Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

145 Praise by David. I exalt Thee, my God, O king, And bless Thy name to the age and for ever.

² Every day do I bless Thee, And praise Thy name to the age and for ever.

³ Great [is] Jehovah, and praised greatly, And of His greatness there is no searching.

⁴ Generation to generation praiseth Thy works, And Thy mighty acts they declare.

⁵ The honour -- the glory of Thy majesty, And the matters of Thy wonders I declare.

¹⁷ Righteous [is] Jehovah in all His ways, And kind in all His works.

¹⁸ Near [is] Jehovah to all those calling Him, To all who call Him in truth.

¹⁹ The desire of those fearing Him He doth, And their cry He heareth, and saveth them.

²⁰ Jehovah preserveth all those loving Him, And all the wicked He destroyeth.

²¹ The praise of Jehovah my mouth speaketh, And all flesh doth bless His holy name, To the age and for ever!

1 In the eighth month, in the second year of Darius, hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, the prophet, saying:

² `Jehovah was wroth against your fathers -- wrath!

³ And thou hast said unto them, Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, turn back unto Me, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And I turn back unto you, said Jehovah of Hosts.

⁴ Ye shall not be as your fathers, To whom the former prophets called, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Turn back I pray you, From your evil ways and from your evil doings, And they did not hearken, Nor attend to Me -- an affirmation of Jehovah.

⁵ Your fathers -- where [are] they? And the prophets -- to the age do they live?

⁶ Only, My words, and My statutes, That I commanded My servants the prophets, Have they not overtaken your fathers, And they turn back and say: As Jehovah of Hosts designed to do to us, According to our ways, and according to our doings, So He hath done to us?'

⁷ On the twenty and fourth day of the eleventh month, (it [is] the month of Sebat,) in the second year of Darius, hath a word of Jehovah been unto Zechariah, son of Berechiah, son of Iddo, the prophet, saying:

⁸ I have seen by night, and lo, one riding on a red horse, and he is standing between the myrtles that [are] in the shade, and behind him [are] horses, red, bay, and white.

⁹ And I say, `What [are] these, my lord?' And the messenger who is speaking with me saith unto me, `I -- I do shew thee what these [are].'

¹⁰ And the one who is standing between the myrtles doth answer and say, `These [are] they whom Jehovah hath sent to walk up and down in the land.'

¹¹ And they answer the messenger of Jehovah who is standing between the myrtles, and say, `We have walked up and down in the land, and lo, all the land is sitting still, and at rest.'

¹² And the messenger of Jehovah answereth and saith, `Jehovah of Hosts! till when dost Thou not pity Jerusalem, and the cities of Judah, that Thou hast abhorred these seventy years?'

¹³ And Jehovah answereth the messenger, who is speaking with me, good words, comfortable words.

¹⁴ And the messenger who is speaking with me, saith unto me, `Call, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts: I have been zealous for Jerusalem, and for Zion [with] great zeal.

¹⁵ And [with] great wrath I am wroth against the nations who are at ease, For I was a little wroth, and they assisted -- for evil.

¹⁶ Therefore, thus said Jehovah: I have turned to Jerusalem with mercies, My house is built in it, An affirmation of Jehovah of Hosts, And a line is stretched over Jerusalem.

¹⁷ Again call, saying: Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, Again do my cities overflow from good, And Jehovah hath again comforted Zion, And He hath fixed again on Jerusalem.'

²² And they were hearing him unto this word, and they lifted up their voice, saying, `Away from the earth with such an one; for it is not fit for him to live.'

²³ And they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing dust into the air,

²⁴ the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, saying, `By scourges let him be examined;' that he might know for what cause they were crying so against him.

²⁵ And as he was stretching him with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion who was standing by, `A man, a Roman, uncondemned -- is it lawful to you to scourge;'

²⁶ and the centurion having heard, having gone near to the chief captain, told, saying, `Take heed what thou art about to do, for this man is a Roman;'

²⁷ and the chief captain having come near, said to him, `Tell me, art thou a Roman?' and he said, `Yes;'

²⁸ and the chief captain answered, `I, with a great sum, did obtain this citizenship;' but Paul said, `But I have been even born [so].'

²⁹ Immediately, therefore, they departed from him who are about to examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him,

³⁰ and on the morrow, intending to know the certainty wherefore he is accused by the Jews, he did loose him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their sanhedrim to come, and having brought down Paul, he set [him] before them.

23 And Paul having earnestly beheld the sanhedrim, said, `Men, brethren, I in all good conscience have lived to God unto this day;'

² and the chief priest Ananias commanded those standing by him to smite him on the mouth,

³ then Paul said unto him, `God is about to smite thee, thou whitewashed wall, and thou -- thou dost sit judging me according to the law, and, violating law, dost order me to be smitten!'

⁴ And those who stood by said, `The chief priest of God dost thou revile?'

⁵ and Paul said, `I did not know, brethren, that he is chief priest: for it hath been written, Of the ruler of thy people thou shalt not speak evil;'

⁶ and Paul having known that the one part are Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, cried out in the sanhedrim, `Men, brethren, I am a Pharisee -- son of a Pharisee -- concerning hope and rising again of dead men I am judged.'

⁷ And he having spoken this, there came a dissension of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees, and the crowd was divided,

⁸ for Sadducees, indeed, say there is no rising again, nor messenger, nor spirit, but Pharisees confess both.

⁹ And there came a great cry, and the scribes of the Pharisees' part having arisen, were striving, saying, `No evil do we find in this man; and if a spirit spake to him, or a messenger, we may not fight against God;'

¹⁰ and a great dissension having come, the chief captain having been afraid lest Paul may be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiery, having gone down, to take him by force out of the midst of them, and to bring [him] to the castle.

¹¹ And on the following night, the Lord having stood by him, said, `Take courage, Paul, for as thou didst fully testify the things concerning me at Jerusalem, so it behoveth thee also at Rome to testify.'