Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Shout Praises to the Lord

Instructions for Ordaining Priests

(Leviticus 8.1-36)

The Lord said to Moses:

29 When you ordain Aaron and his sons to serve me as priests, choose a young bull and two rams that have nothing wrong with them. ² Then from your finest flour make three batches of dough without yeast. Shape some of it into larger loaves, some into smaller loaves mixed with olive oil, and the rest into thin wafers brushed with oil. ³ Put all of this bread in a basket and bring it when you come to sacrifice the three animals to me.

⁴ Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance of the sacred tent and tell them to wash themselves. ⁵ Dress Aaron in the priestly shirt, the robe that goes under the sacred vest, the vest itself, the breastpiece, and the sash. ⁶ Put on his turban with its narrow strip of engraved gold ⁷ and then ordain him by pouring olive oil on his head.

⁸ Next, dress Aaron's sons in their special shirts, ⁹ caps, and sashes,^[a] then ordain them, because they and their descendants will always be priests.

^6 (A) One day about noon I was getting close to Damascus, when a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking, “Saul, Saul, why are you so cruel to me?”

⁸ “Who are you?” I answered.

The Lord replied, “I am Jesus from Nazareth! I am the one you are so cruel to.” ⁹ Those who were traveling with me saw the light, but did not hear the voice.

¹⁰ I asked, “Lord, what do you want me to do?”

Then he told me, “Get up and go to Damascus. When you get there, you will be told what to do.” ¹¹ The light had been so bright that I couldn't see. And the others had to lead me by the hand to Damascus.

¹² In that city there was a man named Ananias, who faithfully obeyed the Law of Moses and was well liked by all the Jewish people living there. ¹³ He came to me and said, “Saul, my friend, you can now see again!”

At once I could see. ¹⁴ Then Ananias told me, “The God that our ancestors worshiped has chosen you to know what he wants done. He has chosen you to see the One Who Obeys God^[a] and to hear his voice. ¹⁵ You must tell everyone what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized, and wash away your sins by praying to the Lord.”

¹⁷ After this I returned to Jerusalem and went to the temple to pray. There I had a vision ¹⁸ of the Lord who said to me, “Hurry and leave Jerusalem! The people won't listen to what you say about me.”

¹⁹ I replied, “Lord, they know that in many of our synagogues I arrested and beat people who had faith in you. ^20 (B) Stephen was killed because he spoke for you, and I stood there and cheered them on. I even guarded the clothes of the men who murdered him.”

²¹ But the Lord told me to go, and he promised to send me far away to the Gentiles.