Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
78 Listen, my people, to my teaching;
tilt your ears toward the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a proverb.
I’ll declare riddles from days long gone—
3 ones that we’ve heard and learned about,
ones that our ancestors told us.
4 We won’t hide them from their descendants;
we’ll tell the next generation
all about the praise due the Lord and his strength—
the wondrous works God has done.
5 He established a law for Jacob
and set up Instruction for Israel,
ordering our ancestors
to teach them to their children.
6 This is so that the next generation
and children not yet born will know these things,
and so they can rise up and tell their children
7 to put their hope in God—
never forgetting God’s deeds,
but keeping God’s commandments—
8 and so that they won’t become like their ancestors:
a rebellious, stubborn generation,
a generation whose heart wasn’t set firm
and whose spirit wasn’t faithful to God.
9 The children of Ephraim, armed with bows,
retreated on the day of battle.
10 They didn’t keep God’s covenant;
they refused to walk in his Instruction.
11 They forgot God’s deeds
as well as the wondrous works he showed them.
12 But God performed wonders in their ancestors’ presence—
in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 God split the sea and led them through,
making the waters stand up like a wall.
14 God led them with the cloud by day;
by the lightning all through the night.
15 God split rocks open in the wilderness,
gave them plenty to drink—
as if from the deep itself!
16 God made streams flow from the rock,
made water run like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin against God,
rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They tested God in their hearts,
demanded food for their stomachs.
19 They spoke against God!
“Can God set a dinner table in the wilderness?” they asked.
20 “True, God struck the rock
and water gushed and streams flowed,
but can he give bread too?
Can he provide meat for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard this, he became furious.
A fire was ignited against Jacob;
wrath also burned against Israel
22 because they had no faith in God,
because they didn’t trust his saving power.
23 God gave orders to the skies above,
opened heaven’s doors,
24 and rained manna on them so they could eat.
He gave them the very grain of heaven!
25 Each person ate the bread of the powerful ones;[b]
God sent provisions to satisfy them.
26 God set the east wind moving across the skies
and drove the south wind by his strength.
27 He rained meat on them as if it were dust in the air;
he rained as many birds as the sand on the seashore!
28 God brought the birds down in the center of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were completely satisfied;
God gave them exactly what they had craved.
30 But they didn’t stop craving—
even with the food still in their mouths!
31 So God’s anger came up against them:
he killed the most hearty of them;
he cut down Israel’s youth in their prime.
32 But in spite of all that, they kept sinning
and had no faith in God’s wondrous works.
33 So God brought their days to an end,
like a puff of air,
and their years in total ruin.
34 But whenever God killed them, they went after him!
They would turn and earnestly search for God.
35 They would remember that God was their rock,
that the Most High was their redeemer.
36 But they were just flattering him with lip service.
They were lying to him with their tongues.
37 Their hearts weren’t firmly set on him;
they weren’t faithful to his covenant.
38 But God, being compassionate,
kept forgiving their sins,
kept avoiding destruction;
he took back his anger so many times,
wouldn’t stir up all his wrath!
39 God kept remembering that they were just flesh,
just breath that passes and doesn’t come back.
40 How often they rebelled against God in the wilderness
and distressed him in the desert!
41 Time and time again they tested God,
provoking the holy one of Israel.
42 They didn’t remember God’s power—
the day when he saved them from the enemy;
43 how God performed his signs in Egypt,
his marvelous works in the field of Zoan.
44 God turned their rivers into blood;
they couldn’t drink from their own streams.
45 God sent swarms against them to eat them up,
frogs to destroy them.
46 God handed over their crops to caterpillars,
their land’s produce to locusts.
47 God killed their vines with hail,
their sycamore trees with frost.
48 God delivered their cattle over to disease,[c]
their herds to plagues.
49 God unleashed his burning anger against them—
fury, indignation, distress,
a troop of evil messengers.
50 God blazed a path for his wrath.
He didn’t save them from death,
but delivered their lives over to disease.
51 God struck down all of Egypt’s oldest males;
in Ham’s tents, he struck their pride and joy.
52 God led his own people out like sheep,
guiding them like a flock in the wilderness.
53 God led them in safety—they were not afraid!
But the sea engulfed their enemies!
54 God brought them to his holy territory,
to the mountain that his own strong hand had acquired.
55 God drove out the nations before them
and apportioned property for them;
he settled Israel’s tribes in their tents.
56 But they tested and defied the Most High God;
they didn’t pay attention to his warnings.
57 They turned away, became faithless just like their ancestors;
they twisted away like a defective bow.
58 They angered God with their many shrines;
they angered him with their idols.
59 God heard and became enraged;
he rejected Israel utterly.
60 God abandoned the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he had lived with humans.
61 God let his power be held captive,
let his glory go to the enemy’s hand.
62 God delivered his people up to the sword;
he was enraged at his own possession.
