Book of Common Prayer
Israel’s Rebelliousness and the Lord’s Help.
106 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, for He (B)is good;
For (C)His mercy is everlasting.
2 Who can speak of the (D)mighty deeds of the Lord,
Or can proclaim all His praise?
3 How blessed are those who maintain [c]justice,
[d]Who (E)practice righteousness at all times!
4 Remember me, Lord, in Your (F)favor [e]toward Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation,
5 So that I may see the (G)prosperity of Your chosen ones,
That I may (H)rejoice in the joy of Your nation,
That I may (I)boast with Your [f]inheritance.
6 (J)We have sinned [g](K)like our fathers,
We have gone astray, we have behaved wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your [h]wonders;
They (L)did not remember [i]Your abundant kindnesses,
But (M)rebelled by the sea, at the [j]Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them (N)for the sake of His name,
So that He might (O)make His power known.
9 So He (P)rebuked the [k]Red Sea and it (Q)dried up,
And He (R)led them through the mighty waters, as through the wilderness.
10 So He (S)saved them from the [l]hand of one who hated them,
And (T)redeemed them from the [m]hand of the enemy.
11 (U)The waters covered their adversaries;
Not one of them was left.
12 Then they (V)believed His words;
They (W)sang His praise.
13 They quickly (X)forgot His works;
They (Y)did not wait for His plan,
14 But (Z)became lustfully greedy in the wilderness,
And (AA)put God to the test in the desert.
15 So He (AB)gave them their request,
But (AC)sent a [n]wasting disease among them.
16 When they became (AD)envious of Moses in the camp,
And of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord,
17 The (AE)earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
And engulfed the [o]company of Abiram.
18 And a (AF)fire blazed up in their [p]company;
The flame consumed the wicked.
19 They (AG)made a calf in Horeb,
And worshiped a cast metal image.
20 So they (AH)exchanged their glory
For the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They (AI)forgot God their Savior,
Who had done (AJ)great things in Egypt,
22 [q](AK)Wonders in the land of Ham,
And awesome things by the [r]Red Sea.
23 Therefore (AL)He said that He would destroy them,
If (AM)Moses, His chosen one, had not stood in the gap before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they (AN)rejected the (AO)pleasant land;
They (AP)did not believe His word,
25 But (AQ)grumbled in their tents;
They did not listen to the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore He [s](AR)swore to them
That He would have them fall in the wilderness,
27 And that He would (AS)bring down their [t]descendants among the nations,
And (AT)scatter them in the lands.
28 They also (AU)followed [u]Baal-peor,
And ate (AV)sacrifices offered to the dead.
29 So they (AW)provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas (AX)stood up and [v]intervened,
And so the (AY)plague was brought to a halt.
31 And it was (AZ)credited to him as righteousness,
To all generations forever.
32 They also (BA)provoked Him to wrath at the waters of [w]Meribah,
So that it (BB)went badly for Moses on their account.
33 Because they (BC)were rebellious against [x]His Spirit,
He spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They (BD)did not destroy the peoples,
As (BE)the Lord had commanded them,
35 But (BF)they got involved with the nations
And learned their [y]practices,
36 And (BG)served their idols,
(BH)Which became a snare to them.
37 They even (BI)sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the (BJ)demons,
38 And shed (BK)innocent blood,
The blood of their (BL)sons and their daughters
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And the land was (BM)defiled with the blood.
39 So they became (BN)unclean in their [z]practices,
And [aa](BO)were unfaithful in their deeds.
40 Therefore the (BP)anger of the Lord was kindled against His people,
And He (BQ)loathed His [ab](BR)inheritance.
41 So (BS)He handed them over to the [ac]nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also (BT)oppressed them,
And they were subdued under their [ad]power.
43 Many times He would (BU)rescue them;
They, however, were rebellious in their (BV)plan,
And they (BW)sank down into their guilt.
Laws of Holy Days
23 The Lord spoke again to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘(A)The Lord’s appointed times which you shall (B)proclaim as holy convocations—My appointed times are these:
3 ‘(C)For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings.
4 ‘These are the (D)appointed times of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them. 5 (E)In the [a]first month, on the fourteenth day of the month [b]at twilight is the Lord’s Passover. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the (F)Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall (G)not do any laborious work. 8 But for seven days you shall present an offering by fire to the Lord. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work.’”
