The Lame Beggar Healed

3 Now Peter and John were ^(A)going up to the temple at ^(B)the hour of prayer, ^(C)the ninth hour.^{[a] 2} And a man ^(D)lame from birth was being carried, ^(E)whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate ^(F)to ask alms of those entering the temple. ³ Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. ⁴ And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ⁵ And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. ⁶ But Peter said, ^(G)“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. ^(H)In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” ⁷ And he took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. ⁸ And ^(I)leaping up, he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. ⁹ And ^(J)all the people saw him walking and praising God, ¹⁰ and recognized him as the one who sat at the Beautiful Gate of the temple, asking for alms. And they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Peter Speaks in Solomon's Portico

^11 (K)While he clung to Peter and John, all the people, utterly astounded, ran together to them in ^(L)the portico called Solomon's. ¹² And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? ^13 (M)The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, ^(N)the God of our fathers, ^(O)glorified his servant^[b] Jesus, whom ^(P)you delivered over and ^(Q)denied in the presence of Pilate, ^(R)when he had decided to release him. ¹⁴ But you denied ^(S)the Holy and ^(T)Righteous One, and ^(U)asked for a murderer to be granted to you, ¹⁵ and you killed ^(V)the Author of life, ^(W)whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. ¹⁶ And ^(X)his name—by ^(Y)faith in his name—has made this man strong whom you see and know, and the faith that is ^(Z)through Jesus^[c] has given the man this perfect health in the presence of you all.

¹⁷ “And now, brothers, I know that ^(AA)you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. ¹⁸ But what God ^(AB)foretold ^(AC)by the mouth of all the prophets, that ^(AD)his Christ would ^(AE)suffer, he thus fulfilled. ^19 (AF)Repent therefore, and ^(AG)turn back, that ^(AH)your sins may be blotted out, ²⁰ that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ ^(AI)appointed for you, Jesus, ^21 (AJ)whom heaven must receive until the time for ^(AK)restoring all the things about which ^(AL)God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets long ago. ²² Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you ^(AM)a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen ^(AN)to him in whatever he tells you. ²³ And it shall be that every soul who does not listen to that prophet ^(AO)shall be destroyed from the people.’ ²⁴ And ^(AP)all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those who came after him, also proclaimed these days. ^25 (AQ)You are the sons of the prophets and of ^(AR)the covenant that God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, ^(AS)‘And in your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’ ^26 (AT)God, ^(AU)having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, ^(AV)to bless you ^(AW)by turning every one of you from your wickedness.”

^24 (A)Asahel the brother of Joab was one of the thirty; Elhanan the son of Dodo of Bethlehem, ^25 (B)Shammah of Harod, Elika of Harod, ²⁶ Helez the Paltite, Ira the son of Ikkesh ^(C)of Tekoa, ²⁷ Abiezer ^(D)of Anathoth, Mebunnai ^(E)the Hushathite, ²⁸ Zalmon ^(F)the Ahohite, Maharai ^(G)of Netophah, ²⁹ Heleb the son of Baanah ^(H)of Netophah, Ittai the son of Ribai of ^(I)Gibeah of the people of Benjamin, ³⁰ Benaiah ^(J)of Pirathon, Hiddai of the brooks of ^(K)Gaash, ³¹ Abi-albon the Arbathite, Azmaveth of ^(L)Bahurim, ³² Eliahba the Shaalbonite, the sons of Jashen, Jonathan, ^33 (M)Shammah the Hararite, Ahiam the son of Sharar the Hararite, ³⁴ Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai ^(N)of Maacah, ^(O)Eliam the son of ^(P)Ahithophel the Gilonite, ³⁵ Hezro^{[a] (Q)}of Carmel, Paarai the Arbite, ³⁶ Igal the son of Nathan ^(R)of Zobah, Bani the Gadite, ³⁷ Zelek the Ammonite, Naharai ^(S)of Beeroth, the armor-bearer of Joab the son of Zeruiah, ^38 (T)Ira the ^(U)Ithrite, Gareb the Ithrite, ^39 (V)Uriah the Hittite: thirty-seven in all.

