Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78[a]
A well-written song[b] by Asaph.
78 Pay attention, my people, to my instruction.
Listen to the words I speak.[c]
2 I will sing a song that imparts wisdom;
I will make insightful observations about the past.[d]
3 What we have heard and learned[e]—
that which our ancestors[f] have told us—
4 we will not hide from their[g] descendants.
We will tell the next generation
about the Lord’s praiseworthy acts,[h]
about his strength and the amazing things he has done.
5 He established a rule[i] in Jacob;
he set up a law in Israel.
He commanded our ancestors
to make his deeds known to their descendants,[j]
6 so that the next generation, children yet to be born,
might know about them.
They will grow up and tell their descendants about them.[k]
7 Then they will place their confidence in God.
They will not forget the works of God,
and they will obey[l] his commands.
8 Then they will not be like their ancestors,
who were a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation that was not committed
and faithful to God.[m]
9 The Ephraimites[n] were armed with bows,[o]
but they retreated in the day of battle.[p]
10 They did not keep their covenant with God,[q]
and they refused to obey[r] his law.
11 They forgot what he had done,[s]
the amazing things he had shown them.
12 He did amazing things in the sight of their ancestors,
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.[t]
13 He divided the sea and led them across it;
he made the water stand in a heap.
14 He led them with a cloud by day,
and with the light of a fire all night long.
15 He broke open rocks in the wilderness,
and gave them enough water to fill the depths of the sea.[u]
16 He caused streams to flow from the rock,
and made the water flow like rivers.
17 Yet they continued to sin against him,
and rebelled against the Most High[v] in the desert.
18 They willfully challenged God[w]
by asking for food to satisfy their appetite.
19 They insulted God, saying,[x]
“Is God really able to give us food[y] in the wilderness?
20 Yes,[z] he struck a rock and water flowed out;
streams gushed forth.
But can he also give us food?
Will he provide meat for his people?”
21 When[aa] the Lord heard this, he was furious.
A fire broke out against Jacob,
and his anger flared up[ab] against Israel,
22 because they did not have faith in God,
and did not trust his ability to deliver them.[ac]
23 He gave a command to the clouds above,
and opened the doors in the sky.
24 He rained down manna for them to eat;
he gave them the grain of heaven.[ad]
25 Man ate the food of the mighty ones.[ae]
He sent them more than enough to eat.[af]
26 He brought the east wind through the sky,
and by his strength led forth the south wind.
27 He rained down meat on them like dust,
birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.[ag]
28 He caused them to fall right in the middle of their camp,
all around their homes.
29 They ate until they were beyond full;[ah]
he gave them what they desired.
30 They were not yet filled up;[ai]
their food was still in their mouths,
31 when the anger of God flared up against them.
He killed some of the strongest of them;
he brought the young men of Israel to their knees.
32 Despite all this, they continued to sin,
and did not trust him to do amazing things.[aj]
33 So he caused them to die unsatisfied[ak]
and filled with terror.[al]
34 When he struck them down,[am] they sought his favor;[an]
they turned back and longed for God.
35 They remembered that God was their protector,[ao]
and that God Most High[ap] was their deliverer.[aq]
36 But they deceived him with their words,[ar]
and lied to him.[as]
37 They were not really committed to him,[at]
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he is compassionate.
He forgives sin and does not destroy.
He often holds back his anger,
and does not stir up his fury.[au]
39 He remembered[av] that they were made of flesh,
and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.[aw]
40 How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness,
and insulted him[ax] in the wastelands.
41 They again challenged God,[ay]
and offended[az] the Holy One of Israel.[ba]
42 They did not remember what he had done,[bb]
how he delivered them from the enemy,[bc]
43 when he performed his awesome deeds[bd] in Egypt,
and his acts of judgment[be] in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their rivers into blood,
and they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of biting insects against them,[bf]
as well as frogs that overran their land.[bg]
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycamore-fig trees with driving rain.
48 He rained hail down on their cattle,[bh]
and hurled lightning bolts down on their livestock.[bi]
49 His raging anger lashed out against them.[bj]
He sent fury, rage, and trouble
as messengers who bring disaster.[bk]
50 He sent his anger in full force.[bl]
He did not spare them from death;
he handed their lives over to destruction.[bm]
51 He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their reproductive power[bn] in the tents of Ham.
52 Yet he brought out his people like sheep;
he led them through the wilderness like a flock.
53 He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid;
but the sea covered their enemies.
54 He brought them to the border of his holy land,
to this mountainous land[bo] that his right hand[bp] acquired.
55 He drove the nations out from before them;
he assigned them their tribal allotments[bq]
and allowed the tribes of Israel to settle down.[br]
56 Yet they challenged and defied[bs] God Most High,[bt]
and did not obey[bu] his commands.[bv]
57 They were unfaithful[bw] and acted as treacherously as[bx] their ancestors;
they were as unreliable as a malfunctioning bow.[by]
58 They made him angry with their pagan shrines,[bz]
and made him jealous with their idols.
59 God heard and was angry;
he completely rejected Israel.
60 He abandoned[ca] the sanctuary at Shiloh,
the tent where he lived among men.
61 He allowed the symbol of his strong presence to be captured;[cb]
he gave the symbol of his splendor[cc] into the hand of the enemy.[cd]
62 He delivered his people over to the sword,
and was angry with his chosen nation.[ce]
63 Fire consumed their[cf] young men,
and their[cg] virgins remained unmarried.[ch]
64 Their[ci] priests fell by the sword,
but their[cj] widows did not weep.[ck]
65 But then the Lord awoke from his sleep;[cl]
he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.[cm]
66 He drove his enemies back;
he made them a permanent target for insults.[cn]
67 He rejected the tent of Joseph;
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.
