Sunday, May 21

22You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth, and fulfilled it with Your hand, as today.

23Now, O Lord God of Israel, keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, so long as your people guard and keep their ways to walk before Me, as you walked before Me.'

24So now, O Lord God of Israel, let the word be confirmed You spoke to Your servant David my father.

25'But will God indeed dwell with men on earth? If the heaven and the heaven of heaven will not be sufficient for You, how much less even this temple I built in Your name?

26Yet, O Lord God of Israel, regard my prayer, which Your servant is praying before You today,

27that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' to hear the prayer Your servant prays in this place day and night.

28You will hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. You will hear in Your dwelling place in heaven, and You will be merciful.

29'When anyone sins against his neighbor, or if he takes up an oath that he should swear, and comes and redeems himself before Your altar in this temple,

30You will hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your people Israel; condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving to him according to his righteousness.

10and they shall have exceeding gladness in the Lord.'

11Let my soul rejoice exceedingly in the Lord, for He clothed me with the garment of salvation and the tunic of gladness. He put a miter around me like a bridegroom and adorned me with ornaments like a bride. As the earth causes its flower to grow, and as a garden its seeds, so shall the Lord cause righteousness to rise up, and exceeding joy before all the Gentiles.

1For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until My righteousness goes forth as light, and My salvation burns like a lamp.

2The Gentiles will see your righteousness, and kings your glory; and one will call you by your new name, which the Lord shall name.

3You shall also be a crown of beauty in the Lord's hand, and the diadem of a kingdom in the hand of your God.

4You shall no longer be called Forsaken, and your land shall not be called Desert; for you shall be called My Will, and in your land, the Inhabited Earth.

5As a young man lives in wedlock with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell with you, and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so the Lord shall rejoice over you.

1Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

2Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and His glory shall be seen upon you.

3Kings shall come to your light, and the Gentiles to your brightness.

4Lift up your eyes all around, and see your children gathered together. Behold, all your sons come from afar, and your daughters shall be lifted upon their shoulders.

5Then you will see, fear and be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change their course and turn to you.

6Herds of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you. All those from Sheba shall come bearing gold, and they shall bring frankincense and proclaim the good news of the Lord's salvation.

7All the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you. They shall offer acceptable sacrifices upon My altar, and My house of prayer shall be glorified.

8Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves with young?

9The coastlands waited for Me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first, to bring your children from afar, and silver and gold with them for the sake of the Lord's name, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified.

10Foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall defend you; for I struck you because of My wrath, and I loved you because of My mercy.

11Your gates shall be opened continually, and they shall not be shut day or night, to bring you the power of the Gentiles, and their kings leading them.

12For the nations and their kings who will not serve you shall perish, and those nations will be utterly desolate.

13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, with the cypress, the pine, and the cedar together, to glorify My holy place.

14The sons of those who humbled and provoked you shall go to you in fear, and you shall be called City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15Because you were forsaken and hated, and there was no one to help you, therefore I will make you an eternal joy, the gladness of generations to generations.

16You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles and eat the wealth of kings. You shall know I am the Lord who saves you and the God of Israel who delivers you.

11But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.

12And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.

13Then they said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping?' She said to them, 'Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.'

14Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus.

15Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?' She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, 'Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away.'

16Jesus said to her, 'Mary!' She turned and said to Him, 'Rabboni!' (which is to say, Teacher).

17Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, 'I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.' '

18Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.

16Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.

17This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, 'These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.'

18And this she did for many days.

19But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, 'I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.' And he came out that very hour. But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

20And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, 'These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;

21and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.'

22Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded them to be beaten with rods.

23And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.

24Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

26Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's chains were loosed.

27And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.

28But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, 'Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.'

29Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

30And he brought them out and said, 'Sirs, what must I do to be saved?'

31So they said, 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.'

32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.

33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized.

34Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

1Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You are permitted to speak for yourself.'

2So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: 'I think myself happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am accused by the Jews,

3especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.

4'My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know.

5They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee.

6And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made by God to our fathers.

7To this promise our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to attain. For this hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews.

8Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?

9'Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.

10This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them.

11And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.

12'While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests,

13at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.

14And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'

15So I said, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

16But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you.

17I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you,

18to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.'

19'Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,

20but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.

1Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth.

2And His disciples asked Him, saying, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?'

3Jesus answered, 'Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.

4I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

5As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.'

6When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

7And He said to him, 'Go, wash in the pool of Siloam' (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.

8Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind said, 'Is not this he who sat and begged?'

9Some said, 'This is he.' Others said, 'He is like him.' He said, 'I am he.'

10Therefore they said to him, 'How were your eyes opened?'

11He answered and said, 'A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, 'Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.' So I went and washed, and I received sight.'

12Then they said to him, 'Where is He?'

13He said, 'I do not know.' They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees.

14Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes.

15Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, 'He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.'

16Therefore some of the Pharisees said, 'This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.'

17Others said, 'How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?' And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, 'What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?'

18He said, 'He is a prophet.' But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight.

19And they asked them, saying, 'Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?'

20His parents answered them and said, 'We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind;

21but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself.'

22His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue.

23Therefore his parents said, 'He is of age; ask him.'

24So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, 'Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner.'

25He answered and said, 'Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see.'

26Then they said to him again, 'What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?'

27He answered them, 'I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?'

28Then they reviled him and said, 'You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples.

29We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.'

30The man answered and said to them, 'Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes!

31Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him.

32Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind.

33If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.'

34They answered and said to him, 'You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?' And they cast him out.

35Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He had found him, He said to him, 'Do you believe in the Son of God?'

36He answered and said, 'Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?'

37And Jesus said to him, 'You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.'

38Then he said, 'Lord, I believe!' And he worshiped Him.

1Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.'

6Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

7Then Jesus said to them again, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

8All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

9I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.