Book of Common Prayer

A psalm of praise. A psalm of David.

Moses Makes a Bronze Snake

⁴ The Israelites traveled from Mount Hor along the way to the Red Sea. They wanted to go around Edom. But they grew tired on the way. ⁵ So they spoke against God and against Moses. They said, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt? Do you want us to die here in the desert? We don’t have any bread! We don’t have any water! And we hate this awful food!”

⁶ Then the Lord sent poisonous snakes among the Israelites. The snakes bit them. Many of the people died. ⁷ The others came to Moses. They said, “We sinned when we spoke against the Lord and against you. Pray that the Lord will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

⁸ The Lord said to Moses, “Make a snake. Put it up on a pole. Then anyone who is bitten can look at it and remain alive.” ⁹ So Moses made a bronze snake. He put it up on a pole. Then anyone who was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake remained alive.

Israel Wins the Battle Over Sihon and Og

²¹ The Israelites sent messengers to speak to Sihon. He was the king of the Amorites. The messengers said to him,

²² “Let us pass through your country. We won’t go off the road into any field or vineyard. We won’t drink water from any well. We’ll travel along the King’s Highway. We’ll just go straight through your territory.”

²³ But Sihon wouldn’t let Israel pass through his territory. He gathered his whole army together. Then he marched out into the desert against Israel. When he reached Jahaz, he fought against Israel. ²⁴ But Israel put him to death with their swords. They took over his land. They took everything from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. But they didn’t take over any of the land of the Ammonites. That’s because the Ammonites had built strong forts along their border. ²⁵ The Israelites captured all the cities of the Amorites. Then they settled down in them. They captured the city of Heshbon. They also captured all the settlements around it. ²⁶ Sihon, the king of the Amorites, ruled in Heshbon. He had fought against an earlier king of Moab. Sihon had taken from him all his land all the way to the Arnon River.

²⁷ That’s why the poets say,

³¹ So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

³² Moses sent spies to the city of Jazer. The Israelites captured the settlements around it. They drove out the Amorites who were there. ³³ Then they turned and went up along the road toward Bashan. Og was the king of Bashan. He and his whole army marched out. They went to fight against Israel at Edrei.

³⁴ The Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of Og. I have handed him over to you. I have given you his whole army. I have also given you his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon, the king of the Amorites. He ruled in Heshbon.”

³⁵ So the Israelites struck down Og and his sons. And they wiped out his whole army. They didn’t leave anyone alive. They took over his land for themselves.

¹² Because of this, many of the Berean Jews believed. A number of important Greek women also became believers. And so did many Greek men.

¹³ But the Jews in Thessalonica found out that Paul was preaching God’s word in Berea. So some of them went there too. They stirred up the crowds and got them all worked up. ¹⁴ Right away the believers sent Paul to the coast. But Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea. ¹⁵ The believers who went with Paul took him to Athens. Then they returned with orders that Silas and Timothy were supposed to join him as soon as they could.

Paul Preaches in Athens

¹⁶ Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy in Athens. He was very upset to see that the city was full of statues of gods. ¹⁷ So he went to the synagogue. There he talked both with Jews and with Greeks who worshiped God. Each day he spoke with anyone who happened to be in the market place. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic thinkers began to argue with him. Some of them asked, “What is this fellow chattering about?” Others said, “He seems to be telling us about gods we’ve never heard of.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus. He was telling them that Jesus had risen from the dead. ¹⁹ They took him to a meeting of the Areopagus. There they said to him, “What is this new teaching you’re giving us? ²⁰ You have some strange ideas we’ve never heard before. We would like to know what they mean.” ²¹ All the people of Athens spent their time talking about and listening to the latest ideas. People from other lands who lived there did the same.

²² Then Paul stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus. He said, “People of Athens! I see that you are very religious in every way. ²³ As I walked around, I looked carefully at the things you worship. I even found an altar with

To an Unknown God

written on it. So you don’t know what you are worshiping. Now I am going to tell you about this ‘unknown god.’

²⁴ “He is the God who made the world. He also made everything in it. He is the Lord of heaven and earth. He doesn’t live in temples built by human hands. ²⁵ He is not served by human hands. He doesn’t need anything. Instead, he himself gives life and breath to all people. He also gives them everything else they have. ²⁶ From one man he made all the people of the world. Now they live all over the earth. He decided exactly when they should live. And he decided exactly where they should live. ²⁷ God did this so that people would seek him. And perhaps they would reach out for him and find him. They would find him even though he is not far from any of us. ²⁸ ‘In him we live and move and exist.’ As some of your own poets have also said, ‘We are his children.’

²⁹ “Yes, we are God’s children. So we shouldn’t think that God is made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn’t a statue planned and made by clever people. ³⁰ In the past, God didn’t judge people for what they didn’t know. But now he commands all people everywhere to turn away from their sins. ³¹ He has set a day when he will judge the world fairly. He has appointed a man to be its judge. God has proved this to everyone by raising that man from the dead.”

³² They heard Paul talk about the dead being raised. Some of them made fun of this idea. But others said, “We want to hear you speak about this again.” ³³ So Paul left the meeting of the Areopagus. ³⁴ Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed in Jesus. Dionysius was one of them. He was a member of the Areopagus. A woman named Damaris also became a believer. And so did some others.

Jesus Heals a Disabled Woman on the Sabbath Day

¹⁰ Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues on a Sabbath day. ¹¹ A woman there had been disabled by an evil spirit for 18 years. She was bent over and could not stand up straight. ¹² Jesus saw her. He asked her to come to him. He said to her, “Woman, you will no longer be disabled. I am about to set you free.” ¹³ Then he put his hands on her. Right away she stood up straight and praised God.

¹⁴ Jesus had healed the woman on the Sabbath day. This made the synagogue leader angry. He told the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days. But do not come on the Sabbath day.”

¹⁵ The Lord answered him, “You pretenders! Doesn’t each of you go to the barn and untie your ox or donkey on the Sabbath day? Then don’t you lead it out to give it water? ¹⁶ This woman is a member of Abraham’s family line. But Satan has kept her disabled for 18 long years. Shouldn’t she be set free on the Sabbath day from what was keeping her disabled?”

¹⁷ When Jesus said this, all those who opposed him were put to shame. But the people were delighted. They loved all the wonderful things he was doing.