Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 106[a]
Israel’s Confession of Sin
1 Hallelujah!
A
Give thanks to the Lord, who is good,
whose mercy endures forever.(A)
2 Who can recount the mighty deeds of the Lord,
proclaim in full God’s praise?
3 Blessed those who do what is right,
whose deeds are always just.(B)
4 Remember me, Lord, as you favor your people;
come to me with your saving help,(C)
5 That I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
rejoice in the joy of your people,
and glory with your heritage.
B
6 We have sinned like our ancestors;(D)
we have done wrong and are guilty.
I
7 Our ancestors in Egypt
did not attend to your wonders.
They did not remember your manifold mercy;
they defied the Most High at the Red Sea.
8 Yet he saved them for his name’s sake
to make his power known.(E)
9 He roared at the Red Sea and it dried up.
He led them through the deep as through a desert.(F)
10 He rescued them from hostile hands,
freed them from the power of the enemy.
11 The waters covered their oppressors;
not one of them survived.
12 Then they believed his words
and sang his praise.(G)
II
13 But they soon forgot all he had done;
they had no patience for his plan.
14 In the desert they gave in to their cravings,
tempted God in the wasteland.(H)
15 So he gave them what they asked
and sent a wasting disease against them.(I)
III
16 In the camp they challenged Moses(J)
and Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.
17 The earth opened and swallowed Dathan,
it closed on the followers of Abiram.
18 Against their company the fire blazed;
flames consumed the wicked.
IV
19 At Horeb they fashioned a calf,(K)
worshiped a metal statue.
20 They exchanged their glory[b]
for the image of a grass-eating bull.
21 They forgot the God who had saved them,
who had done great deeds in Egypt,(L)
22 Amazing deeds in the land of Ham,
fearsome deeds at the Red Sea.
23 He would have decreed their destruction,
had not Moses, his chosen one,
Withstood him in the breach[c]
to turn back his destroying anger.(M)
V
24 Next they despised the beautiful land;(N)
they did not believe the promise.
25 In their tents they complained;
they did not heed the voice of the Lord.
26 So with raised hand he swore
he would destroy them in the desert,
27 And scatter their descendants among the nations,
disperse them in foreign lands.
VI
28 They joined in the rites of Baal of Peor,(O)
ate food sacrificed to the dead.
29 They provoked him by their actions,
and a plague broke out among them.
30 Then Phinehas rose to intervene,
and the plague was brought to a halt.
31 This was counted for him as a righteous deed
for all generations to come.
VII
32 At the waters of Meribah they angered God,(P)
and Moses suffered because of them.[d]
33 They so embittered his spirit
that rash words crossed his lips.
VIII
34 They did not destroy the peoples
as the Lord had commanded them,(Q)
35 But mingled with the nations
and imitated their ways.(R)
36 They served their idols
and were ensnared by them.(S)
37 They sacrificed to demons[e]
their own sons and daughters,
38 Shedding innocent blood,
the blood of their own sons and daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,
desecrating the land with bloodshed.
39 They defiled themselves by their actions,
became adulterers by their conduct.
40 So the Lord grew angry with his people,
abhorred his own heritage.
41 He handed them over to the nations,
and their adversaries ruled over them.(T)
42 Their enemies oppressed them,
kept them under subjection.
43 Many times did he rescue them,
but they kept rebelling and scheming
and were brought low by their own guilt.(U)
44 Still God had regard for their affliction
when he heard their wailing.
45 For their sake he remembered his covenant
and relented in his abundant mercy,(V)
46 Winning for them compassion
from all who held them captive.
C
24 Now David had arrived at Mahanaim while Absalom crossed the Jordan accompanied by all the Israelites. 25 Absalom had put Amasa in command of the army in Joab’s place. Amasa was the son of an Ishmaelite named Ithra, who had married Abigail, daughter of Jesse and sister of Joab’s mother Zeruiah.(A) 26 Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
27 When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi, son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir, son of Ammiel from Lodebar, and Barzillai, the Gileadite from Rogelim,(B) 28 brought beds and covers, basins and pottery, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, 29 honey, and butter and cheese from the flocks and herds, for David and those who were with him to eat; for they said, “The people will be hungry and tired and thirsty in the wilderness.”
Chapter 18
Preparation for Battle. 1 After mustering the troops he had with him, David placed officers in command of units of a thousand and units of a hundred. 2 David then divided the troops three ways, a third under Joab, a third under Abishai, son of Zeruiah and brother of Joab, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. The king said to the troops, “I intend to go out with you myself.” 3 But they replied: “You must not come out with us. For if we flee, no one will care; even if half of us die, no one will care. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that we have you to help us from the city.” 4 The king said to them, “I will do what you think best.” So the king stood by the gate as all the soldiers marched out in units of a hundred and a thousand. 5 But the king gave this command to Joab, Abishai, and Ittai: “Be gentle with young Absalom for my sake.” All the soldiers heard as the king gave commands to the various leaders with regard to Absalom.
Defeat of Absalom’s Forces. 6 David’s army then took the field against Israel, and a battle was fought in the forest near Mahanaim. 7 The forces of Israel were defeated by David’s servants, and the casualties there that day were heavy—twenty thousand men. 8 The battle spread out over that entire region, and the forest consumed more combatants that day than did the sword.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin. 30 The next day, wishing to determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Chapter 23
1 Paul looked intently at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have conducted myself with a perfectly clear conscience before God to this day.”(A) 2 The high priest Ananias[a] ordered his attendants to strike his mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you,[b] you whitewashed wall. Do you indeed sit in judgment upon me according to the law and yet in violation of the law order me to be struck?”(B) 4 The attendants said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 Paul answered, “Brothers, I did not realize he was the high priest. For it is written,(C) ‘You shall not curse a ruler of your people.’”[c]
6 Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; [I] am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.”(D) 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three.(E) 9 A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and rescue him from their midst and take him into the compound. 11 [d](F)The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.”
12 The next day as they were leaving Bethany he was hungry.(A) 13 Seeing from a distance a fig tree in leaf, he went over to see if he could find anything on it. When he reached it he found nothing but leaves; it was not the time for figs. 14 And he said to it in reply, “May no one ever eat of your fruit again!” And his disciples heard it.
Cleansing of the Temple.[a] 15 They came to Jerusalem,(B) and on entering the temple area he began to drive out those selling and buying there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who were selling doves. 16 He did not permit anyone to carry anything through the temple area. 17 Then he taught them saying, “Is it not written:
‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’?
But you have made it a den of thieves.”(C)
18 The chief priests and the scribes came to hear of it and were seeking a way to put him to death, yet they feared him because the whole crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 When evening came, they went out of the city.(D)
The Withered Fig Tree. 20 (E)Early in the morning, as they were walking along, they saw the fig tree withered to its roots. 21 Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.” 22 Jesus said to them in reply, “Have faith in God. 23 Amen, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it shall be done for him.(F) 24 Therefore I tell you, all that you ask for in prayer, believe that you will receive it and it shall be yours.(G) 25 When you stand to pray, forgive anyone against whom you have a grievance, so that your heavenly Father may in turn forgive you your transgressions.”(H) [26 ][b]
The Authority of Jesus Questioned.[c]
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