Book of Common Prayer
Give Thanks to the Lord, for He Is Good
106 (A)Praise the Lord!
(B)Oh give thanks to the Lord, (C)for he is good,
(D)for his steadfast love endures forever!
2 Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,
or declare all his praise?
3 Blessed are they who observe justice,
who (E)do righteousness at all times!
4 (F)Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;
help me when you save them,[a]
5 that I may look upon the prosperity of your (G)chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory with your inheritance.
6 (H)Both we and (I)our fathers have sinned;
we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.
7 Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wondrous works;
they (J)did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but (K)rebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them (L)for his name's sake,
(M)that he might make known his mighty power.
9 He (N)rebuked the Red Sea, and it (O)became dry,
and he (P)led them through the deep as through a desert.
10 So he (Q)saved them from the hand of the foe
and (R)redeemed them from the power of the enemy.
11 And (S)the waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12 Then (T)they believed his words;
they (U)sang his praise.
13 But they soon (V)forgot his works;
they did not wait for (W)his counsel.
14 But they had (X)a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and (Y)put God to the test in the desert;
15 he (Z)gave them what they asked,
but sent (AA)a wasting disease among them.
16 When men in the camp (AB)were jealous of Moses
and Aaron, (AC)the holy one of the Lord,
17 (AD)the earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the company of Abiram.
18 (AE)Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19 They (AF)made a calf in Horeb
and worshiped a metal image.
20 They (AG)exchanged the glory of God[b]
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They (AH)forgot God, their Savior,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 wondrous works in (AI)the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23 Therefore (AJ)he said he would destroy them—
had not Moses, his (AK)chosen one,
(AL)stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24 Then they (AM)despised (AN)the pleasant land,
having (AO)no faith in his promise.
25 They (AP)murmured in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the Lord.
26 Therefore he (AQ)raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27 and would make their offspring fall among the nations,
(AR)scattering them among the lands.
28 Then they (AS)yoked themselves to the (AT)Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to (AU)the dead;
29 they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then (AV)Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stayed.
31 And that was (AW)counted to him as righteousness
from generation to generation forever.
32 They (AX)angered him at the waters of Meribah,
and it went ill with Moses on their account,
33 for they (AY)made his spirit bitter,[c]
and he (AZ)spoke rashly with his lips.
34 They did not (BA)destroy the peoples,
(BB)as the Lord commanded them,
35 but they (BC)mixed with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36 They served their idols,
which became (BD)a snare to them.
37 They (BE)sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to (BF)the demons;
38 they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
and the land was (BG)polluted with blood.
39 Thus they (BH)became unclean by their acts,
and (BI)played the whore in their deeds.
40 Then (BJ)the anger of the Lord was kindled against (BK)his people,
and he abhorred his (BL)heritage;
41 he (BM)gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies (BN)oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43 (BO)Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their (BP)purposes
and were (BQ)brought low through their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,
when he (BR)heard their cry.
45 For their sake he (BS)remembered his covenant,
and (BT)relented according to (BU)the abundance of his steadfast love.
46 He caused them to be (BV)pitied
by all those who held them captive.
Feasts of the Lord
23 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (A)These are the appointed feasts of the Lord that you shall (B)proclaim as (C)holy convocations; they are my appointed feasts.
The Sabbath
3 (D)“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.
The Passover
4 (E)“These are the appointed feasts of the Lord, the (F)holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. 5 (G)In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight,[a] is the Lord's Passover. 6 And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. 7 (H)On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. 8 But you shall present a food offering to the Lord for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”
The Feast of Firstfruits
9 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, (I)When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of (J)the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he shall (K)wave the sheaf before the Lord, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 12 And on the day when you (L)wave the sheaf, you shall offer a (M)male lamb a year old without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord. 13 (N)And the grain offering with it shall be two tenths of an ephah[b] of fine flour mixed with oil, a food offering to the Lord with a pleasing aroma, (O)and the drink offering with it shall be of wine, a fourth of a hin.[c] 14 And you shall eat neither bread nor grain (P)parched or (Q)fresh until this same day, until you have brought the offering of your God: it is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
The Feast of Weeks
15 (R)“You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the (S)wave offering. 16 You shall count (T)fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of (U)new grain to the Lord. 17 You shall bring from your dwelling places two loaves of bread to be waved, made of two tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour, and they shall be baked with leaven, as (V)firstfruits to the Lord. 18 And you shall present with the bread seven lambs a year old without blemish, and one bull from the herd and two rams. They shall be a burnt offering to the Lord, with their grain offering and their drink offerings, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord. 19 And you shall offer one (W)male goat for a sin offering, and two male lambs a year old as a sacrifice of (X)peace offerings. 20 And the priest shall (Y)wave them with the bread of the firstfruits as a wave offering before the Lord, with the two lambs. (Z)They shall be holy to the Lord for the priest. 21 And you shall make a proclamation on the same day. You shall hold a holy convocation. You shall not do any ordinary work. It is a statute forever in all your dwelling places throughout your generations.
22 “And (AA)when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.”
The Man of Lawlessness
2 Now concerning (A)the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our (B)being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers,[a] 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or (C)alarmed, either (D)by a spirit or a (E)spoken word, or (F)a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that (G)the day of the Lord has come. 3 (H)Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, (I)unless the rebellion comes first, and (J)the man of lawlessness[b] is revealed, (K)the son of destruction,[c] 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, (L)proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For (M)the mystery of lawlessness (N)is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then (O)the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus (P)will kill with (Q)the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by (R)the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan (S)with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for (T)those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore (U)God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe (V)what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned (W)who did not believe the truth but (X)had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Stand Firm
13 But (Y)we ought always to give thanks to God for you, (Z)brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you (AA)as the firstfruits[d] (AB)to be saved, (AC)through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14 To this he called you through (AD)our gospel, (AE)so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 So then, brothers, (AF)stand firm and hold to (AG)the traditions that you were taught by us, either (AH)by our spoken word or by (AI)our letter.
16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, (AJ)who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good (AK)hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and (AL)establish them in every good work and word.
Judging Others
7 (A)“Judge not, that you be not judged. 2 (B)For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and (C)with the measure you use it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but (D)do not notice the log that is in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log 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 speck out of your brother's eye.
6 (E)“Do not give (F)dogs what is holy, and do not throw your (G)pearls before pigs, lest they trample them underfoot and turn to attack you.
Ask, and It Will Be Given
7 (H)“Ask, (I)and it will be given to you; (J)seek, and you will find; (K)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 which one of you, if his son asks him for (L)bread, will give him (M)a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, (N)who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will (O)your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
The Golden Rule
12 “So (P)whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is (Q)the Law and the Prophets.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.