Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 135[a]
135 Praise the Lord.
Praise the name of the Lord.
Offer praise, you servants of the Lord,
2 who serve[b] in the Lord’s temple,
in the courts of the temple of our God.
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good.
Sing praises to his name, for it is pleasant.[c]
4 Indeed,[d] the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel to be his special possession.[e]
5 Yes,[f] I know the Lord is great,
and our Lord is superior to all gods.
6 He does whatever he pleases
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all the ocean depths.
7 He causes the clouds to arise from the end of the earth,
makes lightning bolts accompany the rain,
and brings the wind out of his storehouses.
8 He struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
including both men and animals.
9 He performed awesome deeds[g] and acts of judgment[h]
in your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 He defeated many nations,
and killed mighty kings—
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan.
12 He gave their land as an inheritance,
as an inheritance to Israel his people.
13 O Lord, your name endures,[i]
your reputation, O Lord, lasts.[j]
14 For the Lord vindicates[k] his people,
and has compassion on his servants.[l]
15 The nations’ idols are made of silver and gold;
they are man-made.[m]
16 They have mouths, but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see,
17 and ears, but cannot hear.
Indeed, they cannot breathe.[n]
18 Those who make them will end up[o] like them,
as will everyone who trusts in them.
19 O family[p] of Israel, praise the Lord.
O family of Aaron, praise the Lord.
20 O family of Levi, praise the Lord.
You loyal followers[q] of the Lord, praise the Lord.
21 The Lord deserves praise in Zion[r]—
he who dwells in Jerusalem.
Praise the Lord.
Well-Deserved Judgment
14 Then some men from Israel’s elders came to me and sat down in front of me. 2 The Lord’s message came to me: 3 “Son of man, these men have erected their idols in their hearts and placed the obstacle leading to their iniquity[a] right before their faces. Should I really allow them to seek[b] me? 4 Therefore speak to them and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When anyone from the house of Israel erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally according to the enormity of his idolatry.[c] 5 I will do this in order to capture the hearts of the house of Israel, who have alienated themselves from me on account of all their idols.’
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Return! Turn from your idols, and turn your faces away from your abominations. 7 For when anyone from the house of Israel, or the resident foreigner[d] who lives in Israel, separates himself from me and erects his idols in his heart and sets the obstacle leading to his iniquity before his face, and then consults a prophet to seek something from me, I the Lord am determined to answer him personally. 8 I will set my face against that person and will make him an object lesson and a byword[e] and will cut him off from among my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.
9 “‘As for the prophet, if he is made a fool by being deceived into speaking a prophetic word—I, the Lord, have made a fool of[f] that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and destroy him from among my people Israel. 10 They will bear their punishment;[g] the punishment of the one who sought an oracle will be the same as the punishment of the prophet who gave it[h] 11 so that the house of Israel will no longer go astray from me, nor continue to defile themselves by all their sins. They will be my people, and I will be their God,[i] declares the Sovereign Lord.’”
Peter and John Heal a Lame Man at the Temple
3 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time[a] for prayer,[b] at three o’clock in the afternoon.[c] 2 And a man lame[d] from birth[e] was being carried up, who was placed at the temple gate called “the Beautiful Gate” every day[f] so he could beg for money[g] from those going into the temple courts.[h] 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple courts,[i] he asked them for money.[j] 4 Peter looked directly[k] at him (as did John) and said, “Look at us!” 5 So the lame man[l] paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver or gold,[m] but what I do have I give you. In the name[n] of Jesus Christ[o] the Nazarene, stand up and[p] walk!” 7 Then[q] Peter[r] took hold[s] of him by the right hand and raised him up, and at once the man’s[t] feet and ankles were made strong.[u] 8 He[v] jumped up,[w] stood and began walking around, and he entered the temple courts[x] with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All[y] the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 and they recognized him as the man who used to sit and ask for donations[z] at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with astonishment and amazement[aa] at what had happened to him.
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