Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
To the director: With flutes.[a] A song of David.
5 Lord, listen to me
and understand what I am trying to say.
2 My God and King,
listen to my prayer.
3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you
and look to you for help.
And every morning you hear my prayers.
4 God, you don’t want evil people near you.
They cannot stay in your presence.[b]
5 Fools[c] cannot come near you.
You hate those who do evil.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.
7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house.
I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you.
8 Lord, show me your right way of living,
and make it easy for me to follow.
People are looking for my weaknesses,
so show me how you want me to live.
9 My enemies never tell the truth.
They only want to destroy people.
Their words come from mouths that are like open graves.
They use their lying tongues to deceive others.[d]
10 Punish them, God!
Let them be caught in their own traps.
They have turned against you,
so punish them for their many crimes.
11 But let those who trust in you be happy forever.
Protect and strengthen those who love your name.
12 Lord, when you bless good people,
you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.
13 My dear Jerusalem, what can I say about you?
What can I compare you to?
What can I say you are like?
How can I comfort you, city of Zion?
You have been hurt much too badly
for anyone to heal.
14 Your prophets saw visions for you,
but their visions were only worthless lies.
They didn’t speak against your sins.
They didn’t try to make things better.
They spoke messages for you,
but they were false messages that fooled you.
15 Those who pass by on the road
clap their hands and laugh at you.
They make fun of Jerusalem,
shaking their heads at the sight of her.
They ask, “Is this the city that people called
‘The Most Beautiful City’
and ‘The Joy of all the Earth’?”
16 All your enemies laugh at you.
They whistle and grind their teeth at you.
They say, “We have swallowed them up!
This is the day we were hoping for.
We have finally seen this happen!”
17 The Lord did what he planned to do.
He did what he said he would do.
He did what he commanded a long time ago.
He destroyed, and he had no pity.
He made your enemies happy because of what happened to you.
He made your enemies strong.
Barnabas and Saul Given a Special Work
13 In the church at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon (also called Niger), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene), Manaen (who had grown up with King Herod[a]), and Saul. 2 These men were all serving the Lord and fasting when the Holy Spirit said to them, “Appoint Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. They are the ones I have chosen to do it.”
3 So the church fasted and prayed. They laid their hands on Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus
4 Barnabas and Saul were sent out by the Holy Spirit. They went to the city of Seleucia. Then they sailed from there to the island of Cyprus. 5 When Barnabas and Saul came to the city of Salamis, they told the message of God in the Jewish synagogues. John Mark was with them to help.
6 They went across the whole island to the city of Paphos. There they met a Jewish man named Barjesus who did magic. He was a false prophet. 7 He always stayed close to Sergius Paulus, who was the governor and a very smart man. He invited Barnabas and Saul to come visit him, because he wanted to hear the message of God. 8 But the magician Elymas (as Barjesus was called in Greek) spoke against them, trying to stop the governor from believing in Jesus. 9 But Saul (also known as Paul), filled with the Holy Spirit, looked hard at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil, full of lies and all kinds of evil tricks! You are an enemy of everything that is right. Will you never stop trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies? 11 Now the Lord will touch you and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.”
Then everything became dark for Elymas. He walked around lost. He was trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the governor saw this, he believed. He was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International