Book of Common Prayer

²¹ Are they Hebrew people? So am I. Are they Israel's people? So am I. Is Abraham their father? He is mine too.

²² Are they workers for Christ? (I talk like one who is not in his right mind.) I am a better worker. I have worked much harder. I have been in prison more often. I have been beaten many, many times. Often I have almost died.

²³ The Jewish leaders five times gave me thirty nine strikes with the rope.

²⁴ Three times people beat me with sticks, and once they threw rocks at me. Three times I was in a boat when it broke in the sea. I have been in the water all one night and day.

²⁵ I have travelled much. I have crossed bad rivers. I have gone where men might steal my things. The Jews and those who are not Jews have troubled me. I have been in hard places in the city. I have had hard times in the desert. I have had hard times on the water. I have had hard times among those who should have been my brothers and were not.

²⁶ I have worked hard. I have been tired out. I have often had no sleep at night. I have been hungry and thirsty. I have often had nothing to eat. I have been cold and did not have enough clothes to wear.

²⁷ Beside all other things, my heart is troubled about the churches. That is a load I carry every day.

²⁸ When anyone is weak, I am weak too. When anyone is made to fall away, my heart burns within me

³⁰ If I must talk about myself, I will talk about the things that show I am weak.

³¹ God knows I am not telling lies. He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and he is to be praised forever. 32In the city of Damascus a man ruled for king Aretas. He had the gates of the city guarded because he wanted to catch me.

³² But I sat in a basket. Then it was put out through a window in the wall and was let down. And so I got away from him.

¹¹ While they were listening to this, he started to tell them a story. He did so because they were near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God would begin right away.

¹² So he said, `A man who belonged to a respected family went to a country far away. He went to get power to rule. Then he was going to come back.

¹³ Before he left, he called ten of his servants. He gave each of them some money. He said, "Go and trade with this money until I come back."

¹⁴ `His people hated him. They chose some men and sent them after him to tell the king, "We do not want this man to rule over us."

¹⁵ But he was given the power to rule and came back. Then he called the servants to whom he had given the money. He wanted to know how much money each one had made by trading.

¹⁶ The first one came to him and said, "Sir, your money has made ten times more money."

¹⁷ `The ruler said, "You have done well. You are a good servant. You will rule over ten cities because you have done well with a very small thing."

¹⁸ The second one came to him and said, "Sir, your money has made five times more money."

¹⁹ The ruler said, "You will rule over five cities."

²⁰ `Then another servant came and said, "Sir, here is your money. I hid it in a cloth and kept it.

²¹ I was afraid of you. You are a hard man. You take in where you put nothing out. You gather where you did not plant."

²² `The ruler said "You bad servant! I will judge you by your own words. You knew that I was a hard man! You knew that I take in where I put nothing out. You knew that I gather where I did not plant.

²³ Why did you not put my money in the bank? Then when you came home I would have had my money with interest."

²⁴ `Some men were standing there. He said to them, "Take the money from him. Give it to the man who has ten times as much."

²⁵ They said, "Sir, he has ten times as much already!"

²⁶ The ruler said, "I tell you. Anyone who has some will get more. But he who does not have anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.

²⁷ But where are those people who hate me and did not want me to rule over them? Bring them here and kill them right here in front of me." '