מ Mem

נ Nun

ס Samekh

Psalm 81^[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] Of Asaph.

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

Eli’s Wicked Sons

¹² Eli’s sons were scoundrels; they had no regard^(A) for the Lord. ¹³ Now it was the practice^(B) of the priests that, whenever any of the people offered a sacrifice, the priest’s servant would come with a three-pronged fork in his hand while the meat^(C) was being boiled ¹⁴ and would plunge the fork into the pan or kettle or caldron or pot. Whatever the fork brought up the priest would take for himself. This is how they treated all the Israelites who came to Shiloh. ¹⁵ But even before the fat was burned, the priest’s servant would come and say to the person who was sacrificing, “Give the priest some meat to roast; he won’t accept boiled meat from you, but only raw.”

¹⁶ If the person said to him, “Let the fat^(D) be burned first, and then take whatever you want,” the servant would answer, “No, hand it over now; if you don’t, I’ll take it by force.”

¹⁷ This sin of the young men was very great in the Lord’s sight, for they^[a] were treating the Lord’s offering with contempt.^(E)

¹⁸ But Samuel was ministering^(F) before the Lord—a boy wearing a linen ephod.^{(G) 19} Each year his mother made him a little robe and took it to him when she went up with her husband to offer the annual^(H) sacrifice. ²⁰ Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the Lord give you children by this woman to take the place of the one she prayed^(I) for and gave to^[b] the Lord.” Then they would go home. ²¹ And the Lord was gracious to Hannah;^(J) she gave birth to three sons and two daughters. Meanwhile, the boy Samuel grew^(K) up in the presence of the Lord.

²² Now Eli, who was very old, heard about everything^(L) his sons were doing to all Israel and how they slept with the women^(M) who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. ²³ So he said to them, “Why do you do such things? I hear from all the people about these wicked deeds of yours. ²⁴ No, my sons; the report I hear spreading among the Lord’s people is not good. ²⁵ If one person sins against another, God^[c] may mediate for the offender; but if anyone sins against the Lord, who will^(N) intercede^(O) for them?” His sons, however, did not listen to their father’s rebuke, for it was the Lord’s will to put them to death.

²⁶ And the boy Samuel continued to grow^(P) in stature and in favor with the Lord and with people.^(Q)

The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

2 When the day of Pentecost^(A) came, they were all together^(B) in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.^{(C) 3} They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit^(D) and began to speak in other tongues^[a](E) as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing^(F) Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed,^(G) they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?^{(H) 8} Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia,^(I) Pontus^(J) and Asia,^{[b](K) 10} Phrygia^(L) and Pamphylia,^(M) Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene;^(N) visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”^(O)

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴ Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵ These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!^{(P) 16} No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

The Resurrection and Marriage^(A)

²⁷ Some of the Sadducees,^(B) who say there is no resurrection,^(C) came to Jesus with a question. ²⁸ “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.^{(D) 29} Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. ³⁰ The second ³¹ and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. ³² Finally, the woman died too. ³³ Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”

³⁴ Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. ³⁵ But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come^(E) and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, ³⁶ and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children,^(F) since they are children of the resurrection. ³⁷ But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’^{[a](G) 38} He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”

³⁹ Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” ⁴⁰ And no one dared to ask him any more questions.^(H)