Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord an Abundant Helper.
146 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
(A)Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord (B)while I live;
I will (C)sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 (D)Do not trust in princes,
In [c]mortal (E)man, in whom there is (F)no salvation.
4 His (G)spirit departs, he (H)returns to [d]the earth;
In that very day his (I)thoughts perish.
5 How (J)blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
Whose (K)hope is in the Lord his God,
6 Who (L)made heaven and earth,
The (M)sea and all that is in them;
Who (N)keeps [e]faith forever;
7 Who (O)executes justice for the oppressed;
Who (P)gives food to the hungry.
The Lord (Q)sets the prisoners free.
8 The Lord (R)opens the eyes of the blind;
The Lord (S)raises up those who are bowed down;
The Lord (T)loves the righteous;
9 The Lord [f](U)protects the [g]strangers;
He [h](V)supports the fatherless and the widow,
But He [i]thwarts (W)the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord will (X)reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
[j]Praise [k]the Lord!
A Confession of Wickedness
9 Therefore (A)justice is far from us,
And righteousness does not overtake us;
We (B)hope for light, but behold, darkness,
For brightness, but we walk in gloom.
10 We (C)grope along the wall like blind men,
We grope like those who have no eyes;
We (D)stumble at midday as in the twilight,
Among those who are vigorous we are (E)like dead men.
11 All of us growl like bears,
And (F)moan sadly like doves;
We hope for (G)justice, but there is none,
For salvation, but it is far from us.
12 For our (H)transgressions are multiplied before You,
And our (I)sins [a]testify against us;
For our transgressions are with us,
And [b]we know our iniquities:
13 Transgressing and (J)denying the Lord,
And turning away from our God,
Speaking (K)oppression and revolt,
Conceiving in and (L)uttering from the heart lying words.
14 (M)Justice is turned back,
And (N)righteousness stands far away;
For truth has stumbled in the street,
And uprightness cannot enter.
15 Yes, truth is lacking;
And he who turns aside from evil (O)makes himself a prey.
Now the Lord saw,
And it was [c]displeasing in His sight (P)that there was no justice.
16 And He saw that there was (Q)no man,
And was astonished that there was no one to intercede;
Then His (R)own arm brought salvation to Him,
And His righteousness upheld Him.
17 He put on (S)righteousness like a breastplate,
And a (T)helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on (U)garments of vengeance for clothing
And wrapped Himself with (V)zeal as a mantle.
18 (W)According to their [d]deeds, [e]so He will repay,
Wrath to His adversaries, recompense to His enemies;
To the coastlands He will [f]make recompense.
19 So they will fear the name of the Lord from the (X)west
And His glory from the (Y)rising of the sun,
For He will (Z)come like a [g]rushing stream
Which the wind of the Lord drives.
The Conversion of Saul
9 (A)Now [a]Saul, still (B)breathing [b]threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest, 2 and asked for (C)letters from him to (D)the synagogues at (E)Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to (F)the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he was traveling, it happened that he was approaching Damascus, and (G)suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him; 4 and (H)he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” 5 And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” And He said, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting, 6 but get up and enter the city, and (I)it will be told you what you must do.” 7 The men who traveled with him (J)stood speechless, (K)hearing the [c]voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and (L)though his eyes were open, he [d]could see nothing; and leading him by the hand, they brought him into (M)Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
10 Now there was a disciple at (N)Damascus named (O)Ananias; and the Lord said to him in (P)a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from (Q)Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying, 12 and he has seen [e]in a vision a man named Ananias come in and (R)lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, (S)how much harm he did to (T)Your [f]saints at Jerusalem; 14 and here he (U)has authority from the chief priests to bind all who (V)call on Your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for (W)he is a chosen [g]instrument of Mine, to bear My name before (X)the Gentiles and (Y)kings and the sons of Israel; 16 for (Z)I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house, and after (AA)laying his hands on him said, “(AB)Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be (AC)filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he regained his sight, and he got up and was baptized; 19 and he took food and was strengthened.
Saul Begins to Preach Christ
Now (AD)for several days he was with (AE)the disciples who were at Damascus, 20 and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus (AF)in the synagogues, [h]saying, “He is (AG)the Son of God.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.