Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105(A)
1 Give praise to the Lord,(B) proclaim his name;(C)
make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him,(D) sing praise to him;(E)
tell of all his wonderful acts.(F)
3 Glory in his holy name;(G)
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
4 Look to the Lord and his strength;
seek his face(H) always.
5 Remember the wonders(I) he has done,
his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,(J)
6 you his servants, the descendants of Abraham,(K)
his chosen(L) ones, the children of Jacob.
7 He is the Lord our God;
his judgments are in all the earth.
8 He remembers his covenant(M) forever,
the promise he made, for a thousand generations,
9 the covenant he made with Abraham,(N)
the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it(O) to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant:(P)
11 “To you I will give the land of Canaan(Q)
as the portion you will inherit.”(R)
12 When they were but few in number,(S)
few indeed, and strangers in it,(T)
13 they wandered from nation to nation,(U)
from one kingdom to another.
14 He allowed no one to oppress(V) them;
for their sake he rebuked kings:(W)
15 “Do not touch(X) my anointed ones;
do my prophets(Y) no harm.”
16 He called down famine(Z) on the land
and destroyed all their supplies of food;
17 and he sent a man before them—
Joseph, sold as a slave.(AA)
18 They bruised his feet with shackles,(AB)
his neck was put in irons,
19 till what he foretold(AC) came to pass,
till the word(AD) of the Lord proved him true.
20 The king sent and released him,
the ruler of peoples set him free.(AE)
21 He made him master of his household,
ruler over all he possessed,
22 to instruct his princes(AF) as he pleased
and teach his elders wisdom.(AG)
23 Then Israel entered Egypt;(AH)
Jacob resided(AI) as a foreigner in the land of Ham.(AJ)
24 The Lord made his people very fruitful;
he made them too numerous(AK) for their foes,
25 whose hearts he turned(AL) to hate his people,
to conspire(AM) against his servants.
26 He sent Moses(AN) his servant,
and Aaron,(AO) whom he had chosen.(AP)
27 They performed(AQ) his signs(AR) among them,
his wonders(AS) in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness(AT) and made the land dark—
for had they not rebelled against(AU) his words?
29 He turned their waters into blood,(AV)
causing their fish to die.(AW)
30 Their land teemed with frogs,(AX)
which went up into the bedrooms of their rulers.
31 He spoke,(AY) and there came swarms of flies,(AZ)
and gnats(BA) throughout their country.
32 He turned their rain into hail,(BB)
with lightning throughout their land;
33 he struck down their vines(BC) and fig trees(BD)
and shattered the trees of their country.
34 He spoke,(BE) and the locusts came,(BF)
grasshoppers(BG) without number;(BH)
35 they ate up every green thing in their land,
ate up the produce of their soil.
36 Then he struck down all the firstborn(BI) in their land,
the firstfruits of all their manhood.
37 He brought out Israel, laden with silver and gold,(BJ)
and from among their tribes no one faltered.
38 Egypt was glad when they left,
because dread of Israel(BK) had fallen on them.
39 He spread out a cloud(BL) as a covering,
and a fire to give light at night.(BM)
40 They asked,(BN) and he brought them quail;(BO)
he fed them well with the bread of heaven.(BP)
41 He opened the rock,(BQ) and water gushed out;
it flowed like a river in the desert.
42 For he remembered his holy promise(BR)
given to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought out his people with rejoicing,(BS)
his chosen ones with shouts of joy;
44 he gave them the lands of the nations,(BT)
and they fell heir to what others had toiled(BU) for—
45 that they might keep his precepts
and observe his laws.(BV)
Judgment and Salvation
65 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me;
I was found by those who did not seek me.(A)
To a nation(B) that did not call on my name,(C)
I said, ‘Here am I, here am I.’
