Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 98[a]
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
for he performs[c] amazing deeds.
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.[d]
2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;[e]
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.[f]
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.[g]
4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
5 Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music.
6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord.
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
9 before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[h]
and the nations in a just manner.
5 So now the Lord says,
the one who formed me from birth[a] to be his servant—
he did this[b] to restore Jacob to himself,
so that Israel might be gathered to him;
and I will be honored[c] in the Lord’s sight,
for my God is my source of strength[d]—
6 he says, “Is it too insignificant a task for you to be my servant,
to reestablish the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the remnant[e] of Israel?[f]
I will make you a light to the nations,[g]
so you can bring[h] my deliverance to the remote regions of the earth.”
Peter Visits Cornelius
10 Now there was a man in Caesarea[a] named Cornelius, a centurion[b] of what was known as the Italian Cohort.[c] 2 He[d] was a devout, God-fearing man,[e] as was all his household; he did many acts of charity for the people[f] and prayed to God regularly. 3 About three o’clock one afternoon[g] he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God[h] who came in[i] and said to him, “Cornelius.” 4 Staring at him and becoming greatly afraid, Cornelius[j] replied,[k] “What is it, Lord?” The angel[l] said to him, “Your prayers and your acts of charity[m] have gone up as a memorial[n] before God. 5 Now[o] send men to Joppa[p] and summon a man named Simon,[q] who is called Peter. 6 This man is staying as a guest with a man named Simon, a tanner,[r] whose house is by the sea.” 7 When the angel who had spoken to him departed, Cornelius[s] called two of his personal servants[t] and a devout soldier from among those who served him,[u] 8 and when he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 About noon[v] the next day, while they were on their way and approaching[w] the city, Peter went up on the roof[x] to pray. 10 He became hungry and wanted to eat, but while they were preparing the meal, a trance came over him.[y] 11 He[z] saw heaven[aa] opened[ab] and an object something like a large sheet[ac] descending,[ad] being let down to earth[ae] by its four corners. 12 In it[af] were all kinds of four-footed animals and reptiles[ag] of the earth and wild birds.[ah] 13 Then[ai] a voice said[aj] to him, “Get up, Peter; slaughter[ak] and eat!” 14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord, for I have never eaten anything defiled and ritually unclean!”[al] 15 The voice[am] spoke to him again, a second time, “What God has made clean, you must not consider[an] ritually unclean!”[ao] 16 This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into heaven.[ap]
17 Now while Peter was puzzling over[aq] what the vision he had seen could signify, the men sent by Cornelius had learned where Simon’s house was[ar] and approached[as] the gate. 18 They[at] called out to ask if Simon, known as Peter,[au] was staying there as a guest. 19 While Peter was still thinking seriously about[av] the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Look! Three men are looking for you. 20 But get up,[aw] go down, and accompany them without hesitation,[ax] because I have sent them.” 21 So Peter went down[ay] to the men and said, “Here I am,[az] the person you’re looking for. Why have you come?” 22 They said, “Cornelius the centurion,[ba] a righteous[bb] and God-fearing man, well spoken of by the whole Jewish nation,[bc] was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message[bd] from you.” 23 So Peter[be] invited them in and entertained them as guests.
On the next day he got up and set out[bf] with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa[bg] accompanied him. 24 The following day[bh] he entered Caesarea.[bi] Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously[bj] for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 So when[bk] Peter came in, Cornelius met[bl] him, fell[bm] at his feet, and worshiped[bn] him. 26 But Peter helped him up,[bo] saying, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal.”[bp] 27 Peter[bq] continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together.[br] 28 He said to them, “You know that[bs] it is unlawful[bt] for a Jew[bu] to associate with or visit a Gentile,[bv] yet God has shown me that I should call no person[bw] defiled or ritually unclean.[bx] 29 Therefore when you sent for me,[by] I came without any objection. Now may I ask why[bz] you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius[ca] replied,[cb] “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon,[cc] I was praying in my house, and suddenly[cd] a man in shining clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity[ce] have been remembered before God.[cf] 32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner,[cg] by the sea.’ 33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.[ch] So now we are all here in the presence of God[ci] to listen[cj] to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.”[ck]
34 Then Peter started speaking:[cl] “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism in dealing with people,[cm]
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