Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
11 ·Men without mercy stand up to testify [L Violent witnesses rise up].
They ask me things I do not know.
12 They repay me with evil for the good I have done,
and ·they make me very sad [my soul is bereaved].
13 Yet when they were sick, I put on ·clothes of sadness [sackcloth; burlap]
and showed my sorrow by fasting.
But my prayers ·were not answered [L turned back on my bosom].
14 I acted as if they were my ·friends [or neighbors] or brothers.
I ·bowed in sadness as if I were crying [went around as if mourning] for my mother.
15 But when I ·was in trouble [stumbled], they gathered and laughed;
they gathered to attack before I knew it.
They ·insulted [tore at] me without stopping.
16 They made fun of me and were cruel to me
and ·ground [gnashed] their teeth at me in anger.
17 Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
Save my life from their attacks;
·save me from these people who are like [L my life from the] lions.
18 I will ·praise [thank] you in the great ·meeting [assembly].
I will praise you among ·crowds of people [the mighty crowd/throng].
19 Do not let my enemies ·laugh at [rejoice over] me;
they hate me for no reason.
Do not let them ·make fun of me [L wink their eye at me; C a reference to secretive plans or magic; Prov. 6:12–13];
they have no cause to hate me.
20 Their words are not ·friendly [peaceful]
but are lies ·about [or against] ·peace-loving people [L the quiet in the land].
21 They ·speak against me [L open their mouths]
and say, “Aha! ·We saw what you did [Our eyes have seen it]!”
22 Lord, you have been watching. Do not keep quiet.
Lord, do not ·leave me alone [L be far from me].
23 Wake up! ·Come [Arouse yourself] and ·defend [vindicate; show justice to] me!
My God and Lord, ·fight [contend] for me!
24 Lord my God, ·defend [vindicate] me with your justice.
Don’t let them ·laugh at [rejoice over] me.
25 Don’t let them ·think [L say in their hearts], “Aha! We got what we wanted!”
Don’t let them say, “We ·destroyed [L swallowed] him.”
26 Let them be ashamed and ·embarrassed [humiliated],
because they ·were happy [rejoiced] when I hurt.
·Cover [L Clothe] them with shame and disgrace,
because they thought they were better than I was.
27 May ·my friends [L those who want my vindication] sing and shout for joy.
May they always say, “Praise the greatness of the Lord,
who ·loves [delights; takes pleasure] to see ·his servants do well [L the peace/prosperity of his servant].”
28 ·I [L My tongue] will tell of your goodness
and will praise you every day.
Rules About the Sabbath
35 Moses ·gathered [assembled] all the ·Israelite community [congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel] together and said to them, “·These are the things [L This is the word/thing] the Lord has commanded you to do. 2 You are to work for six days, but the seventh day will be a holy ·day [Sabbath], a Sabbath of rest to honor the Lord. Anyone who works on that day must be put to death. 3 On the Sabbath day you must not ·light [burn] a fire in any of your ·houses [dwellings].”
4 Moses said to all the ·Israelites [community/congregation/assembly of the sons/T children of Israel], “This is ·what [L the word/thing] the Lord has commanded: 5 From what you have, take ·an offering [tribute] for the Lord. Let everyone ·who is willing [whose heart moves them] bring this ·offering [tribute] to the Lord: gold, silver, bronze, 6 blue, purple and ·red [scarlet] thread, and fine linen, goat hair 7 and male sheepskins that are colored red. They may also bring ·fine leather [or sea cow/porpoise hides], acacia wood, 8 olive oil for the lamps, spices for the special olive oil used for ·appointing priests [anointing] and for the sweet-smelling incense, 9 onyx stones, and other jewels to be put on the ·holy vest [ephod; 28:6–14] and ·chest covering of the priests [breastpiece; 28:15–30].
10 “Let all the ·skilled workers [L wise of heart/mind] come and make everything the Lord commanded: 11 the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle], its outer tent and its covering, the ·hooks [clasps], frames, crossbars, ·posts [pillars], and bases; 12 the ·Ark of the Agreement [L Ark; 25:10], its poles, ·lid [mercy seat; atonement cover; 25:17–22], and the curtain ·in front of it [L for the screen]; 13 the table [25:23–30], and its poles, all ·the things that go with the table [L its tools/utensils], and the ·bread that shows we are in God’s presence [L Bread of the Presence]; 14 the ·lampstand [L Menorah; 25:31–40] for the light and all ·the things that go with it [its tools/utensils], the lamps, and olive oil for the light; 15 the altar of incense [30:1–6] and its poles, the ·special [L anointing] oil and the sweet-smelling incense, the ·curtain [L screen for the entrance,] for the entrance of the Meeting Tent; 16 the altar of burnt offering and its bronze ·screen [grating], its poles and all its ·tools [utensils], the bronze bowl and its base [30:17–21]; 17 the curtains around the courtyard, their ·posts [pillars] and bases, and the ·curtain [screen] at the ·entry [L gate] to the courtyard; 18 the pegs of the ·Holy Tent [Tabernacle] and of the courtyard and their ropes; 19 the ·special [elaborately sewn] clothes that the priest will wear in the Holy Place [28:1–43]. These are the holy clothes for Aaron the priest and his sons to wear when they ·serve [minister] as priests.”
