Book of Common Prayer
Praise to Yahweh for His Faithfulness in Israel’s History
106 Praise Yah.[a] Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love is forever.
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of Yahweh,
or proclaim all his praise?
3 Blessed are those who observe justice,
he who does righteousness at all times.
4 Remember me, O Yahweh, when you show favor to your people.
Look after me when you deliver,
5 that I may see the good done your chosen ones,
to be glad in the joy of your nation,
to glory together with your inheritance.
6 We have sinned along with our ancestors.[b]
We have committed iniquity; we have incurred guilt.
7 Our ancestors[c] in Egypt did not understand your wonderful works.
They did not remember your many acts of loyal love,
and so they rebelled by the sea at the Red Sea.[d]
8 Yet he saved them for the sake of his name,
to make known his might.
9 So he rebuked the Red Sea,[e] and it dried up,
and he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 Thus he saved them from the hand of the hater
and redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 But waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13 They quickly forgot his works;
they did not wait for his counsel.
14 And they craved intensely[f] in the wilderness,
and tested God in the desert.
15 So he gave to them their request,
but he sent leanness into their souls.[g]
16 And they were jealous of Moses in the camp,
and of Aaron, the holy one of Yahweh.
17 The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and it covered over the gang of Abiram.
18 Also fire burned in their assembly;
the flame devoured the wicked.
19 They made a calf at Horeb
and bowed down to a cast image.
20 And so they exchanged their glory
for an image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wonders in the land of Ham,
awesome deeds by the Red Sea.[h]
23 So he said he would exterminate them,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to reverse his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they refused the desirable land;
they did not believe his word,
25 but grumbled in their tents.
They did not obey the voice of Yahweh.
26 So he made an oath[i] against them,
to make them drop in the wilderness,
27 and to disperse[j] their descendants[k] among the nations
and to scatter them among the lands.
28 They also attached themselves to Baal of Peor,
and they ate sacrifices offered to the dead.[l]
29 Thus they provoked to anger by their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and so the plague was stopped,
31 and it was reckoned to him as righteousness
throughout all generations.[m]
32 They also angered God at the waters of Meribah,
and it went badly for Moses on account of them,
33 because they rebelled against his Spirit,[n]
and he spoke thoughtlessly with his lips.
34 They did not exterminate the peoples,
as Yahweh had commanded them, [o]
35 but they mingled with the nations
and learned their works,
36 and served their idols,
which became[p] a snare to them.
37 They even sacrificed their sons and daughters
to the demons,
38 and they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and so the land was defiled with the blood.[q]
39 And they became unclean by their works,
and were unfaithful in their deeds.
40 So Yahweh’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his inheritance.
41 Then he gave them into the hand of the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 And their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their hand.
43 Many times he delivered them,
but they rebelled in their counsel,
and were brought low by their iniquity.
44 Yet he looked upon their distress
when he heard their cry.
45 And he remembered his covenant with them,
and relented based on the abundance of his loyal love.
46 And he let them find compassion[r]
before all their captors.
47 Save us, O Yahweh our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and boast in your praise.
48 Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel,
from everlasting and to everlasting.
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise Yah.[s]
24 Now David had come to Mahanaim, and Absalom had crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 25 Absalom had appointed Amasa in place of Joab over the army. Now Amasa was the son of a man whose name was Ithra the Israelite, who had married[a] Abigail the daughter of Nahash the sister of Zeruiah, the mother of Joab. 26 Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead. 27 Just as David had arrived in Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites[b] and Makir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim 28 brought beds and basins and objects of pottery, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, curds, sheep, cheese, and cattle for David and for the people who were with him to eat. For they had thought, “The troops are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Absalom Dies in Battle
18 Then David mustered the people who were with him, and he appointed over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds. 2 David sent forth a third of the troops under the command of Joab,[c] and a third under the command of Abishai,[d] the brother of Joab, the son of Zeruiah, and the remaining third under the command of Ittai[e] the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I, even I, will certainly go out[f] with you.” 3 Then the troops said, “You will not go out, for if we must flee,[g] then they will not care about us;[h] even if half of us die, they will not care about us,[i] but now, you are like ten thousand of us. And so then, it is better for us that you be in the city to help.” 4 The king said to them, “I will do what seems good in your eyes.” So the king stood at the side of the gate while all of the troops went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 The king ordered Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “With respect to the young man Absalom, deal gently for me.” And all the troops heard when the king ordered all of the commanders concerning the matter of Absalom.
6 The army went out to the field to meet Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim. 7 The army of Israel was defeated there before the servants of David, and the defeat there was great on that day: twenty thousand. 8 The battle there was spreading over the surface of all the land, and the forest devoured more among the army than[j] the sword did on that day.
30 But on the next day, because he[a] wanted to know the true reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble, and he brought down Paul and[b] had him[c] stand before them.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
23 And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, “Men and brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day.” 2 So the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike his mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! And are you sitting there judging me according to the law, and acting contrary to the law do you order me to be struck?” 4 And those who stood nearby said, “Are you reviling the high priest of God?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”[d]
6 Now when[e] Paul realized that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he shouted out in the Sanhedrin, “Men and brothers! I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees! I am being judged concerning the hope and the resurrection of the dead!” 7 And when[f] he said this, a dispute developed between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angel or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.) 9 And there was loud shouting, and some of the scribes from the party of the Pharisees stood up and[g] contended sharply, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man! But what if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 And when[h] the dispute became severe, the military tribune, fearing lest Paul be torn apart by them, ordered the detachment to go down, take him away from their midst, and bring him[i] into the barracks.[j] 11 And the next night the Lord stood by him and[k] said, “Have courage, for as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
A Barren Fig Tree Cursed
12 And on the next day as[a] they were departing from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And when he[b] saw from a distance a fig tree that had leaves, he went to see if perhaps he would find anything on it. And when he[c] came up to it he found nothing except leaves, because it was not the season for figs. 14 And he responded and[d] said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you any more forever!”[e] And his disciples heard it.[f]
The Cleansing of the Temple
15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered into the temple courts[g] and[h] began to drive out those who were selling and those who were buying in the temple courts,[i] and overturned the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those who were selling doves. 16 And he did not permit anyone to carry objects[j] through the temple courts.[k] 17 And he began to teach[l] and was saying to them, “Is it not written,
‘My house will be called a house of prayer
for all the nations,’[m]
but you have made it a cave of robbers!” 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it,[n] and began considering[o] how they could destroy him. For they were afraid of him because the whole crowd was astounded by his teaching. 19 And when evening came they went out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Withered
20 And as they[p] passed by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. 21 And Peter remembered and[q] said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered!” 22 And Jesus answered and[r] said to them, “Have faith in God! 23 Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea!’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 For this reason I say to you, whatever you pray and ask for, believe that you have received it,[s] and it will be done for you. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him,[t] so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your sins.”[u]
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