Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Prayer for Protection^[a]

1 This is the account of what Nehemiah son of Hacaliah accomplished.

Nehemiah's Concern for Jerusalem

In the month of Kislev in the twentieth year that Artaxerxes was emperor of Persia, I, Nehemiah, was in Susa, the capital city. ² Hanani, one of my brothers, arrived from Judah with another group, and I asked them about Jerusalem and about the other Jews who had returned from exile in^[a] Babylonia. ³ They told me that those who had survived and were back in the homeland^[b] were in great difficulty and that the foreigners who lived nearby looked down on them. They also told me that the walls of Jerusalem were still broken down and that the gates had not been restored since the time they were burned. ⁴ When I heard all this, I sat down and wept.

For several days I mourned and did not eat. I prayed to God, ⁵ “Lord God of Heaven! You are great, and we stand in fear of you. You faithfully keep your covenant with those who love you and do what you command. ⁶ Look at me, Lord, and hear my prayer, as I pray day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess that we, the people of Israel, have sinned. My ancestors and I have sinned. ⁷ We have acted wickedly against you and have not done what you commanded. We have not kept the laws which you gave us through Moses, your servant. ^8 (A)Remember now what you told Moses: ‘If you people of Israel are unfaithful to me, I will scatter you among the other nations. ^9 (B)But then if you turn back to me and do what I have commanded you, I will bring you back to the place where I have chosen to be worshiped, even though you are scattered to the ends of the earth.’

¹⁰ “Lord, these are your servants, your own people. You rescued them by your great power and strength. ¹¹ Listen now to my prayer and to the prayers of all your other servants who want to honor you. Give me success today and make the emperor merciful to me.”

In those days I was the emperor's wine steward.

A Lame Beggar Is Healed

3 One day Peter and John went to the Temple at three o'clock in the afternoon, the hour for prayer. ² There at the Beautiful Gate, as it was called, was a man who had been lame all his life. Every day he was carried to the gate to beg for money from the people who were going into the Temple. ³ When he saw Peter and John going in, he begged them to give him something. ⁴ They looked straight at him, and Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ So he looked at them, expecting to get something from them. ⁶ But Peter said to him, “I have no money at all, but I give you what I have: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth I order you to get up and walk!” ⁷ Then he took him by his right hand and helped him up. At once the man's feet and ankles became strong; ⁸ he jumped up, stood on his feet, and started walking around. Then he went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and praising God. ⁹ The people there saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and when they recognized him as the beggar who had sat at the Beautiful Gate, they were all surprised and amazed at what had happened to him.