Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make His deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Tell of all His [b]wonders.
3 Boast in His holy name;
May the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [c](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [d]spoken by His mouth,
6 You [e]descendants of (K)Abraham, His servant,
You sons of (L)Jacob, His (M)chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
His (N)judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has (O)remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a (P)thousand generations,
9 The (Q)covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His (R)oath to Isaac.
10 Then He (S)confirmed it to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, “(T)To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the [f](U)portion of your inheritance,”
12 When they were only a (V)few people in number,
Very few, and (W)strangers in it.
13 And they wandered from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people,
14 He (X)allowed no one to oppress them,
And He [g](Y)rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
15 “(Z)Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do not harm My prophets.”
16 And He (AA)called for a famine upon the land;
He (AB)broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He (AC)sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was (AD)sold as a slave.
18 They forced his (AE)feet into shackles,
[h]He was put in irons;
19 Until the time that his (AF)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord (AG)refined him.
20 The (AH)king sent and released him,
The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
21 He (AI)made him lord of his house,
And ruler over all his possessions,
22 To [i]imprison his high officials [j](AJ)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 (AK)Israel also came into Egypt;
So Jacob (AL)lived in the land of Ham.
24 And He (AM)made His people very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He (AN)turned their heart to hate His people,
To (AO)deal cunningly with His servants.
26 He (AP)sent His servant Moses,
And (AQ)Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They [k](AR)performed His wondrous acts among them,
And miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He (AS)sent darkness and made it dark;
And they did not (AT)rebel against His words.
29 He (AU)turned their waters into blood,
And caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with (AV)frogs
Even in the (AW)chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and a (AX)swarm of flies
And (AY)gnats invaded all their territory.
32 He [l]gave them (AZ)hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He also (BA)struck their vines and their fig trees,
And smashed the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and (BB)locusts came,
And creeping locusts, beyond number,
35 And they ate all the vegetation in their land,
And ate the fruit of their ground.
36 He also (BC)fatally struck all the firstborn in their land,
The (BD)first fruits of all their vigor.
37 Then He brought [m]the Israelites out with (BE)silver and gold,
And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.
38 Egypt was (BF)glad when they departed,
For the (BG)dread of them had fallen upon [n]the Egyptians.
39 He spread out a (BH)cloud as a [o]covering,
And (BI)fire to illumine by night.
40 [p]They (BJ)asked, and He brought (BK)quail,
And satisfied them with the [q](BL)bread of heaven.
41 He opened the [r]rock and (BM)water flowed out;
[s]It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He (BN)remembered His holy word
With His servant Abraham;
43 And He led out His people with joy,
His chosen ones with a joyful (BO)shout.
44 He also (BP)gave them the lands of the [t]nations,
So that they (BQ)might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,
45 And that they might (BR)keep His statutes
And comply with His laws;
[u]Praise [v]the Lord!
Daniel Serves Darius
6 [a]It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps over the kingdom, to be in charge of the whole kingdom, 2 and over them, three commissioners (of whom (A)Daniel was one), so that these satraps would be accountable to them, and that the king would not [b]suffer (B)loss. 3 Then this Daniel began distinguishing himself [c]among the commissioners and satraps because [d]he possessed an (C)extraordinary spirit, and the king intended to appoint him over the (D)entire kingdom. 4 Then the commissioners and satraps began (E)trying to find a ground of accusation against Daniel regarding [e]government affairs; but they could find (F)no ground of accusation or evidence of corruption, because he was trustworthy, and no negligence or corruption was to be found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We will not find any ground of accusation against this Daniel unless we find it against him regarding the (G)law of his God.”
6 Then these commissioners and satraps came [f]by agreement to the king and spoke to him as follows: “King Darius, (H)live forever! 7 All the (I)commissioners of the kingdom, the prefects and the satraps, the counselors and the governors, have (J)consulted together that the king should establish a statute and enforce an injunction that anyone who offers a prayer to any god or person besides you, O king, for thirty days, shall (K)be thrown into the lions’ [g]den. 8 Now, O king, (L)establish the injunction and sign the document so that it will not be changed, according to the (M)law of the Medes and Persians, which [h]may not be revoked.” 9 Thereupon, King Darius (N)signed the document, that is, the injunction.
