Book of Common Prayer
Foreign Nations Come to Worship in Jerusalem
Of the sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.[a]
87 His foundation is on the holy mountains.
2 Yahweh loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3 Glorious things are spoken about[b] you,
O city of God. Selah
4 I will record[c] those who know me
in Rahab[d] and Babylon,
behold in Philistia and Tyre with Cush,
“This one was born there.”
5 But with respect to Zion it shall be said,
“Each one[e] was born in her,”
for the Most High himself will establish her.
6 Yahweh will record in writing the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah
7 And while dancing, singers will sing,
“All my springs are in you.”
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.[a]
90 O Lord, you have been our help[b] in all generations.[c]
2 Before the mountains were born
and you brought forth the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting, you are God.
3 You return man to the dust,
saying,[d] “Return, O sons of man.”
4 For a thousand years in your eyes
are like yesterday when it passes,
or like a watch in the night.
5 You sweep them away like a flood.
They fall asleep.[e]
In the morning they are like grass that sprouts anew.
6 In the morning it blossoms and sprouts anew;
by evening it withers and dries up.
7 For we are brought to an end by your anger,
and we hasten off[f] by your wrath.
8 You have put our iniquities before you,
our hidden sins into the light of your countenance.
9 For all of our days dwindle away in your rage;
we complete our years like a sigh.
10 As for the days of our years, within them are seventy years
or if by strength eighty years, and their pride[g] is trouble and disaster,
for it passes quickly and we fly away.
11 Who knows the strength of your anger,
and your rage consistent with[h] the fear due you?
12 So teach us to number our days
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13 Return,[i] O Yahweh. How long?
And have compassion on[j] your servants.
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loyal love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen calamity.
16 Let your work be visible to your servants,
and your majesty to their children.
17 And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us,
and establish for us the work of our hands,
yes, the work of our hands, establish it.
Praise to God for His Creation and Deliverance
136 Give thanks to Yahweh, for he is good,
for his loyal love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for his loyal love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his loyal love endures forever.
4 To him who alone does great wonders,
for his loyal love endures forever.
5 To him who made the heavens with skill,[a]
for his loyal love endures forever.
6 To him who spread out the earth above the waters,
for his loyal love endures forever.
7 To him who made the great lights,
for his loyal love endures forever.
8 The sun to rule the day,
for his loyal love endures forever.
9 The moon and stars to rule the night,
for his loyal love endures forever.
10 To him who struck Egypt through their firstborn,
for his loyal love endures forever.
11 And he brought Israel out from among them,
for his loyal love endures forever.
12 With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his loyal love endures forever.
13 To him who divided the Red Sea[b] in two,
for his loyal love endures forever.
14 And he let Israel cross over through the midst of it,
for his loyal love endures forever.
15 But he tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,[c]
for his loyal love endures forever.
16 To him who led his people through the wilderness,
for his loyal love endures forever.
17 To him who struck great kings,
for his loyal love endures forever.
18 And he killed mighty kings,
for his loyal love endures forever.
19 Sihon the king of the Amorites,
for his loyal love endures forever.
20 And Og the king of Bashan,
for his loyal love endures forever.
21 And he gave their land as an inheritance,
for his loyal love endures forever.
22 An inheritance to Israel his servant,
for his loyal love endures forever.
23 Who remembered us in our low estate,
for his loyal love endures forever.
24 And he rescued us from our enemies,
for his loyal love endures forever.
25 The one who gives food to all flesh,
for his loyal love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for his loyal love endures forever.
27 So Israel settled in the land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen. And they acquired possessions in it and were fruitful and multiplied greatly. 28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years. And the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were one hundred and forty-seven years. 29 When the time of Israel’s death drew near,[a] he called to his son, to Joseph. And he said to him, “If I have found favor in your eyes, please put your hand under my thigh, that you might vow to deal kindly[b] and faithfully with me. Please do not bury me in Egypt, 30 but let me lie with my ancestors.[c] Carry me out of Egypt and bury me in their burial site.” And he said, “I will do according to your word.” 31 Then he said, “Swear to me.” And he swore to him. Then Israel bowed himself on the head of the bed.
Jacob Blesses Ephraim and Manasseh
48 And it happened that after these things, it was said to Joseph, “Behold, your father is ill.” And he took his two sons with him, Ephraim and Manasseh. 2 And it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you.” Then Israel strengthened himself and he sat up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “El-Shaddai[d] appeared to me in Luz, in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, 4 and said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and make you numerous, and will make you a company of nations. And I will give this land to your offspring after you as an everlasting possession.’ 5 And now, your two sons who were born to you in the land of Egypt before my coming to you in Egypt, are mine. Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 And your children whom you father after them shall be yours. By the name of their brothers they shall be called, with respect to their inheritance. 7 As for me, when I came to Paddan-Aram Rachel died to my sorrow[e] in the land of Canaan on the way when there was still some distance to go to Ephrath. And I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).”
A History Lesson from Israel
10 For I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all went through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. 5 But God was not pleased with the majority of them, for they were struck down in the desert.
6 Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we should not be desirers of evil things, just as those also desired them, 7 and not become idolaters, as some of them did, just as it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and stood up to play,”[a] 8 nor commit sexual immorality, as some of them committed sexual immorality, and twenty-three thousand fell in one day, 9 nor put Christ to the test, as some of them tested him, and were destroyed by snakes, 10 nor grumble, just as some of them grumbled, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to those people as an example, but are written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore, the one who thinks that he stands must watch out lest he fall. 13 Temptation has not come upon you except what is common to humanity. But God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but will also make a way out together with the temptation, so that you may be able to endure it.
Human Traditions and God’s Commandments
7 And the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered to him. 2 And they saw that some of his disciples were eating their[a] bread with unclean—that is, unwashed—hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands ritually,[b] thus[c] holding fast to the traditions of the elders. 4 And when they come[d] from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. And there are many other traditions[e] which they have received and[f] hold fast to—for example,[g] the washing of cups and pitchers and bronze kettles and dining couches.)[h] 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their[i] bread with unclean hands?” 6 So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written,
‘This people honors me with their[j] lips,
but their heart is far, far away from me.
7 And they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’[k]
8 Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.”
9 And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep[l] your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’[m] and, ‘The one who speaks evil of father or mother must certainly die[n].’[o] 11 But you say, ‘If a man says to his[p] father or to his[q] mother, “Whatever benefit you would have received[r] from me is corban”[s] (that is, a gift to God), 12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his[t] father or his[u] mother, 13 thus[v] making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down, and you do many similar things such as this.”
Defilement from Within
14 And summoning the crowd again, he said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside of a person that is able to defile him by[w] going into him. But the things that go out of a person are the things that defile a person.”[x] 17 And when he entered into the house away from the crowd, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “So are you also without understanding? Do you not understand that everything that is outside that goes into a person is not able to defile him? 19 For it does not enter into his heart but into his[y] stomach, and goes out into the latrine”—thus[z] declaring all foods clean. 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person, that defiles a person. 21 For from within, from the heart of people, come evil plans, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, acts of greed, malicious deeds, deceit, licentiousness, envy,[aa] abusive speech, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.”
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