Book of Common Prayer
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Speak of all His [b]wonders.
3 [c]Glory in His holy name;
Let the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [d](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [e]uttered by His mouth,
6 O seed of (K)Abraham, His servant,
O sons of (L)Jacob, His (M)chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
His (N)judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has (O)remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a (P)thousand generations,
9 The (Q)covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His (R)oath to Isaac.
10 Then He (S)confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, “(T)To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the [f](U)portion of your inheritance,”
12 When they were only a (V)few men in number,
Very few, and (W)strangers in it.
13 And they wandered about from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people.
14 He (X)permitted no man to oppress them,
And He (Y)reproved kings for their sakes:
15 “(Z)Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”
16 And He (AA)called for a famine upon the land;
He (AB)broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He (AC)sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was (AD)sold as a slave.
18 They afflicted his (AE)feet with fetters,
[g]He himself was laid in irons;
19 Until the time that his (AF)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord [h](AG)tested him.
20 The (AH)king sent and released him,
The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
21 He (AI)made him lord of his house
And ruler over all his possessions,
22 To [i]imprison his princes [j](AJ)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 (AK)Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob (AL)sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And He (AM)caused His people to be very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their adversaries.
25 He (AN)turned their heart to hate His people,
To (AO)deal craftily with His servants.
26 He (AP)sent Moses His servant,
And (AQ)Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They [k](AR)performed His wondrous acts among them,
And miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He (AS)sent darkness and made it dark;
And they did not (AT)rebel against His words.
29 He (AU)turned their waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with (AV)frogs
Even in the (AW)chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came a (AX)swarm of flies
And (AY)gnats in all their territory.
32 He [l]gave them (AZ)hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He (BA)struck down their vines also and their fig trees,
And shattered the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and (BB)locusts came,
And young locusts, even without number,
35 And ate up all vegetation in their land,
And ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He also (BC)struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The (BD)first fruits of all their vigor.
37 Then He brought them out with (BE)silver and gold,
And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.
38 Egypt was (BF)glad when they departed,
For the (BG)dread of them had fallen upon them.
39 He spread a (BH)cloud for a [m]covering,
And (BI)fire to illumine by night.
40 [n]They (BJ)asked, and He brought (BK)quail,
And satisfied them with the [o](BL)bread of heaven.
41 He opened the [p]rock and (BM)water flowed out;
[q]It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He (BN)remembered His holy word
With Abraham His servant;
43 And He brought forth His people with joy,
His chosen ones with a joyful (BO)shout.
44 He (BP)gave them also the lands of the [r]nations,
That they (BQ)might take possession of the fruit of the peoples’ labor,
45 So that they might (BR)keep His statutes
And observe His laws,
[s]Praise [t]the Lord!
Israel Demands a King
8 And it came about when Samuel was old that (A)he appointed his sons judges over Israel. 2 Now the name of his firstborn was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judging in (B)Beersheba. 3 His sons, however, did not walk in his ways, but turned aside after dishonest gain and (C)took bribes and perverted justice.
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at (D)Ramah; 5 and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now (E)appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” 6 But the thing was [a](F)displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And (G)Samuel prayed to the Lord. 7 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for (H)they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them. 8 Like all the deeds which they have done since the day that I brought them up from Egypt even to this day—in that they have forsaken Me and served other gods—so they are doing to you also. 9 Now then, listen to their voice; (I)however, you shall solemnly [b]warn them and tell them of (J)the [c]procedure of the king who will reign over them.”
Warning concerning a King
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the Lord to (K)the people who had asked of him a king. 11 He said, “(L)This will be the [d]procedure of the king who will reign over you: (M)he will take your sons and place them for himself in his chariots and among his horsemen and (N)they will run before his chariots. 12 (O)He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to [e]do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 (P)He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. 15 He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. 16 He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and [f]use them for his work. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. 18 Then (Q)you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but (R)the Lord will not answer you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless, the people (S)refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, 20 (T)that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, (U)he repeated them in the Lord’s hearing. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “(V)Listen to their voice and [g]appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
15 And fixing their gaze on him, all who were sitting in the [a](A)Council saw his face like the face of an angel.
Stephen’s Defense
7 The high priest said, “Are these things so?”
2 And he said, “Hear me, (B)brethren and fathers! (C)The God of glory (D)appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in [b]Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘(E)Leave your country and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ 4 (F)Then he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in [c]Haran. (G)From there, after his father died, God had him move to this country in which you are now living. 5 But He gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot of ground, and yet, even when he had no child, (H)He promised that He would give it to him as a possession, and to his descendants after him. 6 But (I)God spoke to this effect, that his descendants would be aliens in a foreign land, and that they would [d]be enslaved and mistreated for four hundred years. 7 ‘And whatever nation to which they will be in bondage I Myself will judge,’ said God, ‘and (J)after that they will come out and [e]serve Me in this place.’ 8 And He (K)gave him [f]the covenant of circumcision; and so (L)Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day; and (M)Isaac became the father of Jacob, and (N)Jacob of the twelve (O)patriarchs.
9 “The patriarchs (P)became jealous of Joseph and sold him into Egypt. Yet God was with him, 10 and rescued him from all his afflictions, and (Q)granted him favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he made him governor over Egypt and all his household.
11 “Now (R)a famine came over all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction with it, and our fathers [g]could find no food. 12 But (S)when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent our fathers there the first time. 13 On the second visit (T)Joseph [h]made himself known to his brothers, and (U)Joseph’s family was disclosed to Pharaoh. 14 Then (V)Joseph sent word and invited Jacob his father and all his relatives to come to him, (W)seventy-five [i](X)persons in all. 15 And (Y)Jacob went down to Egypt and there he and our fathers died. 16 From there they were removed to [j](Z)Shechem and laid in the tomb which Abraham had purchased for a sum of money from the sons of [k]Hamor in [l]Shechem.
Who Is Greatest
24 And there arose also (A)a dispute among them as to which one of them was regarded to be greatest. 25 (B)And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ 26 But it is not this way with you, (C)but the one who is the greatest among you must become like (D)the youngest, and the leader like the servant. 27 For (E)who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But (F)I am among you as the one who serves.
28 “You are those who have stood by Me in My (G)trials; 29 and just as My Father has granted Me a (H)kingdom, I grant you 30 that you may (I)eat and drink at My table in My (J)kingdom, and (K)you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.