Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Your Name, O Lord, Endures For Ever
135 (A)Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord,
give praise, O (B)servants of the Lord,
2 who (C)stand in the house of the Lord,
in (D)the courts of the house of our God!
3 Praise the Lord, for (E)the Lord is good;
sing to his name, (F)for it is pleasant![a]
4 For the Lord has (G)chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his (H)own possession.
5 For I know that (I)the Lord is great,
and that our Lord is above all gods.
6 (J)Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7 (K)He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who (L)makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his (M)storehouses.
8 He it was who (N)struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both of man and of beast;
9 who in your midst, O Egypt,
sent (O)signs and wonders
against Pharaoh and all his servants;
10 (P)who struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings,
11 (Q)Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and (R)Og, king of Bashan,
and (S)all the kingdoms of Canaan,
12 and (T)gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13 (U)Your name, O Lord, endures for ever,
(V)your renown,[b] O Lord, throughout all ages.
14 (W)For the Lord will vindicate his people
and (X)have compassion on his servants.
15 (Y)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
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 any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them become like them,
so do all who trust in them!
19 (Z)O house of Israel, bless the Lord!
O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!
20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord (AA)from Zion,
he who (AB)dwells in Jerusalem!
(AC)Praise the Lord!
Idolatrous Elders Condemned
14 Then certain of the (A)elders of Israel came to me (B)and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 (C)“Son of man, these men have taken their idols into their hearts, and set (D)the stumbling block of their iniquity before their faces. (E)Should I indeed let myself be consulted by them? 4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: Any one of the house of Israel who takes his idols into his heart and sets the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to the prophet, (F)I the Lord will answer him as he comes with the multitude of his idols, 5 (G)that I may lay hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, (H)who are all estranged from me through their idols.
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: (I)Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations. 7 For any one of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel, (J)who separates himself from me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity before his face, and yet comes to a prophet to consult me through him, (K)I the Lord will answer him myself. 8 And (L)I will set my face against that man; I (M)will make him a sign and a byword (N)and cut him off from the midst of my people, (O)and you shall know that I am the Lord. 9 And if the prophet is deceived and speaks a word, (P)I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their punishment[a]—the punishment of the prophet and the punishment of the enquirer shall be alike— 11 that the house of Israel may no more go astray from me, nor (Q)defile themselves any more with all their transgressions, (R)but that they may be my people and I may be their God, declares the Lord God.”
The Lame Beggar Healed
3 Now Peter and John were (A)going up to the temple at (B)the hour of prayer, (C)the ninth hour.[a] 2 And a man (D)lame from birth was being carried, (E)whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate (F)to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, (G)“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. (H)In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 And (I)leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 And (J)all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.