Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise God Who Helps the Weak
146 Praise the Lord!
My whole being, praise the Lord.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life.
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes
or other people, who cannot save you.
4 When people die, they are buried.
Then all of their plans come to an end.
5 Happy are those who are helped by the God of Jacob.
Their hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He made heaven and earth,
the sea and everything in it.
He remains loyal forever.
7 The Lord does what is fair for those who have been wronged.
He gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord lifts up people who are in trouble.
The Lord loves those who do right.
9 The Lord protects the foreigners.
He defends the orphans and widows.
But he overthrows the wicked.
10 The Lord will be King forever.
Jerusalem, your God is everlasting.
Praise the Lord!
17 The Lord said to Moses, 18 “Tell the Israelites: ‘You are going to another land. I am taking you there. 19 When you eat the food there, offer part of it to the Lord. 20 Offer a loaf of bread from the first of your grain. That will be your offering from the threshing floor. 21 From now on offer to the Lord the first part of your grain.
22 “‘Now what if you forget to obey any of these commands the Lord gave Moses? 23 These are the Lord’s commands given to you through Moses. They began the day the Lord gave them to you. And they will continue from now on. 24 But you might forget to obey one of these commands. The people might not remember the command. Then all the people must offer a young bull as a burnt offering. Its smell is pleasing to the Lord. By law you must also give the grain offering and the drink offering with it. And you must bring a male goat as a sin offering.
25 “‘The priest will remove that sin for all the Israelites so they will belong to God. They are forgiven. They didn’t know they were sinning. For the wrong they did they brought offerings to the Lord. They brought an offering by fire and a sin offering. 26 All of the people of Israel and the foreigners living among them will be forgiven. No one meant to do wrong.
Paul Defends Himself
26 Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak to defend yourself.”
Then Paul raised his hand and began to speak. 2 He said, “King Agrippa, I will answer all the charges that the Jews make against me. I think it is a blessing that I can stand here before you today. 3 I am very happy to talk to you, because you know so much about all the Jewish customs and the things that the Jews argue about. Please listen to me patiently.
4 “All the Jews know about my whole life. They know the way I lived from the beginning in my own country and later in Jerusalem. 5 They have known me for a long time. If they want to, they can tell you that I was a good Pharisee. And the Pharisees obey the laws of the Jewish religion more carefully than any other group of Jewish people. 6 Now I am on trial because I hope for the promise that God made to our ancestors. 7 This is the promise that the 12 tribes of our people hope to receive. For this hope the Jews serve God day and night. My king, the Jews have accused me because I hope for this same promise! 8 Why do any of you people think it is impossible for God to raise people from death?
9 “I too thought I ought to do many things against Jesus from Nazareth. 10 And in Jerusalem I did many things against God’s people. The leading priests gave me the power to put many of them in jail. When they were being killed, I agreed that it was a good thing. 11 In every synagogue, I often punished them. I tried to make them say evil things against Jesus. I was so angry against them that I even went to other cities to find them and punish them.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.