Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 29

A Psalm of David.

The Ark Brought to the Temple^(A)

² Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes and the leaders of the houses of the fathers among the sons of Israel to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord from the City of David, which is Zion. ³ And all the men of Israel were assembled before the king at the feast, which is the seventh month.^[a]

⁴ All the elders of Israel came, and the Levites carried the ark. ⁵ Then they brought up the ark, and the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent. So the Levitical priests brought them up. ⁶ And King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who were assembled with him before the ark, were sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered.

⁷ The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place—to the inner sanctuary of the temple, into the Most Holy Place, under the wings of the cherubim. ⁸ Then the cherubim wings were spread out over the place of the ark so that the cherubim covered the ark and its poles. ⁹ The poles were extended so that the ends of the poles of the ark were seen in front of the Most Holy Place, but they were not seen outside; and they are still there to this day. ¹⁰ In the ark there was nothing except the two tablets that Moses had given at Mount Horeb where the Lord made a covenant with the sons of Israel when they went out from Egypt.

¹¹ When the priests came out from the Most Holy Place—for all the priests who were present had consecrated themselves, without keeping separate divisions— ¹² and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, with their sons and relatives, all clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps, and lyres, stood to the east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests who were sounding with trumpets, ¹³ it happened, when the trumpet players and singers made one sound to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and all the instruments of music and praised the Lord saying,

that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud. ¹⁴ And the priests were not able to stand in order to serve because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God.

Paul’s Testimony to Jews and Gentiles

¹⁹ “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, ²⁰ but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do works proving their repentance. ²¹ For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. ²² Therefore having obtained help from God, I continue to this day, testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would happen: ²³ that the Christ must suffer, that He would be the first who would rise from the dead, and would announce light to His own people and to the Gentiles.”

Paul Appeals to Agrippa to Believe

²⁴ So as he made his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are mad. Much learning is turning you to madness.”

²⁵ Paul said, “I am not mad, most excellent Festus. I speak the words of truth and reason. ²⁶ The king, before whom I also speak freely, knows about these things. For I am persuaded that none of this is hidden from him, for this was not done in a corner. ²⁷ King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.”

²⁸ Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to be a Christian.”

²⁹ Paul said, “I pray to God that not only you, but all who hear me this day, might become not only almost, but thoroughly and altogether, what I am, except for these chains.”