Book of Common Prayer
Israel’s Failure to Trust God
106 Praise the Lord!
Thank the Lord because he is good.
His ·love [loyalty] continues forever.
2 ·No one [L Who…?] can tell all the mighty things the Lord has done;
·no one [L who…?] can ·speak [declare] all his praise.
3 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·do [keep; observe; guard] ·right [justice],
who do what is ·fair [righteous] at all times.
4 Lord, remember me when you ·are kind [show favor] to your people;
·help [come to] me when you ·save them [give them victory].
5 Let me see the ·good things you do for [prosperity of] your chosen people.
Let me ·be happy [rejoice] along with your ·happy [rejoicing] nation;
let me join your ·own people [inheritance] in praising you.
6 We have sinned just as our ·ancestors [fathers] did.
We have done wrong; we have done evil.
7 Our ·ancestors [fathers] in Egypt
did not ·learn [grow in wisdom] from your ·miracles [wonderful acts].
They did not remember all your ·kindnesses [loyalty],
so they ·turned [rebelled] against you at the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [78:13; Ex. 14–15].
8 But the Lord ·saved them [gave them victory] ·for his own sake [L because of his name],
to ·show [reveal] his great power.
9 He ·commanded [reprimanded; rebuked] the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [v. 7], and it dried up.
He led them through the deep sea as if it were a ·desert [wilderness].
10 He ·saved them [gave them victory over] from those who hated them.
He ·saved [redeemed] them from the ·power [hand] of their enemies,
11 and the water covered their foes.
Not one of them ·escaped [L was left].
12 Then the people ·believed what the Lord said [L had faith in his word],
and they sang praises to him.
13 But they quickly forgot what he had done;
they did not wait for his ·advice [counsel].
14 They ·became greedy for food [developed deep cravings] in the ·desert [wilderness; Num. 11],
and they tested God ·there [L in desolate places; Ex. 17:7].
15 So he gave them what they ·wanted [asked for],
but he also sent ·a terrible disease [a wasting sickness; emaciation] among them [Num. 11:33–35].
16 The people in the camp were jealous of Moses
and of Aaron, the holy ·priest [one] of the Lord.
17 Then the ground opened up and swallowed Dathan
and closed over Abiram’s ·group [assembly].
18 A fire burned among their ·followers [congregation],
and flames burned up the wicked [Num. 16].
19 The people made a gold calf at ·Mount Sinai [L Horeb; C another name for Sinai]
and ·worshiped [bowed down to] a metal statue [Ex. 32; Deut. 9:7–17].
20 They exchanged their ·glorious God [L glory; C God’s manifest presence]
for ·a statue [the image] of a bull that eats grass.
21 They forgot the God who ·saved them [had given them victory],
who had done great things in Egypt,
22 who had done miracles in the land of Ham [C Egypt]
and amazing things by the ·Red [or Reed] Sea [v. 7].
23 So God said he would destroy them.
But Moses, his chosen one, stood ·before him [L in the breech before him]
and ·stopped God’s anger from destroying them [calmed his destructive wrath; Ex. 32:30—33:23; Deut. 9:18–21].
24 Then they refused to go into the ·beautiful land of Canaan [desired/coveted land];
they did not ·believe what God promised [L trust his word; Num. 14:1–12].
25 They ·grumbled [complained] in their tents [Deut. 1:27; 1 Cor. 10:10]
and did not ·obey [L listen to] the Lord.
26 So he ·swore [L lifted his hand; C an oath-taking gesture] to them
that ·they would die [L he would make them fall] in the ·desert [wilderness].
27 He ·said their children would be killed by [L would make their seed fall to] other nations
and that they would be scattered among other countries [C as happened in the exile; Num. 14:27–35].
28 They ·joined in worshiping [L yoked themselves to] Baal at Peor
and ate ·meat that had been sacrificed to lifeless statues [L sacrifices to the dead; Num. 25].
29 They ·made the Lord angry [L provoked him] by what they did,
so ·many people became sick with a terrible disease [plague broke out among them].
30 But Phinehas ·prayed to the Lord [L stood and prayed],
and the ·disease [plague] ·stopped [was restrained; Num. 25:6–9].
31 ·Phinehas did what was right [L It was counted/credited to him as righteousness],
·and it will be remembered from now on [L throughout the generations, forever; Num. 25:10–13; Mal. 2:4–6].
32 The people also made the Lord angry at Meribah [81:7; 95:8],
and Moses was in trouble because of them.
