Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A Song of Praise

135 Praise the Lord! Praise the name of the Lord! Praise Him, O servants of the Lord, ² you who stand in the house of the Lord, within the walls of the house of our God. ³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good. Sing praises to His name, for it is sweet. ⁴ For the Lord has chosen Jacob for Himself. Israel belongs to Him.

⁵ I know that the Lord is great. He is greater than all gods. ⁶ The Lord does whatever is pleasing to Him, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and in all waters. ⁷ He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth. He makes lightning come with the rain. He brings the wind out from where He stores His riches.

⁸ He killed the first-born of Egypt, both man and animal. ⁹ He sent special things to see and did great works among you, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. ¹⁰ He crushed many nations and killed powerful kings, ¹¹ King Sihon of the Amorites, King Og of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. ¹² And He gave their land as a gift, a gift to Israel His people. ¹³ O Lord, Your name lasts forever. O Lord, You will be remembered for all time. ¹⁴ For the Lord will decide in favor of His people. He will have loving-pity on His servants. ¹⁵ The gods of the nations are silver and gold, made by the hands of men. ¹⁶ They have mouths but they do not speak. They have eyes but they do not see. ¹⁷ They have ears but they do not hear. And there is no breath in their mouths. ¹⁸ Those who make them and those who trust in them will be like them.

¹⁹ O house of Israel, give honor and thanks to the Lord. O house of Aaron, give honor and thanks to the Lord. ²⁰ O house of Levi, give honor and thanks to the Lord. You who fear the Lord, give honor and thanks to the Lord. ²¹ Honor and thanks be to the Lord from Zion, Who lives in Jerusalem. Praise the Lord!

Worshipers of False Gods

14 Then some leaders of Israel came and sat down in front of me. ² And the Word of the Lord came to me saying, ³ “Son of man, these men have taken false gods into their hearts. They have put in front of their faces the sin which is the cause of their fall. Should I let Myself be asked questions by them at all? ⁴ So speak to them and tell them, ‘The Lord God says, “Every man of Israel who has given his heart to false gods and lets them lead him into sin and then comes to the man of God, I the Lord will answer him, the answer that his many false gods should get, ⁵ that I may again have the hearts of the people of Israel who have left Me for their false gods.”’

⁶ “So tell the people of Israel, ‘The Lord God says, “Be sorry for your sins and turn away from your false gods. Turn your faces away from all your sinful ways. ⁷ If a man of Israel or a stranger living in Israel who turns away from Me and gives his heart to false gods, and worships them, and if he then comes to the man of God to get answers from Me, I the Lord will answer him Myself. ⁸ I will set My face against that man and make him something special to see and to speak against. I will cut him off from among My people. And you will know that I am the Lord. ⁹ But if the man who speaks in My name is given a false answer, it is I, the Lord, Who has caused him to speak. And I will put out My hand against him and destroy him from among My people Israel. ¹⁰ They will suffer the punishment of their sin. The man who asks the question and the man who speaks to him in My name will both be punished in the same way. ¹¹ This is so that the people of Israel may no longer turn away from Me, and no longer make themselves sinful with all their wrong-doing. They will be My people and I will be their God,”’ says the Lord God.”

Peter and John Heal a Man at the Gate of the House of God

3 Peter and John were going to the house of God about three o’clock. It was the time for prayer. ² Each day a certain man was carried to the Beautiful Gate of the house of God. This man had never been able to walk. He was there begging for money from those who were going in. ³ He asked Peter and John for money when he saw them going in. ⁴ Peter and John looked at him. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” ⁵ The man who could not walk looked at them. He thought he would get something from them. ⁶ Peter said, “I have no money, but what I have I will give you! In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up and walk!” ⁷ Peter took the man by the right hand and lifted him up. At once his feet and the bones in his legs became strong. ⁸ He jumped up on his feet and walked. Then he went into the house of God with them. He gave thanks to God as he walked.

⁹ All the people saw him walking and giving thanks to God. ¹⁰ They knew it was the man who had been sitting and begging at the Beautiful Gate. They were surprised he was walking.