Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to the Lord for His Holiness
99 The Lord reigns;
Let the peoples tremble!
(A)He dwells between the cherubim;
Let the earth be [a]moved!
2 The Lord is great in Zion,
And He is high above all the peoples.
3 Let them praise Your great and awesome name—
[b]He is holy.
4 The King’s strength also loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice and righteousness in Jacob.
5 Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His footstool—
He is holy.
6 Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
And Samuel was among those who (B)called upon His name;
They called upon the Lord, and He answered them.
7 He spoke to them in the cloudy pillar;
They kept His testimonies and the [c]ordinance He gave them.
8 You answered them, O Lord our God;
You were to them God-Who-Forgives,
Though You took vengeance on their deeds.
9 Exalt the Lord our God,
And worship at His holy hill;
For the Lord our God is holy.
Prophecy Against Eli’s Household
22 Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, [a]and how they lay with (A)the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23 So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord’s people transgress. 25 If one man sins against another, (B)God[b] will judge him. But if a man (C)sins against the Lord, who will intercede for him?” Nevertheless they did not heed the voice of their father, (D)because the Lord desired to kill them.
26 And the child Samuel (E)grew in stature, and (F)in favor both with the Lord and men.
27 Then a (G)man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says the Lord: (H)‘Did I not clearly reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt in Pharaoh’s house? 28 Did I not (I)choose him out of all the tribes of Israel to be My priest, to offer upon My altar, to burn incense, and to wear an ephod before Me? And (J)did I not give to the house of your father all the offerings of the children of Israel made by fire? 29 Why do you (K)kick at My sacrifice and My offering which I have commanded in My (L)dwelling place, and honor your sons more than (M)Me, to make yourselves fat with the best of all the offerings of Israel My people?’ 30 Therefore the Lord God of Israel says: (N)‘I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.’ But now the Lord says: (O)‘Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and (P)those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. 31 Behold, (Q)the days are coming that I will cut off your [c]arm and the arm of your father’s house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 32 And you will see an enemy in My dwelling place, despite all the good which God does for Israel. And there shall not be (R)an old man in your house forever. 33 But any of your men whom I do not cut off from My altar shall consume your eyes and grieve your heart. And all the descendants of your house shall die in the flower of their age. 34 Now this shall be (S)a sign to you that will come upon your two sons, on Hophni and Phinehas: (T)in one day they shall die, both of them. 35 Then (U)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who shall do according to what is in My heart and in My mind. (V)I will build him a sure house, and he shall walk before (W)My anointed forever. 36 (X)And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a morsel of bread, and say, “Please, [d]put me in one of the priestly positions, that I may eat a piece of bread.” ’ ”
A Man Healed at the Pool of Bethesda
5 After (A)this there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus (B)went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem (C)by the Sheep Gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, [a]Bethesda, having five porches. 3 In these lay a great multitude of sick people, blind, lame, [b]paralyzed, [c]waiting for the moving of the water. 4 For an angel went down at a certain time into the pool and stirred up the water; then whoever stepped in first, after the stirring of the water, was made well of whatever disease he had. 5 Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”
7 The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
8 Jesus said to him, (D)“Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.
And (E)that day was the Sabbath. 10 The Jews therefore said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath; (F)it is not lawful for you to carry your bed.”
11 He answered them, “He who made me well said to me, ‘Take up your bed and walk.’ ”
12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was (G)healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had withdrawn, a multitude being in that place. 14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. (H)Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.”
15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.
Honor the Father and the Son
16 For this reason the Jews (I)persecuted Jesus, [d]and sought to kill Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath. 17 But Jesus answered them, (J)“My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”
18 Therefore the Jews (K)sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, (L)making Himself equal with God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.