Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 146[a]
Trust in God the Creator and Redeemer
1 Hallelujah!
2 Praise the Lord, my soul;
I will praise the Lord all my life,
sing praise to my God while I live.(A)
I
3 Put no trust in princes,
in children of Adam powerless to save.(B)
4 Who breathing his last, returns to the earth;
that day all his planning comes to nothing.(C)
II
5 Blessed the one whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord, his God,
6 The maker of heaven and earth,
the seas and all that is in them,(D)
Who keeps faith forever,
7 secures justice for the oppressed,(E)
who gives bread to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free;(F)
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind.
The Lord raises up those who are bowed down;(G)
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord protects the resident alien,
comes to the aid of the orphan and the widow,(H)
but thwarts the way of the wicked.
10 The Lord shall reign forever,
your God, Zion, through all generations!(I)
Hallelujah!
18 Naomi then ceased to urge her, for she saw she was determined to go with her.
The Return to Bethlehem. 19 So they went on together until they reached Bethlehem. On their arrival there, the whole town was excited about them, and the women asked: “Can this be Naomi?” 20 (A)But she said to them, “Do not call me Naomi [‘Sweet’]. Call me Mara [‘Bitter’], for the Almighty has made my life very bitter. 21 [a](B)I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty. Why should you call me ‘Sweet,’ since the Lord has brought me to trial, and the Almighty has pronounced evil sentence on me.” 22 Thus it was that Naomi came back with her Moabite daughter-in-law Ruth, who accompanied her back from the plateau of Moab. They arrived in Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.[b]
Chapter 9
The Worship of the First Covenant.[a] 1 Now [even] the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was constructed, the outer one,[b] in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering; this is called the Holy Place.(A) 3 [c]Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies,(B) 4 in which were the gold altar of incense[d] and the ark of the covenant entirely covered with gold. In it were the gold jar containing the manna, the staff of Aaron that had sprouted, and the tablets of the covenant.(C) 5 [e]Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the place of expiation. Now is not the time to speak of these in detail.(D)
6 With these arrangements for worship, the priests, in performing their service,[f] go into the outer tabernacle repeatedly,(E) 7 but the high priest alone goes into the inner one once a year, not without blood[g] that he offers for himself and for the sins of the people.(F) 8 In this way the holy Spirit shows that the way into the sanctuary had not yet been revealed while the outer tabernacle still had its place. 9 This is a symbol of the present time,[h] in which gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the worshiper in conscience 10 but only in matters of food and drink and various ritual washings: regulations concerning the flesh, imposed until the time of the new order.(G)
Sacrifice of Jesus. 11 [i]But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be,[j] passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, that is, not belonging to this creation,(H) 12 he entered once for all into the sanctuary, not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own blood, thus obtaining eternal redemption.(I)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.