Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 146[a]
Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer
1 Hallelujah!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.(A)
I
3 Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.(B)
4 Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.(C)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(D)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(E)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(F)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(G)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(H)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(I)
Hallelujah!
17 The Lord spoke to Moses: 18 Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land into which I am bringing you 19 and eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer the Lord a contribution. 20 A round loaf from your first batch of dough[a] you shall offer as a contribution. Just like a contribution from the threshing floor you shall offer it.(A) 21 Throughout your generations you shall give a contribution to the Lord from your first batch of dough.
Purification Offerings.[b] 22 If through inadvertence you fail to do any of these commandments which the Lord has given to Moses—(B) 23 anything the Lord commanded you through Moses from the time the Lord first gave the command down through your generations— 24 if it was done inadvertently without the community’s knowledge, the whole community shall sacrifice one bull from the herd as a burnt offering of pleasing aroma to the Lord, along with its prescribed grain offering and libation, as well as one he-goat as a purification offering. 25 (C)Then the priest shall make atonement for the whole Israelite community; and they will be forgiven, since it was inadvertence, and for their inadvertence they have brought their offering: an oblation to the Lord as well as their purification offering before the Lord. 26 Not only the whole Israelite community but also the aliens residing among you shall be forgiven, since the inadvertent fault affects all the people.
Chapter 26
King Agrippa Hears Paul. 1 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now speak on your own behalf.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense. 2 [a]“I count myself fortunate, King Agrippa, that I am to defend myself before you today against all the charges made against me by the Jews, 3 especially since you are an expert in all the Jewish customs and controversies. And therefore I beg you to listen patiently. 4 My manner of living from my youth, a life spent from the beginning among my people[b] and in Jerusalem, all [the] Jews know. 5 (A)They have known about me from the start, if they are willing to testify, that I have lived my life as a Pharisee, the strictest party of our religion. 6 (B)But now I am standing trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors. 7 Our twelve tribes hope to attain to that promise as they fervently worship God day and night; and on account of this hope I am accused by Jews, O king. 8 Why is it thought unbelievable among you that God raises the dead? 9 (C)I myself once thought that I had to do many things against the name of Jesus the Nazorean, 10 and I did so in Jerusalem. I imprisoned many of the holy ones with the authorization I received from the chief priests, and when they were to be put to death I cast my vote against them.(D) 11 Many times, in synagogue after synagogue, I punished them in an attempt to force them to blaspheme; I was so enraged against them that I pursued them even to foreign cities.
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.