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Psalm 105

God’s Faithfulness to Israel

¹ O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,
   make known his deeds among the peoples.
² Sing to him, sing praises to him;
   tell of all his wonderful works.
³ Glory in his holy name;
   let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
⁴ Seek the Lord and his strength;
   seek his presence continually.
⁵ Remember the wonderful works he has done,
   his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,
⁶ O offspring of his servant Abraham,^*
   children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷ He is the Lord our God;
   his judgements are in all the earth.
⁸ He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
   of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
⁹ the covenant that he made with Abraham,
   his sworn promise to Isaac,
¹⁰ which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
   to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
¹¹ saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
   as your portion for an inheritance.’

¹² When they were few in number,
   of little account, and strangers in it,
¹³ wandering from nation to nation,
   from one kingdom to another people,
¹⁴ he allowed no one to oppress them;
   he rebuked kings on their account,
¹⁵ saying, ‘Do not touch my anointed ones;
   do my prophets no harm.’

¹⁶ When he summoned famine against the land,
   and broke every staff of bread,
¹⁷ he had sent a man ahead of them,
   Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
¹⁸ His feet were hurt with fetters,
   his neck was put in a collar of iron;
¹⁹ until what he had said came to pass,
   the word of the Lord kept testing him.
²⁰ The king sent and released him;
   the ruler of the peoples set him free.
²¹ He made him lord of his house,
   and ruler of all his possessions,
²² to instruct^* his officials at his pleasure,
   and to teach his elders wisdom.

²³ Then Israel came to Egypt;
   Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.
²⁴ And the Lord made his people very fruitful,
   and made them stronger than their foes,
²⁵ whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
   to deal craftily with his servants.

²⁶ He sent his servant Moses,
   and Aaron whom he had chosen.
²⁷ They performed his signs among them,
   and miracles in the land of Ham.
²⁸ He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
   they rebelled^* against his words.
²⁹ He turned their waters into blood,
   and caused their fish to die.
³⁰ Their land swarmed with frogs,
   even in the chambers of their kings.
³¹ He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
   and gnats throughout their country.
³² He gave them hail for rain,
   and lightning that flashed through their land.
³³ He struck their vines and fig trees,
   and shattered the trees of their country.
³⁴ He spoke, and the locusts came,
   and young locusts without number;
³⁵ they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
   and ate up the fruit of their ground.
³⁶ He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
   the first issue of all their strength.

³⁷ Then he brought Israel^* out with silver and gold,
   and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.
³⁸ Egypt was glad when they departed,
   for dread of them had fallen upon it.
³⁹ He spread a cloud for a covering,
   and fire to give light by night.
⁴⁰ They asked, and he brought quails,
   and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
⁴¹ He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
   it flowed through the desert like a river.
⁴² For he remembered his holy promise,
   and Abraham, his servant.

⁴³ So he brought his people out with joy,
   his chosen ones with singing.
⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations,
   and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
⁴⁵ that they might keep his statutes
   and observe his laws.
Praise the Lord!

The Battle at Emmaus

4Now Gorgias took five thousand infantry and one thousand picked cavalry, and this division moved out by night ²to fall upon the camp of the Jews and attack them suddenly. Men from the citadel were his guides. ³But Judas heard of it, and he and his warriors moved out to attack the king’s force in Emmaus ⁴while the division was still absent from the camp. ⁵When Gorgias entered the camp of Judas by night, he found no one there, so he looked for them in the hills, because he said, ‘These men are running away from us.’

6 At daybreak Judas appeared in the plain with three thousand men, but they did not have armour and swords such as they desired. ⁷And they saw the camp of the Gentiles, strong and fortified, with cavalry all around it; and these men were trained in war. ⁸But Judas said to those who were with him, ‘Do not fear their numbers or be afraid when they charge. ⁹Remember how our ancestors were saved at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh with his forces pursued them. ¹⁰And now, let us cry to Heaven, to see whether he will favour us and remember his covenant with our ancestors and crush this army before us today. ¹¹Then all the Gentiles will know that there is one who redeems and saves Israel.’

12 When the foreigners looked up and saw them coming against them, ¹³they went out from their camp to battle. Then the men with Judas blew their trumpets ¹⁴and engaged in battle. The Gentiles were crushed, and fled into the plain, ¹⁵and all those in the rear fell by the sword. They pursued them to Gazara, and to the plains of Idumea, and to Azotus and Jamnia; and three thousand of them fell. ¹⁶Then Judas and his force turned back from pursuing them, ¹⁷and he said to the people, ‘Do not be greedy for plunder, for there is a battle before us; ¹⁸Gorgias and his force are near us in the hills. But stand now against our enemies and fight them, and afterwards seize the plunder boldly.’

19 Just as Judas was finishing this speech, a detachment appeared, coming out of the hills. ²⁰They saw that their army^* had been put to flight, and that the Jews^* were burning the camp, for the smoke that was seen showed what had happened. ²¹When they perceived this, they were greatly frightened, and when they also saw the army of Judas drawn up in the plain for battle, ²²they all fled into the land of the Philistines. ²³Then Judas returned to plunder the camp, and they seized a great amount of gold and silver, and cloth dyed blue and sea purple, and great riches. ²⁴On their return they sang hymns and praises to Heaven—‘For he is good, for his mercy endures for ever.’ ²⁵Thus Israel had a great deliverance that day.

22 I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. ²³And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. ²⁴The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. ²⁵Its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. ²⁶People will bring into it the glory and the honour of the nations. ²⁷But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practises abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

The River of Life

22Then the angel^* showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ²through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life^* with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants^* will worship him; ⁴they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.

True Greatness

18At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ ²He called a child, whom he put among them, ³and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

Temptations to Sin

6 ‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea. ⁷Woe to the world because of stumbling-blocks! Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling-block comes!

8 ‘If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life maimed or lame than to have two hands or two feet and to be thrown into the eternal fire. ⁹And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into the hell^* of fire.