Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

5 Give ear to my words, O Lord; consider my meditation.

² Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King and my God, for unto Thee will I pray.

³ My voice shalt Thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee and will look up.

⁴ For Thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness; neither shall evil dwell with Thee.

⁵ The foolish shall not stand in Thy sight; Thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

⁶ Thou shalt destroy them that speak lies; the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

⁷ But as for me, I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercy, and in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple.

⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in Thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make Thy way straight before my face.

⁹ For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is exceeding wickedness. Their throat is an open sepulcher; they flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰ Destroy Thou them, O God! Let them fall by their own counsels. Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions, for they have rebelled against Thee.

¹¹ But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice; let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them; let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee.

¹² For Thou, Lord, wilt bless the righteous; with favor wilt Thou compass him about as with a shield.

1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in the palace at Shushan,

² that Hanani one of my brethren came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews who had escaped, who were left behind from the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.

³ And they said unto me, “The remnant who are left behind from the captivity there in the province are in great affliction and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem also is broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire.”

⁴ And it came to pass when I heard these words, that I sat down and wept, and mourned certain days and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven

⁵ and said: “I beseech thee, O Lord God of heaven, the great and fearsome God, who keepeth covenant and mercy for those who love Him and observe His commandments,

⁶ let Thine ear now be attentive and Thine eyes open, that Thou mayest hear the prayer of Thy servant, which I pray before Thee now day and night for the children of Israel Thy servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against Thee. Both I and my father’s house have sinned.

⁷ We have dealt very corruptly against Thee, and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the judgments which Thou commanded Thy servant Moses.

⁸ Remember, I beseech Thee, the word that Thou commanded Thy servant Moses, saying, ‘If ye transgress, I will scatter you abroad among the nations;

⁹ but if ye turn unto Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though there were some of you cast out unto the uttermost part of the heaven, yet will I gather them from thence, and will bring them unto the place that I have chosen to set My name there.’

¹⁰ Now these are Thy servants and Thy people, whom Thou hast redeemed by Thy great power and by Thy strong hand.

¹¹ O Lord, I beseech Thee, let now Thine ear be attentive to the prayer of Thy servant, and to the prayer of Thy servants who desire to fear Thy name; and prosper, I pray Thee, Thy servant this day, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.” For I was the king’s cupbearer.

3 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.

² And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms from those who entered into the temple.

³ He, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms.

⁴ And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, “Look on us.”

⁵ And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something from them.

⁶ Then Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I give thee: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

⁷ And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.

⁸ And leaping up, he stood and walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and leaping and praising God.

⁹ And all the people saw him walking and praising God,

¹⁰ and they knew that it was he that sat for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.