Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 126

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ When the Lord brought back the captives [who returned] to Zion, we were like those who dream [it seemed so unreal].^(A)

² Then were our mouths filled with laughter, and our tongues with singing. Then they said among the nations, The Lord has done great things for them.

³ The Lord has done great things for us! We are glad!

⁴ Turn to freedom our captivity and restore our fortunes, O Lord, as the streams in the South (the Negeb) [are restored by the torrents].

⁵ They who sow in tears shall reap in joy and singing.

⁶ He who goes forth bearing seed and weeping [at needing his precious supply of grain for sowing] shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

9 Now on the twenty-fourth day of this month, the Israelites were assembled with fasting and in sackcloth and with earth upon their heads.

² And the Israelites separated themselves from all foreigners and stood and confessed their sins and the iniquities of their fathers.

³ And they stood in their place and read from the Book of the Law of the Lord their God for a fourth of the day, and for another fourth of it they confessed and worshiped the Lord their God.

⁴ On the stairs of the Levites stood Jeshua, Bani, Kadmiel, Shebaniah, Bunni, Sherebiah, Bani, and Chenani, and they cried with a loud voice to the Lord their God.

⁵ Then the Levites—Jeshua, Kadmiel, Bani, Hashabneiah, Sherebiah, Hodiah, Shebaniah, and Pethahiah—said, Stand up and bless the Lord your God from everlasting to everlasting. Blessed be Your glorious name which is exalted above all blessing and praise.

⁶ [And Ezra said], You are the Lord, You alone; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them; and You preserve them all, and the hosts of heaven worship You.

⁷ You are the Lord, the God Who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees and gave him the name Abraham.

⁸ You found his heart faithful before You, and You made the covenant with him to give his descendants the land of the Canaanite, Hittite, Amorite, Perizzite, Jebusite, and Girgashite. And You have fulfilled Your promise, for You are just and righteous.

¹² Now in those days it occurred that He went up into a mountain to pray, and spent the whole night in prayer to God.

¹³ And when it was day, He summoned His disciples and selected from them twelve, whom He named apostles (special messengers):

¹⁴ They were Simon, whom He named Peter, and his brother Andrew; and James and John; and Philip and Bartholomew;

¹⁵ And Matthew and Thomas; and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon who was called the Zealot,

¹⁶ And Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor (a treacherous, basely faithless person).

¹⁷ And Jesus came down with them and took His stand on a level spot, with a great crowd of His disciples and a vast throng of people from all over Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to listen to Him and to be cured of their diseases—

¹⁸ Even those who were disturbed and troubled with unclean spirits, and they were being healed [also].

¹⁹ And all the multitude were seeking to touch Him, for healing power was all the while going forth from Him and curing them all [^[a]saving them from severe illnesses or calamities].