseph said to them, “Come close to me.” So the brothers came close to him. And he said to them, “I am your brother Joseph. You sold me as a slave to go to Egypt. 5 Now don’t be worried. Don’t be angry with yourselves because you sold me here. God sent me here ahead of you to save people’s lives. 6 No food has grown on the land for two years now. And there will be five more years without planting or harvest. 7 So God sent me here ahead of you. This was to make sure you have some descendants left on earth. And it was to keep you alive in an amazing way. 8 So it was not you who sent me here, but God. God has made me the highest officer of the king of Egypt. I am in charge of his palace. I am the master of all the land of Egypt.
9 “So leave quickly and go to my father. Tell him, ‘Your son Joseph says: God has made me master over all Egypt. Come down to me quickly. 10 Live in the land of Goshen. You will be near me. Also your children, your grandchildren, your flocks and herds and all that you have will be near me. 11 I will care for you during the next five years of hunger. In this way, you and your family and all that you have will not starve.’
12 “Now you can see for yourselves. The one speaking to you is really Joseph. And my brother Benjamin can see this. 13 So tell my father about how powerful I have become in Egypt. Tell him about everything you have seen. Now hurry and bring him back to me.” 14 Then Joseph hugged his brother Benjamin and cried. And Benjamin cried also. 15 Then Joseph kissed all his brothers. He cried as he hugged them. After this, his brothers talked with him.
32 I want you to be free from worry. A man who is not married is busy with the Lord’s work. He is trying to please the Lord. 33 But a man who is married is busy with things of the world. He is trying to please his wife. 34 He must think about two things—pleasing his wife and pleasing the Lord. A woman who is not married or a girl who has never married is busy with the Lord’s work. She wants to give herself fully—body and soul—to the Lord. But a married woman is busy with things of the world. She is trying to please her husband. 35 I am saying this to help you. I am not trying to limit you. But I want you to live in the right way. And I want you to give yourselves fully to the Lord without giving your time to other things.
36 A man might think that he is not doing the right thing with the girl he is engaged to. The girl might be almost past the best age to marry. So he might feel that he should marry her. He should do what he wants. They should get married. It is no sin. 37 But another man might be more sure in his mind. There may be no need for marriage, so he is free to do what he wants. If he has decided in his own heart not to marry, he is doing the right thing. 38 So the man who marries his girl does right. And the man who does not marry does even better.
39 A woman must stay with her husband as long as he lives. If the husband dies, she is free to marry any man she wants. But she must marry another believer. 40 The woman is happier if she does not marry again. This is my opinion, and I believe that I have God’s Spirit.
Jesus Goes to His Hometown
6 Jesus left there and went back to his hometown. His followers went with him. 2 On the Sabbath day he taught in the synagogue. Many people heard him and were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get these teachings? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? And where did he get the power to work miracles? 3 He is only the carpenter. His mother is Mary. He is the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters are here with us.” The people did not accept Jesus.
4 Jesus said to them, “Other people give honor to a prophet. But in his own town with his own people and in his own home, a prophet does not receive honor.” 5 Jesus was not able to work many miracles there. The only miracles he did were to heal some sick people by putting his hands on them. 6 Jesus was amazed that they had no faith.
Then Jesus went to other villages in that area and taught. 7 He called the 12 followers together and sent them out in groups of 2. He gave them authority over evil spirits. 8 This is what Jesus told them: “Take nothing for your trip except a walking stick. Take no bread, no bag, and no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, and take only the clothes you are wearing. 10 When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. 11 If any town refuses to accept you or its people refuse to listen to you, then leave that town. Shake its dust off your feet.[a] This will be a warning to them.”[b]
12 The followers went out and preached to the people to change their hearts and lives. 13 The followers forced many demons out and poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.