Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to God in Creation and Redemption
135 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
(A)Praise Him, O you servants of the Lord!
2 (B)You who stand in the house of the Lord,
In (C)the courts of the house of our God,
3 Praise the Lord, for (D)the Lord is good;
Sing praises to His name, (E)for it is pleasant.
4 For (F)the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself,
Israel for His [a]special treasure.
5 For I know that (G)the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.
6 (H)Whatever the Lord pleases He does,
In heaven and in earth,
In the seas and in all deep places.
7 (I)He causes the [b]vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;
(J)He makes lightning for the rain;
He brings the wind out of His (K)treasuries.
8 (L)He [c]destroyed the firstborn of Egypt,
[d]Both of man and beast.
9 (M)He sent signs and wonders into the midst of you, O Egypt,
(N)Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.
10 (O)He defeated many nations
And slew mighty kings—
11 Sihon king of the Amorites,
Og king of Bashan,
And (P)all the kingdoms of Canaan—
12 (Q)And gave their land as a [e]heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.
13 (R)Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
Your fame, O Lord, throughout all generations.
14 (S)For the Lord will judge His people,
And He will have compassion on His servants.
15 (T)The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
19 (U)Bless the Lord, O house of Israel!
Bless the Lord, O house of Aaron!
20 Bless the Lord, O house of Levi!
You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!
21 Blessed be the Lord (V)out of Zion,
Who dwells in Jerusalem!
Praise the Lord!
Idolatry Will Be Punished
14 Now (A)some of the elders of Israel came to me and sat before me. 2 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 3 “Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them (B)that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. (C)Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?
4 “Therefore speak to them, and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, and then comes to the prophet, I the Lord will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols, 5 that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols.” ’
6 “Therefore say to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Repent, turn away from your idols, and (D)turn your faces away from all your abominations. 7 For anyone of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who dwell in Israel, who separates himself from Me and sets up his idols in his heart and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity, then comes to a prophet to inquire of him concerning Me, I the Lord will answer him by Myself. 8 (E)I will set My face against that man and make him a (F)sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people. (G)Then you shall know that I am the Lord.
9 “And if the prophet is induced to speak anything, I the Lord (H)have induced that prophet, and I will stretch out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. 10 And they shall bear their iniquity; the punishment of the prophet shall be the same as the punishment of the one who inquired, 11 that the house of Israel may (I)no longer stray from Me, nor be profaned anymore with all their transgressions, (J)but that they may be My people and I may be their God,” says the Lord God.’ ”
A Lame Man Healed
3 Now Peter and John went up together (A)to the temple at the hour of prayer, (B)the ninth hour. 2 And (C)a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, (D)to [a]ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3 who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4 And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5 So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: (E)In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7 And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8 So he, (F)leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9 (G)And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10 Then they knew that it was he who (H)sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.