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Psalm 75

1  We give you thanks, O God, we give you thanks, ♦︎
   for your name is near, as your wonderful deeds declare.
2  ‘I will seize the appointed time; ♦︎
   I, the Lord, will judge with equity.
3  ‘Though the earth reels and all that dwell in her, ♦︎
   it is I that hold her pillars steady.
4  ‘To the boasters I say, “Boast no longer,” ♦︎
   and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn.
5  ‘ “Do not lift up your horn on high; ♦︎
   do not speak with a stiff neck.” ’
6  For neither from the east nor from the west, ♦︎
   nor yet from the wilderness comes exaltation.
7  But God alone is judge; ♦︎
   he puts down one and raises up another.
8  For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, ♦︎
   well mixed and full of foaming wine.
9  He pours it out for all the wicked of the earth; ♦︎
   they shall drink it, and drain the dregs.
10  But I will rejoice for ever ♦︎
   and make music to the God of Jacob.
11  All the horns of the wicked will I break, ♦︎
   but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Psalm 76

1  In Judah God is known; ♦︎
   his name is great in Israel.
2  At Salem is his tabernacle, ♦︎
   and his dwelling place in Zion.
3  There broke he the flashing arrows of the bow, ♦︎
   the shield, the sword and the weapons of war.
4  In the light of splendour you appeared, ♦︎
   glorious from the eternal mountains.
5  The boastful were plundered; they have slept their sleep; ♦︎
   none of the warriors can lift their hand.
6  At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, ♦︎
   both horse and chariot fell stunned.
7  Terrible are you in majesty: ♦︎
   who can stand before your face when you are angry?
8  You caused your judgement to be heard from heaven; ♦︎
   the earth trembled and was still,
9  When God arose to judgement, ♦︎
   to save all the meek upon earth.
10  You crushed the wrath of the peoples ♦︎
   and bridled the wrathful remnant.
11  Make a vow to the Lord your God and keep it; ♦︎
   let all who are round about him bring gifts
      to him that is worthy to be feared.
12  He breaks down the spirit of princes ♦︎
   and strikes terror in the kings of the earth.

11 Now the word of the Lord came to Solomon, ¹²‘Concerning this house that you are building, if you will walk in my statutes, obey my ordinances, and keep all my commandments by walking in them, then I will establish my promise with you, which I made to your father David. ¹³I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.’

14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

The Furnishings of the Temple

23 In the inner sanctuary he made two cherubim of olive wood, each ten cubits high. ²⁴Five cubits was the length of one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the length of the other wing of the cherub; it was ten cubits from the tip of one wing to the tip of the other. ²⁵The other cherub also measured ten cubits; both cherubim had the same measure and the same form. ²⁶The height of one cherub was ten cubits, and so was that of the other cherub. ²⁷He put the cherubim in the innermost part of the house; the wings of the cherubim were spread out so that a wing of one was touching one wall, and a wing of the other cherub was touching the other wall; their other wings towards the centre of the house were touching wing to wing. ²⁸He also overlaid the cherubim with gold.

29 He carved the walls of the house all round about with carved engravings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, in the inner and outer rooms. ³⁰The floor of the house he overlaid with gold, in the inner and outer rooms.

31 For the entrance to the inner sanctuary he made doors of olive wood; the lintel and the doorposts were five-sided.^{* 32}He covered the two doors of olive wood with carvings of cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers; he overlaid them with gold, and spread gold on the cherubim and on the palm trees.

33 So also he made for the entrance to the nave doorposts of olive wood, each four-sided, ³⁴and two doors of cypress wood; the two leaves of one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. ³⁵He carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers, overlaying them with gold evenly applied upon the carved work. ³⁶He built the inner court with three courses of dressed stone to one course of cedar beams.

37 In the fourth year the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid, in the month of Ziv. ³⁸In the eleventh year, in the month of Bul, which is the eighth month, the house was finished in all its parts, and according to all its specifications. He was seven years in building it.

James Killed and Peter Imprisoned

12About that time King Herod laid violent hands upon some who belonged to the church. ²He had James, the brother of John, killed with the sword. ³After he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. (This was during the festival of Unleavened Bread.) ⁴When he had seized him, he put him in prison and handed him over to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending to bring him out to the people after the Passover. ⁵While Peter was kept in prison, the church prayed fervently to God for him.

Peter Delivered from Prison

6 The very night before Herod was going to bring him out, Peter, bound with two chains, was sleeping between two soldiers, while guards in front of the door were keeping watch over the prison. ⁷Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He tapped Peter on the side and woke him, saying, ‘Get up quickly.’ And the chains fell off his wrists. ⁸The angel said to him, ‘Fasten your belt and put on your sandals.’ He did so. Then he said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’ ⁹Peter^* went out and followed him; he did not realize that what was happening with the angel’s help was real; he thought he was seeing a vision. ¹⁰After they had passed the first and the second guard, they came before the iron gate leading into the city. It opened for them of its own accord, and they went outside and walked along a lane, when suddenly the angel left him. ¹¹Then Peter came to himself and said, ‘Now I am sure that the Lord has sent his angel and rescued me from the hands of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.’

12 As soon as he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many had gathered and were praying. ¹³When he knocked at the outer gate, a maid named Rhoda came to answer. ¹⁴On recognizing Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the gate, she ran in and announced that Peter was standing at the gate. ¹⁵They said to her, ‘You are out of your mind!’ But she insisted that it was so. They said, ‘It is his angel.’ ¹⁶Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking; and when they opened the gate, they saw him and were amazed. ¹⁷He motioned to them with his hand to be silent, and described for them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he added, ‘Tell this to James and to the believers.’^* Then he left and went to another place.

Feeding the Five Thousand

6After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias.^{*  2}A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. ³Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. ⁴Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. ⁵When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming towards him, Jesus said to Philip, ‘Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?’ ⁶He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. ⁷Philip answered him, ‘Six months’ wages^* would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.’ ⁸One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, ⁹‘There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?’ ¹⁰Jesus said, ‘Make the people sit down.’ Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they^* sat down, about five thousand in all. ¹¹Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. ¹²When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.’ ¹³So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. ¹⁴When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, ‘This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.’

15 When Jesus realized that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, he withdrew again to the mountain by himself.

Jesus Walks on the Water

16 When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷got into a boat, and started across the lake to Capernaum. It was now dark, and Jesus had not yet come to them. ¹⁸The lake became rough because a strong wind was blowing. ¹⁹When they had rowed about three or four miles,^* they saw Jesus walking on the lake and coming near the boat, and they were terrified. ²⁰But he said to them, ‘It is I;^* do not be afraid.’ ²¹Then they wanted to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the land towards which they were going.