Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 135[a]
Praise of God, the Ruler and Benefactor of Israel
1 Hallelujah!
I
Praise the name of the Lord!
Praise, you servants of the Lord,(A)
2 Who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God!(B)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good!
Sing to his name, for it brings joy!
4 [b]For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his treasured possession.(C)
II
5 For I know that the Lord is great,
that our Lord is greater than all gods.(D)
6 Whatever the Lord desires
he does in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the depths.(E)
7 It is he who raises storm clouds from the end of the earth,
makes lightning for the rain,
and brings forth wind from his storehouse.(F)
III
8 He struck down Egypt’s firstborn,(G)
of human being and beast alike,
9 And sent signs and wonders against you, Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 It is he who struck down many nations,(H)
and slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
all the kings of Canaan—
12 And made their land a heritage,
a heritage for Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name is forever,
your renown, from generation to generation!(I)
14 For the Lord defends his people,
shows mercy to his servants.(J)
IV
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,(K)
the work of human hands.
16 They have mouths but do not speak;
they have eyes but do not see;
17 They have ears but do not hear;
nor is there breath in their mouths.
18 Their makers will become like them,
and anyone who trusts in them.
V
19 House of Israel, bless the Lord!(L)
House of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 House of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord from Zion,
who dwells in Jerusalem!
Hallelujah!
Chapter 8
1 In the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month,[a] as I was sitting in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there.(A) 2 I looked up and there was a figure that looked like a man.[b] Downward from what looked like his waist, there was fire; from his waist upward, like the brilliance of polished bronze.(B)
Vision of Abominations in the Temple. 3 He stretched out the form of a hand and seized me by the hair of my head. The spirit lifted me up[c] between earth and heaven and brought me in divine vision to Jerusalem(C) to the entrance of the inner gate facing north where the statue of jealousy that provokes jealousy stood. 4 There I saw the glory of the God of Israel, like the vision I had seen in the plain.(D) 5 He said to me: Son of man, lift your eyes to the north! I looked to the north and there in the entry north of the altar gate was this statue of jealousy.(E) 6 He asked, Son of man, do you see what they are doing? Do you see the great abominations that the house of Israel is practicing here, so that I must depart from my sanctuary? You shall see even greater abominations!(F)
7 Then he brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and there I saw a hole in the wall. 8 Son of man, he ordered, dig through the wall. I dug through the wall—there was a doorway. 9 Go in, he said to me, and see the evil abominations they are doing here. 10 I went in and looked—figures of all kinds of creeping things and loathsome beasts,[d] all the idols of the house of Israel,(G) pictured around the wall. 11 Before them stood seventy of the elders of the house of Israel. Among them stood Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, each with censer in hand; a cloud of incense drifted upward.(H) 12 Then he said to me: Do you see, son of man, what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his idol chamber? They think: “The Lord cannot see us; the Lord has forsaken the land.”(I) 13 He said: You will see them practicing even greater abominations.
14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the Lord. There women sat and wept for Tammuz.[e](J) 15 He said to me: Do you see this, son of man? You will see other abominations, greater than these!
16 Then he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. There at the door of the Lord’s temple, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs to the Lord’s temple and their faces toward the east; they were bowing eastward[f] to the sun.(K) 17 He said: Do you see, son of man? Are the abominable things the house of Judah has done here so slight that they should also fill the land with violence, provoking me again and again? Now they are putting the branch to my nose![g] 18 Therefore I in turn will act furiously: my eye will not spare, nor will I take pity. Even if they cry out in a loud voice for me to hear, I shall not listen to them.
26 Then the angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, “Get up and head south on the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, the desert route.” 27 So he got up and set out. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace,[a] that is, the queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury, who had come to Jerusalem to worship,(A) 28 and was returning home. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go and join up with that chariot.” 30 [b]Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone instructs me?” So he invited Philip to get in and sit with him.(B) 32 This was the scripture passage he was reading:(C)
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
33 In (his) humiliation justice was denied him.
Who will tell of his posterity?
For his life is taken from the earth.”
34 Then the eunuch said to Philip in reply, “I beg you, about whom is the prophet saying this? About himself, or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth and, beginning with this scripture passage, he proclaimed Jesus to him. 36 (D)As they traveled along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water. What is to prevent my being baptized?” [37 ][c] 38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and Philip and the eunuch both went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but continued on his way rejoicing.(E) 40 Philip came to Azotus, and went about proclaiming the good news to all the towns until he reached Caesarea.(F)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.