Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 135
1 Hallelujah!
Praise the name of Yahweh.
Praise him, you servants of Yahweh
2 who are standing in the house of Yahweh,
in the courtyards of the house of our Elohim.
3 Praise Yah because Yahweh is good.
Make music to praise his name because his name is beautiful.
4 Yah chose Jacob to be his own
and chose Israel to be his own special treasure.
5 I know that Yahweh is great,
that our Adonay is greater than all the false gods.
6 Yahweh does whatever he wants in heaven or on earth,
on the seas or in all the depths of the oceans.
7 He is the one who makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth,
who makes lightning for the thunderstorms,
and who brings wind out of his storerooms.
8 He is the one who killed every firstborn male in Egypt.
He killed humans and animals alike.
9 He sent miraculous signs and amazing things into the heart of Egypt
against Pharaoh and all his officials.
10 He is the one who defeated many nations and killed mighty kings:
11 King Sihon of the Amorites,
King Og of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms in Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
an inheritance to his people Israel.
13 O Yahweh, your name endures forever.
O Yahweh, you will be remembered throughout every generation.
14 Yahweh will provide justice for his people
and have compassion on his servants.
15 The idols of the nations are made of silver and gold.
They were made by human hands.[a]
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They cannot breathe.
18 Those who make idols end up like them.
So does everyone who trusts them.
19 Descendants of Israel, praise Yahweh.
Descendants of Aaron, praise Yahweh.
20 Descendants of Levi, praise Yahweh.
You people who fear Yahweh, praise Yahweh.
21 Thank Yahweh in Zion.
Thank the one who lives in Jerusalem.
Hallelujah!
Idolatry in Jerusalem
8 On the fifth day of the sixth month in the sixth year, I was sitting in my home. Judah’s leaders were sitting in front of me. The power of Adonay Yahweh came over me. 2 As I looked, I saw something that looked like a human. From the waist down its body looked like fire, and from the waist up its body looked like glowing metal. 3 It stretched out what looked like a hand and grabbed me by the hair on my head. In these visions from Elohim, the Ruach carried me between heaven and earth. He took me to Jerusalem, to the entrance to the north gate of the inner courtyard of the temple. That was where an idol that stirs up God’s anger was located. 4 There I saw the glory of Israel’s Elohim as I did in the vision that I saw in the valley.
5 Elohim said to me, “Son of man, look toward the north.” So I looked toward the north, and there in the entrance to the north gate beside the altar, I saw the idol that stirs up God’s anger.
6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the people of Israel are doing? The people of Israel are doing very disgusting things here, things that will force me to go far away from my holy place. But you will see even more disgusting things.”
7 Then he took me to the entrance of the courtyard. As I looked, I saw a hole in the wall. 8 He said to me, “Son of man, dig through the wall.” So I dug through the wall, and I saw a door.
9 He said to me, “Go in, and see the wicked, disgusting things that the people of Israel are doing here.” 10 So I went in and looked. I saw that the walls were covered with drawings of every kind of crawling creature, every kind of disgusting animal, and all the idols in the nation of Israel. 11 In front of these drawings stood 70 of Israel’s leaders. Jaazaniah, son of Shaphan, was standing with the leaders. Each of them was holding an incense burner in his hand, and a cloud of incense went up.
12 Elohim asked me, “Son of man, do you see what the leaders of the nation of Israel are doing in secret? Each of them is in the room where his god is, and each one of them is thinking, ‘Yahweh doesn’t see me. Yahweh has abandoned this land.’”
13 Then he said to me, “You will see even more disgusting things that they are doing.”
14 He brought me to the entrance of the north gate of Yahweh’s temple. Women were sitting there and crying for the god Tammuz. 15 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? You will see even more disgusting things than these.”
16 Then he brought me into the inner courtyard of Yahweh’s temple. There at the entrance to Yahweh’s temple, between the entrance and the altar, were about 25 men who had their backs turned to Yahweh’s temple. They were facing east and worshiping the rising sun. 17 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this? Isn’t it bad enough that the people of Judah have done these disgusting things that you have seen here? Yet, they also fill the land with violence and continue to provoke me even more. Look how they insult me in the worst possible way.[a] 18 So I will take action because I’m angry, and I won’t have compassion for them or feel sorry for them. Even if they shout in my ears, I won’t listen to them.”
Philip Tells an Ethiopian about Jesus
26 An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So Philip went.
An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. 28 As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.
29 The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”
30 Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”
31 The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.
32 This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:
“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He was like a sheep that is silent
when its wool is cut off.
He didn’t open his mouth.
33 When he humbled himself,
he was not judged fairly.
Who from his generation
will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”
34 The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Yeshua.
36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?”[a] 38 The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. 39 When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.
40 Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.