9 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When you enter the land which I am going to give to you and you (H)gather its harvest, then you shall bring in the sheaf of the first fruits of your harvest to the priest. 11 He shall wave the sheaf before the Lord for you to be accepted; on the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 Now on the day when you wave the sheaf, you shall offer a male lamb one year old without defect as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 Its (I)grain offering shall then be [c]two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil, an offering by fire to the Lord for a soothing aroma, with its drink offering, a [d]fourth of a hin of wine. 14 Until this very day, until you have brought in the offering of your God, (J)you shall eat neither bread nor roasted grain nor new produce. It is to be a permanent statute throughout your generations in all your dwelling places.
15 ‘(K)You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths. 16 You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a (L)new grain offering to the Lord. 17 You shall bring in from your dwelling places two loaves of bread as a wave offering, made of [e]two-tenths of an ephah; they shall be of a fine flour, baked (M)with leaven as first fruits to the Lord. 18 Along with the bread you shall present seven one-year-old male lambs without defect, and a bull of the herd and two rams; they are to be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, an offering by fire of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 19 You shall also offer (N)one male goat as a [f]sin offering, and two male lambs one year old as a sacrifice of peace offerings. 20 The priest shall then wave them with the bread of the first fruits as a wave offering with two lambs before the Lord; they are to be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 On this very day you shall (O)make a proclamation as well; you are to have a holy convocation. You shall do no laborious (P)work. It is to be a permanent statute in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.
22 ‘(Q)When you reap the harvest of your land, moreover, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field nor gather the gleaning of your harvest; you are to leave them for the needy and the stranger. I am the Lord your God.’”
Man of Lawlessness
2 Now we ask you, (A)brothers and sisters, regarding the [a](B)coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our (C)gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your [b]composure or be disturbed either by a (D)spirit, or a [c](E)message, or a (F)letter as if from us, to the effect that (G)the day of the Lord (H)has come. 3 (I)No one is to deceive you in any way! For it will not come unless the [d](J)apostasy comes first, and the (K)man of lawlessness is revealed, the (L)son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above [e](M)every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, (N)displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that (O)while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know (P)what restrains him now, so that he will be revealed in his time. 7 For (Q)the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only [f](R)He who now restrains will do so until [g]He is [h]removed. 8 Then that lawless one (S)will be revealed, whom the Lord will eliminate (T)with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the (U)appearance of His [i]coming; 9 that is, the one whose [j]coming is in accord with the activity of (V)Satan, with all power and false [k](W)signs and wonders, 10 and with [l]all the deception of wickedness for (X)those who perish, because they did not accept the love of (Y)the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason (Z)God [m]will send upon them [n]a (AA)deluding influence so that they will believe [o]what is false, 12 in order that they all may be [p]judged who (AB)did not believe the truth, but [q](AC)took pleasure in wickedness.
Stand Firm
13 (AD)But we should always give thanks to God for you, (AE)brothers and sisters beloved by the Lord, because (AF)God has chosen you [r]from the beginning (AG)for salvation [s](AH)through sanctification [t]by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 It was for this He (AI)called you through (AJ)our gospel, [u]that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers and sisters, (AK)stand firm and (AL)hold on to the traditions which you were taught, whether (AM)by word of mouth or (AN)by letter [v]from us.
16 (AO)Now may our Lord Jesus Christ (AP)Himself and God our Father, who has (AQ)loved us and given us eternal comfort and (AR)good hope by grace, 17 (AS)comfort and (AT)strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.
Judging Others
7 “(A)Do not [a]judge, so that you will not be judged. 2 For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and [b](B)by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you (C)look at the [c]speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 (D)Or how [d]can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the [e]speck out of your eye,’ and look, the log is in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the [f]speck out of your brother’s eye!
6 “(E)Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before pigs, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.
Prayer and the Golden Rule
7 “[g](F)Ask, and (G)it will be given to you; [h]seek, and you will find; [i]knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what person is there among you [j]who, when his son asks for a loaf of bread, [k]will give him a stone? 10 Or [l]if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? 11 So if you, despite being [m]evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, (H)how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
12 “In everything, (I)therefore, [n]treat people the same way you want [o]them to treat you, for (J)this is the Law and the Prophets.
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