63 Fire devoured his young men,
and his young women had no wedding songs.
64 God’s priests were killed by the sword,
and his widows couldn’t even cry.
65 But then my Lord woke up—
as if he’d been sleeping!
Like a warrior shaking off wine,
66 God beat back his foes;
he made them an everlasting disgrace.
67 God rejected the tent of Joseph
and didn’t choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 Instead, he chose the tribe of Judah,
the mountain of Zion, which he loves.
69 God built his sanctuary like the highest heaven
and like the earth, which he established forever.
70 And God chose David, his servant,
taking him from the sheepfolds.
71 God brought him from shepherding nursing ewes
to shepherd his people Jacob,
to shepherd his inheritance, Israel.
72 David shepherded them with a heart of integrity;
he led them with the skill of his hands.
David’s prayer
18 Then King David went and sat in the Lord’s presence. He asked:
Who am I, Lord God, and of what significance is my family that you have brought me this far? 19 But even this was too small in your eyes, Lord God! Now you have also spoken about your servant’s dynasty in the future and the generation to come,[a] Lord God!
20 What more can David say to you? You know your servant, Lord God. 21 For the sake of your word and according to your own will, you have done this great thing so that your servant would know it.
22 That is why you are so great, Lord God! No one can compare to you, no god except you, just as we have always heard with our own ears.
23 And who can compare to your people Israel? They are the one nation on earth that God redeemed as his own people, establishing his name by doing great and awesome things for them,[b] by driving out nations and their gods before your people, whom you redeemed from Egypt.[c] 24 You established your people Israel as your own people forever, and you, Lord, became their God.
25 Now, Lord God, confirm forever the promise you have made about your servant and his dynasty. Do just as you have promised 26 so that your name will be great forever when people say, “The Lord of heavenly forces is Israel’s God!” May your servant David’s household be established before you, 27 because you, Lord of heavenly forces, Israel’s God, have revealed to your servant that you will build a dynasty for him. That is why your servant has found the courage to pray this prayer to you.
28 Lord God, you are truly God! Your words are trustworthy, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. 29 So now willingly bless your servant’s dynasty so that it might continue forever before you, because you, Lord God, have promised. Let your servant’s dynasty be blessed forever by your blessing.
12 Now when Gallio was the governor of the province of Achaia, the Jews united in their opposition against Paul and brought him before the court. 13 “This man is persuading others to worship God unlawfully,” they declared.
14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to the Jews, “If there had been some sort of injury or criminal behavior, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 However, since these are squabbles about a message, names, and your own Law, deal with them yourselves. I have no desire to sit in judgment over such things.” 16 He expelled them from the court, 17 but everyone seized Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and gave him a beating in the presence of the governor. None of this mattered to Gallio.
18 After Paul stayed in Corinth for some time, he said good-bye to the brothers and sisters. At the Corinthian seaport of Cenchreae he had his head shaved, since he had made a solemn promise. Then, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila, he sailed away to Syria. 19 After they arrived in Ephesus, he left Priscilla and Aquila and entered the synagogue and interacted with the Jews. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined. 21 As he said farewell to them, though, he added, “God willing, I will return.” Then he sailed off from Ephesus. 22 He arrived in Caesarea, went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch.
23 After some time there he left and traveled from place to place in the region of Galatia and the district of Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Apollos and his ministry
24 Meanwhile, a certain Jew named Apollos arrived in Ephesus. He was a native of Alexandria and was well-educated and effective in his use of the scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and spoke as one stirred up by the Spirit. He taught accurately the things about Jesus, even though he was aware only of the baptism John proclaimed and practiced. 26 He began speaking with confidence in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they received him into their circle of friends and explained to him God’s way more accurately. 27 When he wanted to travel to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples so they would open their homes to him. Once he arrived, he was of great help to those who had come to believe through grace. 28 He would vigorously defeat Jewish arguments in public debate, using the scriptures to prove that Jesus was the Christ.
A blind man is healed
22 Jesus and his disciples came to Bethsaida. Some people brought a blind man to Jesus and begged him to touch and heal him. 23 Taking the blind man’s hand, Jesus led him out of the village. After spitting on his eyes and laying his hands on the man, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
24 The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees, only they are walking around.”
25 Then Jesus placed his hands on the man’s eyes again. He looked with his eyes wide open, his sight was restored, and he could see everything clearly. 26 Then Jesus sent him home, saying, “Don’t go into the village!”
Jesus predicts his death
27 Jesus and his disciples went into the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”
28 They told him, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and still others one of the prophets.”
29 He asked them, “And what about you? Who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Christ.” 30 Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples: “The Human One[a] must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and the legal experts, and be killed, and then, after three days, rise from the dead.” 32 He said this plainly. But Peter took hold of Jesus and, scolding him, began to correct him. 33 Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, then sternly corrected Peter: “Get behind me, Satan. You are not thinking God’s thoughts but human thoughts.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible