Book of Common Prayer
The first four plagues
16 Then I heard a loud voice coming from the temple, addressing the seven angels. “Off you go,” said the voice, “and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of God’s anger.” 2 So the first one went off and poured out his bowl on the earth. Foul, painful sores came on the people who had the mark of the monster, and on those who worshiped its image. 3 The second one poured his bowl on the sea, and it turned into blood like that from a corpse. Every living thing in the sea died. 4 The third one poured his bowl on the rivers and the springs of water, and they turned into blood. 5 Then I heard the angel of the waters saying,
“You are the one Who Is and Who Was,
you are the holy one, and you are just!
you have passed the righteous sentence:
6 they spilt the blood of saints and prophets
and you have given them blood to drink.
They deserve it.”
7 And I heard the altar respond, “Yes, Lord God Almighty, your judgments are true and just.”
8 Then the fourth angel poured his bowl upon the sun, and it was allowed to burn people with its fire. 9 People were burned up by its great heat, and they cursed the name of the God who had authority over these plagues. They did not repent or give him glory.
The last three plagues
10 Then the fifth angel poured his bowl upon the throne of the monster. Its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and people chewed their tongues because of the pain 11 and cursed the God of heaven because of their agonies and their terrible sores. They did not repent of what they had been doing.
Jesus heals a crippled woman on the sabbath
10 One sabbath, Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues. 11 There was a woman there who had had a spirit of weakness for eighteen years. She was bent double, and couldn’t stand fully upright. 12 Jesus saw her and called to her.
13 “Woman,” he said, laying his hands on her, “you are freed from your affliction.” And at once she stood upright, and praised God.
14 The synagogue president was angry that Jesus had healed on the sabbath.
“Look here,” he said to the crowd, “there are six days for people to work! Come on one of those days and be healed, not on the sabbath day!”
15 “You bunch of hypocrites!” replied Jesus. “You would all be quite happy to untie an ox or a donkey from its stall on the sabbath day and lead it out for a drink! 16 And isn’t it right that this daughter of Abraham, tied up by the satan for these eighteen years, should be untied from her chains on the sabbath day?”
17 At that, all the people who had been opposing him were ashamed. The whole crowd was overjoyed at all the splendid things he was doing.
Scripture quotations from The New Testament for Everyone are copyright © Nicholas Thomas Wright 2011, 2018, 2019.