33 The people ·turned [rebelled] against ·the Spirit of God [L his Spirit/spirit],
so Moses ·spoke without stopping to think [L chattered with his lips; Num. 20:10–11].
34 The people did not destroy the other nations
as the Lord had told them to do [Deut. 7:16; 20:17–18].
35 Instead, they mixed with the other nations
and learned their ·customs [deeds; Judg. 3:5–6].
36 They ·worshiped [L served] other nations’ idols [Judg. 2:19]
and were ·trapped by them [L a snare to them].
37 They even killed their sons and daughters
as sacrifices to demons [Lev. 18:21; Deut. 12:31; 2 Kin. 16:1; 21:6; 23:10; Jer. 7:31; Ezek. 16:20–21; 20:31; 1 Cor. 10:20].
38 They ·killed [L spilled the blood of] innocent people,
their own sons and daughters,
as sacrifices to the idols of Canaan [Jer. 19:4].
So the land was ·made unholy [polluted] by their blood.
39 The people became ·unholy [unclean; C ritually] by their ·sins [L acts];
they ·were unfaithful to God in [prostituted themselves by] what they did.
40 So the Lord became angry with his people
and ·hated [was disgusted with] his own ·children [L inheritance].
41 He ·handed them over to [L gave them over to the hand/power of] other nations
and let ·their enemies [L those who hated them] ·rule over [dominate] them.
42 Their enemies ·were cruel to [oppressed] them
and ·kept them [they were brought into subjection] under their ·power [L hand].
43 The Lord ·saved [rescued] his people many times,
but they continued to ·turn [rebel] against him.
So they ·became even more wicked [L were brought low by their iniquity].
44 But God saw their ·misery [distress]
when he heard their cry.
45 He remembered his ·agreement [treaty; covenant] with them,
and he felt ·sorry [compassion] for them because of his great ·love [loyalty].
46 He caused them to be ·pitied [shown mercy/compassion]
by those who held them captive.
47 Lord our God, ·save us [give us victory]
and ·bring us back [gather us] from other nations [C perhaps from the exile].
Then we will ·thank [praise] ·you [L your holy name]
and will ·gladly praise you [glory in your praise].
48 ·Praise [Bless] the Lord, the God of Israel.
He ·always was and always will be [is from everlasting to everlasting].
Let all the people say, “Amen!”
Praise the Lord!
Israel Returns to God
14 Israel, return to the Lord your God,
because your sins have made you ·fall [stumble].
2 ·Come back [Return] to the Lord
and ·say these words to him [L take words with you]:
“Take away all our sin
and ·kindly receive us [accept our prayers],
·and we will keep the promises we made to you [L so that we may offer the sacrifices of our lips; or so that we may offer our lips as sacrificial bulls].
3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor will we ·trust in our [mount and ride] horses.
We will not say again, ‘Our gods,’
to the things our hands have made.
You show ·mercy [compassion] to ·orphans [the fatherless].”
4 The Lord says,
“I will forgive ·them for leaving me [their apostasy/waywardness]
and will love them freely,
because ·I am not angry with them anymore [L my anger has turned away from them].
5 I will be like the dew to Israel,
and they will blossom like a lily.
Like the cedar trees in Lebanon,
·their roots will be firm [they will take root].
6 ·They will be like spreading branches [L His shoots will spread out],
like the beautiful olive trees
and the sweet-smelling cedars in Lebanon.
7 ·The people of Israel will again live under my protection [or People will again live under Israel’s protection/shade].
They will ·grow [flourish] like the grain,
they will bloom like a vine,
and they will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
8 ·Israel [L Ephraim; 4:17], have nothing to do with idols.
I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers and ·watches over [cares for] you.
I am like a ·green [flourishing; evergreen] ·pine tree [or juniper; or cypress];
your ·blessings [L fruit] come from me.”
9 ·A wise person will know these things [L Who is wise? Let him understand these things],
·and an understanding person will take them to heart [L Who is discerning? Let him understand them].
The Lord’s ways are right.
·Good people [The righteous] ·live by following [L walk in] them,
but ·those who turn against God [the rebellious/transgressors] ·die because of them [L stumble in them].
Paul Speaks to the Jewish Council
30 The next day ·the commander [L he] ·decided [desired] to learn [with certainty; the true reason] why the Jews were accusing ·Paul [L him]. So he ordered the ·leading [T chief] priests and the ·council [Sanhedrin; C Jewish high court comprised of 70 Jewish leaders; 4:15] to meet. ·The commander [L He] ·took Paul’s chains off [L released him]. Then he brought Paul out and stood him before their meeting.
