Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
78 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction.
Listen to the words I speak.[c]
2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past.[d]
3 What we have heard and learned[e]—
that which our ancestors[f] have told us—
4 we will not hide from their[g] descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,[h]
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
5 He established a rule[i] in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants,[j]
6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.[k]
7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey[l] his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God.[m]
9 The Ephraimites[n] were armed with bows,[o]
but they retreated in the day of battle.[p]
10 They did not keep their covenant with God,[q]
and they refused to obey[r] his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,[s]
the amazing things he had shown them.
12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.[t]
13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.[u]
16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the Most High[v] in the desert.
18 They willfully challenged God[w]
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
19 They insulted God, saying,[x]
“Is God really able to give us food[y] in the wilderness?
20 Yes,[z] he struck a rock and water flowed out;
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 When[aa] the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up[ab] against Israel,
22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them.[ac]
23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.[ad]
25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.[ae]
He sent them more than enough to eat.[af]
26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.[ag]
28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
29 They ate until they were beyond full;[ah]
he gave them what they desired.
30 They were not yet filled up;[ai]
their food was still in their mouths,
31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things.[aj]
33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied[ak]
and filled with terror.[al]
34 When he struck them down,[am] they sought his favor;[an]
they turned back and longed for God.
35 They remembered that God was their protector,[ao]
and that God Most High[ap] was their deliverer.[aq]
36 But they deceived him with their words,[ar]
and lied to him.[as]
37 They were not really committed to him,[at]
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury.[au]
39 He remembered[av] that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.[aw]
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him[ax] in the wastelands.
41 They again challenged God,[ay]
and offended[az] the Holy One of Israel.[ba]
42 They did not remember what he had done,[bb]
how he delivered them from the enemy,[bc]
43 when he performed his awesome deeds[bd] in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment[be] in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them,[bf]
as well as frogs that overran their land.[bg]
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
48 He rained hail down on their cattle,[bh]
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.[bi]
49 His raging anger lashed out against them.[bj]
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster.[bk]
50 He sent his anger in full force.[bl]
He did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction.[bm]
51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power[bn] in the tents of Ham.
52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land[bo] that his right hand[bp] acquired.
55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments[bq]
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.[br]
56 Yet they challenged and defied[bs] God Most High,[bt]
and did not obey[bu] his commands.[bv]
57 They were unfaithful[bw] and acted as treacherously as[bx] their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.[by]
58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines,[bz]
and made him jealous with their idols.
59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned[ca] the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured;[cb]
he gave the symbol of his splendor[cc] into the hand of the enemy.[cd]
62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation.[ce]
63 Fire consumed their[cf] young men,
and their[cg] virgins remained unmarried.[ch]
64 Their[ci] priests fell by the sword,
but their[cj] widows did not weep.[ck]
65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;[cl]
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.[cm]
66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults.[cn]
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose the tribe of Judah
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above,[co]
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.[cp]
70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 He took him away from following the mother sheep,[cq]
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation.[cr]
72 David[cs] cared for them with pure motives;[ct]
he led them with skill.[cu]
The Israelites Complain
11 [a] When the people complained,[b] it displeased[c] the Lord. When the Lord heard[d] it, his anger burned,[e] and so[f] the fire of the Lord[g] burned among them and consumed some of the outer parts of the camp. 2 When the people cried to Moses, he[h] prayed to the Lord, and the fire died out.[i] 3 So he called the name of that place Taberah[j] because there the fire of the Lord burned among them.
Complaints about Food
4 [k] Now the mixed multitude[l] who were among them craved more desirable foods,[m] and so the Israelites wept again[n] and said, “If only we had meat to eat![o] 5 We remember[p] the fish we used to eat[q] freely[r] in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now we[s] are dried up,[t] and there is nothing at all before us[u] except this manna!” 7 (Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its color like the color of bdellium. 8 And the people went about and gathered it, and ground it with mills or pounded it in mortars; they baked it in pans and made cakes of it. It tasted like fresh olive oil.[v] 9 And when the dew came down[w] on the camp in the night, the manna fell[x] with it.)
Moses’ Complaint to the Lord
10 [y] Moses heard the people weeping[z] throughout their families, everyone at the door of his tent; and when the anger of the Lord was kindled greatly, Moses was also displeased.[aa] 11 And Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you afflicted[ab] your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that[ac] you lay the burden of this entire people on me? 12 Did I conceive this entire people?[ad] Did I give birth to[ae] them, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your arms, as a foster father[af] bears a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to their fathers? 13 From where shall I get[ag] meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat!’[ah] 14 I am not able to bear this entire people alone,[ai] because it[aj] is too heavy for me! 15 But if you are going to deal[ak] with me like this, then kill me immediately.[al] If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.”[am]
The Response of God
16 [an] The Lord said to Moses, “Gather to me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know are elders of the people and officials[ao] over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting; let them take their position there with you. 17 Then I will come down and speak with you there, and I will take part of the Spirit that is on you, and will put it on them, and they will bear some of the burden of the people with you, so that you do not bear it[ap] all by yourself.
18 “And say to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves[aq] for tomorrow, and you will eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing[ar] of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat,[as] for life[at] was good for us in Egypt?” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you will eat. 19 You will eat, not just one day, nor two days, nor five days, nor ten days, nor twenty days, 20 but a whole month,[au] until it comes out your nostrils and makes you sick,[av] because you have despised[aw] the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why[ax] did we ever come out of Egypt?”’”
21 Moses said, “The people around me[ay] are 600,000 on foot;[az] but you say, ‘I will give them meat,[ba] that they may eat[bb] for a whole month.’ 22 Would they have enough if the flocks and herds were slaughtered for them? If all the fish of the sea were caught for them, would they have enough?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened?[bc] Now you will see whether my word to you will come true[bd] or not!”
The Power of the Gospel
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is God’s power for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.[a] 17 For the righteousness[b] of God is revealed in the gospel[c] from faith to faith,[d] just as it is written, “The righteous by faith will live.”[e]
The Condemnation of the Unrighteous
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people[f] who suppress the truth by their[g] unrighteousness,[h] 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them,[i] because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people[j] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts[k] were darkened. 22 Although they claimed[l] to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings[m] or birds or four-footed animals[n] or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over[o] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,[p] to dishonor[q] their bodies among themselves.[r] 25 They[s] exchanged the truth of God for a lie[t] and worshiped and served the creation[u] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
Second Prediction of Jesus’ Death and Resurrection
22 When[a] they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men.[b] 23 They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised.” And they became greatly distressed.
The Temple Tax
24 After[c] they arrived in Capernaum,[d] the collectors of the temple tax[e] came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?” 25 He said, “Yes.” When Peter came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first,[f] “What do you think, Simon? From whom do earthly kings collect tolls or taxes—from their sons[g] or from foreigners?” 26 After he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the sons[h] are free. 27 But so that we don’t offend them, go to the lake and throw out a hook. Take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a four drachma coin.[i] Take that and give it to them for me and you.”
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