Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 146
The God of Compassion
1 Hallelujah!
My soul, praise the Lord.(A)
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing to my God as long as I live.(B)
3 Do not trust in nobles,
in a son of man,[a] who cannot save.(C)
4 When his breath[b] leaves him,
he returns to the ground;
on that day his plans die.(D)
5 Happy is the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord his God,(E)
6 the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in them.(F)
He remains faithful forever,(G)
7 executing justice for the exploited
and giving food to the hungry.(H)
The Lord frees prisoners.(I)
8 The Lord opens the eyes of the blind.(J)
The Lord raises up those who are oppressed.[c](K)
The Lord loves the righteous.(L)
9 The Lord protects resident aliens
and helps the fatherless and the widow,(M)
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.(N)
10 The Lord reigns forever;
Zion, your God reigns for all generations.(O)
Hallelujah!
Instructions about Consecration
29 “This is what you are to do for them to consecrate them to serve me as priests. Take a young bull and two unblemished rams, 2 with unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers coated with oil. Make them out of fine wheat flour,(A) 3 put them in a basket, and bring them in the basket, along with the bull and two rams. 4 Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the tent of meeting and wash them with water.(B) 5 Then take the garments and clothe Aaron with the tunic, the robe for the ephod, the ephod itself, and the breastpiece; fasten the ephod on him with its woven waistband.(C) 6 Put the turban on his head and place the holy diadem(D) on the turban. 7 Take the anointing oil, pour it on his head, and anoint(E) him. 8 You must also bring his sons and clothe them with tunics. 9 Tie the sashes on Aaron and his sons and fasten headbands on them. The priesthood is to be theirs by a permanent statute. This is the way you will ordain Aaron and[a] his sons.(F)
Paul’s Testimony
6 “As(A) I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
“He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light,[a] but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.(B)
10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’
11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light,[b] I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus.(C) 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there,(D) 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed(E) you to know his will, to see(F) the Righteous One,(G) and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard.(H) 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins,(I) calling on his name.’(J)
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance(K) 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten.(L) 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval[c] and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’(M)
21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”(N)
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