Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Song of Trust in God

Of David.

The Branch of the Lord

² At that time the Lord’s branch will be very beautiful and great. The people still living in Israel will be proud of what the land grows. ³ All the people who are still living in Jerusalem will be called holy. This will be all the people whose names are recorded among the living in Jerusalem. ⁴ The Lord will wash away the filth from the women of Jerusalem. He will wash the bloodstains out of Jerusalem. He will clean Jerusalem with the spirit of fairness and the spirit of fire. ⁵ As he did when Israel left Egypt, the Lord will cover them with a cloud of smoke during the day. And he will cover them with a bright, flaming fire at night. These proofs will be over Mount Zion. They will be over every meeting of the people there. There will be a covering over every person. ⁶ This covering will be a place of safety. It will protect the people from the heat of the sun. It will be a safe place to hide from the storm and rain.

Peter Returns to Jerusalem

11 The apostles and the believers in Judea heard that non-Jewish people had accepted God’s teaching too. ² But when Peter came to Jerusalem, some Jewish believers argued with him. ³ They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised! You even ate with them!”

⁴ So Peter explained the whole story to them. ⁵ He said, “I was in the city of Joppa. While I was praying, I had a vision. In the vision, I saw something which looked like a big sheet coming down from heaven. It was being lowered to earth by its four corners. It came down very close to me, and ⁶ I looked inside it. I saw animals, wild beasts, reptiles, and birds. ⁷ I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘No, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is unholy or unclean.’ ⁹ But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things clean. Don’t call them unholy!’ ¹⁰ This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back to heaven. ¹¹ Right then three men came to the house where I was staying. They were sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without doubting. These six believers here also went with me. We went to the house of Cornelius. ¹³ He told us about the angel he saw standing in his house. The angel said to him, ‘Send some men to Joppa and invite Simon Peter to come. ¹⁴ He will speak to you. The things he will say will save you and all your family.’ ¹⁵ When I began my speech, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ Then I remembered the words of the Lord. He said, ‘John baptized in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit!’ ¹⁷ God gave to them the same gift that he gave to us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So could I stop the work of God? No!”

¹⁸ When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is allowing the non-Jewish people also to turn to him and live.”