Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
6 Lord, you made me understand this:[a]
You don’t really want sacrifices and grain offerings.
You don’t want burnt offerings and sin offerings.
7 So I said, “Here I am,
ready to do what was written about me in the book.
8 My God, I am happy to do whatever you want.
I never stop thinking about your teachings.”
9 I told the good news of victory[b] to the people in the great assembly.
And, Lord, you know that I will never stop telling that good news.
10 I told about the good things you did.
I did not hide these things in my heart.
I spoke of how you can be trusted to save us.
I did not hide your love and loyalty from those in the great assembly.
11 Lord, do not hide your mercy from me.
Let your love and loyalty always protect me.
12 Troubles have surrounded me.
They are too many to count!
My sins have caught me,
and I cannot escape them.
They are more than the hairs on my head.
I have lost my courage.
13 Please, Lord, rescue me!
Lord, hurry and help me!
14 People are trying to kill me.
Please disappoint them.
Humiliate them completely!
They wanted to hurt me.
Make them run away in shame!
15 May those who make fun of me
be too embarrassed to speak!
16 But may those who come to you be happy and rejoice.
May those who love being saved by you always be able to say, “Praise the Lord!”[c]
17 My Lord, I am only a poor, helpless man,
but please pay attention to me.
You are my helper, the one who can save me.
My God, don’t be too late.
Passover
12 While Moses and Aaron were still in Egypt, the Lord spoke to them. He said, 2 “This month[a] will be the first month of the year for you. 3 This command is for the whole community of Israel: On the tenth day of this month each man must get one lamb for the people in his house. 4 If there are not enough people in his house to eat a whole lamb, then he should invite some of his neighbors to share the meal. There must be enough lamb for everyone to eat. 5 The lamb must be a one-year-old male, and it must be completely healthy. This animal can be either a young sheep or a young goat. 6 You should watch over the animal until the 14th day of the month. On that day all the people of the community of Israel must kill these animals just before dark. 7 You must collect the blood from these animals and put it on the top and sides of the doorframe of every house where the people eat this meal.
8 “On this night you must roast the lamb and eat all the meat. You must also eat bitter herbs and bread made without yeast. 9 You must not eat the lamb raw or boiled in water. You must roast the whole lamb over a fire. The lamb must still have its head, legs, and inner parts. 10 You must eat all the meat that night. If any of the meat is left until morning, you must burn it in the fire.
11 “When you eat the meal, you must be fully dressed and ready to travel. You must have your sandals on your feet and your walking stick in your hand. You must eat in a hurry, because this is the Lord’s Passover.
12 “Tonight I will go through Egypt and kill every firstborn man and animal in Egypt. In this way I will judge all the gods of Egypt and show that I am the Lord. 13 But the blood on your houses will be a special sign. When I see the blood, I will pass over[b] your house. I will cause bad things to happen to the people of Egypt. But none of these bad diseases will hurt you.
21 So Moses called all the elders together and told them, “Get the lambs for your families. Kill the lambs for the Passover. 22 Take bunches of hyssop and dip them in the bowls filled with blood. Paint the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. No one must leave their house until morning. 23 At the time the Lord goes through Egypt to kill the firstborn, he will see the blood on the sides and top of each doorframe. Then he will protect[a] that house and not let the Destroyer come into any of your houses and hurt you. 24 You must remember this command. This law is for you and your descendants forever. 25 You must remember to do this even when you go to the land the Lord is giving you. 26 When your children ask you, ‘Why are we doing this ceremony?’ 27 you will say, ‘This Passover is to honor the Lord, because when we were in Egypt, he passed over the houses of Israel. He killed the Egyptians, but he saved the people in our houses.’”
Then the people bowed down and worshiped the Lord. 28 The Lord had given this command to Moses and Aaron, so the Israelites did what the Lord commanded.
Philip Teaches a Man From Ethiopia
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. The angel said, “Get ready and go south on the road that leads down to Gaza from Jerusalem—the road that goes through the desert.”
27 So Philip got ready and went. On the road he saw a man from Ethiopia. He was a eunuch and an important official in the service of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians. He was responsible for taking care of all her money. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship. 28 Now he was on his way home. He was sitting in his chariot reading from the book of Isaiah the prophet.
29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 So he went toward the chariot, and he heard the man reading from Isaiah the prophet. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
31 The man answered, “How can I understand? I need someone to explain it to me.” Then he invited Philip to climb in and sit with him. 32 The part of the Scriptures that he was reading was this:
“He was like a sheep being led to the butcher.
He was like a lamb that makes no sound as its wool is being cut off.
He said nothing.
33 He was shamed, and all his rights were taken away.
His life on earth has ended.
So there will be no story about his descendants.” (A)
34 The official[a] said to Philip, “Please, tell me, who is the prophet talking about? Is he talking about himself or about someone else?” 35 Philip began to speak. He started with this same Scripture and told the man the Good News about Jesus.
36 While they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The official said, “Look, here is water! What is stopping me from being baptized?” 37 [b] 38 Then the official ordered the chariot to stop. Both Philip and the official went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; the official never saw him again. The official continued on his way home. He was very happy. 40 But Philip appeared in a city called Azotus. He was going to the city of Caesarea. He told people the Good News in all the towns on the way from Azotus to Caesarea.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International