68 He chose the tribe of Judah
and Mount Zion, which he loves.
69 He made his sanctuary as enduring as the heavens above,[co]
as secure as the earth, which he established permanently.[cp]
70 He chose David, his servant,
and took him from the sheepfolds.
71 He took him away from following the mother sheep,[cq]
and made him the shepherd of Jacob, his people,
and of Israel, his chosen nation.[cr]
72 David[cs] cared for them with pure motives;[ct]
he led them with skill.[cu]
Isaac and Abimelech
26 There was a famine in the land, subsequent to the earlier famine that occurred[a] in the days of Abraham.[b] Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines at Gerar. 2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt;[c] settle down in the land that I will point out to you.[d] 3 Stay[e] in this land. Then I will be with you and will bless you,[f] for I will give all these lands to you and to your descendants,[g] and I will fulfill[h] the solemn promise I made[i] to your father Abraham. 4 I will multiply your descendants so they will be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and I will give them[j] all these lands. All the nations of the earth will pronounce blessings on one another using the name of your descendants.[k] 5 All this will come to pass[l] because Abraham obeyed me[m] and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.”[n] 6 So Isaac settled in Gerar.
12 When Isaac planted in that land, he reaped in the same year a hundred times what he had sown,[a] because the Lord blessed him.[b] 13 The man became wealthy.[c] His influence continued to grow[d] until he became very prominent. 14 He had[e] so many sheep[f] and cattle[g] and such a great household of servants that the Philistines became jealous of[h] him. 15 So the Philistines took dirt and filled up[i] all the wells that his father’s servants had dug back in the days of his father Abraham.
16 Then Abimelech said to Isaac, “Leave us and go elsewhere,[j] for you have become much more powerful[k] than we are.” 17 So Isaac left there and settled in the Gerar Valley.[l] 18 Isaac reopened[m] the wells that had been dug[n] back in the days of his father Abraham, for the Philistines had stopped them up[o] after Abraham died. Isaac[p] gave these wells[q] the same names his father had given them.[r]
19 When Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well with fresh flowing[s] water there, 20 the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled[t] with Isaac’s herdsmen, saying, “The water belongs to us!” So Isaac[u] named the well Esek[v] because they argued with him about it.[w] 21 His servants[x] dug another well, but they quarreled over it too, so Isaac named it[y] Sitnah.[z] 22 Then he moved away from there and dug another well. They did not quarrel over it, so Isaac[aa] named it[ab] Rehoboth,[ac] saying, “For now the Lord has made room for us, and we will prosper in the land.”
23 From there Isaac[ad] went up to Beer Sheba. 24 The Lord appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for the sake of my servant Abraham.” 25 Then Isaac built an altar there and worshiped[ae] the Lord. He pitched his tent there, and his servants dug a well.[af]
26 Now Abimelech had come[ag] to him from Gerar along with[ah] Ahuzzah his friend[ai] and Phicol the commander of his army. 27 Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me? You hate me[aj] and sent me away from you.” 28 They replied, “We could plainly see[ak] that the Lord is with you. So we decided there should be[al] a pact between us[am]—between us[an] and you. Allow us to make[ao] a treaty with you 29 so that[ap] you will not do us any harm, just as we have not harmed[aq] you, but have always treated you well[ar] before sending you away[as] in peace. Now you are blessed by the Lord.”[at]
30 So Isaac[au] held a feast for them and they celebrated.[av] 31 Early in the morning the men made a treaty with each other.[aw] Isaac sent them off; they separated on good terms.[ax]
32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. “We’ve found water,” they reported.[ay] 33 So he named it Shibah;[az] that is why the name of the city has been Beer Sheba[ba] to this day.
17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls and will give an account for their work.[a] Let them do this[b] with joy and not with complaints, for this would be no advantage for you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience and desire to conduct ourselves rightly in every respect. 19 I especially ask you to pray[c] that I may be restored to you very soon.
Benediction and Conclusion
20 Now may the God of peace who by the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead the great shepherd of the sheep, our Lord Jesus, 21 equip you with every good thing to do his will, working in us[d] what is pleasing before him through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever.[e] Amen.
22 Now I urge you, brothers and sisters,[f] bear with my message of exhortation, for in fact I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that[g] our brother Timothy has been released. If he comes soon, he will be with me when I see you.[h] 24 Greetings to all your leaders and all the saints. Those from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with you all.[i]
A Woman Caught in Adultery[a]
53 [[ And each one departed to his own house. 8 1 But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.[b] 2 Early in the morning he came to the temple courts again. All the people came to him, and he sat down and began to teach[c] them. 3 The experts in the law[d] and the Pharisees[e] brought a woman who had been caught committing adultery. They made her stand in front of them 4 and said to Jesus,[f] “Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. 5 In the law Moses commanded us to stone to death[g] such women.[h] What then do you say?” 6 (Now they were asking this in an attempt to trap him, so that they could bring charges against[i] him.)[j] Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground with his finger.[k] 7 When they persisted in asking him, he stood up straight[l] and replied,[m] “Whoever among you is guiltless[n] may be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Then[o] he bent over again and wrote on the ground.
9 Now when they heard this, they began to drift away one at a time, starting with the older ones,[p] until Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. 10 Jesus stood up straight[q] and said to her, “Woman,[r] where are they? Did no one condemn you?” 11 She replied, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”]][s]
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