Jehoshaphat's Prayer

20 After this ^(A)the Moabites and Ammonites, and with them some of the Meunites,^[a] came against Jehoshaphat for battle. ² Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from Edom,^[b] from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in ^(B)Hazazon-tamar” (that is, ^(C)Engedi). ³ Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face ^(D)to seek the Lord, and ^(E)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.

⁵ And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, ⁶ and said, “O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not ^(F)God in heaven? You ^(G)rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. ^(H)In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. ⁷ Did you not, our God, ^(I)drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it for ever to the descendants of ^(J)Abraham your friend? ⁸ And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, ^9 (K)‘If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgement,^[c] or pestilence, or famine, ^(L)we will stand before this house and before you—^(M)for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save.’ ¹⁰ And now behold, the men of ^(N)Ammon and Moab and ^(O)Mount Seir, whom ^(P)you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, ^(Q)and whom they avoided and did not destroy— ¹¹ behold, they reward us ^(R)by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will you not ^(S)execute judgement on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but ^(T)our eyes are on you.”

¹³ Meanwhile all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.

Barnabas and Saul Sent Off

13 Now there were in the church at Antioch ^(A)prophets and ^(B)teachers, ^(C)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger,^[a] Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of ^(D)Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² While they were worshipping the Lord and fasting, ^(E)the Holy Spirit said, ^(F)“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul ^(G)for the work to which I have called them.” ³ Then after fasting and ^(H)praying they laid their hands on them and ^(I)sent them off.

Barnabas and Saul on Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out ^(J)by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God ^(K)in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had ^(L)John to ^(M)assist them. ⁶ When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain ^(N)magician, ^(O)a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. ⁷ He was with ^(P)the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But Elymas the ^(Q)magician (for that is the meaning of his name) ^(R)opposed them, seeking to turn ^(S)the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ But Saul, who was also called Paul, ^(T)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “You ^(U)son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and ^(V)villainy, will you not stop ^(W)making crooked ^(X)the straight paths of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, behold, ^(Y)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time.” Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him, and he went about seeking ^(Z)people to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at ^(AA)the teaching of the Lord.

Fasting

¹⁶ “And ^(A)when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. ^(B)Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. ¹⁷ But when you fast, ^(C)anoint your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. ^(D)And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Lay Up Treasures in Heaven

^19 (E)“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where ^(F)moth and rust^[a] destroy and where thieves ^(G)break in and steal, ^20 (H)but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.