Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

David Plans to Build a Temple

7 ^(A)Now it came about, when the king lived in his house, and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all his enemies, ² that the king said to ^(B)Nathan the prophet, “See now, I live in ^(C)a house of cedar, but the ark of God ^(D)remains within the tent.” ³ Nathan said to the king, “^(E)Go, do all that is in your mind, for the Lord is with you.”

⁴ But in the same night, the word of the Lord came to Nathan, saying, ⁵ “Go and say to My servant David, ‘This is what the Lord says: “^(F)Should you build Me a house for My dwelling? ⁶ For ^(G)I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; rather, I have been moving about ^(H)in a tent, that is, in a dwelling place. ^7 (I)Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, ^(J)whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?’”’

God’s Covenant with David

⁸ Now then, this is what you shall say to My servant David: ‘This is what the Lord of armies says: “^(K)I Myself took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, ^(L)to be leader over My people Israel. ⁹ And ^(M)I have been with you wherever you have gone, and ^(N)have eliminated all your enemies from you; I will also make a great name for you, like the names of the great men who ^[a]are on the earth. ¹⁰ And I will establish a place for My people Israel, and ^(O)will plant them, so that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, ^(P)nor will ^[b]malicious people oppress them anymore as previously, ¹¹ even ^(Q)from the day that I appointed judges over My people Israel; and ^(R)I will give you rest from all your enemies. The Lord also declares to you that ^(S)the Lord will make a house for you. ^12 (T)When your days are finished and you ^[c](U)lie down with your fathers, ^(V)I will raise up your ^[d]descendant after you, who will come from ^[e]you, and I will establish his kingdom. ^13 (W)He shall build a house for My name, and ^(X)I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. ^14 (Y)I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; ^(Z)when he does wrong, I will discipline him with a rod of men and with strokes of sons of mankind,

¹¹ Therefore remember that ^(A)previously ^(B)you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “^(C)Uncircumcision” by the so-called “^(D)Circumcision” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— ¹² remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, ^[a](E)excluded from ^[b]the people of Israel, and strangers to ^(F)the covenants of the promise, having ^(G)no hope and ^(H)without God in the world. ¹³ But now in ^(I)Christ Jesus you who ^(J)previously were ^(K)far away ^[c]have ^(L)been brought near ^[d](M)by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is ^(N)our peace, ^(O)who made both groups into one and broke down the ^[e]barrier of the dividing wall, ^15 [f]by ^(P)abolishing ^[g]in His flesh the hostility, which is ^(Q)the Law composed of commandments expressed in ordinances, so that in Himself He might ^[h](R)make the two ^(S)one new person, in this way establishing ^(T)peace; ¹⁶ and that He might ^(U)reconcile them both in ^(V)one body to God through the cross, ^[i]by it having ^(W)put to death the hostility. ¹⁷ And ^(X)He came and preached ^(Y)peace to you who were ^(Z)far away, and peace to those who were ^(AA)near; ¹⁸ for through Him we both have ^(AB)our access in ^(AC)one Spirit to ^(AD)the Father. ¹⁹ So then you are no longer ^(AE)strangers and foreigners, but you are ^(AF)fellow citizens with the ^[j]saints, and are of ^(AG)God’s household, ²⁰ having been ^(AH)built on ^(AI)the foundation of ^(AJ)the apostles and prophets, ^(AK)Christ Jesus Himself being the ^(AL)cornerstone, ^21 (AM)in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into ^(AN)a holy ^[k]temple in the Lord, ²² in whom you also are being ^(AO)built together into a ^(AP)dwelling of God in the Spirit.

^30 (A)The ^(B)apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. ³¹ And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a little while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and ^(C)they did not even have time to eat.) ^32 (D)And they went away in ^(E)the boat to a secluded place by themselves.

Five Thousand Men Fed

³³ The people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. ³⁴ When Jesus went ^[a]ashore, He ^(F)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because ^(G)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

Healing at Gennesaret

^53 (A)When they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored at the shore. ⁵⁴ And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, ⁵⁵ and ran about that entire country and began carrying here and there on their pallets those who were sick, ^[a]to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶ And wherever He entered villages, or cities, or a countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces and imploring Him that they might just ^(B)touch ^(C)the fringe of His cloak; and all who touched it were being ^[b]healed.