Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song to praise God

14 Some of the leaders of Israel came to talk to me. They sat down in front of me. ² Then the Lord gave this message to me: ³ ‘Son of man, these men like to worship idols. They allow those idols to cause them to do wicked things. So I should not allow them to ask me anything. ⁴ You must speak to them. Say, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: One of these men who like to worships idols may want to ask me something. Those men allow their idols to cause them to do wicked things. So if one of them goes to a prophet to find out something, I will give him an answer! I will give him the answer that he deserves because of his many idols! ⁵ Israel's people have turned away from me because of their idols. So I will give them an answer that will bring them back to worship me.” 

⁶ Say to Israel's people, “This is what the Almighty Lord says: Turn back to me and stop worshipping idols. Stop doing the disgusting things that you have been doing.”

⁷ An Israelite or a foreigner who lives in Israel may not want to serve me. He may choose to worship idols and do wicked things. If anyone like that goes to a prophet to find out something from me, I will answer him. Yes, I myself, the Lord, will answer him! ⁸ I will be that person's enemy. I will punish him to make him an example to others. Other people will see that he is not good. I will not allow him to belong to my people. Then you will know that I am the Lord.

⁹ I will also punish the prophet himself if he gives a false message. I, the Lord, have deceived him to show that he is a fool. And I will punish him. I will remove him from among my people, Israel's people. ¹⁰ I will punish both the prophet and the person who asked him for a message. They will both have the same punishment. ¹¹ I will do that to bring back Israel's people to serve me. They will not continue to make themselves unclean because of all their sins. They will be my people and I will be their God. That is what the Almighty Lord says.’

A man walks again!

3 One day, Peter and John went to the temple in Jerusalem. It was three o'clock in the afternoon. This was the time that everyone went there to pray. ² There was a man who could not walk. He had never been able to walk. Every day, his friends put him at the gate of the temple. It was called the Beautiful Gate. As people were going in through the gate, the man asked them for money. His friends were carrying him there when Peter and John arrived. ³ The man saw Peter and John as they were coming through the gate. So he asked them to give him some money. ⁴ Peter looked carefully at the man and so did John. Peter said to him, ‘Look at us!’ ⁵ So the man looked at Peter and John. He thought that they would give him some money.

⁶ Then Peter said to the man, ‘I do not have any money. But I do have something else that I will give to you. Jesus Christ from Nazareth gave me authority to do this. So now I tell you to walk!’ ⁷ Peter held the man's right hand and he helped him to stand up. Immediately the man's feet and ankles became strong. ⁸ The man jumped up and he stood on his feet. Then he began to walk about. He went into the temple with Peter and John. He was walking and jumping and he was praising God. ⁹ A large crowd of people were there. They saw the man walking. They heard him praising God. ¹⁰ ‘Look!’ they said. ‘We know this man. He usually sits at the Beautiful Gate of the temple and he asks people for money. What has happened to him?’ They were all very surprised.