Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Praise to God the Help of Israel

Offerings on Entering the Land

¹⁷ Then the Lord instructed Moses: ¹⁸ “Tell the Israelis that when they enter the land that I’m about to bring you to, ¹⁹ when you have eaten some of the bread that the land produces, you are to offer a raised offering to the Lord. ²⁰ You are to offer a cake made from the first of your bread dough as a raised offering to the Lord. Offer it as a raised offering right off your threshing floor. ²¹ From then on, throughout your generations give the first of your bread dough to the Lord.”

Offerings for Inadvertent National Sin

²² “Here’s what you are to do^[a] when you all^[b] go astray and fail to observe all these commands that the Lord had spoken to Moses, ²³ including anything that the Lord commanded you by the authority^[c] of Moses, starting from the day the Lord commanded Moses and continuing through your generations. ²⁴ When anything is done without the knowledge^[d] of the congregation, the entire community is to offer one young bull for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the Lord, along with its meal and drink offerings offered according to procedure, and one male goat for a sin offering. ²⁵ Then the priest is to make atonement for the entire community of the Israelis, and they will be forgiven^[e] for inadvertent sins. They are to bring their offering, an offering made by fire to the Lord, as well as their sin offering, into the Lord’s presence on account of their error. ²⁶ Then the entire community of Israel will be forgiven, along with the resident alien who lives among them, since all the people will have sinned inadvertently.”

Paul Presents His Case to Agrippa

26 Then Agrippa told Paul, “You have permission to speak for yourself.” So Paul stretched out his hand and began his defense.

² “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, that I can defend myself today against all the accusations of the Jewish leaders,^{[a] 3} since you are especially familiar with all the Jewish customs and controversies. I beg you, therefore, to listen patiently to me. ⁴ All the Jews know how I lived from the earliest days of my youth with my own people and in Jerusalem. ⁵ They have known for a long time, if they would but testify to it, that I lived as a Pharisee, adhering to the standards of our strictest religious party.

⁶ “And now I stand here on trial for the hope of the promise made by God to our ancestors. ⁷ Our twelve tribes, worshiping day and night with intense devotion, hope to attain it. It is because of this hope, O King, that I am accused by the Jews. ⁸ Why is it thought incredible by all of you that God should raise the dead? ⁹ Indeed, I myself thought it my duty to take extreme measures against the name of Jesus from Nazareth.^{[b] 10} That is what I did in Jerusalem. I received authority from the high priests and locked many of the saints in prison. And when I cast my vote against them, they were put to death. ¹¹ I would even punish them frequently in every synagogue and try to make them blaspheme. Raging furiously against them, I would hunt them down even in distant cities.