Book of Common Prayer
105 Give thanks to the Lord and call out to him!
Tell the nations what he has done!
2 Sing to him; sing praises to him.
Tell about the amazing things he has done.
3 Be proud of his holy name.
You followers of the Lord, be happy!
4 Depend on the Lord for strength.
Always go to him for help.
5 Remember the amazing things he has done.
Remember his miracles and his fair decisions.
6 You belong to the family of his servant Abraham.
You are descendants of Jacob, the people God chose.
7 The Lord is our God.
He rules the whole world.
8 He will remember his agreement forever.
He will always keep the promises he made to his people.
9 He will keep the agreement he made with Abraham
and the promise he made to Isaac.
10 He gave it as a law to Jacob.
He gave it to Israel as an agreement that will last forever!
11 He said, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It will be your very own.”
12 At the time God said this, there were only a few of his people,
and they were strangers there.
13 They traveled around from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 But the Lord did not let anyone mistreat them.
He warned kings not to harm them.
15 He said, “Don’t hurt my chosen people.
Don’t harm my prophets.”
16 He caused a famine in that country,
and people did not have enough food.
17 But he sent a man named Joseph to go ahead of them.
Joseph was sold like a slave.
18 They tied a rope around his feet
and put an iron ring around his neck.
19 Joseph was a slave until what he said had really happened.
The Lord’s message proved that Joseph was right.
20 So the king of Egypt set him free.
That nation’s leader let him out of jail.
21 He put Joseph in charge of his house.
Joseph took care of everything the king owned.
22 Joseph gave instructions to the other leaders.
He taught the older men.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived there in Ham’s country.[a]
24 Jacob’s family became very large
and more powerful than their enemies.
25 So the Egyptians began to hate his people.
They made plans against his servants.
26 So the Lord sent Moses, his servant,
and Aaron, his chosen priest.
27 He used Moses and Aaron
to do many miracles in Ham’s country.
28 He sent darkness to cover their land,
but the Egyptians did not listen to him.
29 So he changed the water into blood,
and all their fish died.
30 Their country was filled with frogs,
even in the king’s bedroom.
31 The Lord gave the command,
and the flies and gnats came.
They were everywhere!
32 He made the rain become hail.
Lightning struck throughout their land.
33 He destroyed their vines and fig trees.
He destroyed every tree in their country.
34 He gave the command, and the locusts and grasshoppers came.
There were too many to count!
35 They ate all the plants in the country,
including all the crops in their fields.
36 Then the Lord killed every firstborn in their country.
He killed their oldest sons.
37 He led his people out of Egypt.
They were carrying gold and silver,
and none of them stumbled or fell behind.
38 Egypt was happy to see his people go,
because they were afraid of them.
39 The Lord spread out his cloud like a blanket.
He used his column of fire to give his people light at night.
40 They asked for food, and he sent them quail.
He also gave them plenty of bread from heaven.
41 He split the rock, and water came bubbling out.
A river began flowing in the desert!
42 The Lord remembered his holy promise
that he had made to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought his people out of Egypt.
They came out rejoicing and singing their happy songs!
44 Then he gave his people the lands of other nations.
His people got what others had worked for.
45 He did this so that his people would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Praise the Lord!
All People Will Learn About God
65 “I helped people who had not come to me for advice. Those who found me were not looking for me.[a] I spoke to a nation that does not use my name. I said, ‘Here I am! Here I am!’
2 “All day long I stood ready to accept those who turned against me. But they kept doing whatever they wanted to do, and all they did was wrong. 3 They keep doing things, right in front of me, that make me angry. They offer sacrifices and burn incense in their special gardens.[b] 4 They sit among the graves, waiting to get messages from the dead. They eat the meat of pigs, and their pots are full of soup made from unclean meat. 5 But they tell others, ‘Don’t come near me! Don’t touch me because I am holy!’ They are like smoke in my eyes, and their fire burns all the time.”
Israel Must Be Punished
6 “Look, here is a letter that lists all your sins. I will not be quiet until I pay you back for these sins. I will do it by punishing you. 7 I, the Lord, am doing this because of your sins and the sins of your ancestors. They did these sins when they burned incense in the mountains. They shamed me on those hills, and I punished them first.”
