Book of Common Prayer
That the Generation to Come Might Know
A [a]Maskil of Asaph.
78 (A)Give ear, O my people, to my [b]instruction;
(B)Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will (C)open my mouth in a parable;
I will pour forth (D)dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known,
And (E)our fathers have recounted to us.
4 We will (F)not conceal them from their children,
But (G)recount to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,
And His strength and His (H)wondrous deeds that He has done.
5 For He established a (I)testimony in Jacob
And set a (J)law in Israel,
Which He (K)commanded our fathers
That they should [c](L)teach them to their children,
6 (M)That the generation to come might know, even (N)the children yet to be born,
That they may arise and (O)recount them to their children,
7 That they should set their confidence in God
And (P)not forget the deeds of God,
But (Q)observe His commandments,
8 And (R)not be like their fathers,
A (S)stubborn and rebellious generation,
A generation that (T)did not [d]prepare its heart
And whose spirit was not (U)faithful to God.
9 The sons of Ephraim [e]were (V)archers equipped with bows,
Yet (W)they turned back in the day of battle.
10 They (X)did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to (Y)walk in His law;
11 So they (Z)forgot His acts
And His [f]wondrous deeds that He had shown them.
12 (AA)He did wonders before their fathers
In the land of Egypt, in the (AB)field of Zoan.
13 He (AC)split the sea and caused them to pass through,
And He made the waters stand (AD)up like a heap.
14 Then He led them with the cloud by (AE)day
And all the night with a (AF)light of fire.
15 He was (AG)splitting the rocks in the wilderness
And so gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.
16 He (AH)brought forth streams also from the cliff face
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him,
To (AI)rebel against the Most High in the desert.
18 And in their heart they (AJ)put God to the test
By asking for (AK)food according to their desire.
19 Then they spoke against God;
They said, “(AL)Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He (AM)struck the rock so that waters gushed out,
And streams were overflowing;
Can He give bread also?
Will He prepare [g](AN)meat for His people?”
21 Therefore Yahweh heard and [h]was (AO)full of wrath;
And a fire was kindled against Jacob
And anger also mounted against Israel,
22 Because they (AP)did not believe in God
And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He commanded the skies above
And (AQ)opened the doors of heaven;
24 He (AR)rained down manna upon them to eat
And gave them (AS)grain from heaven.
25 Man ate the bread of [i]angels;
He sent them provision (AT)to satisfy.
26 He (AU)led forth the east wind in the heavens
And by His strength He guided the south wind.
27 Then He rained [j]meat upon them like the dust,
Even (AV)winged fowl like the sand of the seas,
28 He caused them to fall in the midst of His camp,
All around His dwelling places.
29 So they (AW)ate and were very satisfied,
And their desire He brought to them.
30 [k]Before they had satisfied their desire,
(AX)While their food was in their mouths,
31 The (AY)anger of God rose against them
And killed [l]some of their (AZ)stoutest ones,
And [m]subdued the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this they (BA)still sinned
And (BB)did not believe in His wondrous deeds.
33 So He brought (BC)their days to an end in [n]futility
And their years in sudden terror.
34 When He killed them, then they (BD)sought Him,
And returned and sought (BE)earnestly for God;
35 And they remembered that God was their (BF)rock,
And the Most High God their (BG)Redeemer.
36 But they (BH)deceived Him with their mouth
And (BI)lied to Him with their tongue.
37 For their heart was not (BJ)prepared to remain with Him,
Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being (BK)compassionate, (BL)atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them;
And He abounded in (BM)turning back His anger
And did not arouse all His wrath.
39 Thus (BN)He remembered that they were but (BO)flesh,
A [o](BP)wind that goes and does not return.
40 How often they (BQ)rebelled against Him in the wilderness
And (BR)grieved Him in the (BS)wasteland!
41 Again and again they [p](BT)tested God,
And pained the (BU)Holy One of Israel.
42 They (BV)did not remember (BW)His [q]power,
The day when He (BX)redeemed them from the adversary,
43 When He performed His (BY)signs in Egypt
And His (BZ)miracles in the field of Zoan,
44 And (CA)turned their rivers to blood,
And their streams, they could not drink.
45 He sent among them swarms of (CB)flies which devoured them,
And (CC)frogs which destroyed them.
46 He gave also their crops to the (CD)grasshopper
And the fruit of their labor to the (CE)locust.
47 He killed their vines with (CF)hailstones
And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He gave over their (CG)cattle also to the hailstones
And their herds to bolts of lightning.
49 He (CH)sent upon them His burning anger,
Fury and indignation and [r]distress,
[s]A band of destroying angels.
50 He leveled a path for His anger;
He did not hold back their soul from death,
But (CI)gave over their life to the plague,
51 So He (CJ)struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
The (CK)first of their vigor in the tents of (CL)Ham.
52 But He (CM)led forth His own people like sheep
And guided them in the wilderness (CN)like a flock;
53 He led them (CO)safely, so that they did not fear;
But (CP)the sea covered their enemies.
