Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 126
A song of ascents.
1 When the Lord restored(A) the fortunes of[a] Zion,
we were like those who dreamed.[b]
2 Our mouths were filled with laughter,(B)
our tongues with songs of joy.(C)
Then it was said among the nations,
“The Lord has done great things(D) for them.”
3 The Lord has done great things(E) for us,
and we are filled with joy.(F)
The Israelites Confess Their Sins
9 On the twenty-fourth day of the same month, the Israelites gathered together, fasting and wearing sackcloth and putting dust on their heads.(A) 2 Those of Israelite descent had separated themselves from all foreigners.(B) They stood in their places and confessed their sins and the sins of their ancestors.(C) 3 They stood where they were and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a quarter of the day, and spent another quarter in confession and in worshiping the Lord their God. 4 Standing on the stairs of the Levites(D) were Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani and Kenani. They cried out with loud voices to the Lord their God. 5 And the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah and Pethahiah—said: “Stand up and praise the Lord your God,(E) who is from everlasting to everlasting.[a]”
“Blessed be your glorious name,(F) and may it be exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 You alone are the Lord.(G) You made the heavens,(H) even the highest heavens, and all their starry host,(I) the earth(J) and all that is on it, the seas(K) and all that is in them.(L) You give life to everything, and the multitudes of heaven(M) worship you.
7 “You are the Lord God, who chose Abram(N) and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans(O) and named him Abraham.(P) 8 You found his heart faithful to you, and you made a covenant with him to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Jebusites and Girgashites.(Q) You have kept your promise(R) because you are righteous.(S)
The Twelve Apostles(A)
12 One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God.(B) 13 When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles:(C) 14 Simon (whom he named Peter), his brother Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, 15 Matthew,(D) Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor.
Blessings and Woes(E)
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coastal region around Tyre and Sidon,(F) 18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by impure spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him,(G) because power was coming from him and healing them all.(H)
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