Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 145[a]
Praise. Of David.
145 I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
I will bless your name forever and always.
2 I will bless you every day.
I will praise your name forever and always.
3 The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
4 One generation will praise your works to the next one,
proclaiming your mighty acts.
5 They will talk all about[b] the glorious splendor of your majesty;
I will contemplate your wondrous works.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
faithful in all his deeds.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him,
to all who call out to him sincerely.
19 God shows favor to those who honor him,
listening to their cries for help and saving them.
20 The Lord protects all who love him,
but he destroys every wicked person.
21 My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,
and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
forever and always.
The people change
1 In the eighth month in the second year of Darius, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson:
2 The Lord was terribly angry with your ancestors.
3 But you must say to the people,
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: Return to me,
says the Lord of heavenly forces,
and I will return to you, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
4 Don’t be like your ancestors to whom the former prophets preached:
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims: Turn from your evil ways and your evil deeds.
But they didn’t listen;
they didn’t draw near to me.
5 So where are your ancestors?
Do the prophets live forever?
6 In fact, didn’t my words and laws,
which I gave to my servants, the prophets,
pursue your ancestors?
And then the people changed their hearts, and they said,
The Lord of heavenly forces has treated us according to
what we have done,[a]
exactly as he planned.
First night vision
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month (the month of Shebat[b]) in the second year of Darius, the Lord’s word came to Zechariah the prophet, Berechiah’s son and Iddo’s grandson:
8 Tonight I looked and saw a man riding on a red horse,
which was standing among the myrtle trees in the valley;
and behind him were red, sorrel, and white horses.
9 I said, “What are these, sir?”
The messenger speaking with me said,
“I will show you what they are.”
10 The man standing among the myrtles responded,
“These are the ones the Lord sent to patrol the earth.”
11 Then they responded to the Lord’s messenger,
who was standing among the myrtles,
“We have patrolled the earth. The whole earth is peaceful and quiet.”
12 Then the Lord’s messenger, who was speaking with me, said:
“Lord of heavenly forces,
how long will you withhold compassion from Jerusalem and the cities of Judah,
with whom you have been angry these seventy years?”
13 The Lord responded to the messenger who was speaking with me
with kind and compassionate words.
14 The messenger speaking with me called out,
“This is what the Lord of heavenly forces says:
I care passionately about Jerusalem and Zion.
15 And I am exceedingly angry with those carefree nations.
Though I was somewhat angry, they added to the violence.”
16 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
I have returned to Jerusalem with compassion.
My house will be built in it, says the Lord of heavenly forces.
Let a measuring line be stretched over Jerusalem.
17 “Call out again,
The Lord of heavenly forces proclaims:
My cities will again overflow with prosperity.
The Lord will again show compassion to Zion
and will again choose Jerusalem.”
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted, “Away with this man! He’s not fit to live!” 23 As they were screaming, throwing off their garments, and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander directed that Paul be taken into the military headquarters. He ordered that Paul be questioned under the whip so that he could find out why they were shouting at him like this.
25 As they were stretching him out and tying him down with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Can you legally whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t been found guilty in court?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. He asked, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 The commander went to Paul and demanded, “Tell me! Are you a Roman citizen?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commander replied, “It cost me a lot of money to buy my citizenship.”
Paul said, “I’m a citizen by birth.” 29 At once those who were about to examine him stepped away. The commander was alarmed when he realized he had bound a Roman citizen.
Paul appears before the Jewish council
30 The commander still wanted to know the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews. Therefore, the next day he ordered the chief priests and the entire Jerusalem Council to assemble. Then he took Paul out of prison and had him stand before them.
23 Paul stared at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with an altogether clear conscience right up to this very day.” 2 The high priest Ananias ordered those standing beside Paul to strike him in the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit and judge me according to the Law, yet disobey the Law by ordering that I be struck.”
4 Those standing near him asked, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”
5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I wasn’t aware that he was the high priest. It is written, You will not speak evil about a ruler of your people.”[a]
6 Knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, Paul exclaimed in the council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead!”
7 These words aroused a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 This is because Sadducees say that there’s no resurrection, angel, or spirit, but Pharisees affirm them all. 9 Council members were shouting loudly. Some Pharisees who were legal experts stood up and insisted forcefully, “We find nothing wrong with this man! What if a spirit or angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so heated that the commander feared they might tear Paul to pieces. He ordered soldiers to go down and remove him by force from their midst. Then they took him back to the military headquarters.
11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Be encouraged! Just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so too you must testify in Rome.”
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible