Book of Common Prayer
Israel’s Failure to Trust God
106 Praise the Lord!
Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 ·No one [L Who…?] can tell all the mighty things the Lord has done;
·no one [L who…?] can ·speak [declare] all his praise.
3 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·do [keep; observe; guard] ·right [justice],
who do what is ·fair [righteous] at all times.
4 Lord, remember me when you ·are kind [show favor] to your people;
·help [come to] me when you ·save them [give them victory].
5 Let me see the ·good things you do for [prosperity of] your chosen people.
Let me ·be happy [rejoice] along with your ·happy [rejoicing] nation;
let me join your ·own people [inheritance] in praising you.
6 We have sinned just as our ·ancestors [fathers] did.
We have done wrong; we have done evil.
7 Our ·ancestors [fathers] in Egypt
did not ·learn [grow in wisdom] from your ·miracles [wonderful acts].
They did not remember all your ·kindnesses [loyalty],
so they ·turned [rebelled] against you at the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [78:13; Ex. 14–15].
8 But the Lord ·saved them [gave them victory] ·for his own sake [L because of his name],
to ·show [reveal] his great power.
9 He ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [v. 7], and it dried up.
He led them through the deep sea as if it were a ·desert [wilderness].
10 He ·saved them [gave them victory over] from those who hated them.
He ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·power [hand] of their enemies,
11 and the water covered their foes.
Not one of them ·escaped [L was left].
12 Then the people ·believed what the Lord said [L had faith in his word],
and they sang praises to him.
13 But they quickly forgot what he had done;
they did not wait for his ·advice [counsel].
14 They ·became greedy for food [developed deep cravings] in the ·desert [wilderness; Num. 11],
and they tested God ·there [L in desolate places; Ex. 17:7].
15 So he gave them what they ·wanted [asked for],
but he also sent ·a terrible disease [a wasting sickness; emaciation] among them [Num. 11:33–35].
16 The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
and of Aaron, the holy ·priest [one] of the Lord.
17 Then the ground opened up and swallowed Dathan
and closed over Abiram’s ·group [assembly].
18 A fire burned among their ·followers [congregation],
and flames burned up the wicked [Num. 16].
19 The people made a gold calf at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Sinai]
and ·worshiped [bowed down to] a metal statue [Ex. 32; Deut. 9:7–17].
20 They exchanged their ·glorious God [L glory; C God’s manifest presence]
for ·a statue [the image] of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who ·saved them [had given them victory],
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 who had done miracles in the land of Ham [C Egypt]
and amazing things by the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [v. 7].
23 So God said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stood ·before him [L in the breech before him]
and ·stopped God’s anger from destroying them [calmed his destructive wrath; Ex. 32:30—33:23; Deut. 9:18–21].
24 Then they refused to go into the ·beautiful land of Canaan [desired/coveted land];
they did not ·believe what God promised [L trust his word; Num. 14:1–12].
25 They ·grumbled [complained] in their tents [Deut. 1:27; 1 Cor. 10:10]
and did not ·obey [L listen to] the Lord.
26 So he ·swore [L lifted his hand; C an oath-taking gesture] to them
that ·they would die [L he would make them fall] in the ·desert [wilderness].
27 He ·said their children would be killed by [L would make their seed fall to] other nations
and that they would be scattered among other countries [C as happened in the exile; Num. 14:27–35].
28 They ·joined in worshiping [L yoked themselves to] Baal at Peor
and ate ·meat that had been sacrificed to lifeless statues [L sacrifices to the dead; Num. 25].
29 They ·made the Lord angry [L provoked him] by what they did,
so ·many people became sick with a terrible disease [plague broke out among them].
30 But Phinehas ·prayed to the Lord [L stood and prayed],
and the ·disease [plague] ·stopped [was restrained; Num. 25:6–9].
31 ·Phinehas did what was right [L It was counted/credited to him as righteousness],
·and it will be remembered from now on [L throughout the generations, forever; Num. 25:10–13; Mal. 2:4–6].
32 The people also made the Lord angry at Meribah [81:7; 95:8],
and Moses was in trouble because of them.
33 The people ·turned [rebelled] against ·the Spirit of God [L his Spirit/spirit],
so Moses ·spoke without stopping to think [L chattered with his lips; Num. 20:10–11].
34 The people did not destroy the other nations
as the Lord had told them to do [Deut. 7:16; 20:17–18].
35 Instead, they mixed with the other nations
and learned their ·customs [deeds; Judg. 3:5–6].
36 They ·worshiped [L served] other nations’ idols [Judg. 2:19]
and were ·trapped by them [L a snare to them].
37 They even killed their sons and daughters
as sacrifices to demons [Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31; 2 Kin. 16:1; 21:6; 23:10; Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 16:20–21; 20:31; 1 Cor. 10:20].
38 They ·killed [L spilled the blood of] innocent people,
their own sons and daughters,
as sacrifices to the idols of Canaan [Jer. 19:4].
So the land was ·made unholy [polluted] by their blood.
39 The people became ·unholy [unclean; C ritually] by their ·sins [L acts];
they ·were unfaithful to God in [prostituted themselves by] what they did.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people
and ·hated [was disgusted with] his own ·children [L inheritance].
41 He ·handed them over to [L gave them over to the hand/power of] other nations
and let ·their enemies [L those who hated them] ·rule over [dominate] them.
42 Their enemies ·were cruel to [oppressed] them
and ·kept them [they were brought into subjection] under their ·power [L hand].
43 The Lord ·saved [rescued] his people many times,
but they continued to ·turn [rebel] against him.
So they ·became even more wicked [L were brought low by their iniquity].
44 But God saw their ·misery [distress]
when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered his ·agreement [treaty; covenant] with them,
and he felt ·sorry [compassion] for them because of his great ·love [loyalty].
46 He caused them to be ·pitied [shown mercy/compassion]
by those who held them captive.
47 Lord our God, ·save us [give us victory]
and ·bring us back [gather us] from other nations [C perhaps from the exile].
Then we will ·thank [praise] ·you [L your holy name]
and will ·gladly praise you [glory in your praise].
48 ·Praise [Bless] the Lord, the God of Israel.
He ·always was and always will be [is from everlasting to everlasting].
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
11 My ·child [L son], do not reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t ·get angry [loathe] when he corrects you.
12 The Lord corrects those he loves,
just as ·parents [L fathers] correct the child they delight in.
13 ·Happy [Blessed] is the person who finds wisdom,
the one who ·gets [gains] understanding.
14 ·Wisdom [L Her profit] is worth more than silver;
·it brings more profit [L her yield more] than gold.
15 Wisdom is more precious than ·rubies [or pearls];
nothing you could want is equal to it.
16 ·With [In] her right hand ·wisdom offers you a long life [L are length of days],
and ·with [in] her left hand ·she gives you [are] riches and honor.
17 ·Wisdom will make your life [L Her paths are] pleasant
and ·will bring you [L her trails are] peace.
18 As a tree produces fruit, wisdom gives life to those who use it,
and everyone who uses it will be happy.
19 The Lord ·made [L laid the foundations of] the earth, ·using his wisdom [or with Wisdom; 8:22–31].
He set the ·sky [heavens] in place, using his ·understanding [competence].
20 With his knowledge, ·he made springs flow into rivers [L the deeps burst open]
and the clouds drop ·rain on the earth [L dew].
18 My children [2:1], we should love people not only ·with words and talk [L in word and tongue], but ·by our actions and true caring [or by showing true love through our actions; L in deed and truth].
Warning Against False Teachers
4 ·My dear friends [L Beloved], many false prophets [Deut. 13:1–5; 18:14–22; Mark 13:22] have gone out into the world. So do not ·believe [trust] every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are from God [C the false teachers evidently claimed that their teaching was from the Spirit; 1 Cor. 12:1–3; 14:29; 1 Thess. 5:19–21]. 2 This is how you can ·know [recognize] God’s Spirit: Every spirit [C a teacher/prophet claiming inspiration from the Spirit] who ·confesses [acknowledges] that Jesus Christ came ·to earth as a human [L in the flesh] is from God. 3 And every spirit who ·refuses to say this about Jesus [L does not confess/acknowledge Jesus] is not from God [2 John 7]. It is the spirit of the ·enemy of Christ [L antichrist; 2:18, 22], which you have heard is coming, and now he is already in the world.
4 ·My dear children [2:1], you ·belong to [L are from] God and have ·defeated [conquered; overcome] them [C the antichrists/false teachers]; because ·God’s Spirit, who is in you, is greater than the devil, who is in the world [L that which is in you is greater than that which is in the world]. 5 And they ·belong to [L are from] the world, so what they say is from the world, and the world ·listens to [hears; obeys] them. 6 But we ·belong to [are from] God, and those who know God ·listen to [hear; obey] us. But those who are not from God do not ·listen to [hear; obey] us. That is how we ·know [recognize] the Spirit that is true and the spirit that ·is false [deceives; errs].
Jesus in Bethany
17 When Jesus arrived, he learned that Lazarus had already been dead and in the tomb for four days. [C Some Jews believed that a soul would stay near a body for up to three days after death.] 18 Bethany was about two miles [L fifteen stadia; C a stadion was about 600 ft.] from Jerusalem. 19 Many of the Jews had come there to ·comfort [console] Martha and Mary about their brother.
20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary ·stayed [L was sitting at] home. 21 Martha [L then] said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you anything you ask.”
23 Jesus said, “Your brother will rise and live again.”
24 Martha answered, “I know that he will rise and live again in the resurrection on the last day.” [C Many Jews, particularly Pharisees, believed in a future bodily resurrection.]
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. ·Those who believe [L The one who believes…] in me will have life even if they die. 26 And everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
27 Martha answered, “Yes, Lord. I believe that you are the ·Christ [Messiah], the Son of God, the One ·coming to [who was to come into] the world.”
Jesus Weeps
28 After Martha said this, she went back and ·talked to [summoned] her sister Mary ·alone [privately]. Martha said, “The Teacher is here and he is ·asking for [summoning; calling for] you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up quickly and went to Jesus.
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