Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 105
1 Give thanks to Yahweh.
Call on him.
Make known among the nations what he has done.
2 Sing to him.
Make music to praise him.
Meditate on all the miracles he has performed.
3 Brag about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek Yahweh rejoice.
4 Search for Yahweh and his strength.
Always seek his presence.
5 Remember the miracles he performed,
the amazing things he did, and the judgments he pronounced,
6 you descendants of his servant Abraham,
you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is Yahweh our Elohim.
His judgments are pronounced throughout the earth.
8 He always remembers his promise,[a]
the word that he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 the promise that he made to Abraham,
and his sworn oath to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it as a law for Jacob,
as an everlasting promise to Israel,
11 by saying, “I will give you the land of Canaan.
It is your share of the inheritance.”
12 While the people of Israel were few in number,
a small group of foreigners living in that land,
13 they wandered from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another.
14 He didn’t permit anyone to oppress them.
He warned kings about them:
15 “Do not touch my anointed ones
or harm my prophets.”
16 He brought famine to the land.
He took away their food supply.
17 He sent a man ahead of them.
He sent Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18 They hurt his feet with shackles,
and cut into his neck with an iron collar.
19 Yahweh’s promise tested him through fiery trials
until his prediction came true.
20 The king sent someone to release him.
The ruler of nations set him free.
21 He made Joseph the master of his palace
and the ruler of all his possessions.
22 Joseph trained the king’s officers the way he wanted
and taught his respected leaders wisdom.
23 Then Israel came to Egypt.
Jacob lived as a foreigner in the land of Ham.
24 Yahweh made his people grow rapidly in number
and stronger than their enemies.
25 He changed their minds so that they hated his people,
and they dealt treacherously with his servants.
26 He sent his servant Moses, and he sent Aaron, whom he had chosen.
27 They displayed his miraculous signs among them
and did amazing things in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made their land dark.
They did not rebel against his orders.
29 He turned their water into blood
and caused their fish to die.
30 He made their land swarm with frogs,
even in the kings’ bedrooms.
31 He spoke, and swarms of flies and gnats
infested their whole territory.
32 He gave them hail and lightning
instead of rain throughout their land.
33 He struck their grapevines and fig trees
and smashed the trees in their territory.
34 He spoke, and countless locusts and grasshoppers came.
35 They devoured all the plants in the land.
They devoured the crops in the fields.
36 He killed all the firstborn sons,
the first ones born in the land when their fathers were young.
37 He brought Israel out with silver and gold,
and no one among his tribes stumbled.
38 The Egyptians were terrified of Israel,
so they were glad when Israel left.
39 He spread out a cloud as a protective covering
and a fire to light up the night.
40 The Israelites asked, and he brought them quail
and filled them with bread from heaven.
41 He opened a rock, and water gushed
and flowed like a river through the dry places.
42 He remembered his holy promise to his servant Abraham.
43 He brought his people out with joy,
his chosen ones with a song of joy.
44 He gave them the lands of other nations,
and they inherited what others had worked for
45 so that they would obey his laws
and follow his teachings.
Hallelujah!
Israel Rejects the Lord as King
8 When Samuel was old, he made his sons judges over Israel. 2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel; the name of his second son was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba. 3 The sons didn’t follow their father’s example but turned to dishonest ways of making money. They took bribes and denied people justice.
4 Then all the leaders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah. 5 They told him, “You’re old, and your sons aren’t following your example. Now appoint a king to judge us so that we will be like all the other nations.”
6 But Samuel considered it wrong for them to request a king to judge them. So Samuel prayed to Yahweh. 7 Yahweh told Samuel, “Listen to everything the people are saying to you. They haven’t rejected you; they’ve rejected me. 8 They’re doing just what they’ve done since I took them out of Egypt—leaving me and serving other gods. 9 Listen to them now, but be sure to warn them and tell them about the rights of a king.”
10 Then Samuel told the people who had asked him for a king everything Yahweh had said. 11 Samuel said, “These are the rights of a king:
He will draft your sons, make them serve on his chariots and horses, and make them run ahead of his chariots.
12 He will appoint them to be his officers over 1,000 or over 50 soldiers, to plow his ground and harvest his crops, and to make weapons and equipment for his chariots.
13 He will take your daughters and have them make perfumes, cook, and bake.
14 He will take the best of your fields, vineyards, and olive orchards and give them to his officials.
15 He will take a tenth of your grain and wine and give it to his aids and officials.
16 He will take your male and female slaves, your best cattle,[a] and your donkeys for his own use.
17 He will take a tenth of your flocks.
In addition, you will be his servants.
18 “When that day comes, you will cry out because of the king whom you have chosen for yourselves. Yahweh will not answer you when that day comes.”
19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. They said, “No, we want a king! 20 Then we, too, will be like all the other nations. Our king will judge us, lead us out to war, and fight our battles.”
21 When Samuel heard everything the people had to say, he reported it privately to Yahweh. 22 Yahweh told him, “Listen to them, and give them a king.”
Then Samuel told the people of Israel, “Go back to your own cities.”
15 Everyone who sat in the council stared at him and saw that his face looked like an angel’s face.
Stephen Speaks in His Own Defense
7 Then the chief priest asked Stephen, “Is this true?”
2 Stephen answered, “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. The God who reveals his glory appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia. This happened before Abraham lived in Haran. 3 God told him, ‘Leave your land and your relatives. Go to the land that I will show you.’
4 “Then Abraham left the country of Chaldea and lived in the city of Haran. After his father died, God made him move from there to this land where we now live.
5 “Yet, God didn’t give Abraham anything in this land to call his own, not even a place to rest his feet. But God promised to give this land to him and to his descendants, even though Abraham didn’t have a child. 6 God told Abraham that his descendants would be foreigners living in another country and that the people there would make them slaves and mistreat them for 400 years. 7 God also told him, ‘I will punish the people whom they will serve. After that, they will leave that country and worship me here.’
8 “God gave Abraham circumcision to confirm his promise.[a] So when Abraham’s son Isaac was born, Abraham circumcised him on the eighth day. Isaac did the same to his son Jacob, and Jacob did the same to his twelve sons (the ancestors of our tribes).
9 “Jacob’s sons were jealous of their brother Joseph. They sold him into slavery, and he was taken to Egypt. But God was with Joseph 10 and rescued him from all his suffering. When Joseph stood in the presence of Pharaoh (the king of Egypt), God gave Joseph divine favor[b] and wisdom so that he became ruler of Egypt and of Pharaoh’s whole palace. 11 Then a famine throughout Egypt and Canaan brought a lot of suffering. Our ancestors couldn’t find any food. 12 When Jacob heard that Egypt had food, he sent our ancestors there. That was their first trip. 13 On the second trip, Joseph told his brothers who he was, and Pharaoh learned about Joseph’s family. 14 Joseph sent for his father Jacob and his relatives, 75 people in all. 15 So Jacob went to Egypt, and he and our ancestors died there. 16 They were taken to Shechem for burial in the tomb that Abraham purchased in Shechem from Hamor’s sons.
An Argument about Greatness
24 Then a quarrel broke out among the disciples. They argued about who should be considered the greatest.
25 Yeshua said to them, “The kings of nations have power over their people, and those in authority call themselves friends of the people. 26 But you’re not going to be that way! Rather, the greatest among you must be like the youngest, and your leader must be like a servant. 27 Who’s the greatest, the person who sits at the table or the servant? Isn’t it really the person who sits at the table? But I’m among you as a servant.
28 “You have stood by me in the troubles that have tested me. 29 So as my Father has given me a kingdom, I’m giving it to you. 30 You will eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. You will also sit on thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.