Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise to Yahweh for His Salvation and Judgment
A psalm.[a]
98 Sing to[b] Yahweh a new song, for he has done wonders.
His right hand and his holy arm have secured his victory.
2 Yahweh has made known his salvation;[c]
to the eyes of the nations he has revealed his righteousness.
3 He has remembered his loyal love and his faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation[d] of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to Yahweh, all the earth.
Be cheerful[e] and sing for joy and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to Yahweh with lyre,
with lyre and melodious sound.
6 With trumpets and sound of horn,
shout joyfully before the king, Yahweh.
7 Let the sea with[f] its fullness roar,
the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands.
Let the hills sing joyfully together
9 before Yahweh, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with equity.
5 And now Yahweh says,
who formed me from the womb as a servant for him,
to bring Jacob back to him,
and that Israel might not[a] be gathered,
for[b] I am honored in the eyes of Yahweh,
and my God has become my strength.
6 And he says, “It is trivial for you to be[c] a servant for me,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to bring back the preserved of Israel.
I will give you as a light to the nations,
to be my salvation to the end of the earth.”
Cornelius Has a Vision
10 Now there was a certain man in Caesarea named[a] Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort, 2 devout and fearing God together with all his household, doing many charitable deeds for the people and praying to God continually.[b] 3 About the ninth hour of the day, he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming to him and saying to him, “Cornelius.” 4 And he stared at him and became terrified and[c] said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and your charitable deeds have gone up for a memorial offering before God. 5 And now, send men to Joppa and summon a certain Simon, who is also called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a certain Simon, a tanner,[d] whose house is by the sea.” 7 And when the angel who spoke to him departed, he summoned two of the household slaves and a devout soldier from those who attended him, 8 and after he[e] had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Peter Has a Vision
9 And the next day, as[f] they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray at about the sixth hour. 10 And he became hungry and wanted to eat. But while[g] they were preparing the food,[h] a trance came over him. 11 And he saw heaven opened and an object something like a large sheet coming down, being let down to the earth by its four corners, 12 in which were all the four-footed animals and reptiles of the earth and birds of the sky. 13 And a voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, slaughter and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common and unclean!” 15 And the voice came again to him for the second time: “The things which God has made clean, you must not consider unclean!” 16 And this happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.
17 Now while Peter was greatly perplexed within himself as to what the vision that he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having found the house of Simon by asking around, stood at the gate. 18 And they called out and[i] asked if Simon who was also called Peter was staying there as a guest. 19 And while[j] Peter was reflecting about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, men[k] are looking for you. 20 But get up, go down, and go with them—not hesitating at all, because I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down to the men and[l] said, “Behold, I am he whom you are looking for! What is the reason for which you have come?” 22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man—and well spoken of by the whole nation of the Jews—was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear words from you.” 23 So he invited them in and[m] entertained them as guests, and on the next day he got up and[n] went away with them. And some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him. 24 And on the next day he entered into Caesarea.
Peter Visits Cornelius
Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and[o] had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 So it happened that when Peter entered, Cornelius met him, fell at his[p] feet, and[q] worshiped him.[r] 26 But Peter helped him up, saying, “Get up! I myself am also a man!” 27 And as he[s] conversed with him, he went in and found many people gathered. 28 And he said to them, “You know that it is forbidden for a Jewish man to associate with or to approach a foreigner. And to me God has shown that I should call no man common or unclean. 29 Therefore—and without raising any objection—I came when I[t] was sent for. So I ask for what reason you sent for me.”
30 And Cornelius said, “Four days ago at this hour,[u] the ninth, I was praying in my house. And behold, a man in shining clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your charitable deeds have been remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon who is also called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon, a tanner,[v] by the sea. 33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.[w] So now we all are present before God to hear all the things that have been commanded to you by the Lord.”
34 So Peter opened his[x] mouth and[y] said, “In truth I understand that God is not one who shows partiality,
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