Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
5 And (A)the heavens will praise Your wonders, O Lord;
Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints.
6 (B)For who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord?
7 (C)God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints,
And to be held in reverence by all those around Him.
8 O Lord God of hosts,
Who is mighty like You, O Lord?
Your faithfulness also surrounds You.
9 (D)You rule the raging of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.
10 (E)You have broken [a]Rahab in pieces, as one who is slain;
You have scattered Your enemies with Your mighty arm.
11 (F)The heavens are Yours, the earth also is Yours;
The world and all its fullness, You have founded them.
12 The north and the south, You have created them;
(G)Tabor and (H)Hermon rejoice in Your name.
13 You have a mighty arm;
Strong is Your hand, and high is Your right hand.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne;
Mercy and truth go before Your face.
15 Blessed are the people who know the (I)joyful sound!
They walk, O Lord, in the light of Your countenance.
16 In Your name they rejoice all day long,
And in Your righteousness they are exalted.
17 For You are the glory of their strength,
And in Your favor our [b]horn is (J)exalted.
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
And our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Then You spoke in a vision to Your [c]holy one,
And said: “I have given help to one who is mighty;
I have exalted one (K)chosen from the people.
20 (L)I have found My servant David;
With My holy oil I have anointed him,
21 (M)With whom My hand shall be established;
Also My arm shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not [d]outwit him,
Nor the son of wickedness afflict him.
23 I will beat down his foes before his face,
And plague those who hate him.
24 “But My faithfulness and My mercy shall be with him,
And in My name his horn shall be exalted.
25 Also I will (N)set his hand over the sea,
And his right hand over the rivers.
26 He shall cry to Me, ‘You are (O)my Father,
My God, and (P)the rock of my salvation.’
27 Also I will make him (Q)My firstborn,
(R)The highest of the kings of the earth.
28 (S)My mercy I will keep for him forever,
And My covenant shall stand firm with him.
29 His seed also I will make to endure forever,
(T)And his throne (U)as the days of heaven.
30 “If(V) his sons (W)forsake My law
And do not walk in My judgments,
31 If they [e]break My statutes
And do not keep My commandments,
32 Then I will punish their transgression with the rod,
And their iniquity with stripes.
33 (X)Nevertheless My lovingkindness I will not [f]utterly take from him,
Nor [g]allow My faithfulness to fail.
34 My covenant I will not break,
Nor (Y)alter the word that has gone out of My lips.
35 Once I have sworn (Z)by My holiness;
I will not lie to David:
36 (AA)His seed shall endure forever,
And his throne (AB)as the sun before Me;
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
Even like the faithful witness in the sky.” Selah
Jacob’s Return to Bethel
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to (A)Bethel and dwell there; and make an altar there to God, (B)who appeared to you (C)when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
2 And Jacob said to his (D)household and to all who were with him, “Put away (E)the foreign gods that are among you, (F)purify yourselves, and change your garments. 3 Then let us arise and go up to Bethel; and I will make an altar there to God, (G)who answered me in the day of my distress (H)and has been with me in the way which I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign [a]gods which were in their hands, and the (I)earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under (J)the terebinth tree which was by Shechem.
5 And they journeyed, and (K)the terror of God was upon the cities that were all around them, and they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. 6 So Jacob came to (L)Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. 7 And he (M)built an altar there and called the place [b]El Bethel, because (N)there God appeared to him when he fled from the face of his brother.
8 Now (O)Deborah, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the terebinth tree. So the name of it was called [c]Allon Bachuth.
9 Then (P)God appeared to Jacob again, when he came from Padan Aram, and (Q)blessed him. 10 And God said to him, “Your name is Jacob; (R)your name shall not be called Jacob anymore, (S)but Israel shall be your name.” So He called his name Israel. 11 Also God said to him: (T)“I am God Almighty. (U)Be fruitful and multiply; (V)a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body. 12 The (W)land which I gave Abraham and Isaac I give to you; and to your descendants after you I give this land.” 13 Then God (X)went[d] up from him in the place where He talked with him. 14 So Jacob (Y)set up a pillar in the place where He talked with him, a pillar of stone; and he poured a drink offering on it, and he poured oil on it. 15 And Jacob called the name of the place where God spoke with him, (Z)Bethel.
The Holy Spirit Falls on the Gentiles
44 While Peter was still speaking these words, (A)the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 (B)And [a]those of the circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, (C)because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.
Then Peter answered, 47 “Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit (D)just as we have?” 48 (E)And he commanded them to be baptized (F)in the name of the Lord. Then they asked him to stay a few days.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.