Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Saves, Idols Do Not
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord.
Praise him, you servants of the Lord.
2 Praise him, you who stand in the Lord’s Temple
and in the Temple courtyards.
3 Praise the Lord, because he is good.
Sing praises to him, because it is pleasant.
4 The Lord has chosen the people of Jacob for himself.
He has chosen the people of Israel for his very own.
5 I know that the Lord is great.
Our Lord is greater than all the gods.
6 The Lord does what he wants,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and the deep oceans.
7 He brings the clouds from the ends of the earth.
He sends the lightning with the rain.
He brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8 He destroyed the firstborn sons in Egypt,
the firstborn of both men and animals.
9 He did many signs and miracles in Egypt.
He did amazing things to the king and his servants.
10 He defeated many nations
and killed powerful kings:
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan
and all the kings of Canaan.
12 Then he gave their land as a gift.
It was a gift to his people, the Israelites.
13 Lord, your name is everlasting.
Lord, you will be remembered from now on.
14 You defend your people.
You have mercy on your servants.
15 The idols of other nations are made of silver and gold.
They are made by human hands.
16 They have mouths, but they cannot speak.
They have eyes, but they cannot see.
17 They have ears, but they cannot hear.
They have no breath in their mouths.
18 The people who make idols and trust them
are all like them.
19 Family of Israel, praise the Lord.
Family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 Family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You people who fear the Lord should praise him.
21 You people of Jerusalem, praise the Lord on Mount Zion.
Praise the Lord!
Stop Worshiping Idols
14 Some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me. 2 Then the Lord spoke his word to me. He said: 3 “Human being, these men love to worship idols. They put up evil things that cause people to sin. Should I allow them to ask me for help? 4 So speak to them. Tell them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: Any person in Israel might want to worship idols. He might even put up evil things that cause people to sin. Then he might come to the prophet. When he does, I, the Lord, will answer him. I will put him to death because he worshiped idols. 5 Then I will win back my people Israel. They have left me because of all their idols.’
6 “So say this to the people of Israel: ‘This is what the Lord God says: Change your hearts and lives. Stop worshiping idols. Stop doing all the things I hate. 7 Any Israelite or any foreigner in Israel can separate himself from me. He can do this by wanting to worship idols. Or he can put up the things that cause people to sin. Then if he comes to the prophet to ask me questions, I, the Lord, will answer him myself. 8 I will reject him. I will make him a sign and an example. I will separate him from my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
9 “‘But the prophet may be tricked into giving a prophecy. Then it is because I, the Lord, have tricked that prophet to speak. Then I will use my power against him. I will destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 The prophet will be as guilty as the one who asks him for help. They both will be responsible for their guilt. 11 Then the nation of Israel will not leave me anymore. And they will not make themselves unclean anymore with all their sins. Then they will be my people. And I will be their God, says the Lord God.’”
Peter Heals a Crippled Man
3 One day Peter and John went to the Temple. It was three o’clock in the afternoon. This was the time for the daily prayer service. 2 There, at the Temple gate called Beautiful Gate, was a man who had been crippled all his life. Every day he was carried to this gate to beg. He would ask for money from the people going into the Temple. 3 The man saw Peter and John going into the Temple and asked them for money. 4 Peter and John looked straight at him and said, “Look at us!” 5 The man looked at them; he thought they were going to give him some money. 6 But Peter said, “I don’t have any silver or gold, but I do have something else I can give you: By the power of Jesus Christ from Nazareth—stand up and walk!” 7 Then Peter took the man’s right hand and lifted him up. Immediately the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. He went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9-10 All the people recognized him. They knew he was the crippled man who always sat by the Beautiful Gate begging for money. Now they saw this same man walking and praising God. The people were amazed. They could not understand how this could happen.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.