⁹ Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to him who sits on the throne^(A) and who lives for ever and ever,^{(B) 10} the twenty-four elders^(C) fall down before him^(D) who sits on the throne^(E) and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

⁹ And they sang a new song, saying:^(A)

¹¹ Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand.^(H) They encircled the throne and the living creatures^(I) and the elders.^{(J) 12} In a loud voice they were saying:

¹³ Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth^(N) and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

¹⁴ The four living creatures^(R) said, “Amen,”^(S) and the elders^(T) fell down and worshiped.^(U)

The Lord Calls Samuel

3 The boy Samuel ministered^(A) before the Lord under Eli. In those days the word of the Lord was rare;^(B) there were not many visions.^(C)

² One night Eli, whose eyes^(D) were becoming so weak that he could barely see,^(E) was lying down in his usual place. ³ The lamp^(F) of God had not yet gone out, and Samuel was lying down in the house^(G) of the Lord, where the ark^(H) of God was. ⁴ Then the Lord called Samuel.

Samuel answered, “Here I am.^(I)” ⁵ And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

But Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down.

⁶ Again the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

“My son,” Eli said, “I did not call; go back and lie down.”

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know^(J) the Lord: The word^(K) of the Lord had not yet been revealed^(L) to him.

⁸ A third time the Lord called, “Samuel!” And Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am; you called me.”

Then Eli realized that the Lord was calling the boy. ⁹ So Eli told Samuel, “Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ The Lord came and stood there, calling as at the other times, “Samuel! Samuel!^(M)”

Then Samuel said, “Speak, for your servant is listening.”

Isaiah’s Commission

6 In the year that King Uzziah^(A) died,^(B) I saw the Lord,^(C) high and exalted,^(D) seated on a throne;^(E) and the train of his robe^(F) filled the temple. ² Above him were seraphim,^(G) each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet,^(H) and with two they were flying. ³ And they were calling to one another:

⁴ At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.^(M)

⁵ “Woe^(N) to me!” I cried. “I am ruined!^(O) For I am a man of unclean lips,^(P) and I live among a people of unclean lips,^(Q) and my eyes have seen^(R) the King,^(S) the Lord Almighty.”^(T)

⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal^(U) in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips;^(V) your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.^(W)”

⁸ Then I heard the voice^(X) of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send?^(Y) And who will go for us?^(Z)”

And I said, “Here am I.^(AA) Send me!”

Jehoshaphat Defeats Moab and Ammon

20 After this, the Moabites^(A) and Ammonites with some of the Meunites^[a](B) came to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

² Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army^(C) is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar^(D)” (that is, En Gedi).^{(E) 3} Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast^(F) for all Judah. ⁴ The people of Judah^(G) came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

⁵ Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard ⁶ and said:

¹³ All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

¹⁴ Then the Spirit^(T) of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah,^(U) a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

¹⁵ He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged^(V) because of this vast army. For the battle^(W) is not yours, but God’s. ¹⁶ Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. ¹⁷ You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see^(X) the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

¹⁸ Jehoshaphat bowed down^(Y) with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. ¹⁹ Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

²⁰ Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith^(Z) in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.^(AA)” ²¹ After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his^[c] holiness^(AB) as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

²² As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes^(AD) against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated. ²³ The Ammonites^(AE) and Moabites rose up against the men from Mount Seir^(AF) to destroy and annihilate them. After they finished slaughtering the men from Seir, they helped to destroy one another.^(AG)

²⁴ When the men of Judah came to the place that overlooks the desert and looked toward the vast army, they saw only dead bodies lying on the ground; no one had escaped. ²⁵ So Jehoshaphat and his men went to carry off their plunder, and they found among them a great amount of equipment and clothing^[d] and also articles of value—more than they could take away. There was so much plunder that it took three days to collect it. ²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berakah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Berakah^[e] to this day.

²⁷ Then, led by Jehoshaphat, all the men of Judah and Jerusalem returned joyfully to Jerusalem, for the Lord had given them cause to rejoice over their enemies. ²⁸ They entered Jerusalem and went to the temple of the Lord with harps and lyres and trumpets.

²⁹ The fear^(AH) of God came on all the surrounding kingdoms when they heard how the Lord had fought^(AI) against the enemies of Israel. ³⁰ And the kingdom of Jehoshaphat was at peace, for his God had given him rest^(AJ) on every side.

Psalm 149

13 ¹ Now in the church at Antioch^(A) there were prophets^(B) and teachers:^(C) Barnabas,^(D) Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,^(E) Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod^(F) the tetrarch) and Saul. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said,^(G) “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work^(H) to which I have called them.”^(I)