Book of Common Prayer
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will tell (D)riddles of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have told us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But we will (G)tell the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His power and His (H)wondrous works that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they were to [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)So that the generation to come would know, (N)the children yet to be born,
That they would arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 So that they would put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)comply with His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back on the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His Law;
11 They (Z)forgot His deeds
And His [f]miracles that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He performed wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)divided the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He (AG)split the rocks in the wilderness
And gave them plenty to drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams from the rock
And made waters run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking for (AK)food [g]that suited their taste.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He also provide bread?
Will He prepare (AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore the Lord heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob,
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the clouds above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat,
And gave them [i](AS)food from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)made the east wind blow in the sky
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He let them fall in the midst of [n]their camp,
All around their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And He [o]satisfied their longing.
30 [p]Yet before they had abandoned their longing,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)strongest ones,
And [r]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (BA)still sinned
And (BB)did not believe in His wonderful works.
33 So He brought (BC)their days to an end in futility,
And their years to an end in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And they returned and searched (BE)diligently for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (BF)rock,
And the Most High God their (BG)Redeemer.
36 But they (BH)flattered Him with their mouth
And (BI)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (BJ)steadfast toward Him,
Nor were they faithful with His covenant.
38 But He, being (BK)compassionate, [s](BL)forgave their wrongdoing and did not destroy them;
And often He [t](BM)restrained His anger
And did not stir up all His wrath.
39 So (BN)He remembered that they were only (BO)flesh,
A [u](BP)wind that passes and does not return.
40 How often they (BQ)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And (BR)grieved Him in the (BS)desert!
41 Again and again they [v](BT)tempted God,
And pained the (BU)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BV)did not remember (BW)His [w]power,
The day when He (BX)redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He performed His (BY)signs in Egypt
And His (BZ)marvels in the field of Zoan,
44 And (CA)turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, so that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of (CB)flies among them that devoured them,
And (CC)frogs that destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the (CD)grasshopper
And the product of their labor to the (CE)locust.
47 He [x]destroyed their vines with (CF)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also turned their (CG)cattle over to the hailstones,
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (CH)sent His burning anger upon them,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
A band of [y]destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their souls from death,
But (CI)turned their lives over to the plague,
51 And (CJ)struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (CK)first and best of their vigor in the tents of (CL)Ham.
52 But He (CM)led His own people out like sheep,
And guided them in the wilderness (CN)like a flock;
53 He led them (CO)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (CP)the sea engulfed their enemies.
54 So (CQ)He brought them to His holy [z]land,
To this [aa](CR)hill country (CS)which His right hand had gained.
55 He also (CT)drove out the nations from them
And (CU)apportioned them as an inheritance by measurement,
And had the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [ab](CV)tempted and (CW)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (CX)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (CY)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (CZ)provoked Him with their (DA)high places
And (DB)moved Him to jealousy with their (DC)carved images.
59 When God heard them, He [ac]was filled with (DD)wrath
And He utterly (DE)rejected Israel;
60 So that He (DF)abandoned the (DG)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [ad]which He had pitched among people,
61 And He gave up His (DH)strength to captivity
And His glory (DI)into the hand of the enemy.
62 He also (DJ)turned His people over to the sword,
And [ae]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (DK)Fire devoured [af]His young men,
And [ag]His (DL)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ah]His (DM)priests fell by the sword,
And [ai]His (DN)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (DO)awoke as if from sleep,
Like a (DP)warrior [aj]overcome by wine.
66 He [ak](DQ)drove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting disgrace.
67 He also (DR)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (DS)Zion, which He loved.
69 And He (DT)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He also (DU)chose His servant David
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From [al](DV)the care of the [am]ewes (DW)with nursing lambs He brought him
To (DX)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (DY)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (DZ)integrity of his heart,
And guided them with his skillful hands.
The People Complain
11 Now the people became like (A)those who complain of adversity (B)in the ears of the Lord; and the Lord heard them and His anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some at the outskirts of the camp. 2 (C)The people then cried out to Moses; and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire [a]died out. 3 So that place was named [b](D)Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them.
4 Now the (E)rabble who were among them [c]had greedy cravings; and the sons of Israel also wept again and said, “(F)Who will give us [d]meat to eat? 5 (G)We remember the fish which we used to eat for free in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; 6 but now (H)our [e]appetite is gone. There is nothing at all [f]to look at except this manna!”
7 (I)Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance like that of [g](J)bdellium. 8 The people would roam about and gather it and grind it [h]between two millstones, or pound it in the mortar, and boil it in the pot and make loaves with it; and its taste was like the taste of [i]cake baked with oil. 9 (K)When the dew came down on the camp at night, the manna would come down [j]with it.
The Complaint of Moses
10 Now Moses heard the people weeping throughout their families, each one at the entrance of his tent; and the anger of the Lord became very hot, and [k]Moses was displeased. 11 (L)So Moses said to the Lord, “Why have You [l]been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have put the burden of all this people on me? 12 Was it I who conceived all this people? Or did I give birth to them, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them [m]in your arms, as a [n](M)nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which (N)You swore to their fathers’? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to (O)all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat so that we may eat!’ 14 (P)I am not able to carry all this people by myself, because it is too [o]burdensome for me. 15 (Q)So if You are going to deal with me this way, please kill me now, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my misery.”
Seventy Elders to Assist Moses
16 The Lord therefore said to Moses, “Gather for Me (R)seventy men from the elders of Israel, (S)whom you know to be the elders of the people and their officers, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their stand there with you. 17 (T)Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take away some of (U)the Spirit who is upon you, and put Him upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you will not bear it by yourself. 18 And you shall say to the people, ‘(V)Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept (W)in the ears of the Lord, saying, “[p]Oh that someone would give us meat to eat! For we were well-off in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat and you shall eat. 19 You shall eat, not one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 [q]but for a whole month, until it comes out of your nose and [r]makes you nauseated; because (X)you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before Him, saying, “Why did we ever leave Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people, among whom I am included, are six hundred thousand on foot! Yet You have said, ‘I will give them meat, so that they may eat for a whole month.’ 22 Are flocks and herds to be slaughtered for them, so that it will be sufficient for them? Or are all the fish of the sea to be [s]caught for them, so that it will be sufficient for them?” 23 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Is (Y)the Lord’s [t]power too little? Now you shall see whether (Z)My word will [u]come true for you or not.”
16 For I am not (A)ashamed of the gospel, for (B)it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the (C)Jew first and also to (D)the Greek. 17 For in it (E)the righteousness of God is revealed [a]from faith to faith; as it is written: “[b](F)But the righteous one will live by faith.”
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For (G)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who (H)suppress the truth [c]in unrighteousness, 19 because (I)that which is known about God is evident [d]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For (J)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, (K)being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not [e]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became (L)futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 (M)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and they (N)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and [f]crawling creatures.
24 Therefore (O)God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be (P)dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for [g](Q)falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, (R)who is blessed [h]forever. Amen.
22 (A)And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be [a]handed over to men; 23 and (B)they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.” And they were deeply grieved.
The Temple Tax
24 Now when they came to Capernaum, those who collected (C)the [b]two-drachma tax came to Peter and said, “Does your teacher not pay (D)the [c]two-drachma tax?” 25 He *said, “Yes.” And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying, “What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect (E)customs or [d](F)poll-tax, from their sons or from strangers?” 26 When Peter said, “From strangers,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons are [e]exempt. 27 However, so that we do not (G)offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up; and when you open its mouth, you will find a [f]stater. Take that and give it to them for you and Me.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.