Book of Common Prayer

I Am Giving You This Instruction, My Child, So You Can Fight The Good Fight

¹⁸ I am depositing^[a] this instruction^[b] with you, my child Timothy, in accordance with the preceding^[c] prophecies about you, in order that by them^[d] you may fight the good fight, ¹⁹ having faith and a good conscience, which^[e] having pushed-aside^[f], some suffered-shipwreck with respect to the^[g] faith— ²⁰ of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I handed-over to Satan in order that they may be trained not to blaspheme.

First, I Urge That Prayers And Thanksgivings Be Made For All People

2 First of all then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made for all people, ² for kings and all the ones being in a place of superiority, in order that we may spend^[h] a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. ³ This^[i] is good and acceptable^[j] in the sight of our Savior God, ⁴ Who desires^[k] all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

For Jesus Gave Himself As a Ransom For All

⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator of God and people— the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ the One having given Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given in His^[l] own times ⁷ for which I was appointed a proclaimer and an apostle (I am telling the truth; I am not lying), a teacher of the Gentiles in^[m] faith and truth. ⁸ So I want the men in every place to be praying, lifting-up holy hands without anger and argument.

Jesus Curses a Fruitless Fig Tree

¹² And on the next day, they having departed from Bethany, He was hungry. ¹³ And having seen from a distance a fig-tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it. And having come to it, He found nothing except leaves^[a]— for it was not the season for figs. ¹⁴ And having responded, He said to it, “May no one eat fruit from you any longer— forever!” And His disciples were listening.

Jesus Cleanses The Temple of Merchandisers. The Priests Seek To Destroy Him

¹⁵ And they come into Jerusalem. And having entered into the temple, He began to throw-out the ones selling and the ones buying in the temple. And He overturned the tables of the money-changers^[b], and the seats of the ones selling doves^[c]. ¹⁶ And He was not permitting that anyone carry an object^[d] through the temple. ¹⁷ And He was teaching and saying to them, “Has it not been written [in Isa 56:7] that ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers^[e]”. ¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it. And they were seeking how they might destroy Him. For they were fearing Him, for the whole crowd was astounded at His teaching. ¹⁹ And when it became evening, they were going outside of the city.

Lessons From The Fig Tree

²⁰ And while passing by early-in-the-morning, they saw the fig tree having dried-up from the roots. ²¹ And having remembered, Peter says to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has dried-up”. ²² And having responded, Jesus says to them, “Be having faith in God. ²³ Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and be thrown into the sea’, and does not doubt in his heart, but is believing that what he is speaking is coming-about, it will happen for him. ²⁴ For this reason I say to you, be believing that you received all that you are praying and asking, and it will happen for you. ²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive— if you have anything against anyone— in order that your Father in the heavens also may forgive you your trespasses”. ²⁶ 

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