Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Holy Is Yahweh Our God

Eli Hears About His Sons’ Evils

²² Now Eli was very old; and he heard ^(A)all that his sons were doing to all Israel, and how they lay with ^(B)the women who served at the doorway of the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why do you do such things, the evil things that I hear from all these people? ²⁴ No, my sons; for the report is not good ^(C)which I hear the people of Yahweh ^[a]passing about. ²⁵ If one man sins against another, ^(D)God will mediate for him; but ^(E)if a man sins against Yahweh, who can pray for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for ^(F)Yahweh desired to put them to death.

²⁶ Now the young boy ^(G)Samuel ^[b]was growing in stature and in favor both with Yahweh and with men.

Eli Honors His Sons Above Yahweh

²⁷ Then ^(H)a man of God came to Eli and said to him, “Thus says Yahweh, ‘^(I)Did I not indeed reveal Myself to the house of your father when they were in Egypt, enslaved to Pharaoh’s house? ^28 (J)And did I not choose them from all the tribes of Israel to be My priests, to go up to My altar, to burn incense, to carry an ephod before Me; and did I not ^(K)give to the house of your father all the fire offerings of the sons of Israel? ²⁹ Why do you ^(L)kick at My sacrifice and at My offering ^(M)which I have commanded in My ^(N)habitation, and ^(O)honor your sons above Me, by making yourselves fat with the ^[c]choicest of every offering of My people Israel?’ ³⁰ Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, declares, ‘^(P)I did indeed say that your house and the house of your father should walk before Me forever’; but now Yahweh declares, ‘Far be it from Me—for ^(Q)those who honor Me I will honor, and those ^(R)who despise Me will be cursed. ³¹ Behold, ^(S)the days are coming, and I will break your ^[d]strength and the ^[e]strength of your father’s house so that there will not be an old man in your house. ³² And you will look upon ^(T)the distress of My habitation, in spite of all the good that ^[f]I do for Israel; and an ^(U)old man will not be in your house all the days. ³³ Yet I will not cut off every man of yours from My altar ^[g]so that your eyes will fail from weeping and your soul grieve, and all the increase of your house will be put to death ^[h]in the prime of life. ³⁴ Now this will be ^(V)the sign to you which will come concerning your two sons, Hophni and Phinehas: ^(W)on the same day both of them will be put to death. ³⁵ But ^(X)I will raise up for Myself a faithful priest who will do according to what is in My heart and in My soul; and ^(Y)I will build him a faithful house, and he will walk before ^(Z)My anointed always. ³⁶ And it will be that everyone who is left in your house will come and bow down to him for a ^[i]piece of silver or a loaf of bread and say, “Please ^[j]assign me to one of the priest’s offices so that I may eat a piece of bread.”’”

The Healing at Bethesda

5 After these things there was ^(A)a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

² Now there is in Jerusalem by ^(B)the sheep gate a pool, which is called ^(C)in ^[a]Hebrew ^[b]Bethesda, having five porticoes. ³ In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, ^[c][waiting for the moving of the waters; ⁴ for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever sickness with which he was afflicted.] ⁵ And a man was there who had been sick for thirty-eight years. ⁶ When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been sick a long time, He *said to him, “Do you wish to get well?” ⁷ The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when ^(D)the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” ⁸ Jesus *said to him, “^(E)Get up, pick up your mat and walk.” ⁹ And immediately the man became well, and picked up his mat and began to walk.

^(F)Now it was the Sabbath on that day. ¹⁰ So ^(G)the Jews were saying to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath, and ^(H)it is not lawful for you to carry your mat.” ¹¹ But he answered them, “He who made me well was the one who said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’” ¹² They asked him, “Who is the man who said to you, ‘Pick up your mat and walk’?” ¹³ But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. ¹⁴ Afterward Jesus *found him in the temple and said to him, “Behold, you have become well; do not ^(I)sin anymore, ^(J)so that nothing worse happens to you.” ¹⁵ The man went away, and disclosed to ^(K)the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. ¹⁶ And for this reason ^(L)the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. ¹⁷ But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”

Jesus’ Equality with the Father

¹⁸ For this reason therefore ^(M)the Jews ^(N)were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, ^(O)making Himself equal with God.