Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
11 These evil men swear to a lie. They accuse me of things I have never even heard about. 12 I do them good, but they return me harm. I am sinking down to death. 13 When they were ill, I mourned before the Lord in sackcloth, asking him to make them well; I refused to eat; I prayed for them with utmost earnestness, but God did not listen. 14 I went about sadly as though it were my mother, friend, or brother who was sick and nearing death. 15 But now that I am in trouble they are glad; they come together in meetings filled with slander against me—I didn’t even know some of those who were there. 16 For they gather with the worthless fellows of the town and spend their time cursing me.
17 Lord, how long will you stand there, doing nothing? Act now and rescue me, for I have but one life and these young lions are out to get it. 18 Save me, and I will thank you publicly before the entire congregation, before the largest crowd I can find.
19 Don’t give victory to those who fight me without any reason! Don’t let them rejoice[a] at my fall—let them die. 20 They don’t talk of peace and doing good, but of plots against innocent men who are minding their own business. 21 They shout that they have seen me doing wrong! “Aha!” they say. “With our own eyes we saw him do it.” 22 Lord, you know all about it. Don’t stay silent! Don’t desert me now!
23 Rise up, O Lord my God; vindicate me. 24 Declare me “not guilty,” for you are just.[b] Don’t let my enemies rejoice over me in my troubles. 25 Don’t let them say, “Aha! Our dearest wish against him will soon be fulfilled!” and, “At last we have him!” 26 Shame them; let these who boast against me and who rejoice at my troubles be themselves overcome by misfortune that strips them bare of everything they own. Bare them to dishonor. 27 But give great joy to all who wish me well. Let them shout with delight, “Great is the Lord who enjoys helping his child!”[c] 28 And I will tell everyone how great and good you are; I will praise you all day long.
35 Now Moses called a meeting of all the people and told them, “These are the laws of Jehovah you must obey.
2 “Work six days only; the seventh day is a day of solemn rest, a holy day to be used to worship Jehovah; anyone working on that day must die. 3 Don’t even light the fires in your homes that day.”
4 Then Moses said to all the people, “This is what the Lord has commanded: 5-9 All of you who wish to, all those with generous hearts, may bring these offerings to Jehovah:
Gold, silver, and bronze;
Blue, purple, and scarlet cloth, made of fine-twined linen or of goats’ hair;
Tanned rams’ skins and specially treated goatskins;
Acacia wood;
Olive oil for the lamps;
Spices for the anointing oil and for the incense;
Onyx stones and stones to be used for the ephod and chestpiece.
10-19 “Come, all of you who are skilled craftsmen having special talents, and construct what God has commanded us:
The Tabernacle-tent, and its coverings, clasps, frames, bars, pillars, and bases;
The Ark and its poles;
The place of mercy;
The curtain to enclose the Holy Place;
The table, its carrying poles, and all of its utensils;
The Bread of the Presence;
Lamp holders, with lamps and oil;
The incense altar and its carrying poles;
The anointing oil and sweet incense;
The curtain for the door of the Tabernacle;
The altar for the burnt offerings;
The bronze grating of the altar, and its carrying poles and utensils;
The basin with its pedestal;
The drapes for the walls of the court;
The pillars and their bases;
Drapes for the entrance to the court;
The posts of the Tabernacle court, and their cords;
The beautiful clothing for the priests, to be used when ministering in the Holy Place;
The holy garments for Aaron the priest, and for his sons.”
20 So all the people went to their tents to prepare their gifts. 21 Those whose hearts were stirred by God’s Spirit returned with their offerings of materials for the Tabernacle, its equipment, and for the holy garments. 22 Both men and women came, all who had willing hearts. They brought to the Lord their offerings of gold, jewelry—earrings, rings from their fingers, necklaces—and gold objects of every kind. 23 Others brought blue, purple, and scarlet cloth made from the fine-twined linen or goats’ hair; and rams’ skins dyed red, and specially treated goatskins. 24 Others brought silver and bronze as their offering to the Lord; and some brought the acacia wood needed in the construction.
25 The women skilled in sewing and spinning prepared blue, purple, and scarlet thread and cloth, and fine-twined linen, and brought them in. 26 Some other women gladly used their special skill to spin the goats’ hair into cloth. 27 The leaders brought onyx stones to be used for the ephod and the chestpiece; 28 and spices, and oil—for the light, and for compounding the anointing oil and the sweet incense. 29 So the people of Israel—every man and woman who wanted to assist in the work given to them by the Lord’s command to Moses—brought their freewill offerings to him.
9-10 The next day as they were nearing the city, Peter went up on the flat roof of his house to pray. It was noon and he was hungry, but while lunch was being prepared, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the sky open and a great canvas sheet,[a] suspended by its four corners, settle to the ground. 12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, snakes, and birds forbidden to the Jews for food.[b]
13 Then a voice said to him, “Go kill and eat any of them you wish.”
14 “Never, Lord,” Peter declared, “I have never in all my life eaten such creatures, for they are forbidden by our Jewish laws.”
15 The voice spoke again, “Don’t contradict God! If he says something is kosher, then it is.”
16 The same vision was repeated three times. Then the sheet was pulled up again to heaven.
17 Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? What was he supposed to do?
Just then the men sent by Cornelius had found the house and were standing outside at the gate, 18 inquiring whether this was the place where Simon Peter lived!
19 Meanwhile, as Peter was puzzling over the vision, the Holy Spirit said to him, “Three men have come to see you. 20 Go down and meet them and go with them. All is well, I have sent them.”
21 So Peter went down. “I’m the man you’re looking for,” he said. “Now what is it you want?”
22 Then they told him about Cornelius the Roman officer, a good and godly man, well thought of by the Jews, and how an angel had instructed him to send for Peter to come and tell him what God wanted him to do.
23 So Peter invited them in and lodged them overnight.
The next day he went with them, accompanied by some other believers from Joppa.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.