Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord

Aaron and His Sons Consecrated^(A)

29 “And this is what you shall do to them to hallow them for ministering to Me as priests: ^(B)Take one young bull and two rams without blemish, ² and ^(C)unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil (you shall make them of wheat flour). ³ You shall put them in one basket and bring them in the basket, with the bull and the two rams.

⁴ “And Aaron and his sons you shall bring to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, ^(D)and you shall wash them with water. ^5 (E)Then you shall take the garments, put the tunic on Aaron, and the robe of the ephod, the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with ^(F)the intricately woven band of the ephod. ^6 (G)You shall put the turban on his head, and put the holy crown on the turban. ⁷ And you shall take the anointing ^(H)oil, pour it on his head, and anoint him. ⁸ Then ^(I)you shall bring his sons and put tunics on them. ⁹ And you shall gird them with sashes, Aaron and his sons, and put the hats on them. ^(J)The priesthood shall be theirs for a perpetual statute. So you shall ^(K)consecrate Aaron and his sons.

⁶ “Now ^(A)it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. ⁷ And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ ⁸ So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’

⁹ “And ^(B)those who were with me indeed saw the light ^[a]and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. ¹⁰ So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’ ¹¹ And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

¹² “Then ^(C)a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, ^(D)having a good testimony with all the ^(E)Jews who dwelt there, ¹³ came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. ¹⁴ Then he said, ^(F)‘The God of our fathers ^(G)has chosen you that you should ^(H)know His will, and ^(I)see the Just One, ^(J)and hear the voice of His mouth. ^15 (K)For you will be His witness to all men of ^(L)what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, ^(M)and wash away your sins, ^(N)calling on the name of the Lord.’

¹⁷ “Now ^(O)it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance ¹⁸ and ^(P)saw Him saying to me, ^(Q)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’ ¹⁹ So I said, ‘Lord, ^(R)they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and ^(S)beat those who believe on You. ^20 (T)And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by ^(U)consenting ^[b]to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ ²¹ Then He said to me, ‘Depart, ^(V)for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”