10 Now when Daniel learned that the document was signed, he entered his house (and in his roof chamber he had windows open (O)toward Jerusalem); and he continued (P)kneeling on his knees three times a day, (Q)praying and (R)offering praise before his God, just as he had been doing previously. 11 Then these men came [i](S)by agreement and found Daniel offering a prayer and imploring favor before his God. 12 Then they approached and (T)spoke before the king about the king’s injunction: “Did you not sign an injunction that any person who offers a prayer to any god or person besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be thrown into the lions’ den?” The king replied, “The statement is true, according to the (U)law of the Medes and Persians, which [j]may not be revoked.” 13 Then they responded and spoke before the king, “(V)Daniel, who is one of the [k]exiles from Judah, pays (W)no attention to you, O king, or to the injunction which you signed, but keeps offering his prayer three times a day.”
14 Then, as soon as the king heard this statement, he was deeply (X)distressed, and set his mind on rescuing Daniel; and until sunset he kept exerting himself to save him. 15 Then these men came [l]by agreement to the king and said to the king, “Recognize, O king, that it is a (Y)law of the Medes and Persians that no injunction or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
Walk According to His Commandments
1 (A)The elder to the (B)chosen (C)lady and her children, whom I (D)love in truth; and not only I, but also all who (E)know the truth, 2 (F)because of the truth which remains (G)in us and will be (H)with us forever: 3 (I)Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love.
4 (J)I was overjoyed to find some of your children walking in truth, just as we have received a commandment to do from the Father. 5 Now I ask you, lady, (K)not as though I were writing to you a new commandment, but the one which we have had (L)from the beginning, that we (M)love one another. 6 And (N)this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, (O)just as you have heard (P)from the beginning, that you are to walk in it.
7 For (Q)many deceivers have (R)gone out into the world, those who (S)do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is (T)the deceiver and the (U)antichrist. 8 (V)Watch yourselves, (W)that you do not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward. 9 [a]Anyone who [b]goes too far and (X)does not remain in the teaching of Christ, does not have God; the one who remains in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, (Y)do not receive him into your house, and do not [c]give him a greeting; 11 for the one who [d]gives him a greeting [e](Z)participates in his evil deeds.
12 (AA)Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak [f]face to face, so that [g]your (AB)joy may be made complete.
13 The children of your (AC)chosen sister greet you.
A Man with Leprosy Healed
12 (A)While He was in one of the cities, behold, there was a man [a]covered with leprosy; and when he saw Jesus, he fell on his face and begged Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” 13 And He reached out with His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 And He ordered him to tell no one, saying, “But go and (B)show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 15 But (C)the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. 16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away [b]to the [c]wilderness and (D)pray.
A Man Lowered through a Roof
17 [d]One day He was teaching, and (E)there were some Pharisees and (F)teachers of the Law sitting there who had (G)come from every village of Galilee and Judea, and from Jerusalem; and (H)the power of the Lord was present for Him to perform healing. 18 (I)And some men were carrying a man on a stretcher who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. 19 But when they did not find any way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on (J)the roof and let him down (K)through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle of the crowd, in front of Jesus. 20 And seeing their faith, He said, “[e]Friend, (L)your sins are forgiven you.” 21 The scribes and the Pharisees (M)began thinking of the implications, saying, “(N)Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? (O)Who can forgive sins, except God alone?” 22 But Jesus, [f]aware of their thoughts, responded and said to them, “Why are you thinking this way in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, to say: ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,” He said to the (P)man who was paralyzed, “I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher, and go home.” 25 And immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home (Q)glorifying God. 26 And [g]they were all struck with astonishment and began (R)glorifying God. They were also filled (S)with fear, saying, “We have seen remarkable things today!”
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