Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78
A maskil by Asaph.
1 Open your ears to my teachings, my people.
Turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth to illustrate points.
I will explain what has been hidden long ago,
3 things that we have heard and known about,
things that our parents have told us.
4 We will not hide them from our children.
We will tell the next generation
about Yahweh’s power and great deeds
and the miraculous things he has done.
5 He established written instructions for Jacob’s people.
He gave his teachings to Israel.
He commanded our ancestors to make them known to their children
6 so that the next generation would know them.
Children yet to be born would learn them.
They will grow up and tell their children
7 to trust Elohim, to remember what he has done,
and to obey his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation.
Their hearts were not loyal.
Their spirits were not faithful to El.
9 The men of Ephraim, well-equipped with bows and arrows,
turned and ran on the day of battle.
10 They had not been faithful to Elohim’s promise.[a]
They refused to follow his teachings.
11 They forgot what he had done—
the miracles that he had shown them.
12 In front of their ancestors he performed miracles
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and led them through it.
He made the waters stand up like a wall.
14 He guided them by a cloud during the day
and by a fiery light throughout the night.
15 He split rocks in the desert.
He gave them plenty to drink, an ocean of water.
16 He made streams come out of a rock.
He made the water flow like rivers.
17 They continued to sin against him,
to rebel in the desert against Elyon.
18 They deliberately tested Elohim by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against Elohim by saying,
“Can El prepare a banquet in the desert?
20 True, he did strike a rock,
and water did gush out,
and the streams did overflow.
But can he also give us bread or provide us, his people, with meat?”
21 When Yahweh heard this, he became furious.
His fire burned against Jacob
and his anger flared up at Israel
22 because they did not believe Elohim
or trust him to save them.
23 In spite of that, he commanded the clouds above
and opened the doors of heaven.
24 He rained manna down on them to eat
and gave them grain from heaven.
25 Humans ate the bread of the mighty ones,
and Elohim sent them plenty of food.
26 He made the east wind blow in the heavens
and guided the south wind with his might.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like the sand on the seashore.
28 He made the birds fall in the middle of his camp,
all around his dwelling place.
29 They ate more than enough.
He gave them what they wanted,
30 but they still wanted more.
While the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of Elohim flared up against them.
He killed their strongest men
and slaughtered the best young men in Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they continued to sin,
and they no longer believed in his miracles.
33 He brought their days to an end like a whisper in the wind.
He brought their years to an end in terror.
34 When he killed some of them, the rest searched for him.
They turned from their sins and eagerly looked for El.
35 They remembered that Elohim was their rock,
that El Elyon was their Go’el.
36 They flattered him with their mouths
and lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their hearts were not loyal to him.
They were not faithful to his promise.
38 But he is compassionate.
He forgave their sin.
He did not destroy them.
He restrained his anger many times.
He did not display all of his fury.
39 He remembered that they were only flesh and blood,
a breeze that blows and does not return.
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness!
How often they caused him grief in the desert!
41 Again and again they tested Elohim,
and they pushed Qedosh Yisrael to the limit.
42 They did not remember his power—
the day he freed them from their oppressor,
43 when he performed his miraculous signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the fields of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers into blood
so that they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent a swarm of flies that bit them
and frogs that ruined them.
46 He gave their crops to grasshoppers
and their produce to locusts.
47 He killed their vines with hail
and their fig trees with frost.
48 He let the hail strike their cattle
and bolts of lightning strike their livestock.
49 He sent his burning anger, rage, fury, and hostility against them.
He sent an army of destroying angels.
50 He cleared a path for his anger.
He did not spare them.
He let the plague take their lives.
51 He slaughtered every firstborn in Egypt,
the ones born in the tents of Ham when their fathers were young.
52 But he led his own people out like sheep
and guided them like a flock through the wilderness.
53 He led them safely.
They had no fear while the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them into his holy land,
to this mountain that his power had won.
55 He forced nations out of their way
and gave them the land of the nations as their inheritance.
He settled the tribes of Israel in their own tents.
56 They tested Elohim Elyon and rebelled against him.
They did not obey his written instructions.
57 They were disloyal and treacherous like their ancestors.
They were like arrows shot from a defective bow.
58 They made him angry because of their illegal worship sites.
They made him furious because they worshiped idols.
59 When Elohim heard, he became furious.
He completely rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned his dwelling place in Shiloh,
the tent where he had lived among humans.
61 He allowed his power to be taken captive
and handed his glory over to an oppressor.
62 He let swords kill his people.
He was furious with those who belonged to him.
63 Fire consumed his best young men,
so his virgins heard no wedding songs.
64 His priests were cut down with swords.
The widows of his priests could not even weep for them.
65 Then Adonay woke up like one who had been sleeping,
like a warrior sobering up from too much wine.
66 He struck his enemies from behind
and disgraced them forever.
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph.
He did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion which he loved.
69 He built his holy place to be like the high heavens,
like the earth which he made to last for a long time.
70 He chose his servant David.
He took him from the sheep pens.
