Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106[a]
106 Praise the Lord.
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
and his loyal love endures.[b]
2 Who can adequately recount the Lord’s mighty acts,
or relate all his praiseworthy deeds?[c]
3 How blessed are those who promote justice,
and do what is right all the time.
4 Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people.
Pay attention to me, when you deliver,
5 so I may see the prosperity[d] of your chosen ones,
rejoice along with your nation,[e]
and boast along with the people who belong to you.[f]
6 We have sinned like[g] our ancestors;[h]
we have done wrong, we have done evil.
7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to appreciate your miraculous deeds.
They failed to remember your many acts of loyal love,
and they rebelled at the sea, by the Red Sea.[i]
8 Yet he delivered them for the sake of his reputation,[j]
that he might reveal his power.
9 He shouted at[k] the Red Sea and it dried up;
he led them through the deep water as if it were a desert.
10 He delivered them from the power[l] of the one who hated them,
and rescued[m] them from the power[n] of the enemy.
11 The water covered their enemies;
not even one of them survived.[o]
12 They believed his promises;[p]
they sang praises to him.
13 They quickly forgot what he had done;[q]
they did not wait for his instructions.[r]
14 In the wilderness they had an insatiable craving[s] for meat;[t]
they challenged God[u] in the wastelands.
15 He granted their request,
then struck them with a disease.[v]
16 In the camp they resented[w] Moses,
and Aaron, the Lord’s holy priest.[x]
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it engulfed[y] the group led by Abiram.[z]
18 Fire burned their group;
the flames scorched the wicked.[aa]
19 They made an image of a calf at Horeb,
and worshiped a metal idol.
20 They traded their majestic God[ab]
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They rejected[ac] the God who delivered them,
the one who performed great deeds in Egypt,
22 amazing feats in the land of Ham,
mighty acts[ad] by the Red Sea.
23 He threatened[ae] to destroy them,
but[af] Moses, his chosen one, interceded with him[ag]
and turned back his destructive anger.[ah]
24 They rejected the fruitful land;[ai]
they did not believe his promise.[aj]
25 They grumbled in their tents;[ak]
they did not obey[al] the Lord.
26 So he made a solemn vow[am]
that he would make them die[an] in the wilderness,
27 make their descendants[ao] die[ap] among the nations,
and scatter them among foreign lands.[aq]
28 They worshiped[ar] Baal of Peor,
and ate sacrifices offered to the dead.[as]
29 They made the Lord angry[at] by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Phinehas took a stand and intervened,[au]
and the plague subsided.
31 This was credited to Phinehas as a righteous act
for all generations to come.[av]
32 They made him angry by the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[aw] because of them,
33 for they aroused[ax] his temper,[ay]
and he spoke rashly.[az]
34 They did not destroy the nations,[ba]
as the Lord had commanded them to do.
35 They mixed in with the nations
and learned their ways.[bb]
36 They worshiped[bc] their idols,
which became a snare to them.[bd]
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.[be]
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land was polluted by bloodshed.[bf]
39 They were defiled by their deeds,
and unfaithful in their actions.[bg]
40 So the Lord was angry with his people[bh]
and despised the people who belonged to him.[bi]
41 He handed them over to[bj] the nations,
and those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them;
they were subject to their authority.[bk]
43 Many times he delivered[bl] them,
but they had a rebellious attitude,[bm]
and degraded themselves[bn] by their sin.
44 Yet he took notice of their distress,
when he heard their cry for help.
45 He remembered his covenant with them,
and relented[bo] because of his great loyal love.
46 He caused all their conquerors[bp]
to have pity on them.
47 Deliver us, O Lord, our God.
Gather us from among the nations.
Then we will give thanks[bq] to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.[br]
48 The Lord God of Israel deserves praise,[bs]
in the future and forevermore.[bt]
Let all the people say, “We agree![bu] Praise the Lord!”[bv]
Regulations for Israel’s Appointed Times
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times.[a]
The Weekly Sabbath
3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest,[b] a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
The Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread
4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight,[c] is a Passover offering to the Lord. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month[d] will be the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work.[e] 8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
The Presentation of Firstfruits
9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest,[f] then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest[g] to the priest, 11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit[h]—on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it.[i] 12 On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer[j] a flawless yearling lamb[k] for a burnt offering to the Lord, 13 along with its grain offering, two-tenths of an ephah of[l] choice wheat flour[m] mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma,[n] and its drink offering, one-fourth of a hin of wine.[o] 14 You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day,[p] until you bring the offering to your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations[q] in all the places where you live.
The Feast of Weeks
15 “‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks.[r] 16 You must count fifty days—until the day after the seventh Sabbath—and then[s] you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of[t] bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast,[u] as firstfruits to the Lord. 18 Along with the loaves of bread,[v] you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs,[w] one young bull,[x] and two rams.[y] They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering[z] and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.[aa] 19 You must also offer[ab] one male goat[ac] for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace-offering sacrifice, 20 and the priest is to wave them—the two lambs[ad]—along with the bread of the firstfruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.
21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you.[ae] You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations.[af] 22 When you gather in the harvest[ag] of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field,[ah] and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner.[ai] I am the Lord your God.’”[aj]
The Day of the Lord
2 Now regarding the arrival[a] of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him,[b] we ask you, brothers and sisters,[c] 2 not to be easily[d] shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us,[e] to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes[f] and the man of lawlessness[g] is revealed, the son of destruction.[h] 4 He[i] opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat[j] in God’s temple, displaying himself as God.[k] 5 Surely you recall[l] that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you. 6 And so[m] you know what holds him back,[n] so that he will be revealed in his own time. 7 For the hidden power of lawlessness[o] is already at work. However, the one who holds him back[p] will do so until he is taken out of the way, 8 and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord[q] will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival. 9 The arrival of the lawless one[r] will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles[s] and signs and false wonders, 10 and with every kind of evil deception directed against[t] those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth[u] so as to be saved. 11 Consequently[v] God sends on them a deluding influence[w] so that they will believe what is false. 12 And so[x] all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned.[y]
Call to Stand Firm
13 But we ought to thank God always for you, brothers and sisters[z] loved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning[aa] for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. 14 He called you to this salvation[ab] through our gospel, so that you may possess the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.[ac] 15 Therefore, brothers and sisters,[ad] stand firm and hold on to the traditions that we taught you, whether by speech or by letter.[ae] 16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by grace gave us eternal comfort and good hope, 17 encourage your hearts and strengthen you[af] in every good thing you do or say.[ag]
Do Not Judge
7 “Do not judge so that you will not be judged.[a] 2 For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and the measure you use will be the measure you receive.[b] 3 Why[c] do you see the speck[d] in your brother’s eye, but fail to see[e] the beam of wood[f] in your own? 4 Or how can you say[g] to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye,’ while there is a beam in your own? 5 You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you can see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. 6 Do not give what is holy to dogs or throw your pearls before pigs; otherwise they will trample them under their feet and turn around and tear you to pieces.[h]
Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask[i] and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door[j] will be opened for you. 8 For everyone who asks[k] receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 9 Is[l] there anyone among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?[m] 11 If you then, although you are evil,[n] know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts[o] to those who ask him! 12 In[p] everything, treat others as you would want them[q] to treat you,[r] for this fulfills[s] the law and the prophets.
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