Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ The law of Jehovah is perfect, restoring the soul; the testimony of Jehovah is sure, making wise the simple;

⁸ The precepts of Jehovah are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of Jehovah is pure, enlightening the eyes;

⁹ The fear of Jehovah is clean, enduring for ever; the judgments of Jehovah are truth, they are righteous altogether:

¹⁰ They are more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey and the dropping of the honeycomb.

¹¹ Moreover, by them is thy servant enlightened; in keeping them there is great reward.

¹² Who understandeth [his] errors? Purify me from secret [faults].

¹³ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous [sins]; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be perfect, and I shall be innocent from great transgression.

¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer.

¹³ And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses sat to judge the people; and the people stood by Moses from the morning to the evening.

¹⁴ And Moses' father-in-law saw all that he did with the people, and said, What is this thing which thou art doing with the people? why dost thou sit alone, and all the people are standing by thee from morning to evening?

¹⁵ And Moses said to his father-in-law, Because the people come to me to enquire of God.

¹⁶ When they have a matter, they come to me, and I judge between one and another; and I make known [to them] the statutes of God, and his laws.

¹⁷ And Moses' father-in-law said to him, The thing that thou art doing is not good.

¹⁸ Thou wilt be quite exhausted, both thou and this people that is with thee; for the thing is too heavy for thee: thou canst not perform it alone.

¹⁹ Hearken now to my voice: I will give thee counsel, and God shall be with thee. Be thou for the people with God, and bring the matters before God;

²⁰ and teach them the statutes and the laws, and make known to them the way in which they must walk, and the work that they must do.

²¹ But do thou provide among all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place [them] over them, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens,

²² that they may judge the people at all times; and it shall be [that] they shall bring to thee every great matter, and that they shall judge every small matter, and they shall lighten [the task] on thee, and they shall bear [it] with thee.

²³ If thou do this thing, and God command thee [so], thou wilt be able to endure, and all this people shall also go to their place in peace.

²⁴ And Moses hearkened to the voice of his father-in-law, and did all that he had said.

²⁵ And Moses chose able men out of all Israel, and made them heads over the people, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens.

²⁶ And they judged the people at all times: the hard matters they brought to Moses, but every small matter they judged.

²⁷ And Moses sent away his father-in-law, and he departed into his land.

¹³ But seeing the boldness of Peter and John, and perceiving that they were unlettered and uninstructed men, they wondered; and they recognised them that they were with Jesus.

¹⁴ And beholding the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to reply;

¹⁵ but having commanded them to go out of the council they conferred with one another,

¹⁶ saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed an evident sign has come to pass through their means is manifest to all that inhabit Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.

¹⁷ But that it be not further spread among the people, let us threaten them severely no longer to speak to any man in this name.

¹⁸ And having called them, they charged [them] not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

¹⁹ But Peter and John answering said to them, If it be righteous before God to listen to you rather than to God, judge ye;

²⁰ for as for us *we* cannot refrain from speaking of the things which we have seen and heard.

²¹ But they, having further threatened them, let them go, finding no way how they might punish them, on account of the people, because all glorified God for what had taken place;

²² for the man on whom this sign of healing had taken place was above forty years old.

²³ And having been let go, they came to their own [company], and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.

²⁴ And they, having heard [it], lifted up [their] voice with one accord to God, and said, Lord, *thou* art the God who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them;

²⁵ who hast said by the mouth of thy servant David, Why have [the] nations raged haughtily and [the] peoples meditated vain things?

²⁶ The kings of the earth were there, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ.

²⁷ For in truth against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou hadst anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with [the] nations, and peoples of Israel, have been gathered together in this city

²⁸ to do whatever thy hand and thy counsel had determined before should come to pass.

²⁹ And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and give to thy bondmen with all boldness to speak thy word,

³⁰ in that thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and that signs and wonders take place through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.

³¹ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were assembled shook, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke the word of God with boldness.