Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ ¶ The LORD reigns; the peoples shall tremble; he who sits above the cherubim reigns; the earth shall be moved.

² The LORD is great in Zion, and he is high above all the peoples.

³ Let them praise thy great and terrible name, for it is holy.

⁴ The king’s strength is that he loves judgment; thou dost establish equity; thou dost execute judgment and righteousness in Jacob.

⁵ Exalt ye the LORD our God and worship at the footstool of his feet, which is holy.

⁶ ¶ Moses and Aaron are among his priests and Samuel among those that call upon his name; they called upon the LORD, and he answered them.

⁷ He spoke unto them in the pillar of fire; they kept his testimonies and the order that he gave them.

⁸ Thou didst answer them, O LORD our God; thou wast a God that didst forgive them, and an avenger for their works.

⁹ Exalt the LORD our God and worship at the mountain of his holiness, for the LORD our God is holy.

²² Now Eli was very old and heard all that his sons did unto all Israel and how they lay with the women that served at the door of the tabernacle of the testimony.

²³ And he said unto them, Why do ye do such things? For I hear from all the people of your evil dealings.

²⁴ No, my sons, for it is no good report that I hear that ye cause the people of the LORD to transgress.

²⁵ If one man sins against another, the judges shall judge him, but if someone sins against the LORD, who shall intreat for him? Notwithstanding they did not hearken unto the voice of their father because the LORD had already decided to kill them.

²⁶ And the child Samuel kept on growing and was in favour both with the LORD and also with men.

²⁷ ¶ And a man of God came unto Eli and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Did I not plainly appear unto the house of thy father when they were in Egypt in the house of Pharaoh?

²⁸ And I chose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer upon my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me, and I gave unto the house of thy father all the offerings on fire of the sons of Israel.

²⁹ Why do ye trample my sacrifices and my offerings which I have commanded to be offered in my tabernacle and honor thy sons above me, to make yourselves fat with the chiefest of all the offerings of Israel my people?

³⁰ Therefore, the LORD God of Israel said, I had said indeed that thy house and the house of thy father should walk before me for ever, but now the LORD said, It shall never be; for those that honor me I will honor, and those that lightly esteem me shall be vile.

³¹ Behold, the days come that I will cut off thine arm and the arm of thy father’s house that there shall not be an old man in thy house.

³² And thou shalt see a competitor in my tabernacle in all the things in which I shall do good unto Israel, and there shall not be an old man in thy house for ever.

³³ I shall not totally cut off all thy men from my altar to consume thine eyes and to grieve thy soul, and all the increase of thy house shall die as young men.

³⁴ And this shall be a sign unto thee that shall come upon thy two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: in one day they shall both die.

³⁵ And I will raise me up a faithful priest that shall do according to that which is in my heart and in my mind, and I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before my anointed {Heb. Messiah} for ever.

³⁶ And it shall come to pass that every one that is left in thy house shall come and crouch to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread and shall say, Put me, I pray thee, into some aspect of the priesthood that I may eat a piece of bread.

5 ¶ After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now in Jerusalem there is a pool by the sheep gate, which in Hebrew is called, Bethesda, having five porches.

³ In these lay a great multitude of those who were sick, blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.

⁴ For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and troubled the water; whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatever disease he had.

⁵ And a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years.

⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he said unto him, Dost thou desire to be made whole?

⁷ The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man when the water is troubled to put me into the pool, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.

⁸ Jesus said unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.

⁹ And immediately the man was made whole and took up his bed and walked, and on that day was the sabbath.

¹⁰ The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day; it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.

¹¹ He answered them, He that made me whole, the same said unto me, Take up thy bed and walk.

¹² Then they asked him, Who is the man that said unto thee, Take up thy bed and walk?

¹³ And he that was healed did not know who it was; for Jesus had conveyed himself away, a multitude being in that place.

¹⁴ Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

¹⁵ The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole.

¹⁶ And for this reason the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him: because he had done these things on a sabbath.

¹⁷ ¶ But Jesus answered them, My Father works until now, and I work.

¹⁸ Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.