OLD TESTAMENT READINGS FOR SUNDAYS IN EASTERTIDE
For those who require an Old Testament reading on the Sundays in Eastertide, provision is made for the Church of England or Church of Ireland/Church in Wales. If these are used, the reading from Acts must be used as the Second Reading.


EASTER 4 YEAR B


FIRST READING (Alternative readings)

Either Acts 4.5-12

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
5 The Jewish rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.
7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, 'By what power or by what name did you do this?'
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed,
10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
11 This Jesus is "the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone."
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.'

Or Genesis 7.1-5, 11-18; 8.6-18; 9.8-13 (Church Of England alternative)
If this is used, the reading from Acts (above) must be used as the Second Reading.

A reading from the book of Genesis.
1 The LORD said to Noah, 'Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation.
2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate;
3 and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth.
4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.'
5 And Noah did all that the LORD had commanded him.
11 In the six-hundredth year of Noah's life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened.
12 The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights.
13 On the very same day Noah with his sons, Shem and Ham and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark,
14 they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind - every bird, every winged creature.
15 They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life.
16 And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the LORD shut him in.
17 The flood continued for forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth.
18 The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters.
6 At the end of forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made
7 and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth.
8 Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground;
9 but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him.
10 He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark;
11 and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth.
12 Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more.
13 In the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying.
14 In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.
15 Then God said to Noah,
16 'Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons' wives with you.
17 Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh - birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth - so that they may abound on the earth, and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.'
18 So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his sons' wives.
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him,
9 'As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you,
10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark.
11 I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.'
12 God said, 'This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations:
13 I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth.'

Or Ezekiel 34.1-10 (Church of Scotland/Church in Wales alternative)
If this is used, the reading from Acts (above) must be used as the Second Reading.

A reading from the book of the prophet Ezekiel.
1 The word of the LORD came to me:
2 Mortal, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel: prophesy, and say to them - to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord GOD: Ah, you shepherds of Israel who have been feeding yourselves! Should not shepherds feed the sheep?
3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fatlings; but you do not feed the sheep.
4 You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured, you have not brought back the strayed, you have not sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled them.
5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and scattered, they became food for all the wild animals.
6 My sheep were scattered, they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill; my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with no one to search or seek for them.
7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
8 As I live, says the Lord GOD, because my sheep have become a prey, and my sheep have become food for all the wild animals, since there was no shepherd; and because my shepherds have not searched for my sheep, but the shepherds have fed themselves, and have not fed my sheep;
9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
10 Thus says the Lord GOD, I am against the shepherds; and I will demand my sheep at their hand, and put a stop to their feeding the sheep; no longer shall the shepherds feed themselves. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they may not be food for them.


PSALM Psalm 23

RR The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures and leads me beside still waters. RR
3 He revives my soul and guides me along right pathways for his name's sake.
4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. RR
5 You spread a table before me in the presence of those who trouble me; you have anointed my head with oil, and my cup is running over.
6 Surely your goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. RR


SECOND READING (Alternative readings)

Either If the reading from Acts has been used as the first reading.

1 John 3.16-24

A reading from the first letter of John.
16 We know love by this, that the Son of God laid down his life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives for one another.
17 How does God's love abide in anyone who has the world's goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?
18 Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.
19 And by this we will know that we are from the truth and will reassure our hearts before him
20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Beloved, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have boldness before God;
22 and we receive from him whatever we ask, because we obey his commandments and do what pleases God.
23 And this is his commandment, that we should believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
24 All who obey his commandments abide in him, and he abides in them. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit that he has given us.

OrIf the Old Testament reading has been used as the first reading.

Acts 4.5-12

A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
5 The Jewish rulers, elders, and scribes assembled in Jerusalem,
6 with Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family.
7 When they had made the prisoners stand in their midst, they inquired, 'By what power or by what name did you do this?'
8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers of the people and elders,
9 if we are questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are asked how this man has been healed,
10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.
11 This Jesus is "the stone that was rejected by you, the builders; it has become the cornerstone."
12 There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.'


GOSPEL John 10.11-18

Hear the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John.
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
11 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12 The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away - and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.
13 The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep.
14 I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me,
15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father. And I lay down my life for the sheep.
16 I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
17 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life in order to take it up again.
18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.'