Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Tell the music leader to use flutes.
This is a song that David wrote.
Pray about your enemies[a]
5 Lord, listen to what I say to you.
I am upset, so think about what I am saying.
2 My King and my God, listen to my voice.
I am asking you to help me.
I am praying to you!
3 Lord, every morning you listen to my voice.
At sunrise I will turn to you for help,
and I will wait for you to answer.[b]
4 My God, you do not like anything that is bad.
Evil people cannot live near you.
5 Proud people cannot stand in front of you.
God, you hate everyone who does evil things.
6 You destroy those who tell lies.
The Lord hates murderers,
and those who deceive others.[c]
7 But I will come into your house,
because of your faithful love.
I will bend low in your holy temple,
and I will worship you.
8 Lord, help me to follow your right way.
My enemies are waiting to attack me.
Show the right way clearly to me,
so that I do not go the wrong way.
9 My enemies never speak what is true.
They only want to destroy people.
Their mouth has the smell of an open grave.[d]
Their tongues say nice things,
but they are all lies!
10 God, say that they are guilty!
Let their own wicked ideas bring punishment to them.
Send them away because they do so many bad things.
Yes, they have turned against you.
11 Please make people who turn to you happy.
Make them always sing with joy,
because you keep them safe.
Take care of those who are faithful to you.
Then they will be really happy.
12 Lord, you bless those who live in a right way.
Your love is like a shield that keeps them safe.
13 I want to help you people of Jerusalem,
but there is nothing that I can say to you.
I do not know about anything like what has happened to you.
God has destroyed Zion completely!
I do not know anyone who can make you people better.
14 Your prophets have promised you many good things.
Those good things will not happen.
They should have told you that you should not do wrong things.
If they had told you that, none of these troubles would have happened.
The prophets do not tell you true messages from God
and their dreams are false.[a]
15 Everyone who goes by laughs at you.
They are happy because you are sad.
They see how the enemy has destroyed everything in Jerusalem.
‘Surely this cannot be the city that men called most beautiful,’ they say.
‘People have said that this city is the best city on earth.’
16 All your enemies make noises through their teeth
because they are very happy.
‘We have won!’ they say.
‘We have waited for this day.
Now we have beaten you!
Now we have seen it!’
17 The Lord has done what he decided to do.
Yes, he has done what he told you about a long time ago.
He has destroyed your city and he has not felt sorry about it.
He has caused your enemies to be happy.
He has made them strong
so that they could win against you.[b]
The believers in Antioch send Saul and Barnabas to Cyprus
13 There were some prophets among the group of believers in Antioch. They taught the other believers more about Jesus. Barnabas and Simeon were two of these men. (People also called Simeon ‘Niger’.)[a] There was Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. There was also Manaen who had lived together with the ruler Herod when they were children. And there was Saul.
2 One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’
3 The believers continued to pray and to fast. Then the leaders put their hands on Barnabas and Saul and they prayed for them. They sent them away to start this new work.
What happened in Cyprus
4 The Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul away from Antioch. They travelled to the town of Seleucia, which is near the coast. From there they travelled on a ship to an island called Cyprus. 5 They arrived at a town called Salamis. There they went into the Jewish meeting places and they told the people God's message about Jesus. John Mark went with Barnabas and Saul to help them with their work.
6 They travelled across the whole island and they arrived at a town called Paphos. There they met a man called Bar-Jesus.[b] He was a Jew. He used magic to do surprising things. He said that he was a prophet from God. But his messages were not true.
7 The ruler of Cyprus was called Sergius Paulus. Bar-Jesus was his friend. Sergius Paulus understood things well. So he asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him. He wanted them to tell him God's message. 8 Bar-Jesus was also called Elymas. That was his name in the Greek language. He did not like what Barnabas and Saul were saying. He did not want Sergius Paulus to believe in Jesus. So he tried to stop him. 9 Then God filled Saul with the power of his Holy Spirit. (Saul was also now called Paul.[c] ) Paul looked straight at Elymas and he said, 10 ‘You are a servant of the Devil! You are against everything that is right. Your mind is full of lies and other bad things. You try to change the true message of the Lord and make it into lies. You must stop doing that! 11 The Lord will now punish you. You will become blind for a time. You will not even see the light of the sun.’
When Paul said that, immediately something like a dark cloud covered Elymas's eyes. He could not find his own way. He needed someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Sergius Paulus saw what had happened to Elymas. He was very surprised about the things that Barnabas and Paul taught him about the Lord Jesus. And so he believed in Jesus.
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