Book of Common Prayer

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of ^(A)the Sons of Korah. A Song.

Book Four

From Everlasting to Everlasting

A ^(A)Prayer of Moses, the ^(B)man of God.

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

The Downfall of Abimelech

²² Abimelech ruled over Israel three years. ^23 (A)And God sent an evil spirit between Abimelech and the leaders of Shechem, and the leaders of Shechem ^(B)dealt treacherously with Abimelech, ^24 (C)that the violence done to the seventy sons of Jerubbaal might come, and their blood be laid on Abimelech their brother, who killed them, and on the men of Shechem, who strengthened his hands to kill his brothers. ²⁵ And the leaders of Shechem put men in ambush against him on the mountaintops, and they robbed all who passed by them along that way. And it was told to Abimelech.

⁵⁰ Then Abimelech went to Thebez and encamped against Thebez and captured it. ⁵¹ But there was a strong tower within the city, and all the men and women and all the leaders of the city fled to it and shut themselves in, and they went up to the roof of the tower. ⁵² And Abimelech came to the tower and fought against it and drew near to the door of the tower to burn it with fire. ^53 (A)And a certain woman threw an upper millstone on Abimelech's head and crushed his skull. ^54 (B)Then he called quickly to the young man his armor-bearer and said to him, “Draw your sword and kill me, lest they say of me, ‘A woman killed him.’” And his young man thrust him through, and he died. ⁵⁵ And when the men of Israel saw that Abimelech was dead, everyone departed to his home. ^56 (C)Thus God returned the evil of Abimelech, which he committed against his father in killing his seventy brothers. ⁵⁷ And God also made all the evil of the men of Shechem return on their heads, and upon them came ^(D)the curse of Jotham the son of Jerubbaal.

They Had Everything in Common

³² Now the full number of those who believed were of ^(A)one heart and ^(B)soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but ^(C)they had everything in common. ³³ And with great ^(D)power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and ^(E)great grace was upon them all. ^34 (F)There was not a needy person among them, for ^(G)as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold ³⁵ and ^(H)laid it at the apostles' feet, and ^(I)it was distributed to each as any had need. ³⁶ Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means ^(J)son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus, ³⁷ sold a field that belonged to him and brought the money and ^(K)laid it at the apostles' feet.

Ananias and Sapphira

5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ² and with his wife's knowledge ^(L)he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and ^(M)laid it at the apostles' feet. ³ But Peter said, “Ananias, why has ^(N)Satan filled your heart to lie ^(O)to the Holy Spirit and ^(P)to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴ While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but ^(Q)to God.” ⁵ When Ananias heard these words, he ^(R)fell down and breathed his last. And ^(S)great fear came upon all who heard of it. ⁶ The young men rose and ^(T)wrapped him up and carried him out and buried him.

⁷ After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. ⁸ And Peter said to her, “Tell me whether you^[a] sold the land for so much.” And she said, “Yes, for so much.” ⁹ But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together ^(U)to test ^(V)the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” ¹⁰ Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men came in they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. ¹¹ And ^(W)great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.

Jesus Cleanses the Temple

^13 (A)The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus ^(B)went up to Jerusalem. ^14 (C)In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. ¹⁵ And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. ¹⁶ And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make ^(D)my Father's house a house of trade.” ¹⁷ His disciples remembered that it was written, ^(E)“Zeal for your house will consume me.”

¹⁸ So the Jews said to him, ^(F)“What sign do you show us for doing these things?” ¹⁹ Jesus answered them, ^(G)“Destroy this temple, and in three days ^(H)I will raise it up.” ²⁰ The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple,^[a] and will you raise it up in three days?” ²¹ But he was speaking about ^(I)the temple of his body. ²² When therefore he was raised from the dead, ^(J)his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed ^(K)the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

Jesus Knows What Is in Man

²³ Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name ^(L)when they saw the signs that he was doing. ²⁴ But Jesus ^(M)on his part did not entrust himself to them, because ^(N)he knew all people ²⁵ and needed no one to bear witness about man, for ^(O)he himself knew what was in man.