Book of Common Prayer

A Song for the King’s Wedding

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation]. A love song of the sons of Korah [^Cdescendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].

God, the King of the World

For the director of music. A psalm of the sons of Korah [^Cdescendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].

Jerusalem, the City of God

A psalm of the sons of Korah [^Cdescendants of Kohath, son of Levi, who served as Temple musicians; 1 Chr. 6:22].

God’s Covenant with Abram

15 After these things happened, the Lord spoke his word to Abram in a vision: “Abram, don’t be afraid. I will ·defend [^Lbe a shield to] you, and ·I will give you a great reward [^Lyour reward will be great].”

² But Abram said, “Lord God [^CHebrew Adonai Yahweh; combination of covenant name YHWH (2:4) with common Hebrew word for “sir,” “lord,” or “master”], what can you give me? I ·have no son [am childless], so my ·slave [servant] Eliezer from Damascus [^Ca major city in Syria] will ·get everything I own after I die [be my heir; ^Ca household servant would take care of a childless couple in their old age and in turn inherit their possessions].” ³ Abram said, “Look, you have given me no son, so a slave born in my house will ·inherit everything I have [be my heir].”

⁴ Then the Lord spoke his word to Abram: “He will not be the one to inherit what you have. You will have a son of your own who will inherit what you have.”

⁵ Then God led Abram outside and said, “Look at the ·sky [heavens]. There are so many stars you cannot count them. Your ·descendants [^Lseed] also will be too many to count.”

⁶ Abram ·believed [put his trust/faith in] the Lord. And the Lord ·accepted Abram’s faith, and that faith made him right with God [^Tcounted/credited it as righteousness; Rom. 4:3, 9, 22; Gal. 3:6; James 2:23].

⁷ God said to Abram, “I am the Lord who led you out of Ur of ·Babylonia [^Lthe Chaldeans] so that I could give you this land ·to own [^Las a possession; 12:1–3].”

⁸ But Abram said, “Lord God, how can I ·be sure [^Lknow] that I will ·own this land [possess/inherit it]?”

⁹ ·The Lord [^LHe] said to Abram, “Bring me a three-year-old cow, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ·male sheep [ram], a ·dove [turtledove], and a young pigeon.”

¹⁰ Abram brought them all to God. Then Abram ·killed the animals and cut each of them into two pieces [^Lsplit them down the middle], laying each half opposite the other half. But he did not cut the birds in half. ¹¹ Later, ·large birds [or birds of prey] flew down to eat the ·animals [^Lcarcasses], but Abram chased them away [^Cperhaps representing later enemies of Israel].

¹⁷ After the sun went down, it was very dark. Suddenly a smoking firepot and a blazing torch [^Cfire and smoke often represent God] passed between the ·halves of the dead animals [^Lpieces; ^Ca self-curse ritual; by passing between the pieces of the sacrifice, one vowed to keep an agreement or suffer the same fate as the animals]. ¹⁸ So on that day the Lord ·made an agreement [^Lcut a covenant/treaty; 6:18] with Abram and said, “I will give to your ·descendants [^Lseed] the land between the river of Egypt and the great river Euphrates. ¹⁹ This is the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, ²⁰ Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, ²¹ Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites [^Cthe name of peoples who lived in pre-Israelite Canaan].”

The Old Agreement

9 The first ·agreement [covenant; contract; ^Cgiven to Israel through Moses; 8:7, 13] had ·rules [regulations; requirements] for worship and a ·place on earth for worship [^Learthly sanctuary/holy place]. ² The ·Holy Tent [^TTabernacle; Ex. 25:8–9; 26:1] was ·set up [constructed; prepared] for this. The first area in the Tent was called the Holy Place. In it were the lampstand [Ex. 25:31–39] and the table [Ex. 25:23–30] with the ·bread that was made holy for God [consecrated bread; bread of presentation/offering; Ex. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–8]. ³ Behind the second curtain was a ·room [section; ^Ltent] called the ·Most Holy Place [^THoly of Holies; Ex. 26:31–34]. ⁴ In it was a golden altar for burning incense [Lev. 16:12–13] and the ·Ark [box; chest] ·that held the old agreement [^Lof the covenant/contract; Ex. 25:10; 26:33], covered [^Lcompletely; on all sides] with gold. Inside this Ark was a golden jar of manna [Ex. 16:33–34], Aaron’s rod that once grew leaves [Num. 17:1–11], and the stone tablets of the ·old agreement [covenant; contract; Ex. 25:16; 40:20; Deut. 10:2]. ⁵ Above the Ark were the ·creatures that showed God’s glory [or glorious cherubim; Ex. 25:18–22; ^Cangelic beings representing God’s presence and glory; Gen. 3:24; Ezek. 9:3; 10:1–22], ·whose wings reached over [^Lovershadowing] the ·lid [mercy seat; atonement cover; Lev. 16:2]. But we cannot ·tell everything about [discuss in detail] these things now.

