Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105[a]
105 Give thanks to the Lord.
Call on his name.
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to him.
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
3 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually.
5 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,[b]
6 O children[c] of Abraham,[d] God’s[e] servant,
you descendants[f] of Jacob, God’s[g] chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.[h]
8 He always remembers his covenantal decree,
the promise he made[i] to a thousand generations—
9 the promise[j] he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac.
10 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,[k]
11 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
12 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and resident foreigners within it,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.[l]
14 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
15 saying,[m] “Don’t touch my chosen ones.[n]
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 He called down a famine upon the earth;
he cut off all the food supply.[o]
17 He sent a man ahead of them[p]—
Joseph was sold as a servant.
18 The shackles hurt his feet;[q]
his neck was placed in an iron collar,[r]
19 until the time when his prediction[s] came true.
The Lord’s word[t] proved him right.[u]
20 The king authorized his release;[v]
the ruler of nations set him free.
21 He put him in charge of his palace,[w]
and made him manager of all his property,
22 giving him authority to imprison his officials[x]
and to teach his advisers.[y]
23 Israel moved to[z] Egypt;
Jacob lived for a time[aa] in the land of Ham.
24 The Lord[ab] made his people very fruitful,
and made them[ac] more numerous than their[ad] enemies.
25 He caused the Egyptians[ae] to hate his people,
and to mistreat[af] his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses,
and Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They executed his miraculous signs among them,[ag]
and his amazing deeds in the land of Ham.
28 He made it dark;[ah]
Moses and Aaron did not disobey his orders.[ai]
29 He turned the Egyptians’ water into blood,
and killed their fish.
30 Their land was overrun by frogs,
which even got into the rooms of their kings.
31 He ordered flies to come;[aj]
gnats invaded their whole territory.
32 He sent hail along with the rain;[ak]
there was lightning in their land.[al]
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees,
and broke the trees throughout their territory.
34 He ordered locusts to come,[am]
innumerable grasshoppers.
35 They ate all the vegetation in their land,
and devoured the crops of their fields.[an]
36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power.[ao]
37 He brought his people[ap] out enriched[aq] with silver and gold;
none of his tribes stumbled.
38 Egypt was happy when they left,
for they were afraid of them.[ar]
39 He spread out a cloud for a cover,[as]
and provided a fire to light up the night.
40 They asked for food,[at] and he sent quail;
he satisfied them with food from the sky.[au]
41 He opened up a rock and water flowed out;
a river ran through dry regions.
42 Yes,[av] he remembered the sacred promise[aw]
he made to Abraham his servant.
43 When he led his people out, they rejoiced;
his chosen ones shouted with joy.[ax]
44 He handed the territory of nations over to them,
and they took possession of what other peoples had produced,[ay]
45 so that they might keep his commands
and obey[az] his laws.
Praise the Lord.
Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den
6 It seemed like a good idea to Darius[a] to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps[b] who would be in charge of the entire kingdom. 2 Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable[c] to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage. 3 Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom. 4 Consequently the supervisors and satraps were trying to find[d] some pretext against Daniel in connection with administrative matters.[e] But they were unable to find any such damaging evidence,[f] because he was trustworthy and guilty of no negligence or corruption.[g] 5 So these men concluded,[h] “We won’t find any pretext against this man Daniel unless it is[i] in connection with the law of his God.”
6 So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion[j] to the king and said[k] to him, “O King Darius, live forever! 7 To all the supervisors of the kingdom, the prefects, satraps, counselors, and governors it seemed like a good idea for a royal edict to be issued and an interdict to be enforced. For the next thirty days anyone who prays[l] to any god or human other than you, O king, should be thrown into a den of lions. 8 Now let the king issue a written interdict[m] so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”[n] 9 So King Darius issued the written interdict.
10 When Daniel realized[o] that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows[p] in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. Three[q] times daily he was[r] kneeling[s] and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously. 11 Then those officials who had gone to the king[t] came by collusion and found Daniel praying and asking for help before his God. 12 So they approached the king and said to him,[u] “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct,[v] according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.” 13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives[w] from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.”[x]
14 When the king heard this,[y] he was very upset and began thinking about[z] how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon[aa] he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and[ab] said to him,[ac] “Recall,[ad] O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”
Introduction and Thanksgiving
1 From[a] the elder,[b] to an elect lady[c] and her children, whom I love in truth[d] (and not I alone, but also all those[e] who know the truth), 2 because of the truth[f] that resides in us and will be with us forever. 3 Grace, mercy, and[g] peace will be with us from God the Father and from[h] Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 I rejoiced greatly because I have found some[i] of your children living according to the truth,[j] just as the Father commanded us.[k]
Warning Against False Teachers
5 But now[l] I ask you, lady (not as if I were[m] writing a new commandment[n] to you, but the one[o] we have had from the beginning),[p] that[q] we love one another. 6 (Now this is love: that we walk[r] according to his commandments.) This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning; thus[s] you should walk in it.[t] 7 For[u] many deceivers have gone out into the world, people who do not confess Jesus as[v] Christ[w] coming in the flesh.[x] This person is the deceiver and the antichrist![y] 8 Watch out, so that you do not lose the things we have worked for,[z] but receive a full reward.[aa]
9 Everyone[ab] who goes on ahead and does not remain[ac] in the teaching of Christ[ad] does not have God.[ae] The one who remains in this teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house and do not give him any greeting,[af] 11 because the person who gives him a greeting shares in his evil deeds.[ag]
Conclusion
12 Though I have many other[ah] things to write to you, I do not want to do so with[ai] paper and ink,[aj] but I hope to come visit you and speak face to face,[ak] so that our joy may be complete.
13 The children of your elect sister greet you.[al]
Healing a Leper
12 While[a] Jesus[b] was in one of the towns,[c] a man came[d] to him who was covered with[e] leprosy.[f] When[g] he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground[h] and begged him,[i] “Lord, if[j] you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 So[k] he stretched out his hand and touched[l] him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then[m] he ordered the man[n] to tell no one,[o] but commanded him,[p] “Go[q] and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering[r] for your cleansing, as Moses commanded,[s] as a testimony to them.”[t] 15 But the news about him spread even more,[u] and large crowds were gathering together to hear him[v] and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself[w] frequently withdrew[x] to the wilderness[y] and prayed.
Healing and Forgiving a Paralytic
17 Now on[z] one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees[aa] and teachers of the law[ab] sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem),[ac] and the power of the Lord was with him[ad] to heal. 18 Just then[ae] some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man[af] on a stretcher.[ag] They[ah] were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus.[ai] 19 But[aj] since they found[ak] no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof[al] and let him down on the stretcher[am] through the roof tiles[an] right[ao] in front of Jesus.[ap] 20 When[aq] Jesus[ar] saw their[as] faith he said, “Friend,[at] your sins are forgiven.”[au] 21 Then[av] the experts in the law[aw] and the Pharisees began to think[ax] to themselves,[ay] “Who is this man[az] who is uttering blasphemies?[ba] Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived[bb] their hostile thoughts,[bc] he said to them,[bd] “Why are you raising objections[be] within yourselves? 23 Which is easier,[bf] to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know[bg] that the Son of Man[bh] has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man[bi]—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher[bj] and go home.”[bk] 25 Immediately[bl] he stood up before them, picked[bm] up the stretcher[bn] he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying[bo] God. 26 Then[bp] astonishment[bq] seized them all, and they glorified[br] God. They were filled with awe,[bs] saying, “We have seen incredible[bt] things[bu] today.”[bv]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.