Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

146 Praise the LORD, O my soul!

² I will praise the LORD during my life. As long as I have any being, I will sing to my God.

³ Do not put your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, for there is no help in him.

⁴ His breath departs. He returns to his earth. Then, his thoughts perish.

⁵ Blessed is he who has the God of Jacob for his help; whose hope is in the LORD his God,

⁶ Who made Heaven and Earth, the sea, and all that therein is. Who keeps his fidelity forever.

⁷ Who executes justice for the oppressed, Who gives bread to the hungry. The LORD frees the prisoners.

⁸ The LORD gives sight to the blind. The LORD raises up the crooked. The LORD loves the righteous.

⁹ The LORD keeps the strangers. He relieves the fatherless and widow; but He overthrows the way of the wicked.

¹⁰ The LORD shall reign forever! O Zion, your God endures from generation to generation. Praise the LORD!

¹⁷ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

¹⁸ “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you have come into the land to which I bring you,

¹⁹ ‘and when you shall eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer a Heave Offering to the LORD.

²⁰ ‘You shall offer up a cake from the first of your dough, for a Heave Offering. As the Heave Offering of the barn, so you shall lift it up.

²¹ ‘From the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD a Heave Offering, in your generations.

²² ‘And if you have erred, and not observed all these Commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses—

²³ ‘all that the LORD has Commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the first day that the LORD Commanded Moses and hence forward among your generations—

²⁴ ‘and if this is committed unintentionally by the Congregation, then all the Congregation shall give a bullock for a Burnt Offering, for a sweet savor to the LORD, with its Meat Offering and Drink Offering (according to the manner) and a male goat for a Sin Offering.

²⁵ ‘And the Priest shall make an atonement for all the Congregation of the children of Israel. And it shall be forgiven them, for it is unintentional. And they shall bring their offering for an offering made by fire to the LORD, and their Sin Offering before the LORD, for their ignorance.

²⁶ ‘Then all the Congregation of the children of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who dwells among them. For all the people were in ignorance.

26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.” So, Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself.

² “I consider myself happy, King Agrippa. Because today I shall answer before you all the things of which I am accused by the Jews;

³ “especially because you have knowledge of all customs and questions which are among the Jews. Therefore, I beg you to hear me patiently.

⁴ “Regarding my life from childhood, all the Jews know that from the beginning it was among my own nation at Jerusalem,

⁵ “They knew me from the beginning and could testify (if they wished) that according to the straightest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.

⁶ “And now I stand accused of hope in the promise made by God to our Fathers;

⁷ “to which our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God day and night, hope to come. For this hope’s sake, O King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

⁸ “Why should it be thought an incredible thing by you that God should raise the dead again?

⁹ “Truly, I also thought to myself that I ought to do many things against the Name of Jesus of Nazareth;

¹⁰ “which I also did in Jerusalem. For I shut up many of the saints in prison, having received authority from the chief priests. And when they were put to death, I gave sentence.

¹¹ “And I punished them throughout all the synagogues and compelled them to blaspheme. And being extremely enraged against them, I persecuted them, even to strange cities.