Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

God the Help of Those Who Seek Him

A Song of Ascents.

Ezekiel’s Vision of God

1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by ^(A)the River Chebar, that ^(B)the heavens were opened and I saw ^(C)visions^[a] of God. ² On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, ³ the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the ^[b]Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and ^(D)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.

⁴ Then I looked, and behold, ^(E)a whirlwind was coming ^(F)out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. ^5 (G)Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And ^(H)this was their appearance: they had ^(I)the likeness of a man. ⁶ Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. ⁷ Their ^[c]legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled ^(J)like the color of burnished bronze. ^8 (K)The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. ⁹ Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight ^(L)forward.

¹⁰ As for ^(M)the likeness of their faces, each ^(N)had the face of a man; each of the four had ^(O)the face of a lion on the right side, ^(P)each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, ^(Q)and each of the four had the face of an eagle. ¹¹ Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and ^(R)two covered their bodies. ¹² And ^(S)each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.

¹³ As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, ^(T)like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. ¹⁴ And the living creatures ran back and forth, ^(U)in appearance like a flash of lightning.

¹⁵ Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, ^(V)a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. ^16 (W)The appearance of the wheels and their workings was ^(X)like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. ¹⁷ When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. ¹⁸ As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were ^(Y)full of eyes, all around the four of them. ^19 (Z)When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. ²⁰ Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, ^(AA)for the spirit of the ^[d]living creatures was in the wheels. ²¹ When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the ^[e]living creatures was in the wheels.

^22 (AB)The likeness of the ^[f]firmament above the heads of the ^[g]living creatures was like the color of an awesome ^(AC)crystal, stretched out ^(AD)over their heads. ²³ And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. ^24 (AE)When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, ^(AF)like the noise of many waters, like ^(AG)the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. ²⁵ A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.

¹⁹ So when he had received food, he was strengthened. ^(A)Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.

Saul Preaches Christ

²⁰ Immediately he preached ^[a]the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.

²¹ Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ^(B)“Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”

²² But Saul increased all the more in strength, ^(C)and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.

Saul Escapes Death

²³ Now after many days were past, ^(D)the Jews plotted to kill him. ^24 (E)But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. ²⁵ Then the disciples took him by night and ^(F)let him down through the wall in a large basket.

Saul at Jerusalem

²⁶ And ^(G)when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. ^27 (H)But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, ^(I)and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So ^(J)he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. ²⁹ And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the ^(K)Hellenists,^{[b] (L)}but they attempted to kill him. ³⁰ When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.

The Church Prospers

^31 (M)Then the ^[c]churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were ^(N)edified.^[d] And walking in the ^(O)fear of the Lord and in the ^(P)comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were ^(Q)multiplied.