Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

⁷ The law of Jehovah [is] perfect, refreshing the soul, The testimonies of Jehovah [are] stedfast, Making wise the simple,

⁸ The precepts of Jehovah [are] upright, Rejoicing the heart, The command of Jehovah [is] pure, enlightening the eyes,

⁹ The fear of Jehovah [is] clean, standing to the age, The judgments of Jehovah [are] true, They have been righteous -- together.

¹⁰ They are more desirable than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; and sweeter than honey, Even liquid honey of the comb.

¹¹ Also -- Thy servant is warned by them, `In keeping them [is] a great reward.'

¹² Errors! who doth understand? From hidden ones declare me innocent,

¹³ Also -- from presumptuous ones keep back Thy servant, Let them not rule over me, Then am I perfect, And declared innocent of much transgression,

¹⁴ Let the sayings of my mouth, And the meditation of my heart, Be for a pleasing thing before Thee, O Jehovah, my rock, and my redeemer!

¹³ And it cometh to pass on the morrow, that Moses sitteth to judge the people, and the people stand before Moses, from the morning unto the evening;

¹⁴ and the father-in-law of Moses seeth all that he is doing to the people, and saith, `What [is] this thing which thou art doing to the people? wherefore art thou sitting by thyself, and all the people standing by thee from morning till evening?'

¹⁵ And Moses saith to his father-in-law, `Because the people come unto me to seek God;

¹⁶ when they have a matter, it hath come unto me, and I have judged between a man and his neighbour, and made known the statutes of God, and His laws.'

¹⁷ And the father-in-law of Moses saith unto him, `The thing which thou art doing [is] not good;

¹⁸ thou dost surely wear away, both thou, and this people which [is] with thee, for the thing is too heavy for thee, thou art not able to do it by thyself.

¹⁹ `Now, hearken to my voice, I counsel thee, and God is with thee: be thou for the people over-against God, and thou hast brought in the things unto God;

²⁰ and thou hast warned them [concerning] the statutes and the laws, and hast made known to them the way in which they go, and the work which they do.

²¹ `And thou -- thou dost provide out of all the people men of ability, fearing God, men of truth, hating dishonest gain, and hast placed [these] over them, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

²² and they have judged the people at all times; and it hath come to pass, every great matter they bring in unto thee, and every small matter they judge themselves; and lighten it from off thyself, and they have borne with thee.

²³ If thou dost this thing, and God hath commanded thee, then thou hast been able to stand, and all this people also goeth in unto its place in peace.'

²⁴ And Moses hearkeneth to the voice of his father-in-law, and doth all that he said,

²⁵ and Moses chooseth men of ability out of all Israel, and maketh them chiefs over the people, heads of thousands, heads of hundreds, heads of fifties, and heads of tens,

²⁶ and they have judged the people at all times; the hard matter they bring in unto Moses, and every small matter they judge themselves.

²⁷ And Moses sendeth his father-in-law away, and he goeth away unto his own land.

¹³ And beholding the openness of Peter and John, and having perceived that they are men unlettered and plebeian, they were wondering -- they were taking knowledge also of them that with Jesus they had been --

¹⁴ and seeing the man standing with them who hath been healed, they had nothing to say against [it],

¹⁵ and having commanded them to go away out of the sanhedrim, they took counsel with one another,

¹⁶ saying, `What shall we do to these men? because that, indeed, a notable sign hath been done through them, to all those dwelling in Jerusalem [is] manifest, and we are not able to deny [it];

¹⁷ but that it may spread no further toward the people, let us strictly threaten them no more to speak in this name to any man.'

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

¹⁹ and Peter and John answering unto them said, `Whether it is righteous before God to hearken to you rather than to God, judge ye;

²⁰ for we cannot but speak what we did see and hear.'

²¹ And they having further threatened [them], let them go, finding nothing how they may punish them, because of the people, because all were glorifying God for that which hath been done,

²² for above forty years of age was the man upon whom had been done this sign of the healing.

²³ And being let go, they went unto their own friends, and declared whatever the chief priests and the elders said unto them,

²⁴ and they having heard, with one accord did lift up the voice unto God, and said, `Lord, thou [art] God, who didst make the heaven, and the earth, and the sea, and all that [are] in them,

²⁵ who, through the mouth of David thy servant, did say, Why did nations rage, and peoples meditate vain things?

²⁶ the kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against His Christ;

²⁷ for gathered together of a truth against Thy holy child Jesus, whom Thou didst anoint, were both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with nations and peoples of Israel,

²⁸ to do whatever Thy hand and Thy counsel did determine before to come to pass.

²⁹ `And now, Lord, look upon their threatenings, and grant to Thy servants with all freedom to speak Thy word,

³⁰ in the stretching forth of Thy hand, for healing, and signs, and wonders, to come to pass through the name of Thy holy child Jesus.'

³¹ And they having prayed, the place was shaken in which they were gathered together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and were speaking the word of God with freedom,