Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106
Israel’s Unfaithfulness to God
1 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
his faithful love endures forever.(A)
2 Who can declare the Lord’s mighty acts
or proclaim all the praise due him?(B)
3 How happy are those who uphold justice,
who practice righteousness at all times.(C)
4 Remember me, Lord,
when you show favor to your people.(D)
Come to me with your salvation
5 so that I may enjoy the prosperity
of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your nation,
and boast about your heritage.(E)
6 Both we and our ancestors have sinned;
we have done wrong and have acted wickedly.(F)
7 Our ancestors in Egypt did not grasp
the significance of your wondrous works
or remember your many acts of faithful love;
instead, they rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.(G)
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
to make his power known.(H)
9 He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
he led them through the depths as through a desert.(I)
10 He saved them from the power of the adversary;
he redeemed them from the power of the enemy.(J)
11 Water covered their foes;
not one of them remained.(K)
12 Then they believed his promises
and sang his praise.(L)
13 They soon forgot his works
and would not wait for his counsel.(M)
14 They were seized with craving in the wilderness
and tested God in the desert.(N)
15 He gave them what they asked for,
but sent a wasting disease among them.(O)
16 In the camp they were envious of Moses
and of Aaron, the Lord’s holy one.(P)
17 The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan;
it covered the assembly of Abiram.(Q)
18 Fire blazed throughout their assembly;
flames consumed the wicked.(R)
19 At Horeb they made a calf
and worshiped the cast metal image.(S)
20 They exchanged their glory[a][b]
for the image of a grass-eating ox.(T)
21 They forgot God their Savior,
who did great things in Egypt,(U)
22 wondrous works in the land of Ham,[c]
awe-inspiring acts at the Red Sea.(V)
23 So he said he would have destroyed them—
if Moses his chosen one
had not stood before him in the breach
to turn his wrath away from destroying them.(W)
24 They despised the pleasant land
and did not believe his promise.(X)
25 They grumbled in their tents
and did not listen to the Lord.(Y)
26 So he raised his hand against them with an oath
that he would make them fall in the desert(Z)
27 and would disperse their descendants[d]
among the nations,
scattering them throughout the lands.(AA)
28 They aligned themselves with Baal of Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods.[e](AB)
29 They angered the Lord with their deeds,
and a plague broke out against them.(AC)
30 But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was stopped.(AD)
31 It was credited to him as righteousness
throughout all generations to come.(AE)
32 They angered the Lord at the Waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered[f] because of them,(AF)
33 for they embittered his spirit,[g]
and he spoke rashly with his lips.(AG)
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them(AH)
35 but mingled with the nations
and adopted their ways.(AI)
36 They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.(AJ)
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.(AK)
38 They shed innocent blood—
the blood of their sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
so the land became polluted with blood.(AL)
39 They defiled themselves by their actions
and prostituted themselves by their deeds.(AM)
40 Therefore the Lord’s anger burned against his people,
and he abhorred his own inheritance.(AN)
41 He handed them over to the nations;
those who hated them ruled over them.(AO)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were subdued under their power.(AP)
43 He rescued them many times,
but they continued to rebel deliberately
and were beaten down by their iniquity.(AQ)
44 When he heard their cry,
he took note of their distress,(AR)
45 remembered his covenant with them,
and relented according to the abundance
of his faithful love.(AS)
46 He caused them to be pitied
before all their captors.(AT)
47 Save us, Lord our God,
and gather us from the nations,
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and rejoice in your praise.(AU)
24 David had arrived at Mahanaim by the time Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. 25 Now Absalom had appointed Amasa(A) over the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra[a] the Israelite;[b](B) Ithra had married Abigail daughter of Nahash.[c] Abigail was a sister to Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 And Israel and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead. 27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi son of Nahash(C) from Rabbah(D) of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar,(E) and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim(F) 28 brought beds, basins,[d] and pottery items. They also brought wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils,[e] 29 honey, curds, sheep, goats, and cheese[f] from the herd for David and the people with him to eat. They had reasoned, “The people must be hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Absalom’s Defeat
18 David reviewed his troops and appointed commanders of thousands and of hundreds over them. 2 He then sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai of Gath. The king said to the troops, “I must also march out with you.”
3 “You must not go!” (G) the people pleaded. “If we have to flee, they will not pay any attention to us. Even if half of us die, they will not pay any attention to us because you are worth[g] ten thousand of us. Therefore, it is better if you support us from the city.”
4 “I will do whatever you think is best,” the king replied to them. So he stood beside the city gate while all the troops marched out by hundreds and thousands. 5 The king commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, “Treat the young man Absalom gently for my sake.” All the people heard the king’s orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
6 Then David’s forces marched into the field to engage Israel in battle, which took place in the forest of Ephraim. 7 Israel’s army was defeated by David’s soldiers, and the slaughter there was vast that day—twenty thousand dead. 8 The battle spread over the entire area, and that day the forest claimed more people than the sword.
Paul before the Sanhedrin
30 The next day, since he wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him[a] and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene.(A) He brought Paul down and placed him before them.
23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience(B) to this day.” 2 The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth.(C) 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?” (D)
4 Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?”
5 “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”[b](E) 6 When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees.(F) I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” (G) 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection,(H) and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.
9 The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’(I) party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man.(J) What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” [c](K)
10 When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.(L) 11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”(M)
The Barren Fig Tree Is Cursed
12 The(A) next day when they went out from Bethany, he was hungry. 13 Seeing in the distance a fig(B) tree with leaves, he went to find out if there was anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for it was not the season for figs. 14 He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit(C) from you again!”(D) And his disciples(E) heard it.
Cleansing the Temple
15 They came to Jerusalem,(F) and he went into the temple(G) and began to throw out those buying and selling. He overturned the tables of the money changers(H) and the chairs of those selling doves, 16 and would not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. 17 He was teaching them: “Is it not written,(I) My house(J) will be called a house of prayer(K) for all nations?[a] But you have made it a den of thieves!”[b](L)
18 The chief priests and the scribes(M) heard it and started looking for a way to kill him. For they were afraid(N) of him, because the whole crowd was astonished by his teaching.
19 Whenever evening came, they would go out of the city.
The Barren Fig Tree Is Withered
20 Early(O) in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots up. 21 Then Peter(P) remembered and said to him, “Rabbi,(Q) look! The fig tree that you cursed(R) has withered.”
22 Jesus replied to them, “Have faith in God.(S) 23 Truly I tell you,(T) if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt(U) in his heart, but believes(V) that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.(W) 24 Therefore I tell you, everything you pray(X) and ask for(Y)—believe that you have received[c](Z) it and it will be yours. 25 And whenever you stand(AA) praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive(AB) him, so that your Father(AC) in heaven(AD) will also forgive(AE) you your wrongdoing.”[d]
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