Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

145 O my God and King, I will extol You, and will bless Your Name forever and ever.

² I will bless You daily and praise Your Name forever and ever.

³ Great is the LORD, and most worthy to be praised. His greatness is incomprehensible.

⁴ Generation to generation shall praise Your works and declare Your power.

⁵ I will meditate on the beauty of Your glorious majesty and Your wonderful works.

¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and Holy in all His works.

¹⁸ The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth.

¹⁹ He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.

²⁰ The LORD preserves all those who love Him; but He will destroy the wicked.

²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD; and all flesh shall bless His Holy Name forever and ever. Praise the LORD.

⁹ And the Word of the LORD came to me, saying:

¹⁰ “Take from those of the captivity, of Heldai and of Tobijah and Jedaiah, who have come from Babel. And you come the same day, and go to the House of Josiah, the son of Zephaniah.

¹¹ “Take silver and gold and make crowns. And set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak the High Priest,

¹² “And speak to him, saying, ‘Thus speaks the LORD of Hosts, and says: “Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch. And He shall grow up out of his place. And He shall build the Temple of the LORD.

¹³ “He shall build the Temple of the LORD and He shall bear the Glory and shall sit and rule upon His Throne. And He shall be a Priest upon His Throne. And the Counsel of Peace shall be between them both.

¹⁴ “And the crowns shall be for Helem and for Tobijah and for Jedaiah and for Hen, the son of Zephaniah, for a memorial in the Temple of the LORD.

¹⁵ “And those who are far off shall come and build in the Temple of the LORD. And you shall know that the LORD of Hosts has sent me to you. And this shall happen at that time if you will obey the voice of the LORD your God.”’”

¹⁰ Then Paul, after the Governor had beckoned to him that he should speak, answered, “Because I know that you have been a judge over this nation for many years, I do the more gladly answer for myself,

¹¹ “seeing that you may know that it has only been twelve days since I came up to worship in Jerusalem.

¹² “And they neither found me in the Temple (disputing with any man or inciting uproar among the people), nor in the synagogues, nor in the city.

¹³ “Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me.

¹⁴ “But this I confess to you: that I worship the God of my Fathers as does the Way (which they call heresy), believing all things which are written in the Law and the Prophets.

¹⁵ “And I have hope in God that the resurrection of the dead, (which they themselves also look for) shall be of both just and unjust.

¹⁶ “And in this I myself always endeavor to have a clear conscience toward God and toward man.

¹⁷ “Now after many years, I came and brought alms and offerings to my nation.

¹⁸ “At which time, some Asian Jews found me (with neither multitude nor tumult) purified in the Temple.

¹⁹ “They ought to have been present to accuse me before you, if they have anything against me.

²⁰ “Or else let these themselves say if they have found any unjust thing in me while I stood in the Council,

²¹ “except for this one statement which I cried out while standing among them, ‘Concerning the resurrection of the dead am I accused by you this day.’”

²² Now when Felix heard these things, he deferred them, and said, “When I shall better understand the things which concern this Way (by the coming of Lysias the chief Captain), I will decide your matter.”

²³ Then he commanded a Centurion to keep Paul, and that he should have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his friends to minister to him, or to come to him.