Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Creation Rejoices in His Salvation
Psalm 98
1 A psalm.
Sing to Adonai a new song,
for He has done marvelous things.
His right hand and His holy arm
have won victory for Him.
2 Adonai has made His salvation known.
He has revealed His righteousness before the eyes of the nations.
3 He has remembered His lovingkindness,
His faithfulness to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.
4 Shout joyfully to Adonai, all the earth.
Break forth, sing for joy, and sing praises.
5 Sing praises to Adonai with the harp,
with the harp and a voice of melody.
6 With trumpets and sound of the shofar
blast a sound before the King, Adonai.
7 Let the sea roar and all within it,
the world and those who dwell in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
let the mountains sing for joy together—
9 before Adonai, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with fairness.
5 So now says Adonai,
who formed Me from the womb to be His servant,
to bring Jacob back to Him,
to gather Israel back to Him.
For I am honored in the eyes of Adonai
and My God has become my strength.
6 So He says,
“It is too trifling a thing that You should be My servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and restore the preserved ones of Israel.
So I will give You as a light for the nations,
that You should be My salvation to the end of the earth.”[a]
The Centurion’s Vision
10 Now in Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian Cohort. 2 He was a devout man, revering God with all his household. He gave tzedakah generously to the people and prayed to God continually. 3 About the ninth hour of the day,[a] he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God coming and saying to him, “Cornelius!”
4 He stared at him in terror and said, “What is it, Lord?”
The angel said to him, “Your prayers and tzedakah have gone up as a memorial offering before God. 5 Now send men to Joppa and call for Simon, also named Peter. 6 He is being entertained as a guest by Simon the tanner, whose house is beside the sea.”
7 When the angel speaking to him had left, he called two of his servants and a soldier from among those attached to his command. 8 After he explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
Peter’s Vision
9 The next day, as the soldiers were traveling and approaching the city, Peter went up to the rooftop to pray, at about the sixth hour. [b] 10 Now he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they were preparing something, he fell into a trance. 11 He saw the heavens opened, and something[c] like a great sheet coming down, lowered by its four corners to the earth. 12 In it were all sorts of four-footed animals and reptiles and birds of the air.
13 A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.”
14 But Peter said, “Certainly not, Lord! For never have I eaten anything unholy or unclean.”[d]
15 Again a voice came to him, a second time: “What God has made clean, you must not consider unholy.” 16 This happened three times, and the sheet was immediately taken up to heaven.
17 Now while Peter was puzzling about what the vision he had seen might mean, behold, the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house and appeared before the gate. 18 They called out and began to ask whether Simon, also called Peter, was staying in this place as a guest.
19 Now while Peter was mulling over the vision, the Ruach said to him, “Look here, three men are looking for you. 20 But get up, go downstairs, and go with them without hesitating, because I Myself have sent them.”
21 Going down to the men, Peter said, “Here, I’m the one you’re looking for. What is the reason for your coming?”
22 And they said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well-spoken of by all the Jewish people, was directed by a holy angel to summon you to his house and to hear a message from you.”
23 So Peter invited them in to be his guests. The next day he got up and went with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa accompanied him.
Peter Goes to Cornelius
24 The following day he entered Caesarea. Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter entered, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him.
26 But Peter pulled him up, saying, “Stand up! I too am just a man.”
27 Talking with him, Peter went inside and found many people gathered. 28 He said to them, “You yourselves know that it is not permitted for a Jewish man to associate with a non-Jew or to visit him. Yet God has shown me that I should call no one unholy or unclean. 29 So I came without objection when I was sent for. I ask, then, what is the reason why you sent for me?”
30 Cornelius declared, “Four days ago at this hour, I was praying minchah[e] in my house. Suddenly, a man stood in front of me in shining clothes. 31 He says, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your tzedakah remembered before God. 32 Therefore send to Joppa and ask for Simon, who is also called Peter. He is staying in the house of Simon the tanner, by the sea.’ 33 So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”
34 Then Peter opened his mouth and said, “I truly understand that God is not one to show favoritism,
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.