Book of Common Prayer
God’s Guidance of His People in Spite of Their Unfaithfulness.
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Listen, O 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 utter (D)dark sayings 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 (G)tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength 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 should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)tell them to their children,
7 That they should put their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the works of God,
But (Q)keep 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 in 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 wrought 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 abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams also from the rock
And caused waters to 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 (AK)food according to their desire.
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 give bread also?
Will He provide [g](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 did eat the bread of [j]angels;
He sent them [k]food [l](AT)in abundance.
26 He (AU)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens
And by His [m]power He directed the south wind.
27 When He rained [n]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 Then He let them fall in the midst of [o]their camp,
Round about their dwellings.
29 So they (AW)ate and were well filled,
And their desire He gave to them.
30 [p]Before they had satisfied their desire,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [q]some of their (AZ)stoutest 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 [s]futility
And their years in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And 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)deceived 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 in His covenant.
38 But He, being (BK)compassionate, [t](BL)forgave their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And often He [u](BM)restrained His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus (BN)He remembered that they were but (BO)flesh,
A [v](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 [w](BT)tempted God,
And pained the (BU)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BV)did not remember (BW)His [x]power,
The day when He (BX)redeemed them from the adversary,
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, they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of (CB)flies which devoured them,
And (CC)frogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crops to the (CD)grasshopper
And the product of their labor to the (CE)locust.
47 He [y]destroyed their vines with (CF)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their (CG)cattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (CH)sent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and trouble,
[z]A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not spare their soul from death,
But (CI)gave over their life to the plague,
51 And (CJ)smote all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (CK)first issue of their virility in the tents of (CL)Ham.
52 But He (CM)led forth His own people 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 [aa]land,
To this [ab](CR)hill country (CS)which His right hand had gained.
55 He also (CT)drove out the nations before them
And (CU)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [ac](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)aroused His jealousy with their (DC)graven images.
59 When God heard, He [ad]was filled with (DD)wrath
And greatly (DE)abhorred Israel;
60 So that He (DF)abandoned the (DG)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [ae]which He had pitched among men,
61 And gave up His (DH)strength to captivity
And His glory (DI)into the hand of the adversary.
62 He also (DJ)delivered His people to the sword,
And [af]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (DK)Fire devoured [ag]His young men,
And [ah]His (DL)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ai]His (DM)priests fell by the sword,
And [aj]His (DN)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (DO)awoke as if from sleep,
Like a (DP)warrior [ak]overcome by wine.
66 He [al](DQ)drove His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
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 founded forever.
70 He also (DU)chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From [am](DV)the care of the [an]ewes (DW)with suckling 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.
Isaac Settles in Gerar
26 Now there was (A)a famine in the land, besides the previous famine that had occurred in the days of Abraham. So Isaac went to Gerar, to (B)Abimelech king of the Philistines. 2 The Lord (C)appeared to him and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; [a](D)stay in the land of which I shall tell you. 3 Sojourn in this land and (E)I will be with you and (F)bless you, for (G)to you and to your [b]descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish (H)the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. 4 (I)I will multiply your [c]descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your [d]descendants all these lands; and (J)by your [e]descendants all the nations of the earth [f]shall be blessed; 5 because Abraham [g](K)obeyed Me and kept My charge, My commandments, My statutes and My laws.”
6 So Isaac [h]lived in Gerar.
12 Now Isaac sowed in that land and [a]reaped in the same year a hundredfold. And (A)the Lord blessed him, 13 and the man (B)became rich, and continued to grow [b]richer until he became very [c]wealthy; 14 for (C)he had possessions of flocks [d]and herds and a great household, so that the Philistines envied him. 15 Now (D)all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, the Philistines stopped up [e]by filling them with earth. 16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Go away from us, for you are [f](E)too powerful for us.” 17 And Isaac departed from there and camped in the valley of Gerar, and [g]settled there.
Quarrel over the Wells
18 Then Isaac dug again the wells of water which [h]had been dug in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham; and he [i]gave them the same names which his father had [j]given them. 19 But when Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and found there a well of [k]flowing water, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar (F)quarreled with the herdsmen of Isaac, saying, “The water is ours!” So he named the well [l]Esek, because they contended with him. 21 Then they dug another well, and they quarreled over it too, so he named it [m]Sitnah. 22 He moved away from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he named it [n]Rehoboth, for he said, “[o](G)At last the Lord has made [p]room for us, and we will be (H)fruitful in the land.”
23 Then he went up from there to (I)Beersheba. 24 The Lord (J)appeared to him the same night and said,
“(K)I am the God of your father Abraham;
(L)Do not fear, for I am with you.
I (M)will bless you, and multiply your [q]descendants,
For the sake of My servant Abraham.”
25 So he built an (N)altar there and called upon the name of the Lord, and pitched his tent there; and there Isaac’s servants dug a well.
Covenant with Abimelech
26 Then (O)Abimelech came to him from Gerar [r]with his adviser Ahuzzath and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac said to them, “(P)Why have you come to me, since you hate me and have sent me away from you?” 28 They said, “We see plainly (Q)that the Lord has been with you; so we said, ‘Let there now be an oath between us, even between [s]you and us, and let us make a covenant with you, 29 that you will do us no harm, just as we have not touched you [t]and have done to you nothing but good and have sent you away in peace. You are now the (R)blessed of the Lord.’” 30 Then (S)he made them a feast, and they ate and drank. 31 In the morning they arose early and [u](T)exchanged oaths; then Isaac sent them away and they departed from him in peace. 32 Now it came about on the same day, that Isaac’s servants came in and told him about the well which they had dug, and said to him, “We have found water.” 33 So he called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is (U)Beersheba to this day.
17 (A)Obey your leaders and submit to them, for (B)they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. [a]Let them do this with joy and not [b]with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.
18 (C)Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a (D)good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things. 19 And I urge you all the more to do this, (E)so that I may be restored to you the sooner.
Benediction
20 Now (F)the God of peace, who (G)brought up from the dead the (H)great Shepherd of the sheep [c]through (I)the blood of the (J)eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, 21 (K)equip you in every good thing to do His will, (L)working in us that (M)which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, (N)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
22 But (O)I urge you, (P)brethren, [d]bear with [e]this (Q)word of exhortation, for (R)I have written to you briefly. 23 [f]Take notice that (S)our brother Timothy has been released, with whom, if he comes soon, I will see you. 24 Greet (T)all of your leaders and all the [g](U)saints. Those from (V)Italy greet you.
25 (W)Grace be with you all.
53 [[a]Everyone went to his home.
The Adulterous Woman
8 But Jesus went to (A)the Mount of Olives. 2 Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and (B)He sat down and began to teach them. 3 The scribes and the Pharisees *brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, 4 they *said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now in the Law (C)Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” 6 They were saying this, (D)testing Him, (E)so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. 7 But when they persisted in asking Him, (F)He straightened up, and said to them, “(G)He who is without sin among you, let him be the (H)first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. 10 (I)Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She said, “No one, [b]Lord.” And Jesus said, “(J)I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on (K)sin no more.”]
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