Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
11 Cruel people tell lies against me in court.
I do not even know what they are talking about.
12 When I do good things to help them,
they pay me back with evil things!
That makes me feel very sad and upset.
13 When they were ill,
I wore rough clothes,
and I stopped eating food.
I bent down my head as I prayed for them.
14 I wept as I prayed,
as I would weep when a friend or my mother had died.
15 But when I had troubles myself,
they were happy.
They stood together
and they laughed at me.
Even strangers attacked me
and they would not stop.
16 Useless people like that insulted me,
and they showed their teeth to frighten me.
17 My Lord, how long will you continue to watch
as they do this to me?
Keep me safe when they attack me.
They attack me like hungry lions.
Do not let them kill me!
18 Then I will praise you
in the great meeting of your people.
I will thank you so that everyone hears me.
19 My enemies tell lies about me.
Do not let them win against me,
and be happy.
They have no reason to hate me,
so do not let them laugh at me.
20 They do not talk in a way that brings peace.
Instead, they try to deceive people who want to live quietly.
21 They open their mouths wide
to speak against me.
They say, ‘Aha![a]
We have seen the bad things that you do!’
22 Lord, you have seen all this.
Do not remain silent, my Lord.
Do not stay far away from me.
23 Wake up! Get ready to give me justice!
Show that I am not guilty,
my Lord and my God.
24 Lord, you are righteous.
Give me justice, my God.
Do not let them laugh at me.
25 Do not let them say,
‘Aha! This is what we wanted.’
Do not let them say,
‘We have eaten him alive!’
26 Punish those people who are happy when I have troubles.
Make them ashamed and confused!
Bring down those proud people who laugh at me.
Make them feel very ashamed.
27 But for those who want justice for me,
let them shout aloud in their pleasure.
May they always say, ‘The Lord is great!
He is happy when his servant is safe and well!’
28 Then I will tell everyone that you are righteous.
I will praise you all through each day.
Rules about the Sabbath day
35 Moses brought all the Israelites together. Then he said to them, ‘These are the Lord's commands to you. 2 You may work for six days each week, but the seventh day will be a holy day for you. It will be a day of complete rest to give honour to the Lord. If anyone works on that day, you must punish him with death. 3 Do not light a fire in any of your homes on a Sabbath day.’
Materials for the tabernacle
4 Moses said to all the Israelites, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: 5 Take an offering to give to the Lord from the things that you have. Everyone who wants to give something may choose to give these things:
gold, silver, bronze;
6 blue, purple and red material;
good linen, goats' hair;
7 red leather from sheep's skins and other kinds of good leather;
acacia wood;
8 olive oil for the lamps;
spices to make the special oil and the sweet incense;
9 onyx stones and other jewels to fix on the ephod and on the breastpiece.
10 Every clever person who has special skills must come to help. They must make all these things that the Lord has commanded:
11 the tabernacle, with the tent and the other material that covers it;
the rings, boards, sticks, poles and bases that are part of the tabernacle;
12 the Covenant Box, with its poles, its special lid and the curtain that hides it;
13 the special table with its poles and all its dishes;
the special bread that you will put on the table for the Lord;
14 the lampstand that will give light and its tools;
the lamps and the oil for the lamps;
15 the altar for incense and its poles;
the special oil and the sweet incense;
the curtain for the entrance of the tabernacle;
16 the altar for burnt offerings and its bronze net;
the poles for this altar and all its tools;
the large bowl for water and its base;
17 the curtains for the yard, its poles and their bases;
the curtain for the entrance of the yard;
18 pegs to fix the tent to the ground;
pegs and ropes to hold the curtain around the yard;
19 the special clothes for Aaron and his sons to wear when they serve the Lord as priests in the Holy Place.’
20 After Moses had said this, all the Israelites went away. 21 Everyone who decided to offer a gift to the Lord brought the things that they wanted to give. They brought the things to make the Tent of Meeting and the things to use in it. They also brought materials to make the priests' special clothes. 22 Both men and women brought beautiful things because they wanted to do that. They brought gold things and jewels that they had worn. They included rings, necklaces and other beautiful things. When they brought their gifts, they lifted them up as an offering of gold to the Lord.
23 Everyone who had blue, purple or red material, or good linen, brought it. They also brought goats' hair, red leather from sheep's skins and other kinds of good leather. 24 Those who brought gifts of silver or bronze offered them to the Lord. Everyone who had acacia wood brought it to help with the Lord's work.
25 All the women who knew how to make things used their hands to make material. They brought what they had made: blue, purple and red material and good linen. 26 Other clever women used goats' hair to make cloth. They did that because they wanted to help.
27 The leaders of the Israelites brought onyx stones and other jewels to fix on the ephod and on the breastpiece. 28 They also brought spices and olive oil. These things were to burn in the lamps, and to make the special oil and the sweet incense.
29 Many Israelites chose to offer gifts to the Lord. Men and women all brought the gifts that they had decided to bring. Moses had told them about the work that the Lord had commanded them to do. So they brought these things to help with the work.
9 The next day, at about noon, Cornelius's men were coming near to Joppa. At this time, Peter went up on the roof of the house to pray to God.[a] 10 He became hungry and he wanted to eat some food. While someone was preparing a meal for him, Peter had a special dream. 11 In a vision, he saw heaven open above him. Then he saw something like a large piece of cloth. Somebody held it at each of its four corners and let it come down to the ground. 12 Inside the cloth there were many different kinds of animals with four legs. There were also wild birds and snakes. 13 Then Peter heard a voice that said to him, ‘Peter, stand up and kill some of these animals. Then you can cook them and eat the meat.’
14 Peter answered, ‘No, Lord, I would certainly not do that. I have never eaten an animal that our Law says is unclean.’[b]
15 Then, for the second time, the voice said to Peter, ‘God has made these animals good for people to eat. So you must not say that it is not right to eat them.’
16 All this happened three times. After that, the cloth immediately went back up into heaven.
17 Just then, Cornelius's men arrived there in Joppa. They found Simon's house. When they stopped at the gate of the house, Peter was still thinking about his dream and what it meant. 18 The men shouted out, ‘Is a man called Simon Peter staying here?’
19 While Peter was still thinking about his dream, the Holy Spirit said to him, ‘Simon, three men have arrived and they are looking for you. 20 Get up and go downstairs to meet them. I have sent these men to come to you. So you should go with them. Do not be afraid.’
21 Peter went downstairs and he said to the men, ‘I am the person that you are looking for. Why have you come here?’
22 The men answered him, ‘The Roman officer who is called Cornelius has sent us to you. He is a good man and he obeys God's Law. All the Jewish people respect him. An angel from God told him to send us to you with a message. Then we should bring you to Cornelius's house so that he could hear what you have to say.’ 23 Then Peter said to the men, ‘Please come into the house and stay here with us tonight.’
Peter at Cornelius's house
The next day, Peter left Joppa to go to Caesarea with Cornelius's men. Some believers who lived in Joppa travelled with them.
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