Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 99[a]
99 The Lord reigns!
The nations tremble.[b]
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;[c]
the earth shakes.[d]
2 The Lord is elevated[e] in Zion;
he is exalted over all the nations.
3 Let them praise your great and awesome name.
He[f] is holy!
4 The king is strong;
he loves justice.[g]
You ensure that legal decisions will be made fairly;[h]
you promote justice and equity in Jacob.
5 Praise[i] the Lord our God.
Worship[j] before his footstool.
He is holy!
6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests;
Samuel was one of those who prayed to him.[k]
They[l] prayed to the Lord and he answered them.
7 He spoke to them from a pillar of cloud;[m]
they obeyed his regulations and the ordinance he gave them.
8 O Lord our God, you answered them.
They found you to be a forgiving God,
but also one who punished their sinful deeds.[n]
9 Praise[o] the Lord our God!
Worship on his holy hill,
for the Lord our God is holy.
22 Eli was very old. And he would hear about everything that his sons used to do to all the people of Israel[a] and[b] how they used to go to bed with[c] the women who were stationed at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do these things, these evil things that I hear about from all these people?[d] 24 No, my sons! For the report that I hear circulating[e] among the Lord’s people is not good. 25 If a man sins against a man, one may appeal to God on his behalf.[f] But if a man sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But Eli’s sons[g] would not listen to their father.[h] Indeed[i] the Lord had decided[j] to kill them. 26 However, the boy[k] Samuel was growing up and finding favor both with the Lord and with people.[l]
The Lord Judges the House of Eli
27 Then a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘I plainly[m] revealed[n] myself to your ancestor’s house when they were slaves to the house of Pharaoh in Egypt.[o] 28 I chose[p] your ancestor[q] from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to offer sacrifice on my altar, to burn incense, and to bear[r] the ephod before me. I gave to your ancestor’s house all the fire offerings made by the Israelites. 29 Why are you[s] scorning my sacrifice and my offering that I commanded for my dwelling place?[t] You have honored your sons more than you have me by having made yourselves fat from the best parts of all the offerings of my people Israel.’
30 “Therefore the Lord, the God of Israel, says, ‘I really did say[u] that your house and your ancestor’s house would serve[v] me forever.’ But now the Lord says, ‘May it never be![w] For I will honor those who honor me, but those who despise me will be cursed! 31 In fact, days are coming when I will remove your strength[x] and the strength[y] of your father’s house. There will not be an old man in your house! 32 You will see trouble in my dwelling place![z] Israel will experience blessings,[aa] but there will not be an old man in your[ab] house for all time.[ac] 33 Any man of yours that I do not cut off from my altar, I will cause his[ad] eyes to fail[ae] and will cause him grief.[af] All those born to your family[ag] will die by the sword of man.[ah] 34 This will be a confirming sign for you that will be fulfilled through your two sons,[ai] Hophni and Phinehas: in a single day they both will die! 35 Then I will raise up for myself a faithful priest. He will do what is in my heart and soul. I will build for him a lasting dynasty,[aj] and he will serve my chosen one for all time.[ak] 36 Everyone who remains in your house will come to bow before him for a little money[al] and for a scrap of bread. Each will say, “Assign me to a priestly task so I can eat a scrap of bread.”’”
Healing a Paralytic at the Pool of Bethesda
5 After this[a] there was a Jewish feast,[b] and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is[c] in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate[d] a pool called Bethzatha[e] in Aramaic,[f] which has five covered walkways.[g] 3 A great number of sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed people were lying in these walkways.[h] 5 Now a man was there who had been disabled for thirty-eight years.[i] 6 When Jesus saw him lying there and when he realized[j] that the man[k] had been disabled a long time already, he said to him, “Do you want to become well?” 7 The sick man answered him, “Sir,[l] I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up. While I am trying to get into the water,[m] someone else[n] goes down there[o] before me.” 8 Jesus said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat[p] and walk.” 9 Immediately the man was healed,[q] and he picked up his mat[r] and started walking. (Now that day was a Sabbath.)[s]
10 So the Jewish leaders[t] said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and you are not permitted to carry your mat.”[u] 11 But he answered them, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat[v] and walk.’” 12 They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat[w] and walk’?”[x] 13 But the man who had been healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped out, since there was a crowd in that place.
14 After this Jesus found him at the temple and said to him, “Look, you have become well. Don’t sin any more,[y] lest anything worse happen to you.” 15 The man went away and informed the Jewish leaders[z] that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Responding to Jewish Leaders
16 Now because Jesus was doing these things[aa] on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders[ab] began persecuting[ac] him. 17 So he[ad] told[ae] them, “My Father is working until now, and I too am working.”[af] 18 For this reason the Jewish leaders[ag] were trying even harder to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was also calling God his own Father, thus making himself equal with God.
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.