⁶ When everything was made ready in this way, the priests went into the ·first room [outer room; ^Lfirst tent] ·every day [regularly] to ·worship [serve; minister; perform their priestly duties; Num. 28:3]. ⁷ But only the high priest could go into the ·second room [inner room; ^Lsecond one], and he did that only once a year [Ex. 30:10; Lev. 16:15, 34]. He could never enter the inner room without taking blood [^Cfrom the sacrificial animal] with him, which he offered to God for himself and for sins the people did ·without knowing they did them [unintentionally; in ignorance]. ⁸ The Holy Spirit uses this to show that the way into the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; ^Lholy things; ^THoly of Holies] ·was not open [or had not yet been revealed] while the ·system of the old Holy Tent [or outer room of the Tabernacle; ^Lfirst tent/Tabernacle] was still ·being used [in place; standing]. ⁹ This is an ·example [illustration; symbol] for the present time. It shows that the gifts and sacrifices offered cannot make the conscience of the worshiper ·perfect [clear; pure]. ¹⁰ These gifts and sacrifices were only about food and drink and special [ceremonial; ritual] washings. They were ·rules for the body [or external regulations], ·to be followed [in force; applying] until the time of God’s ·new way [reformation; new order].

The New Agreement

¹¹ But when Christ came as the high priest of the good things ·we now have^[a] [^Lthat have come], he entered the greater and more perfect ·tent [^Ttabernacle]. It is not made ·by humans [^Lwith hands] and does not belong to this ·world [creation; created order]. ¹² Christ entered the ·Most Holy Place [sanctuary; ^Lholy things; ^THoly of Holies] ·only once—and for all time [^Lonce for all; 7:27; 10:10]. ·He did not take with him [^L…not by means of] the blood of goats and calves. ·His sacrifice was [^L…but by means of] his own blood, and by it he ·set us free from sin forever [^Lobtained/secured eternal redemption/liberation]. ¹³ The blood of goats and bulls [Lev. 16:14–16] and the ashes of a ·cow [young cow; heifer; Num. 19:2, 17–18] are sprinkled on the people who are [^Critually] unclean, and this ·makes their bodies clean again [restores their body to ritual purity]. ¹⁴ How much more is done by the blood of Christ. He offered himself through the eternal ·Spirit [or spirit; ^Cmost likely the Holy Spirit, though possibly Christ’s own eternal spirit, or as a “spiritual” and eternal sacrifice] as a ·perfect [unblemished] sacrifice to God. His blood [^Csignifying his sacrificial death] will make our consciences ·pure [cleansed] from ·useless acts [or acts that lead to death; ^Ldead works; 6:1] so we may ·serve [worship; offer priestly service for] the living God.

Jesus Heals a Man at a Pool

5 ·Later [^LAfter these things] Jesus went [^Lup] to Jerusalem for a ·special feast [^Lfeast/festival of the Jews]. ² In Jerusalem there is a pool with five covered porches, which is called Bethesda^[a] [^Ca pool of water north of the temple thought to have curative powers] in the Hebrew language [^Creferring to Aramaic, the native language of the Jews at the time]. This pool is near the Sheep Gate. ³ Many sick people were lying on the porches beside the pool. Some were blind, some were crippled, and some were paralyzed |, and they waited for the water to move. ⁴ ·Sometimes [At a certain time; From time to time] an angel of the Lord came down to the pool and stirred up the water. After the angel did this, the first person to go into the pool was healed from any sickness he had|^[b]. ⁵ A man was lying there who had been ·sick [an invalid; disabled] for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw the man and knew that he had been ·sick [an invalid; disabled] for such a long time, Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be well?”

⁷ The ·sick man [invalid] answered [him], “Sir, there is no one to help me get into the pool when the water ·starts moving [is stirred up]. While I am coming to the water, someone else always ·gets in [goes down] before me.”

⁸ Then Jesus said to him, “·Stand up [^TRise]. Pick up your ·mat [bed; cot] and walk.” ⁹ And immediately the man ·was well [was healed; became whole]; he picked up his ·mat [bed; cot] and began to walk.

The day this happened was a Sabbath day. ¹⁰ So the ·Jews [or Jewish leaders] said to the man who had been healed, “Today is the Sabbath. It is ·against our law [^Lnot lawful/permitted] for you to carry your ·mat [bed; cot] on the Sabbath day [^Cthe fourth commandment prohibited work on the Sabbath, but not specifically this action (Ex. 20:8–11)].”

¹¹ But he answered them, “The man who made me well told me, ‘Pick up your ·mat [bed; cot] and walk.’”

¹² Then they asked him, “Who is the man who told you to pick up your ·mat [bed; cot] and walk?”

¹³ But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, because there were many people in that place, and Jesus had ·left [withdrawn; slipped away unnoticed].

¹⁴ Later, Jesus found the man at the Temple [area] and said to him, “See, you are well now. ·Stop sinning [^TSin no more] so that something worse does not happen to you.” [^CSometimes, not always, suffering can be explained by sin.]

¹⁵ Then the man left and told ·his people [the Jewish leaders; ^Lthe Jews] that Jesus was the one who had made him well.

¹⁶ Because Jesus was doing ·this [^Lthese things] on the Sabbath day, ·some evil people [the Jewish leaders; ^Lthe Jews] began to ·persecute [harass] him. ¹⁷ But Jesus ·said to [^Lanswered] them, “My Father ·never stops [is always; is still] working [^Ceven on the Sabbath], and so I keep working, too.”

¹⁸ This made ·them [the Jewish leaders; ^Lthe Jews] try still harder to kill him. They said, “First Jesus was breaking the law about the Sabbath day. Now he says that God is his own Father, making himself equal with God!” [^CBoth breaking the Sabbath and blasphemy against God were punishable by death; Ex. 35:2; Lev. 24:16.]