54 So (CQ)He brought them to His holy [t]land,
To this [u](CR)hill country (CS)which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also (CT)drove out the nations before them
And (CU)apportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,
And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they [v](CV)tested and (CW)rebelled against the Most High God
And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and (CX)acted treacherously like their fathers;
They (CY)turned aside like a treacherous bow.
58 For they (CZ)provoked Him with their (DA)high places
And (DB)aroused His jealousy with their (DC)graven images.
59 God heard and [w]was filled with (DD)wrath
And greatly (DE)rejected Israel;
60 So that He (DF)abandoned the (DG)dwelling place at Shiloh,
The tent [x]which He caused to dwell among men,
61 And gave up His (DH)strength to captivity
And His beauty (DI)into the hand of the adversary.
62 He also (DJ)gave over His people to the sword,
And [y]was filled with wrath at His inheritance.
63 (DK)Fire devoured [z]His choice men,
And [aa]His (DL)virgins had no wedding songs.
64 [ab]His (DM)priests fell by the sword,
And [ac]His (DN)widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord (DO)awoke as if from sleep,
As if He were a (DP)warrior [ad]overcome by wine.
66 He (DQ)struck His adversaries backward;
He put on them an everlasting reproach.
67 He also (DR)rejected the tent of Joseph,
And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount (DS)Zion which He loved.
69 And He (DT)built His sanctuary like the heights,
Like the earth which He has founded forever.
70 He also (DU)chose David His servant
And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From (DV)following the [ae](DW)nursing ewes He brought him
To (DX)shepherd Jacob His people,
And Israel (DY)His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the (DZ)integrity of his heart,
And led them with his skillful hands.
Joseph Sends for Jacob
45 Then Joseph could not restrain himself before all those who stood by him, and he called out, “Have everyone go out from me.” So there [a]was no man with him (A)when Joseph made himself known to his brothers. 2 (B)Then he [b]wept loudly. And the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard it. 3 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “(C)I am Joseph! (D)Is my father still alive?” But his brothers could not answer him, for (E)they were terrified at his presence.
4 Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please come near to me.” And they came near. And he said, “I am Joseph, your brother, whom you (F)sold into Egypt. 5 So now do not be grieved or angry [c]with yourselves because (G)you sold me here, for (H)God sent me before you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land (I)these two years, and there are still five years in which there will be neither plowing nor harvesting. 7 (J)So God sent me before you to establish for you a remnant in the earth and to keep you alive for a great remnant of survivors. 8 So now, it was not you who sent me here, but God; and He has set me as a (K)father to Pharaoh and lord of all his household and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 9 Hurry and go up to my father, and (L)say to him, ‘Thus says your son Joseph, “God has set me as lord of all Egypt; come down to me, do not delay. 10 And you shall [d]live in the land of (M)Goshen, and you shall be near me, you and your children and your children’s children and your flocks and your herds and all that you have. 11 There I will also (N)provide for you, for there are still five years of famine to come, lest you and your household and all that you have be impoverished.”’ 12 And behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother Benjamin see, that it is my mouth which is speaking to you. 13 So you must tell my father of all my glory in Egypt and all that you have seen; and you must hurry and (O)bring my father down here.” 14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and (P)wept, and Benjamin wept on his neck. 15 He kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.
32 But I want you to be free from concern. One who is (A)unmarried is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. 33 But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, 34 and his interests have been divided. The woman who is unmarried, and the virgin, is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and spirit. But one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. 35 Now this I say for your own benefit, not to put a restraint upon you, but [a]to promote propriety and undistracted devotion to the Lord.
36 But if any man thinks that he is acting unbecomingly toward his virgin daughter, if she is past her youth, and if it must be so, let him do what he wishes, he does not sin; let [b]her marry. 37 But he who stands firm in his heart, [c]being under no compulsion, but has authority [d]over his own will, and has decided this in his own heart, to keep his own virgin daughter, he will do well. 38 So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who does not give her in marriage will do better.
39 (B)A wife is bound as long as her husband lives; but if her husband has [e]fallen asleep, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only (C)in the Lord. 40 But (D)in my opinion she is happier if she remains as she is. And I think that I also have the Spirit of God.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
6 (A)And Jesus went out from there and *came into [a](B)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began (C)to teach in the synagogue; and (D)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such [b]miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this man not (E)the carpenter, (F)the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not (G)His sisters here with us?” And they were taking (H)offense at Him. 4 And Jesus was saying to them, “(I)A prophet is not without honor except in [c](J)his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no [d]miracle there except that He (K)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was marveling at their unbelief.
(L)And He was going around the villages teaching.
The Twelve Sent Out
7 (M)And (N)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out (O)in pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 (P)and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only—no bread, no [e]bag, no money in their belt— 9 but [f]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two [g]tunics.” 10 And He was saying to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you [h]leave town. 11 And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, (Q)shake the dust [i]off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 (R)And they went out and [j]preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and (S)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
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