Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106
1 Hallelujah!
Give thanks to Yahweh because he is good,
because his mercy endures forever.
2 Who can speak about all the mighty things Yahweh has done?
Who can announce all the things for which he is worthy of praise?
3 Blessed are those who defend justice
and do what is right at all times.
4 Remember me, O Yahweh, when you show favor to your people.
Come to help me with your salvation
5 so that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
find joy in our people’s happiness,
and brag with the people who belong to you.
6 We have sinned, and so did our ancestors.
We have done wrong.
We are guilty.
7 When our ancestors were in Egypt,
they gave no thought to your miracles.
They did not remember your numerous acts of mercy,
so they rebelled at the sea, the Red Sea.
8 He saved them because of his reputation
so that he could make his mighty power known.
9 He angrily commanded the Red Sea, and it dried up.
He led them through deep water as though it were a desert.
10 He rescued them from the power of the one who hated them.
He rescued them from the enemy.
11 Water covered their adversaries.
Not one Egyptian survived.
12 Then our ancestors believed what he said.
They sang his praise.
13 They quickly forgot what he did.
They did not wait for his advice.
14 They had an unreasonable desire for food in the wilderness.
In the desert they tested El.
15 He gave them what they asked for.
He also gave them a degenerative disease.
16 In the camp certain men became envious of Moses.
They also became envious of Aaron, Yahweh’s holy one.
17 The ground split open and swallowed Dathan.
It buried Abiram’s followers.
18 A fire broke out among their followers.
Flames burned up wicked people.
19 At Mount Horeb they made a statue of a calf.
They worshiped an idol made of metal.
20 They traded their glorious God[a]
for the statue of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot El, their savior,
the one who did spectacular things in Egypt,
22 miracles in the land of Ham,
and terrifying things at the Red Sea.
23 El said he was going to destroy them,
but Moses, his chosen one, stood in his way
to prevent him from exterminating them.
24 They refused to enter the pleasant land.
They did not believe what he said.
25 They complained in their tents.
They did not obey Yahweh.
26 Raising his hand, he swore
that he would kill them in the wilderness,
27 kill their descendants among the nations,
and scatter them throughout various lands.
28 They joined in worshiping the god Baal while they were at Peor,
and they ate what was sacrificed to the dead.
29 They infuriated Yahweh by what they did,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas stood between Yahweh and the people,
and the plague was stopped.
31 Because of this, Phinehas was considered righteous forever,
throughout every generation.
32 They made Yahweh angry by the water at Meribah.
Things turned out badly for Moses because of what they did,
33 since they made him bitter so that he spoke recklessly.
34 They did not destroy the people as Yahweh had told them.
35 Instead, they intermarried with other nations.
They learned to do what other nations did,
36 and they worshiped their idols,
which became a trap for them.
37 They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons.
38 They shed innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan.
The land became polluted with blood.
39 They became filthy because of what they did.
They behaved like prostitutes.
40 Yahweh burned with anger against his own people.
He was disgusted with those who belonged to him.
41 He handed them over to other nations,
and those who hated them ruled them.
42 Their enemies oppressed them
and made them subject to their power.
43 He rescued them many times,
but they continued to plot rebellion against him
and to sink deeper because of their sin.
44 He saw that they were suffering
when he heard their cry for help.
45 He remembered his promise[b] to them.
In keeping with his rich mercy, he changed his plans.
46 He let them find compassion
from all those who held them captive.
47 Rescue us, O Yahweh our Elohim, and gather us from the nations
so that we may give thanks to your holy name
and make your praise our glory.
48 Thanks be to Yahweh Elohim of Israel
from everlasting to everlasting.
Let all the people say amen.
Hallelujah!
King Manasseh of Judah(A)
21 Manasseh was 12 years old when he began to rule, and he ruled for 55 years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hephzibah.
