Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105
1 Give thanks to Yahweh.
Call on him.
Make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to praise him.
Meditate on all the miracles he has performed.
3 Brag about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
4 Search for Yahweh and his strength.
Always seek his presence.
5 Remember the miracles he performed,
the amazing things he did, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you descendants of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is Yahweh our Elohim.
His judgments are pronounced throughout the earth.
8 He always remembers his promise,[a]
the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the promise that he made to Abraham,
and his sworn oath to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it as a law for Jacob,
as an everlasting promise to Israel,
11 by saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It is your share of the inheritance.”
12 While the people of Israel were few in number,
a small group of foreigners living in that land,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 He didn’t permit anyone to oppress them.
He warned kings about them:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones
or harm my prophets.”
16 He brought famine to the land.
He took away their food supply.
17 He sent a man ahead of them.
He sent Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They hurt his feet with shackles,
and cut into his neck with an iron collar.
19 Yahweh’s promise tested him through fiery trials
until his prediction came true.
20 The king sent someone to release him.
The ruler of nations set him free.
21 He made Joseph the master of his palace
and the ruler of all his possessions.
22 Joseph trained the king’s officers the way he wanted
and taught his respected leaders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 Yahweh made his people grow rapidly in number
and stronger than their enemies.
25 He changed their minds so that they hated his people,
and they dealt treacherously with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and he sent Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They displayed his miraculous signs among them
and did amazing things in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made their land dark.
They did not rebel against his orders.
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 He made their land swarm with frogs,
even in the kings’ bedrooms.
31 He spoke, and swarms of flies and gnats
infested their whole territory.
32 He gave them hail and lightning
instead of rain throughout their land.
33 He struck their grapevines and fig trees
and smashed the trees in their territory.
34 He spoke, and countless locusts and grasshoppers came.
35 They devoured all the plants in the land.
They devoured the crops in the fields.
36 He killed all the firstborn sons,
the first ones born in the land when their fathers were young.
37 He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were terrified of Israel,
so they were glad when Israel left.
39 He spread out a cloud as a protective covering
and a fire to light up the night.
40 The Israelites asked, and he brought them quail
and filled them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed
and flowed like a river through the dry places.
42 He remembered his holy promise to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with a song of joy.
44 He gave them the lands of other nations,
and they inherited what others had worked for
45 so that they would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Hallelujah!
Daniel in the Lions’ Den
6 [a]Darius decided it would be good to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom. 2 Over these satraps were three officials. Daniel was one of these officials. The satraps were to report to these three officials so that the king wouldn’t be cheated.
3 This man, Daniel, distinguished himself among the other officials and satraps because there was an extraordinary spirit in him. The king thought about putting him in charge of the whole kingdom. 4 So the other officials and satraps tried to find something to accuse Daniel of in his duties for the kingdom. But they couldn’t find anything wrong because he was trustworthy. No error or fault could be found. 5 These men said, “We won’t find anything to accuse this man, Daniel, unless we find it in his religious practices.”
6 So these officials and satraps went to the king as a group. They said to him, “May King Darius live forever! 7 All the officials, governors, satraps, advisers, and mayors agree that the king should make a statute and enforce a decree. The decree should state that for the next 30 days whoever asks for anything from any god or person except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a lions’ den. 8 Your Majesty, issue this decree, and sign it. According to the law of the Medes and Persians no one could change it or repeal it.” 9 So Darius signed the written decree.
10 When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went to his house. An upper room in his house had windows that opened in the direction of Jerusalem. Three times each day he got down on his knees and prayed to his Elah. He had always praised Elah this way.
11 One of those times the men came in as a group and found Daniel praying and pleading to his Elah. 12 Then they went and spoke to the king about his decree. They asked, “Didn’t you sign a decree which stated that for 30 days whoever asks for anything from any god or person except you, Your Majesty, will be thrown into a lions’ den?”
The king answered, “That’s true. According to the law of the Medes and Persians the decree can’t be repealed.”
13 They replied, “Your Majesty, Daniel, one of the captives from Judah, refuses to obey your order or the decree that you signed. He prays three times each day.”
14 The king was very displeased when he heard this. He tried every way he could think of to save Daniel. Until sundown he did everything he could to rescue him.
15 Then Daniel’s accusers gathered in front of the king. They said to him, “Remember, Your Majesty, the Medes and Persians have a law that no decree or statute the king makes can be changed.”
Greeting
1 From the church leader.[a]
To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love because we share the truth. I’m not the only one who loves you. Everyone who knows the truth also loves you. 2 We love you because of the truth which lives in us and will be with us forever.
3 Good will,[b] mercy, and peace will be with us. They come from God the Father and from Yeshua Christ, who in truth and love is the Father’s Son.
Living in the Truth
4 I was very happy to find some of your children living in the truth as the Father has commanded us. 5 Dear lady, I’m now requesting that we continue to love each other. It’s not as though I’m writing to give you a new commandment. Rather, from the beginning we were commanded to love each other. 6 Love means that we live by doing what he commands. We were commanded to live in love, and you have heard this from the beginning.
Reject Teachers Who Don’t Teach What Christ Taught
7 Many people who deceive others have gone into the world. They refuse to declare that Yeshua Christ came in flesh and blood. This is the mark of a deceiver and an antichrist. 8 Be careful that you don’t destroy what we’ve worked for, but that you receive your full reward.
9 Everyone who doesn’t continue to teach what Christ taught doesn’t have God. The person who continues to teach what Christ taught has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and doesn’t bring these teachings, don’t take him into your home or even greet him. 11 Whoever greets him shares the evil things he’s doing.
Farewell
12 I have a lot to write to you. I would prefer not to write a letter. Instead, I hope to visit and talk things over with you personally. Then we will be completely filled with joy.
13 The children of your chosen sister greet you.
Jesus Cures a Man with a Skin Disease(A)
12 One day Yeshua was in a city where there was a man covered with a serious skin disease. When the man saw Yeshua, he bowed with his face to the ground. He begged Yeshua, “Sir, if you want to, you can make me clean.”[a]
13 Yeshua reached out, touched him, and said, “I want to. So be clean!” Immediately, his skin disease went away.
14 Yeshua ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone. Instead, show yourself to the priest. Then offer the sacrifice as Moses commanded as proof to people that you are clean.”
15 The news about Yeshua spread even more. Large crowds gathered to hear him and have their diseases cured. 16 But he would go away to places where he could be alone for prayer.
Jesus Forgives Sins(B)
17 One day when Yeshua was teaching, some Pharisees and experts in Moses’ Teachings were present. They had come from every village in Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. Yeshua had the power of the Lord to heal.
18 Some men brought a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They tried to take him into the house and put him in front of Yeshua. 19 But they could not find a way to get him into the house because of the crowd. So they went up on the roof. They made an opening in the tiles and let the man down on his stretcher among the people. (They lowered him in front of Yeshua.)
20 When Yeshua saw their faith, he said, “Sir, your sins are forgiven.” 21 The experts in Moses’ Teachings and the Pharisees thought, “Who is this man? He’s dishonoring God! Who besides God can forgive sins?”
22 Yeshua knew what they were thinking. So he said to them, “What are you thinking? 23 Is it easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 24 I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”
25 The man immediately stood up in front of them and picked up the stretcher he had been lying on. Praising God, he went home.
26 Everyone was amazed and praised God. They were filled with awe and said, “We’ve seen things today we can hardly believe!”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.