Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 145[a]
A psalm of praise; by David.
145 I will extol you, my God, O King.
I will praise your name continually.[b]
2 Every day I will praise you.
I will praise your name continually.[c]
3 The Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise.
No one can fathom his greatness.[d]
4 One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and tell about your mighty acts.[e]
5 I will focus on your honor and majestic splendor,
and your amazing deeds.[f]
17 The Lord is just in all his actions,[a]
and exhibits love in all he does.[b]
18 The Lord is near all who cry out to him,
all who cry out to him sincerely.[c]
19 He satisfies the desire[d] of his loyal followers;[e]
he hears their cry for help and delivers them.
20 The Lord protects all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.
21 My mouth will praise the Lord.[f]
Let all who live[g] praise his holy name forever.
Introduction
1 In the eighth month of Darius’[a] second year,[b] the Lord’s message came to the prophet Zechariah,[c] son of Berechiah son of Iddo:
2 “The Lord was very angry with your ancestors.[d] 3 Therefore say to the people:[e] The Lord of Heaven’s Armies[f] says, ‘Turn[g] to me,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, ‘and I will turn to you,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 4 Do not be like your ancestors, to whom the former prophets called out, saying, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has said, “Turn now from your evil wickedness.”’ But they would by no means obey me, says the Lord. 5 As for your ancestors, where are they? And did the prophets live forever? 6 But have my words and statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, not outlived your fathers?[h] Then they paid attention[i] and confessed, ‘The Lord of Heaven’s Armies has indeed done what he said he would do to us, because of our sinful ways.’”
The Introduction to the Visions
7 On the twenty-fourth day of the eleventh month, the month Shebat, in Darius’ second year,[j] the Lord’s message came to the prophet Zechariah son of Berechiah son of Iddo:
The Content of the First Vision
8 I was attentive that night and saw a man seated[k] on a red horse that stood among some myrtle trees[l] in the ravine. Behind him were red, sorrel,[m] and white horses.
The Interpretation of the First Vision
9 Then I asked one nearby, “What are these, sir?” The angelic messenger[n] who replied to me said, “I will show you what these are.” 10 Then the man standing among the myrtle trees spoke up and said, “These are the ones whom the Lord has sent to walk about[o] on the earth.” 11 The riders then agreed with the angel of the Lord,[p] who was standing among the myrtle trees, “We have been walking about on the earth, and now everything is at rest and quiet.” 12 The angel of the Lord then asked, “O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[q] how long before you have compassion on Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that you have been so angry with for these seventy years?”[r] 13 The Lord then addressed good, comforting words to the angelic messenger who was speaking to me. 14 Turning to me, the messenger then said, “Cry out that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, ‘I am very much moved[s] for Jerusalem and for Zion. 15 But I am greatly displeased with the nations that take my grace for granted.[t] I was a little displeased with them, but they have only made things worse for themselves.
The Oracle of Response
16 “‘Therefore,’ this is what the Lord has said, ‘I have become compassionate[u] toward Jerusalem and will rebuild my temple[v] in it,’ says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. ‘Once more a surveyor’s measuring line will be stretched out over Jerusalem.’ 17 Speak up again with the message of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies: ‘My cities will once more overflow with prosperity, and once more the Lord will comfort Zion and validate his choice of Jerusalem.’”
The Roman Commander Questions Paul
22 The crowd[a] was listening to him until he said this.[b] Then[c] they raised their voices and shouted,[d] “Away with this man[e] from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!”[f] 23 While they were screaming[g] and throwing off their cloaks[h] and tossing dust[i] in the air, 24 the commanding officer[j] ordered Paul[k] to be brought back into the barracks.[l] He told them[m] to interrogate Paul[n] by beating him with a lash[o] so that he could find out the reason the crowd[p] was shouting at Paul[q] in this way. 25 When they had stretched him out for the lash,[r] Paul said to the centurion[s] standing nearby, “Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen[t] without a proper trial?”[u] 26 When the centurion[v] heard this,[w] he went to the commanding officer[x] and reported it,[y] saying, “What are you about to do?[z] For this man is a Roman citizen.”[aa] 27 So the commanding officer[ab] came and asked[ac] Paul,[ad] “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”[ae] He replied,[af] “Yes.” 28 The commanding officer[ag] answered, “I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money.”[ah] “But I was even[ai] born a citizen,”[aj] Paul replied.[ak] 29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away[al] from him, and the commanding officer[am] was frightened when he realized that Paul[an] was[ao] a Roman citizen[ap] and that he had had him tied up.[aq]
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
30 The next day, because the commanding officer[ar] wanted to know the true reason[as] Paul[at] was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council[au] to assemble. He then brought[av] Paul down and had him stand before them.
23 Paul looked directly[aw] at the council[ax] and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with a clear conscience[ay] before God to this day.” 2 At that[az] the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near[ba] Paul[bb] to strike[bc] him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall![bd] Do[be] you sit there judging me according to the law,[bf] and in violation of the law[bg] you order me to be struck?” 4 Those standing near him[bh] said, “Do you dare insult[bi] God’s high priest?” 5 Paul replied,[bj] “I did not realize,[bk] brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You must not speak evil about a ruler of your people.’”[bl]
6 Then when Paul noticed[bm] that part of them were Sadducees[bn] and the others Pharisees,[bo] he shouted out in the council,[bp] “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection[bq] of the dead!” 7 When he said this,[br] an argument[bs] began[bt] between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)[bu] 9 There was a great commotion,[bv] and some experts in the law[bw] from the party of the Pharisees stood up[bx] and protested strongly,[by] “We find nothing wrong[bz] with this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 When the argument became[ca] so great the commanding officer[cb] feared that they would tear Paul to pieces,[cc] he ordered the detachment[cd] to go down, take him away from them by force,[ce] and bring him into the barracks.[cf]
11 The following night the Lord[cg] stood near[ch] Paul[ci] and said, “Have courage,[cj] for just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”[ck]
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