Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A song of David.

² At that time the Lord’s plant^[a] will be very beautiful and glorious. The people in Israel who survived will be very proud of what the land grows. ³ And all those who are left in Zion and Jerusalem will be called holy. Their names were on the list of people in Jerusalem who were allowed to live.

⁴ The Lord will wash away the filth^[b] from the daughters of Zion.^[c] He will wash away the blood from Jerusalem. With a spirit of judgment that burns like fire, he will make everything pure. ⁵ Then the Lord will create a cloud of smoke in the day and a bright flame of fire^[d] at night over every building and over every meeting of the people on the mountain of Zion. And there will be a covering over everyone^[e] for protection. ⁶ It will be a shelter to protect the people from the heat of the sun and from all kinds of storms 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^[a] argued with him. ³ They said, “You went into the homes of people who are not Jews and are not circumcised, and 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. I saw something coming down from heaven. It looked like a big sheet being lowered to the ground by its four corners. It came down close to me, ⁶ and I looked inside. I saw all kinds of animals, including wild ones, as well as reptiles and birds. ⁷ I heard a voice say to me, ‘Get up, Peter. Kill anything here and eat it!’

⁸ “But I said, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I have never eaten anything that is not pure or fit to be used for food.’

⁹ “But the voice from heaven answered again, ‘God has made these things pure. Don’t say they are unfit to eat!’

¹⁰ “This happened three times. Then the whole thing was taken back into heaven. ¹¹ Suddenly there were three men standing outside the house where I was staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to get me. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without wondering if it was all right. These six brothers here also went with me, and we went to the house of Cornelius. ¹³ He told us about the angel he had seen standing in his house. The angel said, ‘Send some men to Joppa to get Simon, the one who is also called Peter. ¹⁴ He will speak to you, and what he tells you will save you and everyone living in your house.’

¹⁵ “After I began speaking, the Holy Spirit came on them just as he came on us at the beginning.^{[b] 16} Then I remembered the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘John baptized people in water, but you will be baptized in the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ God gave these people the same gift he gave us who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So how could I object to what God wanted to do?”

¹⁸ When the Jewish believers heard this, they stopped arguing. They praised God and said, “So God is also allowing even those who are not Jews to change their hearts so that they can have the life he gives!”