2 All day long I have held out my hands
to an obstinate people,(D)
who walk in ways not good,
pursuing their own imaginations(E)—
3 a people who continually provoke me
to my very face,(F)
offering sacrifices in gardens(G)
and burning incense(H) on altars of brick;
4 who sit among the graves(I)
and spend their nights keeping secret vigil;
who eat the flesh of pigs,(J)
and whose pots hold broth of impure meat;
5 who say, ‘Keep away; don’t come near me,
for I am too sacred(K) for you!’
Such people are smoke(L) in my nostrils,
a fire that keeps burning all day.
6 “See, it stands written before me:
I will not keep silent(M) but will pay back(N) in full;
I will pay it back into their laps(O)—
7 both your sins(P) and the sins of your ancestors,”(Q)
says the Lord.
“Because they burned sacrifices on the mountains
and defied me on the hills,(R)
I will measure into their laps
the full payment(S) for their former deeds.”
8 This is what the Lord says:
“As when juice is still found in a cluster of grapes(T)
and people say, ‘Don’t destroy it,
there is still a blessing in it,’
so will I do in behalf of my servants;(U)
I will not destroy them all.
9 I will bring forth descendants(V) from Jacob,
and from Judah those who will possess(W) my mountains;
my chosen(X) people will inherit them,
and there will my servants live.(Y)
10 Sharon(Z) will become a pasture for flocks,(AA)
and the Valley of Achor(AB) a resting place for herds,
for my people who seek(AC) me.
11 “But as for you who forsake(AD) the Lord
and forget my holy mountain,(AE)
who spread a table for Fortune
and fill bowls of mixed wine(AF) for Destiny,
12 I will destine you for the sword,(AG)
and all of you will fall in the slaughter;(AH)
for I called but you did not answer,(AI)
I spoke but you did not listen.(AJ)
You did evil in my sight
and chose what displeases me.”(AK)
4 The Spirit(A) clearly says that in later times(B) some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits(C) and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.(D) 3 They forbid people to marry(E) and order them to abstain from certain foods,(F) which God created(G) to be received with thanksgiving(H) by those who believe and who know the truth. 4 For everything God created is good,(I) and nothing is to be rejected(J) if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 because it is consecrated by the word of God(K) and prayer.
6 If you point these things out to the brothers and sisters,[a] you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, nourished on the truths of the faith(L) and of the good teaching that you have followed.(M) 7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales;(N) rather, train yourself to be godly.(O) 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things,(P) holding promise for both the present life(Q) and the life to come.(R) 9 This is a trustworthy saying(S) that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God,(T) who is the Savior of all people,(U) and especially of those who believe.
11 Command and teach these things.(V) 12 Don’t let anyone look down on you(W) because you are young, but set an example(X) for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith(Y) and in purity. 13 Until I come,(Z) devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture,(AA) to preaching and to teaching. 14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through prophecy(AB) when the body of elders(AC) laid their hands on you.(AD)
15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress. 16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save(AE) both yourself and your hearers.
Paying the Imperial Tax to Caesar(A)
13 Later they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians(B) to Jesus to catch him(C) in his words. 14 They came to him and said, “Teacher, we know that you are a man of integrity. You aren’t swayed by others, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth. Is it right to pay the imperial tax[a] to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay or shouldn’t we?”
But Jesus knew their hypocrisy. “Why are you trying to trap me?” he asked. “Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.” 16 They brought the coin, and he asked them, “Whose image is this? And whose inscription?”
“Caesar’s,” they replied.
17 Then Jesus said to them, “Give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.”(D)
And they were amazed at him.
Marriage at the Resurrection(E)
18 Then the Sadducees,(F) who say there is no resurrection,(G) came to him with a question. 19 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.(H) 20 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married and died without leaving any children. 21 The second one married the widow, but he also died, leaving no child. It was the same with the third. 22 In fact, none of the seven left any children. Last of all, the woman died too. 23 At the resurrection[b] whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
24 Jesus replied, “Are you not in error because you do not know the Scriptures(I) or the power of God? 25 When the dead rise, they will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven.(J) 26 Now about the dead rising—have you not read in the Book of Moses, in the account of the burning bush, how God said to him, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’[c]?(K) 27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are badly mistaken!”
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