Book of Common Prayer
Psalm 78
A maskil[a] of Asaph.
1 My people, hear my teaching;(A)
listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;(B)
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.(C)
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;(D)
we will tell the next generation(E)
the praiseworthy deeds(F) of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders(G) he has done.
5 He decreed statutes(H) for Jacob(I)
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,(J)
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget(K) his deeds
but would keep his commands.(L)
8 They would not be like their ancestors(M)—
a stubborn(N) and rebellious(O) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9 The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,(P)
turned back on the day of battle;(Q)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant(R)
and refused to live by his law.(S)
11 They forgot what he had done,(T)
the wonders he had shown them.
12 He did miracles(U) in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt,(V) in the region of Zoan.(W)
13 He divided the sea(X) and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.(Y)
14 He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.(Z)
15 He split the rocks(AA) in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16 he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17 But they continued to sin(AB) against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18 They willfully put God to the test(AC)
by demanding the food they craved.(AD)
19 They spoke against God;(AE)
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20 True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,(AF)
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat(AG) for his people?”
21 When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out(AH) against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22 for they did not believe in God
or trust(AI) in his deliverance.
23 Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;(AJ)
24 he rained down manna(AK) for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25 Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26 He let loose the east wind(AL) from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27 He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds(AM) like sand on the seashore.
28 He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29 They ate till they were gorged—(AN)
he had given them what they craved.
30 But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,(AO)
31 God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest(AP) among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;(AQ)
in spite of his wonders,(AR) they did not believe.(AS)
33 So he ended their days in futility(AT)
and their years in terror.
34 Whenever God slew them, they would seek(AU) him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35 They remembered that God was their Rock,(AV)
that God Most High was their Redeemer.(AW)
36 But then they would flatter him with their mouths,(AX)
lying to him with their tongues;
37 their hearts were not loyal(AY) to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he was merciful;(AZ)
he forgave(BA) their iniquities(BB)
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger(BC)
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39 He remembered that they were but flesh,(BD)
a passing breeze(BE) that does not return.
40 How often they rebelled(BF) against him in the wilderness(BG)
and grieved him(BH) in the wasteland!
41 Again and again they put God to the test;(BI)
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.(BJ)
42 They did not remember(BK) his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,(BL)
43 the day he displayed his signs(BM) in Egypt,
his wonders(BN) in the region of Zoan.
44 He turned their river into blood;(BO)
they could not drink from their streams.
45 He sent swarms of flies(BP) that devoured them,
and frogs(BQ) that devastated them.
46 He gave their crops to the grasshopper,(BR)
their produce to the locust.(BS)
47 He destroyed their vines with hail(BT)
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48 He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock(BU) to bolts of lightning.
49 He unleashed against them his hot anger,(BV)
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.(BW)
50 He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
51 He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,(BX)
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.(BY)
52 But he brought his people out like a flock;(BZ)
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53 He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed(CA) their enemies.(CB)
54 And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand(CC) had taken.
55 He drove out nations(CD) before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;(CE)
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56 But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57 Like their ancestors(CF) they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.(CG)
58 They angered him(CH) with their high places;(CI)
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.(CJ)
59 When God heard(CK) them, he was furious;(CL)
he rejected Israel(CM) completely.
60 He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,(CN)
the tent he had set up among humans.(CO)
61 He sent the ark of his might(CP) into captivity,(CQ)
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62 He gave his people over to the sword;(CR)
he was furious with his inheritance.(CS)
63 Fire consumed(CT) their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;(CU)
64 their priests were put to the sword,(CV)
and their widows could not weep.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,(CW)
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66 He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.(CX)
67 Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;(CY)
68 but he chose the tribe of Judah,(CZ)
Mount Zion,(DA) which he loved.
69 He built his sanctuary(DB) like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70 He chose David(DC) his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71 from tending the sheep(DD) he brought him
to be the shepherd(DE) of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72 And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;(DF)
with skillful hands he led them.
21 “‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go ahead, add your burnt offerings to your other sacrifices(A) and eat(B) the meat yourselves! 22 For when I brought your ancestors out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands(C) about burnt offerings and sacrifices,(D) 23 but I gave them this command:(E) Obey(F) me, and I will be your God and you will be my people.(G) Walk in obedience to all(H) I command you, that it may go well(I) with you. 24 But they did not listen(J) or pay attention;(K) instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts.(L) They went backward(M) and not forward. 25 From the time your ancestors left Egypt until now, day after day, again and again(N) I sent you my servants(O) the prophets.(P) 26 But they did not listen to me or pay attention.(Q) They were stiff-necked(R) and did more evil than their ancestors.’(S)
27 “When you tell(T) them all this, they will not listen(U) to you; when you call to them, they will not answer.(V) 28 Therefore say to them, ‘This is the nation that has not obeyed the Lord its God or responded to correction.(W) Truth(X) has perished; it has vanished from their lips.
29 “‘Cut off(Y) your hair and throw it away; take up a lament(Z) on the barren heights, for the Lord has rejected and abandoned(AA) this generation that is under his wrath.
The Valley of Slaughter
30 “‘The people of Judah have done evil(AB) in my eyes, declares the Lord. They have set up their detestable idols(AC) in the house that bears my Name and have defiled(AD) it. 31 They have built the high places of Topheth(AE) in the Valley of Ben Hinnom(AF) to burn their sons and daughters(AG) in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.(AH) 32 So beware, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when people will no longer call it Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter,(AI) for they will bury(AJ) the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 33 Then the carcasses(AK) of this people will become food(AL) for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.(AM) 34 I will bring an end to the sounds(AN) of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom(AO) in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem,(AP) for the land will become desolate.(AQ)
13 It was not through the law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise(A) that he would be heir of the world,(B) but through the righteousness that comes by faith.(C) 14 For if those who depend on the law are heirs, faith means nothing and the promise is worthless,(D) 15 because the law brings wrath.(E) And where there is no law there is no transgression.(F)
16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace(G) and may be guaranteed(H) to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who have the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.(I) 17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.”[a](J) He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life(K) to the dead and calls(L) into being things that were not.(M)
18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations,(N) just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”[b](O) 19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead(P)—since he was about a hundred years old(Q)—and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.(R) 20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened(S) in his faith and gave glory to God,(T) 21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.(U) 22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”(V) 23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us,(W) to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him(X) who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.(Y) 25 He was delivered over to death for our sins(Z) and was raised to life for our justification.(AA)
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival,(A) Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.(B) 38 Whoever believes(C) in me, as Scripture has said,(D) rivers of living water(E) will flow from within them.”[a](F) 39 By this he meant the Spirit,(G) whom those who believed in him were later to receive.(H) Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.(I)
40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”(J)
41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”
Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee?(K) 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants(L) and from Bethlehem,(M) the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided(N) because of Jesus. 44 Some wanted to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him.(O)
Unbelief of the Jewish Leaders
45 Finally the temple guards went back to the chief priests and the Pharisees, who asked them, “Why didn’t you bring him in?”
46 “No one ever spoke the way this man does,”(P) the guards replied.
47 “You mean he has deceived you also?”(Q) the Pharisees retorted. 48 “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees believed in him?(R) 49 No! But this mob that knows nothing of the law—there is a curse on them.”
50 Nicodemus,(S) who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”
52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”(T)
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.