Book of Common Prayer
78 An Instruction of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my law, Incline your ear to sayings of my mouth.
2 I open with a simile my mouth, I bring forth hidden things of old,
3 That we have heard and do know, And our fathers have recounted to us.
4 We do not hide from their sons, To a later generation recounting praises of Jehovah, And His strength, and His wonders that He hath done.
5 And He raiseth up a testimony in Jacob, And a law hath placed in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.
6 So that a later generation doth know, Sons who are born, do rise and recount to their sons,
7 And place in God their confidence, And forget not the doings of God, But keep His commands.
8 And they are not like their fathers, A generation apostate and rebellious, A generation! it hath not prepared its heart, Nor stedfast with God [is] its spirit.
9 Sons of Ephraim -- armed bearers of bow, Have turned in a day of conflict.
10 They have not kept the covenant of God, And in His law they have refused to walk,
11 And they forget His doings, And His wonders that He shewed them.
12 Before their fathers He hath done wonders, In the land of Egypt -- the field of Zoan.
13 He cleft a sea, and causeth them to pass over, Yea, He causeth waters to stand as a heap.
14 And leadeth them with a cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He cleaveth rocks in a wilderness, And giveth drink -- as the great deep.
16 And bringeth out streams from a rock, And causeth waters to come down as rivers.
17 And they add still to sin against Him, To provoke the Most High in the dry place.
18 And they try God in their heart, To ask food for their lust.
19 And they speak against God -- they said: `Is God able to array a table in a wilderness?'
20 Lo, He hath smitten a rock, And waters flow, yea, streams overflow. `Also -- bread [is] He able to give? Doth He prepare flesh for His people?'
21 Therefore hath Jehovah heard, And He sheweth Himself wroth, And fire hath been kindled against Jacob, And anger also hath gone up against Israel,
22 For they have not believed in God, Nor have they trusted in His salvation.
23 And He commandeth clouds from above, Yea, doors of the heavens He hath opened.
24 And He raineth on them manna to eat, Yea, corn of heaven He hath given to them.
25 Food of the mighty hath each eaten, Venison He sent to them to satiety.
26 He causeth an east wind to journey in the heavens, And leadeth by His strength a south wind,
27 And He raineth on them flesh as dust, And as sand of the seas -- winged fowl,
28 And causeth [it] to fall in the midst of His camp, Round about His tabernacles.
29 And they eat, and are greatly satisfied, And their desire He bringeth to them.
30 They have not been estranged from their desire, Yet [is] their food in their mouth,
31 And the anger of God hath gone up against them, And He slayeth among their fat ones, And youths of Israel He caused to bend.
32 With all this they have sinned again, And have not believed in His wonders.
33 And He consumeth in vanity their days, And their years in trouble.
34 If He slew them, then they sought Him, And turned back, and sought God earnestly,
35 And they remember that God [is] their rock, And God Most High their redeemer.
36 And -- they deceive Him with their mouth, And with their tongue do lie to Him,
37 And their heart hath not been right with Him, And they have not been stedfast in His covenant.
38 And He -- the Merciful One, Pardoneth iniquity, and destroyeth not, And hath often turned back His anger, And waketh not up all His fury.
39 And He remembereth that they [are] flesh, A wind going on -- and it returneth not.
40 How often do they provoke Him in the wilderness, Grieve Him in the desolate place?
41 Yea, they turn back, and try God, And the Holy One of Israel have limited.
42 They have not remembered His hand The day He ransomed them from the adversary.
43 When He set His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan,
44 And He turneth to blood their streams, And their floods they drink not.
45 He sendeth among them the beetle, and it consumeth them, And the frog, and it destroyeth them,
46 And giveth to the caterpillar their increase, And their labour to the locust.
47 He destroyeth with hail their vine, And their sycamores with frost,
48 And delivereth up to the hail their beasts, And their cattle to the burning flames.
49 He sendeth on them the fury of His anger, Wrath, and indignation, and distress -- A discharge of evil messengers.
50 He pondereth a path for His anger, He kept not back their soul from death, Yea, their life to the pestilence He delivered up.