71 He brought him from tending the ewes that had lambs
so that David could be the shepherd of the people of Jacob,
of Israel, the people who belonged to Yahweh.
72 With unselfish devotion David became their shepherd.
With skill he guided them.
18 King David went into the tent and sat in front of Yahweh. “Who am I, Adonay Yahweh,” he asked, “and why is my house so important that you have brought me this far? 19 And even this you consider to be a small act, Adonay Yahweh. You’ve also spoken about the distant future of my house. Adonay Yahweh, this is the teaching about the man.
20 “What more can I, David, say to you, Adonay Yahweh, since you know me so well! 21 You’ve done this great thing because of your promise and your own desire. You made it known to me.
22 “That is why you are great, Adonay Yahweh. There is no one like you, and there is no other god except you, as we have heard with our own ears. 23 Who is like your people Israel? It is the one nation on earth that Elohim came to free in order to make its people his own, to make his name[a] known, and to do great and wonderful things for them. You forced[b] nations and their gods out of the way of your people, whom you freed from Egypt to be your own. 24 You created the people of Israel to be your people forever. And you, Yahweh, became their Elohim.
25 “Now, Yahweh Elohim, keep the promise you made to me and my house forever. Do as you promised. 26 Your name will be respected forever when people say, ‘Yahweh Tsebaoth is Elohim over Israel.’ And the house of your servant David will be established in your presence. 27 You, Yahweh Tsebaoth, Elohim of Israel, have revealed it especially to me, saying, ‘I will build a house for you.’ That is why I have found the courage to offer this prayer to you.
28 “Adonay Yahweh, you are Elohim, and your words are trustworthy. You promised me this good thing. 29 Now, please bless my house so that it may continue in your presence forever. Indeed, you, Adonay Yahweh, have promised it. With your blessing my house will be blessed forever.”
12 While Gallio was governor of Greece, the Jews had one thought in mind. They attacked Paul and brought him to court. 13 They said, “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways that are against Moses’ Teachings.”
14 Paul was about to answer when Gallio said to the Jews, “If there were some kind of misdemeanor or crime involved, reason would demand that I put up with you Jews. 15 But since you’re disputing words, names, and your own teachings, you’ll have to take care of that yourselves. I don’t want to be a judge who gets involved in those things.” 16 So Gallio had them forced out of his court.
17 Then all the governor’s officers took Sosthenes, the synagogue leader, and beat him in front of the court. But Gallio couldn’t have cared less.
Paul’s Return Trip to Antioch
18 After staying in Corinth quite a while longer, Paul left for Ephesus. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. In the city of Cenchrea, Aquila had his hair cut, since he had taken a vow. From Cenchrea they took a boat headed for Syria 19 and arrived in the city of Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. Paul went into the synagogue and had a discussion with the Jews. 20 The Jews asked him to stay longer, but he refused. 21 As he left, he told them, “I’ll come back to visit you if God wants me to.”
Paul took a boat from Ephesus 22 and arrived in the city of Caesarea. He went to Jerusalem, greeted the church, and went back to the city of Antioch.
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul went through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, where he strengthened the faith of all the disciples.
Apollos Tells Others about Jesus
24 A Jew named Apollos, who had been born in Alexandria, arrived in the city of Ephesus. He was an eloquent speaker and knew how to use the Scriptures in a powerful way. 25 He had been instructed in the Lord’s way and spoke enthusiastically. He accurately taught about Yeshua but knew only about the baptism John performed. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him home with them and explained God’s way to him more accurately.
27 When Apollos wanted to travel to Greece, the believers in Ephesus encouraged him. They wrote to the disciples in Greece to tell them to welcome him. When he arrived in Greece, God’s kindness[a] enabled him to help the believers a great deal. 28 In public Apollos helped them by clearly showing from the Scriptures that Yeshua is the Messiah and that the Jews were wrong.
Jesus Gives Sight to a Blind Man
22 As they came to Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Yeshua. They begged Yeshua to touch him. 23 Yeshua took the blind man’s hand and led him out of the village. He spit into the man’s eyes and placed his hands on him. Yeshua asked him, “Can you see anything?”
24 The man looked up and said, “I see people. They look like trees walking around.”
25 Then Yeshua placed his hands on the man’s eyes a second time, and the man saw clearly. His sight was normal again. He could see everything clearly even at a distance. 26 Yeshua told him when he sent him home, “Don’t go into the village.”
Peter Declares His Belief about Jesus(A)
27 Then Yeshua and his disciples went to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?”
28 They answered him, “Some say you are John the Baptizer, others Elijah, still others one of the prophets.”
29 He asked them, “But who do you say I am?”
Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah!”
30 He ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
Jesus Foretells That He Will Die and Come Back to Life(B)
31 Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man would have to suffer a lot. He taught them that he would be rejected by the leaders, the chief priests, and the experts in Moses’ Teachings. He would be killed, but after three days he would come back to life. 32 He told them very clearly what he meant.
Peter took him aside and objected to this. 33 Yeshua turned, looked at his disciples, and objected to what Peter said. Yeshua said, “Get out of my way, Satan! You aren’t thinking the way God thinks but the way humans think.”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.