Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 O give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name;
Make known His deeds among the people.
2
Sing to Him, sing praises to Him;
Speak of all His wonderful acts and devoutly praise them.
3
Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those who seek and require the Lord [as their most essential need] rejoice.
4
Seek and deeply long for the Lord and His strength [His power, His might];
Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.
5
Remember [with awe and gratitude] the wonderful things which He has done,
His amazing deeds and the judgments uttered by His mouth [on His enemies, as in Egypt],(A)
6
O you offspring of Abraham, His servant,
O you sons of Jacob, His chosen ones!
7
He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
8
He has remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded and established to a [a]thousand generations,
9
The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His sworn oath to Isaac,(B)
10
Which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11
Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the measured portion of your inheritance.”
12
When there were only a few men in number,
Very few [in fact], and strangers in it;
13
And they wandered from one nation to another,
From one kingdom to another people,
14
He allowed no man to oppress them;
He rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,(C)
15
“Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”(D)
16
And He called for a famine upon the land [of Egypt];
He [b]cut off every source of bread.(E)
17
He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.(F)
18
His feet they hurt with shackles;
[c]He was put in chains of iron,
19
Until the time that his word [of prophecy regarding his brothers] came true,
The word of the Lord tested and refined him.
20
The king sent and released him,
The ruler of the peoples [of Egypt], and set him free.
21
He made Joseph lord of his house
And ruler of all his possessions,(G)
22
To imprison his princes at his will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23
Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.(H)
24
There the Lord greatly increased [the number of] His people,
And made them more powerful than their enemies.
25
He turned the heart [of the Egyptians] to hate His people,
To deal craftily with His servants.
26
He sent Moses His servant,
And Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27
They exhibited His wondrous signs among them,
Great miracles in the land of Ham (Egypt).
28
He sent [thick, oppressive] darkness and made the land dark;
And Moses and Aaron did not rebel against His words.(I)
29
He turned Egypt’s waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.(J)
30
Their land swarmed with frogs,
Even in the chambers of their kings.(K)
31
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies
And gnats in all their territory.(L)
32
He gave them hail for rain,
With flaming fire in their land.(M)
33
He struck their vines also and their fig trees,
And shattered the [ice-laden] trees of their territory.(N)
34
He spoke, and the [migratory] locusts came,
And the young locusts, even without number,(O)
35
And ate up all the vegetation in their land,
And devoured the fruit of their ground.
36
He also struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The first fruits and chief substance of all their strength.(P)
37
He brought the sons of Israel out [of Egypt] with silver and gold,
And among their tribes there was not one who stumbled.(Q)
38
Egypt was glad when they departed,
For the dread and fear of them had fallen on the Egyptians.(R)
39
The Lord spread a cloud as a covering [by day],
And a fire to illumine the night.(S)
40
The Israelites asked, and He brought quail,
And satisfied them with the bread of heaven.(T)
41
He opened the rock and water flowed out;
It ran in the dry places like a river.(U)
42
For He remembered His holy word
To Abraham His servant;(V)
43
He brought out His people with joy,
And His chosen ones with a joyful shout,
44
He gave them the lands of the nations [of Canaan],
So that they would possess the fruits of those peoples’ labor,(W)
45
So that they might observe His precepts
And keep His laws [obediently accepting and honoring and valuing them].
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)
God Deals Justly with Individuals
18 The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 “What do you mean by using this proverb concerning the land of Israel,
‘[a]The fathers eat sour grapes [they sin],
But the children’s teeth are set on edge’?
3 As I live,” says the Lord God, “you are certainly not going to use this proverb [as an excuse] in Israel anymore. 4 Behold (pay close attention), all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.(A)
19 “Yet do you say, ‘Why should the son not bear the punishment for the father’s sin?’ When the son has practiced justice and righteousness and has kept all My statutes and has done them, he shall certainly live. 20 The person who sins [is the one that] will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the sin of the father, nor will the father bear the punishment for the sin of the son; the righteousness of the righteous shall be on himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be on himself.
21 “But if the wicked man turns [away] from all his sins which he has committed and keeps all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. 22 All of his transgressions which he has committed will not be remembered against him; because of his righteousness which he has practiced [for his moral and spiritual integrity in every area and relationship], he will live. 23 Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked,” says the Lord God, “rather than that he should turn [away] from his [malevolent] acts and live?
24 “But when the righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits sin and acts in accordance with all the repulsive things that the wicked man does, will he live? All of his righteous deeds which he has done will not be remembered because of the treachery that he has committed and for his sin which he has committed; for them he shall die. 25 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not right.’ Hear now, O house of Israel! Is My way not right? Is it not your ways that are not right? 26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, and commits sin and dies because of it, it is for his sin which he has committed that he dies. 27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from his wickedness which he has committed and practices justice and righteousness, he will save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions which he had committed, he shall certainly live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not right!’ O house of Israel, are My ways not right? Is it not your ways that are not right?
30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each one in accordance with his conduct,” says the Lord God. “Repent (change your way of thinking) and turn away from all your transgressions, so that sin may not become a stumbling block to you.(A) 31 Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed [against Me], and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why should you die, O house of Israel?(B) 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” says the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live!”
18 For, on the one hand, a former commandment is cancelled because of its weakness and uselessness [because of its inability to justify the sinner before God] 19 (for the Law never made anything perfect); while on the other hand a better hope is introduced through which we now continually draw near to God. 20 And indeed it was not without the taking of an oath [that Christ was made priest] 21 (for those Levites who formerly became priests [received their office] without [its being confirmed by the taking of] an oath, but this One [was designated] with an oath through the One who said to Him,
“The Lord has sworn
And will not change His mind or regret it,
‘You (Christ) are a Priest forever’”).(A)
22 And so [because of the oath’s greater strength and force] Jesus has become the certain guarantee of a better covenant [a more excellent and more advantageous agreement; one that will never be replaced or annulled].
23 The [former successive line of] priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were each prevented by death from continuing [perpetually in office]; 24 but, on the other hand, Jesus holds His priesthood permanently and without change, because He lives on forever. 25 Therefore He is able also to save forever (completely, perfectly, for eternity) those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede and intervene on their behalf [with God].
26 It was fitting for us to have such a High Priest [perfectly adapted to our needs], holy, blameless, unstained [by sin], separated from sinners and exalted higher than the heavens; 27 who has no day by day need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices, first of all for his own [personal] sins and then for those of the people, because He [met all the requirements and] did this once for all when He offered up Himself [as a willing sacrifice]. 28 For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak [frail, sinful, dying men], but the word of the oath [of God], which came after [the institution of] the Law, permanently appoints [as priest] a Son [a]who has been made perfect forever.(B)
25 And a certain lawyer [an expert in Mosaic Law] stood up to test Him, saying, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”(A) 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” 27 And he replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.”(B) 28 Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this habitually and you will live.”(C) 29 But he, wishing to justify and vindicate himself, asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Parable of the Good Samaritan
30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he encountered robbers, who stripped him of his clothes [and belongings], beat him, and went their way [unconcerned], leaving him half dead. 31 Now by coincidence a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. 32 Likewise a Levite also came down to the place and saw him, and passed by on the other side [of the road]. 33 But a Samaritan (foreigner), who was traveling, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was deeply moved with compassion [for him], 34 and went to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them [to sooth and disinfect the injuries]; and he put him on his own pack-animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 On the next day he took out two denarii (two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I return.’ 36 Which of these three do you think proved himself a neighbor to the man who encountered the robbers?” 37 He answered, “The one who showed compassion and mercy to him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and constantly do the same.”
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