Book of Common Prayer
3 My brothers, not many of you should be teachers. You know that we who teach will be punished more than other people.
2 We all do many wrong things. Any man who never says anything wrong is right in every way. He is able to make his whole body do what is right.
3 We put a piece of iron in the mouths of horses so they will obey us. Then we can make their whole bodies go where we want them to go.
4 Look at the big boats also. They are very big. The strong winds push them along. But a man uses a small piece of wood and makes the boat go where he wants it to go.
5 A person's tongue is like that. It is a small part of the body but it talks about big things. A very small fire can burn a big pile of wood!
6 The tongue is like a fire. It is like a whole world of trouble. It is a part of our body. And it makes our whole body bad. It burns up our whole life. And the fire that makes the tongue burn comes from hell.
7 People have been able to tame all kinds of animals, birds, snakes, and fish.
8 But no one can tame the tongue. It is a bad thing that will not be ruled. It is full of poison that can kill.
9 We praise our Lord and Father with our tongues. And we speak wrong words about people with our tongues, even though they were made like God.
10 Praising and wrong words come out of the same mouth! My brothers, this should not be so.
11 Do good water and bad water both come from the same place?
12 My brothers, do olives come from a fig tree? Or do figs come from a vine? No, they do not! Salt water and fresh water do not both come from the same place.
15 As soon as it was morning, the chief priests, leaders, and the scribes talked together. They tied Jesus and took him before Pilate to be judged.
2 Pilate asked him, `Are you the King of the Jews?' Jesus answered, `Yes, I am.'
3 The chief priests brought many complaints against Jesus.
4 Then Pilate asked him, `Have you nothing to say? These people are bringing many complaints against you!'
5 But Jesus said nothing. Pilate was very much surprised about this.
6 At the feast Pilate used to let one prisoner free. He let the people choose the man they wanted to go free.
7 In the prison was a man named Barabbas. He had led some people who had been fighting in the city. He had killed a man.
8 The people started shouting. They asked Pilate to let one prisoner free, as he used to do.
9 Then Pilate asked, `Do you want me to let the King of the Jews go free?'
10 He knew that the chief priests did not like Jesus. He knew that was why they brought Jesus to him.
11 But the chief priests talked to the people. They told them to ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free.
© 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications