Book of Common Prayer

19 After this I heard a loud sound in heaven. It sounded like many people calling. They said, `Praise our God! He saves people. He is great and power belongs to him.

² The way God punishes is true and right. He has punished the bad woman who spoiled the earth with her wrong ways. He has made her pay for the killing of his servants.'

³ They said again, `Praise God! The smoke where she burns goes up for ever and ever!'

⁴ Then the twenty-four leaders and the four living beings kneeled down. They worshipped God who was sitting on his throne, and they said, `Amen! Yes, it is so! Praise God!'

⁵ A voice from the throne said, `Praise our God, all his servants, all who respect and honour him: you who are great and you who are not great, praise him!'

⁶ Then I heard a sound in heaven. It sounded like many people and much water flowing and like loud thunder. They said, `Praise God! The Lord our God, who has all power, rules!

⁷ We will be glad and very happy! We will praise him. The time has come for the Lamb to marry. The woman who will marry him is ready.

⁸ She was given the right to wear fine linen, shining and clean.' The fine linen means the good things God's people have done.

⁹ The angel said to me, `Write this: God blesses those who are called to come to the wedding feast of the Lamb.' And he said to me, `These are the true words of God.'

¹⁰ Then I kneeled down in front of him to worship him. But he said to me, `You must not do that! I am only a servant like you and like your brothers who tell about Jesus. Worship God! Those who tell about Jesus have the spirit of a prophet.'

16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus. They wanted to test him, so they asked him to show them a sign from the sky.

² He answered them, `In the evening you say, "It will be a nice day tomorrow because the sky is red."

³ In the morning you say, "It will be a stormy day, because the sky is red and there are clouds." You know the meaning of these signs in the sky. But you do not know the meaning of the signs about the time in which we are living.

⁴ People today are wrong. They have gone away from God. They want a sign. No sign will be given them but the sign of Jonah.' Then Jesus went away and left them.

⁵ When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they found they had forgotten to bring any bread with them.

⁶ Jesus said, `Watch! Do not let the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees spoil you.'

⁷ The disciples said to each other, `He said that because we did not bring any bread.'

⁸ Jesus knew what they were saying. He said to them, `You don't believe very much in me. Why are you saying to each other, "We have no bread".

⁹ Do you not yet understand? When there were five thousand people, there were only five loaves of bread. Do you not remember how many baskets full of pieces you gathered up?

¹⁰ When there were four thousand people, there were only seven loaves. Do you not remember how many baskets full of pieces you gathered up?

¹¹ Why do you not understand that I was not talking about bread? Take care. Do not let the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees spoil you.'

¹² Then they understood that he was not talking about bread. He did not mean that the yeast of bread would spoil them. They understood that he was talking about the things the Pharisees and Sadducees taught.