Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 12[a]
For the music director, according to the sheminith style;[b] a psalm of David.
12 Deliver, Lord!
For the godly[c] have disappeared;[d]
people of integrity[e] have vanished.[f]
2 People lie to one another;[g]
they flatter and deceive.[h]
3 May the Lord cut off[i] all flattering lips,
and the tongue that boasts![j]
4 They say,[k] “We speak persuasively;[l]
we know how to flatter and boast.[m]
Who is our master?”[n]
5 “Because of the violence done to the oppressed,[o]
because of the painful cries[p] of the needy,
I will spring into action,”[q] says the Lord.
“I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.”[r]
6 The Lord’s words are absolutely reliable.[s]
They are as untainted as silver purified in a furnace on the ground,
where it is thoroughly refined.[t]
7 You, Lord, will protect them;[u]
you will continually shelter each one from these evil people,[v]
8 for the wicked seem to be everywhere,[w]
when people promote evil.[x]
12 There is a way that seems right to a person,[a]
but its end is the way that leads to death.[b]
13 Even in laughter the heart may ache,[c]
and the end[d] of joy may be[e] grief.
14 The backslider[f] will be paid back[g] from his own ways,
but a good person will be rewarded[h] for his.
15 A naive person[i] will believe anything,
but the shrewd person discerns his steps.[j]
16 A wise person is cautious[k] and turns from evil,
but a fool throws off restraint[l] and is overconfident.[m]
17 A person who has a quick temper[n] will do foolish things,
and a person with crafty schemes[o] will be hated.[p]
18 The naive have inherited[q] folly,
but the shrewd[r] will be crowned[s] with knowledge.
19 Bad people have bowed[t] before good people,
and wicked people have bowed[u] at the gates[v] of someone righteous.[w]
20 A poor person will be disliked[x] even by his neighbors,
but those who love the rich are many.[y]
21 The one who despises his neighbor sins,
but whoever is kind to the needy is blessed.
22 Do not those who devise[z] evil go astray?
But those who plan good exhibit[aa] faithful covenant love.[ab]
23 In all hard work[ac] there is profit,
but merely talking about it[ad] only brings[ae] poverty.[af]
24 The crown of the wise is their riches,[ag]
but the folly[ah] of fools is folly.
25 A truthful witness[ai] rescues lives,[aj]
but one who testifies falsely betrays them.[ak]
26 In the fear of the Lord one has[al] strong confidence,[am]
and it will be a refuge[an] for his children.
27 The fear of the Lord[ao] is like[ap] a life-giving fountain,[aq]
to turn[ar] people[as] from deadly snares.[at]
28 A king’s glory is[au] the abundance of people,
but the lack of subjects[av] is the ruin[aw] of a ruler.
29 Someone with great understanding is slow to anger,[ax]
but the one who has a quick temper[ay] exalts[az] folly.
30 A tranquil spirit[ba] revives the body,[bb]
but envy[bc] is rottenness to the bones.[bd]
31 The one who oppresses[be] the poor has insulted[bf] his Creator,
but whoever honors him shows favor[bg] to the needy.
The Arrest and Trial of Peter and John
4 While Peter and John[a] were speaking to the people, the priests and the commander[b] of the temple guard[c] and the Sadducees[d] came up[e] to them, 2 angry[f] because they were teaching the people and announcing[g] in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3 So[h] they seized[i] them and put them in jail[j] until the next day (for it was already evening). 4 But many of those who had listened to[k] the message[l] believed, and the number of the men[m] came to about 5,000.
5 On the next day,[n] their rulers, elders, and experts in the law[o] came together[p] in Jerusalem. 6 Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas, John, Alexander, and others who were members of the high priest’s family.[q] 7 After[r] making Peter and John[s] stand in their midst, they began to inquire, “By what power or by what name[t] did you do this?” 8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit,[u] replied,[v] “Rulers of the people and elders,[w] 9 if[x] we are being examined[y] today for a good deed[z] done to a sick man—by what means this man was healed[aa]— 10 let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ[ab] the Nazarene whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, this man stands before you healthy. 11 This Jesus[ac] is the stone that was rejected by you,[ad] the builders, that has become the cornerstone.[ae] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people[af] by which we must[ag] be saved.”
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