8 The Lord says, “When there is new wine in the grapes, people squeeze out the wine. But they don’t completely destroy the grapes because the grapes can still be used. I will do the same thing to my servants. I will not destroy them completely. 9 I will keep some of the people of Jacob. Some of the people of Judah will get my mountains. I will choose the people who will get the land. My servants will live there. 10 Then Sharon Valley will be a field for sheep. The Valley of Achor[c] will be a place for cattle to rest. All this will be for my people—for the people who come to me for help.
11 “But you people left the Lord, so you will be punished. You forgot about my holy mountain.[d] You began to worship Luck. You held feasts for the false god, Fate.[e] 12 But I decided what would happen to you: you will be killed with a sword. You will all be killed because I called to you, but you refused to answer me. I spoke to you, but you would not listen. You did what I said is evil and chose to do what I did not like.”
A Warning About False Teachers
4 The Spirit clearly says that in the last times some will turn away from what we believe. They will obey spirits that tell lies. And they will follow the teachings of demons. 2 Those teachings come through people who tell lies and trick others. These evil people cannot see what is right and what is wrong. It is like their conscience has been destroyed with a hot iron. 3 They say that it is wrong to marry. And they say that there are some foods that people must not eat. But God made these foods, and those who believe and who understand the truth can eat them with thanks. 4 Everything that God made is good. Nothing he made should be refused if it is accepted with thanks to him. 5 Everything he created is made holy by what he has said and by prayer.
Be a Good Servant of Christ Jesus
6 Tell this to the brothers and sisters there. This will show that you are a good servant of Christ Jesus. You will show that you are made strong by the words of faith and good teaching you have followed. 7 People tell silly stories that don’t agree with God’s truth. Don’t follow what these stories teach. But teach yourself to be devoted to God. 8 Training your body helps you in some ways. But devotion to God helps you in every way. It brings you blessings in this life and in the future life too. 9 Here is a true statement that should be accepted without question: 10 We hope in the living God, the Savior of all people. In particular, he is the Savior of all those who believe in him. This is why we work and struggle.
11 Command and teach these things. 12 You are young, but don’t let anyone treat you as if you are not important. Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them by what you say, by the way you live, by your love, by your faith, and by your pure life.
13 Continue to read the Scriptures to the people, encourage them, and teach them. Do this until I come. 14 Remember to use the gift you have, which was given to you through a prophecy[a] when the group of elders laid their hands on you. 15 Continue to do these things. Give your life to doing them. Then everyone can see that your work is progressing. 16 Be careful in your life and in your teaching. Continue to live and teach rightly. Then you will save yourself and those who listen to your teaching.
The Jewish Leaders Try to Trick Jesus(A)
13 Later, the Jewish leaders sent some Pharisees and some men from the group called Herodians to Jesus. They wanted to catch him saying something wrong. 14 They went to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we know that you are an honest man. You are not afraid of what others think about you. All people are the same to you. And you teach the truth about God’s way. Tell us, is it right to pay taxes to Caesar? Should we pay them or not?”
15 But Jesus knew that these men were really trying to trick him. He said, “Why are you trying to catch me saying something wrong? Bring me a silver coin. Let me see it.” 16 They gave Jesus a coin and he asked, “Whose picture is on the coin? And whose name is written on it?” They answered, “It is Caesar’s picture and Caesar’s name.”
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.” The men were amazed at what Jesus said.
Some Sadducees Try to Trick Jesus(B)
18 Then some Sadducees came to Jesus. (Sadducees believe that no one will rise from death.) They asked him a question: 19 “Teacher, Moses wrote that if a married man dies and had no children, his brother must marry the woman. Then they will have children for the dead brother.[a] 20 There were seven brothers. The first brother married but died. He had no children. 21 So the second brother married the woman. But he also died and had no children. The same thing happened with the third brother. 22 All seven brothers married the woman and died. None of the brothers had any children with her. And she was the last to die. 23 But all seven brothers had married her. So at the time when people rise from death, whose wife will she be?”
24 Jesus answered, “How could you be so wrong? It’s because you don’t know what the Scriptures say. And you don’t know anything about God’s power. 25 When people rise from death, there will be no marriage. People will not be married to each other. All people will be like angels in heaven. 26 Surely you have read what God said about people rising from death. In the book where Moses wrote about the burning bush,[b] it says that God told Moses this: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[c] 27 So they were not still dead, because he is the God only of living people. You Sadducees are so wrong!”
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International