51 And He smiteth every first-born in Egypt, The first-fruit of the strong in tents of Ham.
52 And causeth His people to journey as a flock, And guideth them as a drove in a wilderness,
53 And He leadeth them confidently, And they have not been afraid, And their enemies hath the sea covered.
54 And He bringeth them in unto the border of His sanctuary, This mountain His right hand had got,
55 And casteth out nations from before them, And causeth them to fall in the line of inheritance, And causeth the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents,
56 And they tempt and provoke God Most High, And His testimonies have not kept.
57 And they turn back, And deal treacherously like their fathers, They have been turned like a deceitful bow,
58 And make Him angry with their high places, And with their graven images make Him zealous,
59 God hath heard, and sheweth Himself wroth. And kicketh exceedingly against Israel.
60 And He leaveth the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
61 And He giveth His strength to captivity, And His beauty into the hand of an adversary,
62 And delivereth up to the sword His people, And with His inheritance shewed Himself angry.
63 His young men hath fire consumed, And His virgins have not been praised.
64 His priests by the sword have fallen, And their widows weep not.
65 And the Lord waketh as a sleeper, As a mighty one crying aloud from wine.
66 And He smiteth His adversaries backward, A reproach age-during He hath put on them,
67 And He kicketh against the tent of Joseph, And on the tribe of Ephraim hath not fixed.
68 And He chooseth the tribe of Judah, With mount Zion that He loved,
69 And buildeth His sanctuary as a high place, Like the earth, He founded it to the age.
70 And He fixeth on David His servant, And taketh him from the folds of a flock,
71 From behind suckling ones He hath brought him in, To rule over Jacob His people, And over Israel His inheritance.
72 And he ruleth them according to the integrity of his heart, And by the skilfulness of his hands leadeth them!
19 And he saith to him, `Go in peace.' And he goeth from him a kibrath of land,
20 And Gehazi, servant of Elisha the man of God, saith, `Lo, my lord hath spared Naaman this Aramaean, not to receive from his hand that which he brought; Jehovah liveth; surely if I have run after him, then I have taken from him something.'
21 And Gehazi pursueth after Naaman, and Naaman seeth one running after him, and alighteth from off the chariot to meet him, and saith, `Is there peace?'
22 And he saith, `Peace; my lord hath sent me, saying, Lo, now, this, come unto me have two young men from the hill-country of Ephraim, of the sons of the prophets; give, I pray thee, to them, a talent of silver, and two changes of garments.'
23 And Naaman saith, `Be pleased, take two talents;' and he urgeth on him, and bindeth two talents of silver in two purses, and two changes of garments, and giveth unto two of his young men, and they bear before him;
24 and he cometh in unto the high place, and taketh out of their hand, and layeth up in the house, and sendeth away the men, and they go.
25 And he hath come in, and doth stand by his lord, and Elisha saith unto him, `Whence -- Gehazi?' and he saith, `Thy servant went not hither or thither.'
26 And he saith unto him, `My heart went not when the man turned from off his chariot to meet thee; is it a time to take silver, and to take garments, and olives, and vines, and flock, and herd, and men-servants, and maid-servants?
27 yea, the leprosy of Naaman doth cleave to thee, and to thy seed, -- to the age;' and he goeth out from before him -- leprous as snow.
5 Whoredom is actually heard of among you, and such whoredom as is not even named among the nations -- as that one hath the wife of the father! --
2 and ye are having been puffed up, and did not rather mourn, that he may be removed out of the midst of you who did this work,
3 for I indeed, as being absent as to the body, and present as to the spirit, have already judged, as being present, him who so wrought this thing:
4 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ -- ye being gathered together, also my spirit -- with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,
5 to deliver up such a one to the Adversary for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.
6 Not good [is] your glorying; have ye not known that a little leaven the whole lump doth leaven?
7 cleanse out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, according as ye are unleavened, for also our passover for us was sacrificed -- Christ,
8 so that we may keep the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of evil and wickedness, but with unleavened food of sincerity and truth.
27 `Ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not commit adultery;
28 but I -- I say to you, that every one who is looking on a woman to desire her, did already commit adultery with her in his heart.
29 `But, if thy right eye doth cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.
30 `And, if thy right hand doth cause thee to stumble, cut it off, and cast from thee, for it is good to thee that one of thy members may perish, and not thy whole body be cast to gehenna.
31 `And it was said, That whoever may put away his wife, let him give to her a writing of divorce;
32 but I -- I say to you, that whoever may put away his wife, save for the matter of whoredom, doth make her to commit adultery; and whoever may marry her who hath been put away doth commit adultery.
33 `Again, ye heard that it was said to the ancients: Thou shalt not swear falsely, but thou shalt pay to the Lord thine oaths;
34 but I -- I say to you, not to swear at all; neither by the heaven, because it is the throne of God,
35 nor by the earth, because it is His footstool, nor by Jerusalem, because it is a city of a great king,
36 nor by thy head mayest thou swear, because thou art not able one hair to make white or black;
37 but let your word be, Yes, Yes, No, No, and that which is more than these is of the evil.