Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
11 Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 (A)They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13 But as for me, (B)when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own [a]heart.
14 I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down [b]heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But in my [c]adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16 With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, how long will You (C)look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18 I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among [d]many people.
19 (D)Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21 They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22 This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23 Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25 Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26 Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be (E)clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27 (F)Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
Ezekiel’s Vision of God
1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by (A)the River Chebar, that (B)the heavens were opened and I saw (C)visions[a] of God. 2 On the fifth day of the month, which was in the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 the word of the Lord came expressly to Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the [b]Chaldeans by the River Chebar; and (D)the hand of the Lord was upon him there.
4 Then I looked, and behold, (E)a whirlwind was coming (F)out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire. 5 (G)Also from within it came the likeness of four living creatures. And (H)this was their appearance: they had (I)the likeness of a man. 6 Each one had four faces, and each one had four wings. 7 Their [c]legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the soles of calves’ feet. They sparkled (J)like the color of burnished bronze. 8 (K)The hands of a man were under their wings on their four sides; and each of the four had faces and wings. 9 Their wings touched one another. The creatures did not turn when they went, but each one went straight (L)forward.
10 As for (M)the likeness of their faces, each (N)had the face of a man; each of the four had (O)the face of a lion on the right side, (P)each of the four had the face of an ox on the left side, (Q)and each of the four had the face of an eagle. 11 Thus were their faces. Their wings stretched upward; two wings of each one touched one another, and (R)two covered their bodies. 12 And (S)each one went straight forward; they went wherever the spirit wanted to go, and they did not turn when they went.
13 As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, (T)like the appearance of torches going back and forth among the living creatures. The fire was bright, and out of the fire went lightning. 14 And the living creatures ran back and forth, (U)in appearance like a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I looked at the living creatures, behold, (V)a wheel was on the earth beside each living creature with its four faces. 16 (W)The appearance of the wheels and their workings was (X)like the color of beryl, and all four had the same likeness. The appearance of their workings was, as it were, a wheel in the middle of a wheel. 17 When they moved, they went toward any one of four directions; they did not turn aside when they went. 18 As for their rims, they were so high they were awesome; and their rims were (Y)full of eyes, all around the four of them. 19 (Z)When the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up. 20 Wherever the spirit wanted to go, they went, because there the spirit went; and the wheels were lifted together with them, (AA)for the spirit of the [d]living creatures was in the wheels. 21 When those went, these went; when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up together with them, for the spirit of the [e]living creatures was in the wheels.
22 (AB)The likeness of the [f]firmament above the heads of the [g]living creatures was like the color of an awesome (AC)crystal, stretched out (AD)over their heads. 23 And under the firmament their wings spread out straight, one toward another. Each one had two which covered one side, and each one had two which covered the other side of the body. 24 (AE)When they went, I heard the noise of their wings, (AF)like the noise of many waters, like (AG)the voice of the Almighty, a tumult like the noise of an army; and when they stood still, they let down their wings. 25 A voice came from above the firmament that was over their heads; whenever they stood, they let down their wings.
26 (AH)And above the firmament over their heads was the likeness of a throne, (AI)in appearance like a sapphire stone; on the likeness of the throne was a likeness with the appearance of a man high above (AJ)it. 27 Also from the appearance of His waist and upward (AK)I saw, as it were, the color of amber with the appearance of fire all around within it; and from the appearance of His waist and downward I saw, as it were, the appearance of fire with brightness all around. 28 (AL)Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. (AM)This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord.
Ezekiel Sent to Rebellious Israel
So when I saw it, (AN)I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.
Ezekiel Called to Be a Prophet
2 And He said to me, “Son of man, (AO)stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.”
23 Then he invited them in and lodged them.
On the next day Peter went away with them, (A)and some brethren from Joppa accompanied him.
Peter Meets Cornelius
24 And the following day they entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them, and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. 26 But Peter lifted him up, saying, (B)“Stand up; I myself am also a man.” 27 And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. 28 Then he said to them, “You know how (C)unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But (D)God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. 29 Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?”
30 So Cornelius said, [a]“Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, (E)a man stood before me (F)in bright clothing, 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, (G)your prayer has been heard, and (H)your [b]alms are remembered in the sight of God. 32 Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. [c]When he comes, he will speak to you.’ 33 So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.