Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

87 God laid His foundations among the holy mountains.

² The LORD loves the gates of Zion above all the habitations of Jacob.

³ Glorious things are spoken of You, O City of God! Selah.

⁴ I will make mention of Rahab and Babel among those who know me. Behold Palestine and Tyre with Ethiopia. There He is born.

⁵ And it shall be said of Zion, “Many are born in her; and He, the Most High, shall establish her.”

⁶ The LORD shall count, when He writes the people, “He was born there.” Selah.

⁷ Both the singers and the players on instruments shall praise You, “All my springs are in You.” A song, or Psalm, of Heman the Ezrahite, to give instruction; committed to the sons of Korah for him who excels upon Mahalath Leannoth

5 Now was there one Naaman, captain of the army of the king of Aram, a great man, and honorable in the sight of his lord, because by him the LORD had delivered the Aramites. He also was a mighty man and valiant, but a leper.

² And the Aramites had gone out by bands and had taken a little maid from the land of Israel. And she served Naaman’s wife.

³ And she said to her mistress, “I wish my lord were with the Prophet that is in Samaria. He would soon deliver him of his leprosy.”

⁴ And he went in and told his lord, saying, “(Thus and thus) says the maid who is from the land of Israel.”

⁵ And the king of Aram said, “Go your way there. And I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” And he departed and took ten talents of silver with him, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of clothing,

⁶ and brought the letter to the king of Israel, which read to this effect, “Now when this letter has come to you, understand that I have sent you Naaman, my servant, so that you may heal him of his leprosy.”

⁷ And when the king of Israel had read the letter, he tore his clothes, and said, “Am I God, to kill and to give life that he sends to me, so that I could heal a man from his leprosy? Therefore, please consider and see how he seeks a quarrel against me.”

⁸ But when Elisha, the man of God, had heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes, he sent to the king, saying, “Why have you torn your clothes? Let him come to me now, and he shall know that there is a Prophet in Israel.”

⁹ Then Naaman came with his horses, and with his chariots, and stood at the door of the house of Elisha.

¹⁰ And Elisha sent a messenger to him, saying, “Go and wash yourself in Jordan seven times, and your flesh shall come back to you, and you shall be cleansed.”

¹¹ But Naaman was angry and went away, and said, “Behold, I thought to myself, ‘He will surely come out and stand and call on the Name of the LORD his God and put his hand on the place and heal the leprosy.’

¹² “Are not Abanah and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? May I not wash myself in them and be cleansed?” So, he turned and departed in displeasure.

¹³ But his servants came and spoke to him, and said, “Father, if the Prophet had commanded you a great thing, would you not have done it? How much more then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’”

¹⁴ Then he went down and washed himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God. And his flesh came back, like the flesh of a little child. And he was clean.

15 Then some from Judea came down and taught the brothers, saying, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

² And when there was great dissension and disputation by Paul and Barnabas against them, they ordained that Paul and Barnabas, and certain others of them, should go up to Jerusalem (to the apostles and elders) about this question.

³ Thus, being sent forth by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. And they brought great joy to all the brothers.

⁴ And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church, and by the apostles and elders. And they told what things God had done through them.

⁵ “But,” they said, “some of the Pharisee sect who believed, rose up, saying that it was necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the Law of Moses.”

⁶ Then the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.

⁷ And when there had been great disputation, Peter rose up, and said to them, “Men, brothers, you know that a good while ago, God chose me from among us. So that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the Word of the Gospel and believe.

⁸ “And God, Who knows the hearts, bore them witness in giving the Holy Ghost to them even as to us.

⁹ “And after He had purified their hearts by faith, He made no distinction between us and them.

¹⁰ “Now, therefore, why do you tempt God, to lay a yoke on the disciples’ necks which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?

¹¹ “But we believe we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as they are.”

¹² Then all the multitude kept silent and heard Barnabas and Paul, who told what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

¹³ And after their silence, James answered, saying, “Men, brothers, hear me.

¹⁴ “Simeon has declared how God first visited the Gentiles, to take a people to His Name.

¹⁵ “And the words of the Prophets agree with this. As it is written,

¹⁶ ‘After this I will return, and will rebuild the Tabernacle of David, which has fallen down. And I will rebuild the ruins thereof, and I will set it up.

¹⁷ ‘So that the remaining men - and all the Gentiles upon whom My Name is called - might seek after the Lord, says the Lord Who does all these things.’

¹⁸ “From the beginning of the world, God knows all His works.

¹⁹ “Therefore my judgment is that we do not trouble those of the Gentiles who have turned to God,

²⁰ “but that we write to them to abstain from filthiness of idols, and from fornication, and from that which is strangled, and from blood.

²¹ “For Moses has, for generations, had those who preach him in every city (seeing he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath).”