Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
11 Violent men perjure themselves,[a]
and falsely accuse me.[b]
12 They repay me evil for the good I have done;[c]
I am overwhelmed with sorrow.[d]
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth,[e]
and refrained from eating food.[f]
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered.)[g]
14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother.[h]
I bowed down[i] in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother.[j]
15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me.[k]
They tore at me without stopping to rest.[l]
16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly,[m]
and tried to bite me.[n]
17 O Lord, how long are you going to watch this?
Rescue[o] me[p] from their destructive attacks;
guard my life[q] from the young lions.
18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly;[r]
I will praise you before a large crowd of people.[s]
19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason[t] gloat[u] over me.
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes.[v]
20 For they do not try to make peace with others,[w]
but plan ways to deceive those who live peacefully in the land.[x]
21 They are ready to devour me;[y]
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!”[z]
22 But you take notice,[aa] Lord; do not be silent!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me.
23 Rouse yourself, wake up[ab] and vindicate me.[ac]
My God and Lord, defend my just cause.[ad]
24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat[ae] over me.
25 Do not let them say to themselves,[af] “Aha! We have what we wanted!”[ag]
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him.”
26 May those who rejoice in my troubles be totally embarrassed and ashamed.[ah]
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation.[ai]
27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice.
May they continually say,[aj] “May the Lord be praised,[ak] for he wants his servant to be secure.”[al]
28 Then I will tell others about your justice,[am]
and praise you all day long.[an]
A Vision of God’s Glory
1 In the thirtieth year,[a] on the fifth day of the fourth month, while I was among the exiles[b] at the Kebar River,[c] the heavens opened[d] and I saw a divine vision.[e] 2 (On the fifth day of the month—it was the fifth year of King Jehoiachin’s exile— 3 the Lord’s message came to the priest Ezekiel[f] the son of Buzi,[g] at the Kebar River in the land of the Babylonians.[h] The hand[i] of the Lord came on him there.)
4 As I watched, I noticed[j] a windstorm[k] coming from the north—an enormous cloud, with lightning flashing,[l] such that bright light[m] rimmed it and came from[n] it like glowing amber[o] from the middle of a fire. 5 In the fire[p] were what looked like[q] four living beings.[r] In their appearance they had human form,[s] 6 but each had four faces and four wings. 7 Their legs were straight, but the soles of their feet were like calves’ feet. They gleamed[t] like polished bronze. 8 They had human hands[u] under their wings on their four sides. As for the faces and wings of the four of them, 9 their wings touched each other; they did not turn as they moved, but went straight ahead.[v]
10 Their faces had this appearance: Each of the four had the face of a man, with the face of a lion on the right, the face of an ox on the left, and also the face of an eagle.[w] 11 Their wings were spread out above them; each had two wings touching the wings of one of the other beings on either side and two wings covering their bodies. 12 Each moved straight ahead[x]—wherever the spirit[y] would go, they would go, without turning as they went. 13 In the middle[z] of the living beings was something like[aa] burning coals of fire[ab] or like torches. It moved back and forth among the living beings. It was bright, and lightning was flashing out of the fire. 14 The living beings moved backward and forward as quickly as flashes of lightning.[ac]
15 Then I looked,[ad] and I saw one wheel[ae] on the ground[af] beside each of the four beings. 16 The appearance of the wheels and their construction[ag] was like gleaming jasper,[ah] and all four wheels looked alike. Their structure was like a wheel within a wheel.[ai] 17 When they moved they would go in any of the four directions they faced without turning as they moved. 18 Their rims were high and awesome,[aj] and the rims of all four wheels were full of eyes all around.
19 When the living beings moved, the wheels beside them moved; when the living beings rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up too. 20 Wherever the spirit[ak] would go, they would go,[al] and the wheels would rise up beside them because the spirit[am] of the living being was in the wheel. 21 When the living beings moved, the wheels moved, and when they stopped moving, the wheels stopped.[an] When they rose up from the ground, the wheels rose up from the ground; the wheels rose up beside them because the spirit of the living being was in the wheel.
22 Over the heads of the living beings was something like a platform,[ao] glittering awesomely like ice,[ap] stretched out over their heads. 23 Under the platform their wings were stretched out, each toward the other. Each of the beings also had two wings covering[aq] its body. 24 When they moved, I heard the sound of their wings—it was like the sound of rushing waters, or the voice of the Sovereign One,[ar] or the tumult[as] of an army. When they stood still, they lowered their wings.
25 Then there was a voice from above the platform over their heads when they stood still.[at] 26 Above the platform over their heads was something like a sapphire shaped like a throne. High above on the throne was a form that appeared to be a man. 27 I saw an amber glow[au] like a fire enclosed all around[av] from his waist up. From his waist down I saw something that looked like fire. There was a brilliant light around it, 28 like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds after the rain.[aw] This was the appearance of the surrounding brilliant light; it looked like the glory of the Lord. When I saw[ax] it, I threw myself face down, and I heard a voice speaking.
Ezekiel’s Commission
2 He said to me, “Son of man,[ay] stand on your feet and I will speak with you.”
23 So Peter[a] invited them in and entertained them as guests.
On the next day he got up and set out[b] with them, and some of the brothers from Joppa[c] accompanied him. 24 The following day[d] he entered Caesarea.[e] Now Cornelius was waiting anxiously[f] for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. 25 So when[g] Peter came in, Cornelius met[h] him, fell[i] at his feet, and worshiped[j] him. 26 But Peter helped him up,[k] saying, “Stand up. I too am a mere mortal.”[l] 27 Peter[m] continued talking with him as he went in, and he found many people gathered together.[n] 28 He said to them, “You know that[o] it is unlawful[p] for a Jew[q] to associate with or visit a Gentile,[r] yet God has shown me that I should call no person[s] defiled or ritually unclean.[t] 29 Therefore when you sent for me,[u] I came without any objection. Now may I ask why[v] you sent for me?” 30 Cornelius[w] replied,[x] “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon,[y] I was praying in my house, and suddenly[z] a man in shining clothing stood before me 31 and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your acts of charity[aa] have been remembered before God.[ab] 32 Therefore send to Joppa and summon Simon, who is called Peter. This man is staying as a guest in the house of Simon the tanner,[ac] by the sea.’ 33 Therefore I sent for you at once, and you were kind enough to come.[ad] So now we are all here in the presence of God[ae] to listen[af] to everything the Lord has commanded you to say to us.”[ag]
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