23 Paul looked [L intently] at the ·council [Sanhedrin; 22:30] and said, “[L Men,] Brothers, I have ·lived my life [conducted myself; L lived as a citizen] ·without guilt feelings [L with a good/clear conscience] before God up to this day.” 2 Ananias, the high priest [C high priest from ad 47 to 58; not the man named in 22:12], heard this and told the men who were standing near Paul to ·hit [strike] him on the mouth. 3 Paul said to ·Ananias [L him], “God ·will [or is about to] ·hit [strike] you, too! You ·are like a wall that has been painted white [whitewashed wall!; C a wall with many flaws covered only by a coat of paint]. ·You sit [L Do you sit…?] there and judge me, using the ·law of Moses [L law], but you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law.”
4 The men standing near Paul said to him, “·You cannot insult [or How dare you insult; L Are you insulting…?] God’s high priest like that!”
5 Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest [C perhaps because of poor eyesight (Gal. 4:15; 6:11), or because the high priest was not in his formal vestments, or Paul is speaking ironically]. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must not ·curse [L speak evil of] a leader of your people [Ex. 22:28].’” 6 Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees [C Jewish religious party with most influence in the Jewish high court (Sanhedrin) and among the Temple leadership; 4:1], and others were Pharisees [C religious party that strictly observed OT laws and added traditions; 5:34]. ·Knowing [or Realizing] this, Paul ·shouted [called out] ·to them [L in the council/Sanhedrin], “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, ·and my father was a Pharisee [or descended from Pharisees; L a son of Pharisees]. I am on trial here because ·I believe that people will rise from the dead [L of the hope and the resurrection].”
7 When Paul said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the ·group [assembly] was divided. 8 ([L For] The Sadducees ·do not believe that people will rise from the dead [L say there is no resurrection] nor do they believe in angels or spirits. But the Pharisees believe in them all.) 9 So there was a great ·uproar [commotion; outcry]. Some of the ·teachers of the law [scribes], who were Pharisees, stood up and ·argued [protested violently/vehemently], “We find ·nothing wrong [no fault; nothing evil] with this man. ·Maybe [L What if…?] an angel or a spirit did speak to him.”
10 The argument was ·beginning to turn into such a fight [becoming so great] that the ·commander [tribune] was afraid they would tear Paul to pieces. So he told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away and ·put him in [bring him to] the ·army building [barracks].
11 The next night the Lord came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be brave [or Don’t be afraid; Rest assured]! [L For just as] You have ·told [testified to] people in Jerusalem about me. You must ·do the same [L testify to me] in Rome.”
39 Jesus told them this ·story [parable]: “Can a blind person ·lead [guide] another blind person? No! Both of them will fall into a ·ditch [pit; hole]. 40 A ·student [disciple] is not ·better than [above] the teacher, but ·the student [L everyone] who has been fully trained will be like the teacher.
41 “Why do you notice the ·little piece of dust [speck; tiny splinter] in your ·friend’s [L brother’s (or sister’s)] eye, but you don’t ·notice [consider] the ·big piece of wood [log; plank; beam] in your own eye? 42 How can you say to your ·friend [L brother], ‘·Friend [L Brother], let me take that ·little piece of dust [speck; tiny splinter] out of your eye’ when you cannot see that ·big piece of wood [log; plank; beam] in your own eye! You hypocrite! First, take the ·wood [log; plank; beam] out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the ·dust [speck; tiny splinter] out of your friend’s [L brother’s] eye.
Two Kinds of Fruit(A)
43 “[L For] A good tree does not produce ·bad [rotten] fruit, nor does a ·bad [rotten] tree produce good fruit. 44 [L For] Each tree is ·known [identified] by its own fruit. [L For] People don’t ·gather [pick] figs from thornbushes, and they don’t get grapes from ·bushes [brambles; briers]. 45 Good people bring good things out of the good ·they stored [treasured] in their hearts. But evil people bring evil things out of the evil ·they stored [treasured] in their hearts. ·People speak the things that are in their hearts [L For the mouth speaks what overflows from the heart].
Two Kinds of People(B)
46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ but do not do what I say? 47 I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me and ·hears [listens to] my words and ·obeys [acts on them]. 48 That person is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. When the floods came, the ·water [L river] ·tried to wash the house away [L swept/burst against that house], but it could not shake it, because the house was built well. 49 But the one who ·hears [listens to] my words and does not ·obey [act on them] is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. When the ·floods [L river] ·came [swept/burst against it], the house quickly ·fell [collapsed] and was completely destroyed.”
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