Book of Common Prayer
Joy in Forgiveness of Israel’s Sins
106 Praise[a] the Lord!
(A)Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
2 Who can [b]utter the mighty acts of the Lord?
Who can declare all His praise?
3 Blessed are those who keep justice,
And [c]he who (B)does righteousness at (C)all times!
4 (D)Remember me, O Lord, with the favor You have toward Your people.
Oh, visit me with Your salvation,
5 That I may see the benefit of Your chosen ones,
That I may rejoice in the gladness of Your nation,
That I may glory with [d]Your inheritance.
6 (E)We have sinned with our fathers,
We have committed iniquity,
We have done wickedly.
7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders;
They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies,
(F)But rebelled by the sea—the Red Sea.
8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name’s sake,
(G)That He might make His mighty power known.
9 (H)He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it dried up;
So (I)He led them through the depths,
As through the wilderness.
10 He (J)saved them from the hand of him who hated them,
And redeemed them from the hand of the enemy.
11 (K)The waters covered their enemies;
There was not one of them left.
12 (L)Then they believed His words;
They sang His praise.
13 (M)They soon forgot His works;
They did not wait for His counsel,
14 (N)But lusted exceedingly in the wilderness,
And tested God in the desert.
15 (O)And He gave them their request,
But (P)sent leanness into their soul.
16 When (Q)they envied Moses in the camp,
And Aaron the saint of the Lord,
17 (R)The earth opened up and swallowed Dathan,
And covered the faction of Abiram.
18 (S)A fire was kindled in their company;
The flame burned up the wicked.
19 (T)They made a calf in Horeb,
And worshiped the molded image.
20 Thus (U)they changed their glory
Into the image of an ox that eats grass.
21 They forgot God their Savior,
Who had done great things in Egypt,
22 Wondrous works in the land of Ham,
Awesome things by the Red Sea.
23 (V)Therefore He said that He would destroy them,
Had not Moses His chosen one (W)stood before Him in the breach,
To turn away His wrath, lest He destroy them.
24 Then they despised (X)the pleasant land;
They (Y)did not believe His word,
25 (Z)But complained in their tents,
And did not heed the voice of the Lord.
26 (AA)Therefore He raised His hand in an oath against them,
(AB)To [e]overthrow them in the wilderness,
27 (AC)To [f]overthrow their descendants among the [g]nations,
And to scatter them in the lands.
28 (AD)They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices [h]made to the dead.
29 Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
30 (AE)Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
And the plague was stopped.
31 And that was accounted to him (AF)for righteousness
To all generations forevermore.
32 (AG)They angered Him also at the waters of [i]strife,
(AH)So that it went ill with Moses on account of them;
33 (AI)Because they rebelled against His Spirit,
So that he spoke rashly with his lips.
34 (AJ)They did not destroy the peoples,
(AK)Concerning whom the Lord had commanded them,
35 (AL)But they mingled with the Gentiles
And learned their works;
36 (AM)They served their idols,
(AN)Which became a snare to them.
37 (AO)They even sacrificed their sons
And their daughters to (AP)demons,
38 And shed innocent blood,
The blood of their sons and daughters,
Whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
And (AQ)the land was polluted with blood.
39 Thus they [j]were (AR)defiled by their own works,
And (AS)played[k] the harlot by their own deeds.
40 Therefore (AT)the wrath of the Lord was kindled against His people,
So that He abhorred (AU)His own inheritance.
41 And (AV)He gave them into the hand of the Gentiles,
And those who hated them ruled over them.
42 Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were brought into subjection under their hand.
43 (AW)Many times He delivered them;
But they rebelled in their counsel,
And were brought low for their iniquity.
44 Nevertheless He regarded their affliction,
When (AX)He heard their cry;
45 (AY)And for their sake He remembered His covenant,
And (AZ)relented (BA)according to the multitude of His mercies.
46 (BB)He also made them to be pitied
By all those who carried them away captive.
47 (BC)Save us, O Lord our God,
And gather us from among the Gentiles,
To give thanks to Your holy name,
To triumph in Your praise.
48 (BD)Blessed be the Lord God of Israel
From everlasting to everlasting!
And let all the people say, “Amen!”
[l]Praise the Lord!
24 Then David went to (A)Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed over the Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him. 25 And Absalom made (B)Amasa captain of the army instead of Joab. This Amasa was the son of a man whose name was [a]Jithra, an [b]Israelite, who had gone in to (C)Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother. 26 So Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
27 Now it happened, when David had come to Mahanaim, that (D)Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the people of Ammon, (E)Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo Debar, and (F)Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim, 28 brought beds and basins, earthen vessels and wheat, barley and flour, parched grain and beans, lentils and parched seeds, 29 honey and curds, sheep and cheese of the herd, for David and the people who were with him to eat. For they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty (G)in the wilderness.”
Absalom’s Defeat and Death
18 And David [c]numbered the people who were with him, and (H)set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, (I)one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of (J)Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.”
3 (K)But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city.”
4 Then the king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood beside the gate, and all the people went out by hundreds and by thousands. 5 Now the king had commanded Joab, Abishai, and Ittai, saying, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” (L)And all the people heard when the king gave all the captains orders concerning Absalom.
6 So the people went out into the field of battle against Israel. And the battle was in the (M)woods of Ephraim. 7 The people of Israel were overthrown there before the servants of David, and a great slaughter of twenty thousand took place there that day. 8 For the battle there was scattered over the face of the whole countryside, and the woods devoured more people that day than the sword devoured.
The Sanhedrin Divided
30 The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
The Jerusalem Jews Plot to Kill Paul
23 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, “Men and brethren, (A)I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him (B)to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and (C)do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
4 And those who stood by said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?”
5 Then Paul said, (D)“I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, (E)‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, (F)I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; (G)concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 (H)For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, (I)“We find no evil in this man; [a]but (J)if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, (K)let us not fight against God.”
10 Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
The Plot Against Paul
11 But (L)the following night the Lord stood by him and said, [b]“Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in (M)Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at (N)Rome.”
The Fig Tree Withered(A)
12 (B)Now the next day, when they had come out from Bethany, He was hungry. 13 (C)And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 In response Jesus said to it, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again.”
And His disciples heard it.
Jesus Cleanses the Temple(D)
15 (E)So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold (F)doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, “Is it not written, (G)‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a (H)‘den of thieves.’ ”
18 And (I)the scribes and chief priests heard it and sought how they might destroy Him; for they feared Him, because (J)all the people were astonished at His teaching. 19 When evening had come, He went out of the city.
The Lesson of the Withered Fig Tree(K)
20 (L)Now in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Peter, remembering, said to Him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which You cursed has withered away.”
22 So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For (M)assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, (N)whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.
Forgiveness and Prayer(O)
25 “And whenever you stand praying, (P)if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 [a]But (Q)if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.