Book of Common Prayer
Mem
97 Oh, how I love your teachings!
I talk about them all the time.
98 Your commands are always with me,
and they make me wiser than my enemies.
99 I am wiser than all my teachers,
because I study your rules.
100 I understand more than those who are older,
because I obey your instructions.
101 I have avoided every path that leads to evil
so that I could obey your word.
102 You are my teacher,
so I will always do whatever you decide.
103 Your words are so sweet to me,
like the taste of honey!
104 I gain understanding from your instructions,
so I hate anything that leads people the wrong way.
Nun
105 Your word is like a lamp that guides my steps,
a light that shows the path I should take.
106 Your laws are good and fair.
I have promised to obey them, and I will keep my promise.
107 Lord, I have suffered for a long time.
Say the word, and I will live again![a]
108 Lord, accept the praise I want to give you,
and teach me your laws.
109 My life is always in danger,
but I have not forgotten your teachings.
110 The wicked try to trap me,
but I have not disobeyed your instructions.
111 The rules you have given me to follow will be mine forever.
They give me great joy.
112 More than anything I want to obey your laws always,
until the end of my life.
Samekh
113 Lord, I hate those who are not completely loyal to you,
but I love your teachings.
114 Hide me and protect me.
I trust what you say.
115 Don’t come near me, you who are evil,
so that I can obey my God’s commands.
116 Support me, Lord, as you promised, and I will live.
I trust in you, so don’t disappoint me.
117 Help me and I will be saved.
And I will always give attention to your laws.
118 You reject all who don’t obey your laws,
because they are liars and did not do what they said.
119 You throw away the wicked of this world like trash.
So I love your rules.
120 I am shaking with fear before you.
I fear and respect your judgments.
To the director: On the gittith. One of Asaph’s songs.
81 Be happy and sing to God, our strength.
Shout with joy to the God of Jacob.
2 Begin the music.
Play the tambourines.
Play the pleasant harps and lyres.
3 Blow the ram’s horn at the time of the new moon[a]
and at the time of the full moon,[b] when our festival begins.
4 This is the law for the people of Israel.
The God of Jacob gave the command.
5 God made this agreement with Joseph’s people,
when he led them out of Egypt.
In a language we didn’t understand, God said,
6 “I took the load from your shoulder.
I let you drop the worker’s basket.
7 When you were in trouble, you called for help, and I set you free.
I was hidden in the storm clouds, and I answered you.
I tested you by the water at Meribah.[c]” Selah
8 “My people, I am warning you.
Israel, listen to me!
9 Don’t worship any of the false gods
that the foreigners worship.
10 I, the Lord, am your God.
I brought you out of Egypt.
Israel, open your mouth,
and I will feed you.
11 “But my people did not listen to me.
Israel did not obey me.
12 So I let them go their own stubborn way
and do whatever they wanted.
13 If my people would listen to me
and would live the way I want,
14 then I would defeat their enemies.
I would punish those who cause them trouble.
15 Those who hate the Lord would shake with fear.
They would be punished forever.
16 I would give the best wheat to my people.
I would give them the purest honey, until they were satisfied.”
One of Asaph’s songs of praise.
82 God stands in the assembly of the gods.[d]
He stands as judge among the judges.
2 He says, “How long will you judge unfairly
and show special favors to the wicked?” Selah
3 “Defend the poor and orphans.
Protect the rights of the poor.
4 Help those who are poor and helpless.
Save them from those who are evil.
5 “They[e] don’t know what is happening.
They don’t understand!
They don’t know what they are doing.
Their world is falling down around them!”
6 I, God Most High, say,
“You are gods,[f] my own sons.
7 But you will die as all people must die.
Your life will end like that of any ruler.”
8 Get up, God! You be the judge!
You be the leader over all the nations!
24 So Moses went out to speak with the people. He told them what the Lord said. Then he gathered 70 of the elders together and told them to stand around the Tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He put on the 70 elders some of the same Spirit that was on Moses. After the Spirit came down on them, they began to prophesy.[a] But that was the only time they ever did this.
26 Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, did not go out to the Tent. Their names were on the list of elders, but they stayed in camp. But the Spirit also came on them, and they began prophesying in camp. 27 A young man ran and told Moses. The man said, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in camp.”
28 Joshua son of Nun said to Moses, “Moses, sir, you must stop them!” (Joshua had been Moses’ helper since Joshua was a boy.)
29 But Moses answered, “Are you afraid the people will think that I am not the leader now? I wish that all the Lord’s people were able to prophesy. I wish that the Lord would put his Spirit on all of them!” 30 Then Moses and the leaders of Israel went back to the camp.
The Quail Come
31 Then the Lord made a powerful wind to blow in from the sea, and it blew quail into the area all around the camp. There were so many birds that the ground was covered. They were about three feet deep on the ground. There were quail in every direction as far as a man can walk in one day. 32 They went out and gathered quail all that day and all that night. And they gathered quail all the next day too! The smallest amount anyone gathered was 60 bushels. Then the people spread the quail meat all around the camp to dry in the sun.
33 People began to eat the meat, but the Lord became very angry. While the meat was still in their mouths, before the people could finish eating it, the Lord caused the people to become very sick and die. 34 So the people named that place Kibroth Hattaavah,[b] because there they buried those who had the strong desire for meat.
35 From Kibroth Hattaavah the people traveled to Hazeroth and stayed there.
28 People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do. 29 They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip 30 and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They don’t obey their parents, 31 they are foolish, they don’t keep their promises, and they show no kindness or mercy to others. 32 They know God’s law says that anyone who lives like that should die. But they not only continue to do these things themselves, but they also encourage others who do them.
Let God Be the Judge
2 So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge them, but you do the same things they do. So when you judge them, you are really condemning yourself. 2 God judges all who do such things, and we know his judgment is right. 3 And since you do the same things as those people you judge, surely you understand that God will punish you too. How could you think you would be able to escape his judgment? 4 God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.
5 But you are so stubborn! You refuse to change. So you are making your own punishment greater and greater. You will be punished on the day when God will show his anger. On that day everyone will see how right God is to judge people. 6 He will reward or punish everyone for what they have done. 7 Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. They live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give eternal life to them. 8 But others are selfish and refuse to follow truth. They follow evil. God will show his anger and punish them. 9 He will give trouble and suffering to everyone who does evil—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. 10 But he will give glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews. 11 God judges everyone the same. It doesn’t matter who they are.
Who Is the Greatest?(A)
18 About that time the followers came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in God’s kingdom?”
2 Jesus called a little child to come to him. He stood the child in front of the followers. 3 Then he said, “The truth is, you must change your thinking and become like little children. If you don’t do this, you will never enter God’s kingdom. 4 The greatest person in God’s kingdom is the one who makes himself humble like this child.
5 “Whoever accepts a little child like this in my name is accepting me.
Jesus Warns About Causes of Sin(B)
6 “If one of these little children believes in me, and someone causes that child to sin, it will be very bad for that person. It would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and be drowned in the deep sea. 7 I feel sorry for the people in the world because of the things that make people sin. These things must happen, but it will be very bad for anyone who causes them to happen.
8 “If your hand or your foot makes you sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose part of your body and have eternal life than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the fire that burns forever. 9 If your eye makes you sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to have only one eye and have eternal life than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International