Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Majesty of the Lord.
93 The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty and splendor;
The Lord has clothed and encircled Himself with strength;
the world is firmly established, it cannot be moved.
2
Your throne is established from of old;
You are from everlasting.
3
The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
The floods have lifted up their voice;
The floods lift up their pounding waves.
4
More than the sounds of many waters,
More than the mighty breakers of the sea,
The Lord on high is mighty.
5
Your precepts are fully confirmed and completely reliable;
Holiness adorns Your house,
O Lord, forever.
Tyre’s King Overthrown
28 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God,
“Because your heart is lifted up
And you have said and thought, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of the gods
In the heart of the seas’;
Yet you are [only] a man [weak, feeble, made of earth] and not God,
Though you [imagine yourself to be more than mortal and] think your mind is as [wise as] the mind of God—
3
Behold, you are [imagining yourself] wiser than Daniel;
There is no secret [you think] that is hidden from you;
4
With your [own] wisdom and with your [own] understanding
You have acquired your riches and power
And have brought gold and silver into your treasuries;
5
By your great wisdom and by your trade
You have increased your riches and power,
And your heart is proud and arrogant because of your wealth;
6 Therefore thus says the Lord God,
‘Because you have imagined your mind [to be]
Like the mind of God [having thoughts and plans like God Himself],(A)
7
Therefore, behold, I will bring strangers (Babylonians) upon you,
The most ruthless and violent of the nations.
And they will draw their swords
Against the beauty of your wisdom [O Tyre]
And defile your splendor.
8
‘They will bring you down to the pit [of destruction],
And you will die the death of all those who die
In the heart of the seas.
9
‘Will you still say, “I am a god,”
In the presence of him who kills you?
But you are [only] a man [made of earth] and not God,
In the hands of those who wound and profane you.
10
‘You will die the death of the uncircumcised [barbarian]
By the hand of strangers,
For I have spoken!’ says the Lord God.”’”
Stephen Put to Death
54 Now when [a]they heard this [accusation and understood its implication], they were cut to the heart, and they began grinding their teeth [in rage] at him. 55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit and led by Him, gazed into heaven and saw the glory [the great splendor and majesty] of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened up [in welcome] and [b]the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and together rushed at him [considering him guilty of blasphemy]. 58 Then they drove him out of the city and began stoning him; and the witnesses placed their outer robes at the feet of a young man named [c]Saul.(A) 59 They continued stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!” 60 Then falling on his knees [in worship], he cried out loudly, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them [do not charge them]!” When he had said this, he fell asleep [in death].
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 Saul wholeheartedly approved of Stephen’s death.
And on that day a great and relentless persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem; and the believers were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles.
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