20 Then all the ·people [L community; congregation; assembly] of ·Israel [L the sons/T children of Israel] went ·away [out] from Moses. 21 Everyone ·who wanted to give [L whose heart was favorable and whose spirit was willing] came and brought a ·gift [offering] to the Lord for making the Meeting Tent, all ·the things in the Tent [its service], and the ·special [L holy; sacred] clothes. 22 All the men and women who wanted to give brought gold jewelry of all kinds—pins, earrings, rings, and bracelets. They all ·presented their [L waved a wave offering of] gold to the Lord. 23 Everyone who had blue, purple, and ·red [scarlet] thread, and fine linen, and anyone who had goat hair or male ·sheepskins [ramskins] colored red or ·fine leather [or sea cow/porpoise hides] brought them to the Lord. 24 Everyone who could give silver or bronze brought that as a ·gift [offering] to the Lord, and everyone who had acacia wood to be used in the work brought it. 25 Every ·skilled woman [L wise of heart/mind] used her hands to ·make [L spin] the blue, purple, and ·red [scarlet] thread, and fine linen, and they brought what they had ·made [L spun]. 26 All the women who were ·skilled [wise] and ·wanted to help [L whose hearts were favorable] ·made thread of [L spun] the goat hair. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones and other jewels ·to put on the holy vest [L for the ephod; 28:6–14] and ·chest covering for the priest [breastpiece; 28:15–28]. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil for the sweet-smelling incense, the ·special [L anointing] oil, and the oil to burn in the lamps. 29 All the men and women of Israel ·who wanted [L whose hearts were favorable] to help brought ·gifts [L a free will offering] to the Lord for all the work the Lord had commanded Moses and the people to do.
9 About ·noon [L the sixth hour] the next day as they ·came near Joppa [L journeyed and drew near the city], Peter was going up to the roof [C in ancient Israel flat roofs were used as living spaces and for storage] to pray. 10 He was hungry and wanted to eat, but while the food was being prepared, he ·had a vision [or fell into a trance]. 11 He saw heaven opened and ·something [an object] coming down that looked like a big sheet being lowered to earth by its four corners. 12 In it were all kinds of ·animals [L four-footed creatures], reptiles, and birds [L of the air/sky]. 13 Then a voice said to Peter, “Get up, Peter; kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “·No [Absolutely not], Lord! I have never eaten food that is ·unholy [profane; common] or ·unclean [ritually defiled; C the OT food laws differentiated Israelites from Gentiles; Lev. 11; Ezek. 4:13–15].”
15 But the voice said to him again, “God has made these things clean, so don’t call them ·‘unholy’ [‘profane’; ‘common’]!” 16 This happened three times, and at once the ·sheet [L object; thing] was taken back to heaven.
17 While Peter was ·wondering [perplexed about] what this vision meant, [L look; T behold] the men Cornelius sent had found Simon’s house and were standing at the gate. 18 They asked, “Is ·Simon Peter [L Simon who is called Peter] staying [as a guest] here?”
19 While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “·Listen [L Look; T Behold], three men are looking for you. 20 [So; L But] Get up and go downstairs. Go with them without ·doubting [or hesitation], because I have sent them to you.”
21 So Peter went down to the men and said, “I am the one you are ·looking [searching] for. Why did you come here?”
22 They said, “A holy angel spoke to Cornelius, ·an army officer [L a centurion] and a ·good [righteous] man; he ·worships [L fears] God. ·All the people [L The whole Jewish nation] ·respect [speak well of; L testify to] him. The angel told Cornelius to ask you to come to his house so that he can hear what you have to say.” 23 So Peter ·asked [invited] the men to come in and ·spend the night [L entertained them as guests; C an unusual gesture, since Jews would not normally invite Gentiles into their homes].
The next day Peter got ·ready [up] and went with them, and some of the ·followers [Jewish believers; L brothers] from Joppa joined him.
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