2 He did what Yahweh considered evil by copying the disgusting things done by the nations that Yahweh had forced out of the Israelites’ way. 3 He rebuilt the illegal places of worship that his father Hezekiah had destroyed. He set up altars dedicated to Baal and made a pole dedicated to the goddess Asherah as King Ahab of Israel had done. Manasseh, like Ahab, worshiped and served the entire army of heaven. 4 He built altars in Yahweh’s temple, where Yahweh had said, “I will put my name in Jerusalem.” 5 In the two courtyards of Yahweh’s temple, he built altars for the entire army of heaven. 6 He burned his son as a sacrifice, consulted fortunetellers, cast evil spells, and appointed royal mediums and psychics. He did many things that made Yahweh furious. 7 Manasseh had an idol of Asherah made. Then he set it up in the temple, where Yahweh had said to David and his son Solomon, “I have chosen this temple and Jerusalem from all the tribes of Israel. I will put my name here forever. 8 I will never again make Israel’s feet wander from the land that I gave to their ancestors if they will obey all the commands and all the Teachings that my servant Moses gave them.” 9 (But they wouldn’t obey.) Manasseh misled Israel so that they did more evil things than the nations that Yahweh had destroyed when the Israelites arrived in the land.
10 Then Yahweh spoke through his servants the prophets: 11 “King Manasseh of Judah has done disgusting things, things more evil than what the Amorites who were here before him had done. Manasseh has also made Judah sin by worshiping his idols. 12 So this is what I, Yahweh Elohim of Israel, said: I’m going to bring such a disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of everyone who hears about it will ring. 13 I will measure Jerusalem with the measuring line used for Samaria and the plumb line used for Ahab’s dynasty. I will wipe out Jerusalem in the same way that a dish is wiped out and turned upside down. 14 I will abandon the rest of my people. I will put them under the control of their enemies, and they will become property that their enemies capture. 15 I will do this because they have done what I consider evil and have been making me furious from the time their ancestors left Egypt until this day.”
16 In addition to his sin that he led Judah to commit in front of Yahweh, Manasseh also killed a lot of innocent people from one end of Jerusalem to the other. 17 Isn’t everything else about Manasseh—everything he did, the sins he committed—written in the official records of the kings of Judah? 18 Manasseh lay down in death with his ancestors. He was buried in the garden of his own palace, in the garden of Uzza. His son Amon succeeded him as king.
Stay Away from Worshiping False Gods
14 Therefore, my dear friends, get as far away from the worship of false gods as you can.
15 I’m talking to intelligent people. Judge for yourselves what I’m saying. 16 When we bless the cup of blessing aren’t we sharing in the blood of Christ? When we break the bread aren’t we sharing in the body of Christ? 17 Because there is one loaf, we are one body, although we are many individuals. All of us share one loaf.
18 Look at the people of Israel from a human point of view. Don’t those who eat the sacrifices share what is on the altar? 19 Do I mean that an offering made to a false god is anything, or that a false god itself is anything? 20 Hardly! What I am saying is that these sacrifices which people make are made to demons and not to God. I don’t want you to be partners with demons. 21 You cannot drink the Lord’s cup and the cup of demons. You cannot participate at the table of the Lord and at the table of demons. 22 Are we trying to make the Lord jealous? Are we stronger than he is?
23 Someone may say, “I’m allowed to do anything,” but not everything is helpful. I’m allowed to do anything, but not everything encourages growth. 24 People should be concerned about others and not just about themselves. 25 Eat anything that is sold in the market without letting your conscience trouble you. 26 Certainly, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything it contains is his.” 27 If an unbeliever invites you to his house for dinner, and you wish to go, eat anything he serves you without letting your conscience trouble you. 28 However, if someone says to you, “This was sacrificed to a god,” don’t eat it because of the one who informed you and because of conscience. 29 I’m not talking about your conscience but the other person’s conscience. Why should my freedom be judged by someone else’s conscience? 30 If I give thanks to God for the food I eat, why am I condemned for that? 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything to the glory of God. 32 Don’t cause others to stumble, whether they are Jewish, Greek, or members of God’s church. 33 I try to please everyone in every way. I don’t think about what would be good for me but about what would be good for many people so that they might be saved. 11 1 Imitate me as I imitate Christ.
Jesus Cures Two Demon-Possessed Men(A)
28 When he arrived in the territory of the Gadarenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, two men met him. They were possessed by demons and had come out of the tombs. No one could travel along that road because the men were so dangerous.
29 They shouted, “Why are you bothering us now, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before it is time?”
30 A large herd of pigs was feeding in the distance. 31 The demons begged Yeshua, “If you’re going to force us out, send us into that herd of pigs.”
32 Yeshua said to them, “Go!” The demons came out and went into the pigs. Suddenly, the whole herd rushed down the cliff into the sea and died in the water. 33 Those who took care of the pigs ran into the city. There they reported everything, especially about the men possessed by demons.
34 Everyone from the city went to meet Yeshua. When they saw him, they begged him to leave their territory.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.