Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 (A)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They (B)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (C)when they were sick, my (D)clothing was sackcloth;
I (E)humbled my soul with fasting,
But my (F)prayer kept returning to [a]me.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (G)bowed down [b]in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
15 But (H)at my [c]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [d](I)afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [e](J)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (K)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (L)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (M)from their ravages,
My (N)only life from the lions.
18 I will (O)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (P)praise You among a mighty people.
19 (Q)Do not let those who are wrongfully (R)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (S)who hate me for no reason [f](T)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (U)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (V)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(W)Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”
22 (X)You have seen it, Lord, (Y)do not keep silent;
Lord, (Z)do not be far from me.
23 (AA)Stir Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AB)Judge me, Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AC)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AD)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AE)swallowed him up!”
26 May (AF)those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress;
May those who (AG)exalt themselves over me be (AH)clothed with shame and dishonor.
The Vision of Four Figures
1 Now it came about in the thirtieth year, on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was by the (A)river Chebar among the exiles, the (B)heavens were opened and I saw [a](C)visions of God. 2 (On the fifth of the month [b]in the (D)fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile, 3 the (E)word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, son of Buzi, in the (F)land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and there (G)the hand of the Lord came upon him.)
4 As I looked, behold, a (H)high wind was coming from the north, a great cloud with fire flashing intermittently and a bright light around it, and in its midst something like (I)gleaming [c]metal in the midst of the fire. 5 And within it there were figures resembling (J)four living beings. And this was their appearance: they had human (K)form. 6 Each of them had (L)four faces and (M)four wings. 7 Their legs were straight and [d]their feet were like a calf’s [e]hoof, and they sparkled like (N)polished bronze. 8 Under their wings on their (O)four sides were human (P)hands. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched one another; their faces did (Q)not turn when they moved, each (R)went straight forward. 10 As for the (S)form of their faces, each had a human (T)face; [f]all four had the face of a lion on the right and the face of a bull on the left, and [g]all four had the face of an eagle. 11 Such were their faces. Their wings were spread out above; each had two touching another being, and (U)two covering their bodies. 12 And (V)each went straight forward; (W)wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 [h]In the midst of the living beings there was something that looked like burning coals of (X)fire, [i]like torches moving among the living beings. The fire was bright, and lightning was [j]flashing from the fire. 14 And the living beings (Y)ran back and forth like bolts of (Z)lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living beings, behold, there was one (AA)wheel on the ground beside the living beings, for [k]each of the four of them. 16 The (AB)appearance of the wheels and their workmanship was like [l]sparkling (AC)topaz, and all four of them had the same form, their appearance and workmanship being as if [m]one wheel were within another. 17 Whenever they [n]moved, they [o]moved in any of their four [p]directions without (AD)turning as they [q]moved. 18 As for their rims, they were high and awesome, and the rims of all four of them were [r](AE)covered with eyes all around. 19 (AF)Whenever the living beings [s]moved, the wheels [t]moved with them. And whenever the living beings (AG)rose from the earth, the wheels rose also. 20 (AH)Wherever the spirit was about to go, they would go in that direction[u]. And the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living [v]beings was in the wheels. 21 (AI)Whenever those went, they went; and whenever those stopped, they stopped. And whenever those rose from the earth, the wheels rose just as they did; for the spirit of the living [w]beings was in the wheels.
Vision of Divine Glory
22 Now (AJ)over the heads of the living [x]beings there was something like an expanse, like the awesome gleam of crystal, spread out over their heads. 23 Under the expanse their wings were stretched out straight, one toward the other; each one also had (AK)two wings covering its body on the one side and on the other. 24 And I also heard the sound of their wings, like the (AL)sound of abundant waters as they went, like the (AM)voice of [y]the Almighty, a sound of a crowd like the (AN)sound of an army camp; whenever they stopped, they let down their wings. 25 And a voice came from above the (AO)expanse that was over their heads; whenever they stood still, they let down their wings.
26 Now (AP)above the expanse that was over their heads there was something (AQ)resembling a throne, like [z](AR)lapis lazuli in appearance; and on that which resembled a throne, high up, was a figure with the appearance of a (AS)man. 27 Then I [aa]noticed from the appearance of His waist and upward something (AT)like gleaming [ab]metal that looked like fire all around within it, and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw something like fire; and there was a radiance around Him. 28 Like the appearance of the (AU)rainbow [ac]in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the surrounding radiance. Such was the appearance of the likeness of the (AV)glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I (AW)fell on my face and heard a voice speaking.
The Prophet’s Call
2 Then He said to me, “Son of man, (AX)stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.”
23 So he invited them in and gave them lodging.
Peter in Caesarea
Now on the next day he got ready and went away with them, and (A)some of (B)the brothers from (C)Joppa accompanied him. 24 On the following day he entered (D)Caesarea. Now Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and [a](E)worshiped him. 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “(F)Stand up; I, too, am just a man.” 27 As he talked with him, he entered and *found (G)many people assembled. 28 And he said to them, “You yourselves know that it is (H)forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or visit a [b]foreigner; and yet (I)God has shown me that I am not to call any person [c]unholy or unclean. 29 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask, for what reason did you send for me?”
30 Cornelius said, “(J)Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during (K)the [d]ninth hour; and behold, (L)a man stood before me in shining clothing, 31 and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your charitable gifts have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send some men to (M)Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent men to you immediately, and you have [e]been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear everything that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
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