Book of Common Prayer
God’s Kindness to Rebellious Israel
A (A)Contemplation[a] of Asaph.
78 Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a (B)parable;
I will utter [b]dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
4 (C)We will not hide them from their children,
(D)Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For (E)He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That (F)they should make them known to their children;
6 (G)That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
8 And (H)may not be like their fathers,
(I)A stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation (J)that did not [c]set its heart aright,
And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and [d]carrying bows,
Turned back in the day of battle.
10 (K)They did not keep the covenant of God;
They refused to walk in His law,
11 And (L)forgot His works
And His wonders that He had shown them.
12 (M)Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers,
In the land of Egypt, (N)in the field of Zoan.
13 (O)He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And (P)He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 (Q)In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15 (R)He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought (S)streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But they sinned even more against Him
By (T)rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And (U)they tested God in their heart
By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 (V)Yes, they spoke against God:
They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 (W)Behold, He struck the rock,
So that the waters gushed out,
And the streams overflowed.
Can He give bread also?
Can He provide meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard this and (X)was furious;
So a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they (Y)did not believe in God,
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above,
(Z)And opened the doors of heaven,
24 (AA)Had rained down manna on them to eat,
And given them of the [e]bread of (AB)heaven.
25 Men ate angels’ food;
He sent them food to [f]the full.
26 (AC)He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens;
And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust,
Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 (AD)So they ate and were well filled,
For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not [g]deprived of their craving;
But (AE)while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them,
And slew the stoutest of them,
And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of this (AF)they still sinned,
And (AG)did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 (AH)Therefore their days He consumed in futility,
And their years in fear.
34 (AI)When He slew them, then they sought Him;
And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that (AJ)God was their rock,
And the Most High God (AK)their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they (AL)flattered Him with their mouth,
And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 (AM)But He, being full of (AN)compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time (AO)He turned His anger away,
And (AP)did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For (AQ)He remembered (AR)that they were but flesh,
(AS)A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they (AT)provoked[h] Him in the wilderness,
And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, (AU)again and again they tempted God,
And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His [i]power:
The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt,
And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 (AV)Turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 (AW)He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them,
And (AX)frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar,
And their labor to the (AY)locust.
47 (AZ)He destroyed their vines with hail,
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also gave up their (BA)cattle to the hail,
And their flocks to fiery [j]lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger,
Wrath, indignation, and trouble,
By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But gave [k]their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the (BB)firstborn in Egypt,
The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But He (BC)made His own people go forth like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He (BD)led them on safely, so that they did not fear;
But the sea (BE)overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His (BF)holy border,
This mountain (BG)which His right hand had acquired.
55 (BH)He also drove out the nations before them,
(BI)Allotted them an inheritance by [l]survey,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 (BJ)Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God,
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But (BK)turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers;
They were turned aside (BL)like a deceitful bow.
58 (BM)For they provoked Him to anger with their (BN)high places,
And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard this, He was furious,
And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 (BO)So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh,
The tent He had placed among men,
61 (BP)And delivered His strength into captivity,
And His glory into the enemy’s hand.
62 (BQ)He also gave His people over to the sword,
And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men,
And (BR)their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 (BS)Their priests fell by the sword,
And (BT)their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
(BU)Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 And (BV)He beat back His enemies;
He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion (BW)which He loved.
69 And He built His (BX)sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 (BY)He also chose David His servant,
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following (BZ)the ewes that had young He brought him,
(CA)To shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (CB)integrity of his heart,
And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.
Joseph Revealed to His Brothers
45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried out, “Make everyone go out from me!” So no one stood with him (A)while Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 And he (B)wept aloud, and the Egyptians and the house of Pharaoh heard it.
3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, (C)“I am Joseph; does my father still live?” But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed in his presence. 4 And Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” So they came near. Then he said: “I am Joseph your brother, (D)whom you sold into Egypt. 5 But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here; (E)for God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For these two years the (F)famine has been in the land, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 And God (G)sent me before you to preserve a [a]posterity for you in the earth, and to save your lives by a great deliverance. 8 So now it was not you who sent me here, but (H)God; and He has made me (I)a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and a (J)ruler throughout all the land of Egypt.
9 “Hurry and go up to my father, and say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph: “God has made me lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not [b]tarry. 10 (K)You shall dwell in the land of Goshen, and you shall be near to me, you and your children, your children’s children, your flocks and your herds, and all that you have. 11 There I will (L)provide for you, lest you and your household, and all that you have, come to poverty; for there are still five years of famine.” ’
12 “And behold, your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see that it is (M)my mouth that speaks to you. 13 So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hurry and (N)bring my father down here.”
14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 Moreover he (O)kissed all his brothers and wept over them, and after that his brothers talked with him.
32 But I want you to be without [a]care. (A)He who is unmarried [b]cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. 33 But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife. 34 There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman (B)cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. 35 And this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.
36 But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly toward his [c]virgin, if she is past the flower of youth, and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not sin; let them marry. 37 Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his [d]virgin, does well. 38 (C)So then he who gives [e]her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage does better.
39 (D)A wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives; but if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes, (E)only in the Lord. 40 But she is happier if she remains as she is, (F)according to my judgment—and (G)I think I also have the Spirit of God.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth(A)
6 Then (B)He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were (C)astonished, saying, (D)“Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and (E)brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they (F)were offended at Him.
4 But Jesus said to them, (G)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 (H)Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And (I)He marveled because of their unbelief. (J)Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
Sending Out the Twelve(K)
7 (L)And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out (M)two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. 8 He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts— 9 but (N)to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics.
10 (O)Also He said to them, “In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. 11 (P)And [a]whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, (Q)shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. [b]Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!”
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons, (R)and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.