Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 86
A Prayer of David.
1 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
for I am oppressed and needy.
2 Preserve my soul, for I am godly;
You are my God; save Your servant
who trusts in You.
3 Have mercy on me, O Lord,
for to You I cry all day long.
4 Gladden the soul of Your servant,
for to You, O Lord,
I lift my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are good, and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call on You.
6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer,
and attend to my plea for mercy.
7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
for You will answer me.
8 Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;
neither are there any works like Your works.
9 All nations whom You have made
shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
and shall glorify Your name.
10 For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You are God alone.
Jacob Returns to Bethel
35 Then God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel, dwell there, and there make an altar to God, who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.”
2 So Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, “Put away the foreign gods that are among you. Purify yourselves and change your clothes. 3 Let us arise and go up to Bethel, and there I will make an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.” 4 So they gave Jacob all the foreign gods which were in their possession and all their earrings which were in their ears, and Jacob hid them under the oak which was near Shechem.
Persecution of the Apostles
17 Then the high priest and all those who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees) rose up and were filled with jealousy. 18 They seized the apostles and put them in the common prison. 19 But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out, and said, 20 “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”
21 Having heard this, they entered the temple at dawn and taught.
But the high priest and those who were with him came and called together the Sanhedrin and the senate of all the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought out. 22 But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, 23 “We found the prison securely shut and the guards standing outside before the doors. But when we opened it, we found no one inside.” 24 Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they were in doubt of what might become of this.
25 Then one came and told them, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” 26 Then the captain with his escorts went and brought them, without force lest they should be stoned, for they feared the people.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.