Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 135
Praise for God’s Goodness and Might
1 Praise the Lord!
Praise the name of the Lord;
give praise, O servants of the Lord,
2 you who stand in the house of the Lord,
in the courts of the house of our God.(A)
3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious.(B)
4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.(C)
5 For I know that the Lord is great;
our Lord is above all gods.(D)
6 Whatever the Lord pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.(E)
7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.(F)
8 He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
both humans and animals;(G)
9 he sent signs and wonders
into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.(H)
10 He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings—(I)
11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan—(J)
12 and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.(K)
13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,
your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.(L)
14 For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants.(M)
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.(N)
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,
a nose, but there is no breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them
and all who trust them
shall become like them.
God’s Judgments Justified
14 Certain elders of Israel came to me and sat down before me.(A) 2 And the word of the Lord came to me: 3 Mortal, these men have taken their idols into their hearts and placed their iniquity as a stumbling block before them; shall I let myself be consulted by them?(B) 4 Therefore speak to them, and say to them: Thus says the Lord God: Any of those of the house of Israel who take their idols into their hearts and place their iniquity as a stumbling block before them and yet come to the prophet, I the Lord will answer those who come with the multitude of their idols, 5 in order that I may take hold of the hearts of the house of Israel, all of whom are estranged from me through their idols.(C)
6 Therefore say to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Repent and turn away from your idols, and turn away your faces from all your abominations.(D) 7 For any of those of the house of Israel or of the aliens who reside in Israel who separate themselves from me, taking their idols into their hearts and placing their iniquity as a stumbling block before them and yet come to a prophet to inquire of me by him, I the Lord will answer them myself.(E) 8 I will set my face against them; I will make them a sign and a byword and cut them off from the midst of my people, and you shall know that I am the Lord.(F)
9 If a prophet is deceived and speaks a word, I, the Lord, have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel.(G) 10 And they shall bear their punishment—the punishment of the inquirer and the punishment of the prophet shall be the same— 11 so that the house of Israel may no longer go astray from me nor defile themselves any more with all their transgressions. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God, says the Lord God.(H)
Peter Heals a Crippled Beggar
3 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, at three o’clock in the afternoon.(A) 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried in. People would lay him daily at the gate of the temple called the Beautiful Gate so that he could ask for alms from those entering the temple.(B) 3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked them for alms. 4 Peter looked intently at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,[a] stand up and walk.”(C) 7 And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. 8 Jumping up, he stood and began to walk, and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. 9 All the people saw him walking and praising God,(D) 10 and they recognized him as the one who used to sit and ask for alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, and they were filled with wonder and astonishment at what had happened to him.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.