David's Census

24 ^(W)(X)Again the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ^(Y)“Go, number Israel and Judah.” ² So the king said to Joab, the commander of the army,^[b] who was with him, “Go through all the tribes of Israel, ^(Z)from Dan to Beersheba, and number the people, that I may know the number of the people.” ³ But Joab said to the king, ^(AA)“May the Lord your God add to the people a hundred times as many as they are, while the eyes of my lord the king still see it, but why does my lord the king delight in this thing?” ⁴ But the king's word prevailed against Joab and the commanders of the army. So Joab and the commanders of the army went out from the presence of the king to number the people of Israel. ⁵ They crossed the Jordan and began from ^(AB)Aroer,^[c] and from the city that is in the middle of the ^(AC)valley, toward Gad and on to ^(AD)Jazer. ⁶ Then they came to Gilead, and to Kadesh in the land of the Hittites;^[d] and they came to Dan, and from Dan^[e] they went around to ^(AE)Sidon, ⁷ and came to the fortress of Tyre and to all the cities of the ^(AF)Hivites and ^(AG)Canaanites; and they went out to the Negeb of Judah at Beersheba. ⁸ So when they had gone through all the land, they came to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days. ⁹ And Joab gave the sum of the numbering of the people to the king: in Israel there were 800,000 valiant men ^(AH)who drew the sword, and the men of Judah were 500,000.

The Lord's Judgment of David's Sin

¹⁰ But ^(AI)David's heart struck him after he had numbered the people. And David said to the Lord, ^(AJ)“I have sinned greatly in what I have done. But now, O Lord, please take away the iniquity of your servant, for I have done ^(AK)very foolishly.” ¹¹ And when David arose in the morning, the word of the Lord came to ^(AL)the prophet Gad, David's ^(AM)seer, saying, ¹² “Go and say to David, ‘Thus says the Lord, Three things I offer^[f] you. Choose one of them, that I may do it to you.’” ¹³ So Gad came to David and told him, and said to him, “Shall ^(AN)three^[g] years of famine come to you in your land? Or will you flee three months before your foes while they pursue you? Or shall there be three days' pestilence in your land? Now consider, and decide what answer I shall return to him who sent me.” ¹⁴ Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let us fall into the hand of the Lord, ^(AO)for his mercy is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.”

^15 (AP)So the Lord sent a pestilence on Israel from the morning until the appointed time. And there died of the people from ^(AQ)Dan to Beersheba 70,000 men. ¹⁶ And when ^(AR)the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem ^(AS)to destroy it, ^(AT)the Lord relented from the calamity and said to the angel ^(AU)who was working destruction among the people, “It is enough; now stay your hand.” And ^(AV)the angel of the Lord was by the threshing floor of ^(AW)Araunah the Jebusite. ¹⁷ Then David spoke to the Lord when he saw the angel who was striking the people, and said, “Behold, I have sinned, and I have done wickedly. But these sheep, what have they done? Please let your hand be against me and against my father's house.”

David Builds an Altar

¹⁸ And Gad came that day to David and said to him, “Go up, raise an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of ^(AX)Araunah the Jebusite.” ¹⁹ So David went up at Gad's word, as the Lord commanded. ²⁰ And when Araunah looked down, he saw the king and his servants coming on toward him. And Araunah went out and paid homage to the king with his face to the ground. ²¹ And Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, in order to build an altar to the Lord, that the plague ^(AY)may be averted from the people.” ²² Then Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. Here are the oxen for the burnt offering and the ^(AZ)threshing sledges and the yokes of the oxen for the wood. ²³ All this, O king, Araunah gives to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May the Lord your God ^(BA)accept you.” ²⁴ But the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will buy it from you for a price. I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels^[h] of silver. ²⁵ And David built there an altar to the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. ^(BB)So the Lord responded to the plea for the land, and the plague was averted from Israel.

Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.