Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.
For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.
69 Save me, God,
For the (A)waters have [b]threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep (B)mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c](C)flood overflows me.
3 I am (D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My (E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those (F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me (G)are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.
30 I will (A)praise the name of God with song,
And (B)exalt Him with (C)thanksgiving.
31 And it will (D)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The (E)humble [a]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, (F)let your heart [b]revive.
33 For (G)the Lord hears the needy,
And (H)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.
The Anointing Oil
22 Moreover, the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 23 “Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of liquid myrrh [a]five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, 250, and of fragrant cane 250, 24 and of cassia 500, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a [b]hin. 25 You shall make [c]from these a holy anointing oil, a fragrant mixture of ointments, the work of a perfumer; it shall be (A)a holy anointing oil. 26 And (B)you shall anoint the tent of meeting with it, and the ark of the testimony, 27 and the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense, 28 and the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand. 29 You shall also consecrate them, so that they may be most holy; whatever touches them shall be holy. 30 And (C)you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, so that they may serve as priests to Me. 31 Furthermore, you shall speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations. 32 It shall not be poured on [d]anyone’s body, nor shall you make any like it in [e]the same proportions; (D)it is holy, and it shall be holy to you. 33 (E)Whoever mixes any like it or whoever puts any of it on a [f]layman [g](F)shall be cut off from his people.’”
The Incense
34 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Take for yourself spices—stacte, onycha, and galbanum, spices and pure frankincense; there shall be an equal part of each. 35 You shall make incense from it all, a skillful mixture, the work of a perfumer, salted, pure, and holy. 36 And you shall crush some of it very fine, and put part of it in front of the testimony in the tent of meeting (G)where I will meet with you; it shall be most holy to you. 37 And the incense which you shall make, (H)you shall not make in [h]the same proportions for yourselves; it shall be holy to you for the Lord. 38 (I)Whoever makes any like it, to [i]use as perfume, [j]shall be cut off from his people.”
2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the [a](A)Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said,
3 “(B)I am (C)a Jew, born in (D)Tarsus of (E)Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated [b]under (F)Gamaliel, [c](G)strictly according to the Law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as (H)you all are today. 4 (I)I persecuted this (J)Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, 5 as also (K)the high priest and all (L)the Council of the elders [d]can testify. From them I also (M)received letters to (N)the brothers, and started off for (O)Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem [e]as prisoners to be punished.
6 “(P)But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus at about noon, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, 7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ 8 And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am (Q)Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’ 9 And those who were with me (R)saw the light, but (S)did not [f]understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. 10 And I said, ‘(T)What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything that has been appointed for you to do.’ 11 But since I (U)could not see because of the [g]brightness of that light, I came into Damascus being led by the hand by those who were with me.
12 “Now a certain (V)Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law and (W)well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me, and standing nearby he said to me, ‘(X)Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And [h](Y)at that very moment I looked up at him. 14 And he said, ‘(Z)The God of our fathers has (AA)appointed you to know His will and to (AB)see the (AC)Righteous One and to hear a [i]message from His mouth. 15 For you will be (AD)a witness for Him to all people of (AE)what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you delay? (AF)Get up and be baptized, and (AG)wash away your sins by (AH)calling on His name.’
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