Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 125
Israel’s Stability
A song of ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion.
It cannot be shaken; it remains forever.(A)
2 Jerusalem—the mountains surround her.
And the Lord surrounds His people,
both now and forever.(B)
3 The scepter of the wicked will not remain
over the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous will not apply their hands to injustice.(C)
4 Do what is good, Lord, to the good,
to those whose hearts are upright.(D)
5 But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways,
the Lord will banish them with the evildoers.(E)
Peace be with Israel.(F)
9 After they had crossed over, Elijah said to Elisha, “Tell me what I can do for you before I am taken from you.”
So Elisha answered, “Please, let me inherit two shares[a] of your spirit.”(A)
10 Elijah replied, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me being taken from you,(B) you will have it. If not, you won’t.”
11 As they continued walking and talking, a chariot of fire with horses of fire(C) suddenly appeared and separated the two of them. Then Elijah went up into heaven in the whirlwind.(D) 12 As Elisha watched, he kept crying out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!”(E) Then he never saw Elijah again. He took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.(F)
Elisha Succeeds Elijah
13 Elisha picked up the mantle(G) that had fallen off Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 Then he took the mantle Elijah had dropped and struck the waters. “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” he asked. He struck the waters himself, and they parted to the right and the left, and Elisha crossed over.
15 When the sons of the prophets from Jericho who were facing him saw him, they said, “The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha.” They came to meet him and bowed down to the ground in front of him.
16 Then the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, “Since there are 50 strong men here with your servants, please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Spirit of the Lord has carried him away and put him on one of the mountains or into one of the valleys.”(H)
He answered, “Don’t send them.”
17 However, they urged him to the point of embarrassment,(I) so he said, “Send them.” They sent 50 men, who looked for three days but did not find him. 18 When they returned to him in Jericho(J) where he was staying, he said to them, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
19 Then the men of the city said to Elisha, “Even though our lord can see that the city’s location is good, the water is bad and the land unfruitful.”(K)
20 He replied, “Bring me a new bowl and put salt in it.”(L)
After they had brought him one, 21 Elisha went out to the spring of water, threw salt in it,(M) and said, “This is what the Lord says: ‘I have healed this water. No longer will death or unfruitfulness result from it.’” 22 Therefore, the water remains healthy to this very day according to the word that Elisha spoke.
17 “And now, brothers, I know that you did it in ignorance, just as your leaders also did.(A) 18 But what God predicted through the mouth of all the prophets—that His Messiah would suffer—He has fulfilled(B) in this way. 19 Therefore repent(C) and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped out,(D) that seasons of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,[a] 20 and that He may send Jesus, who has been appointed(E) for you as the Messiah. 21 Heaven must welcome[b] Him until the times of the restoration of all things, which God spoke about by the mouth of His holy prophets from the beginning.(F) 22 Moses said:[c]
The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your brothers. You must listen to Him in everything He will say to you. 23 And everyone who will not listen to that Prophet will be completely cut off from the people.(G)[d]
24 “In addition, all the prophets who have spoken, from Samuel and those after him, have also announced these days. 25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, saying to Abraham, And all the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.(H)[e] 26 God raised up His Servant[f] and sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your evil ways.”(I)
Peter and John Arrested
4 Now as they were speaking to the people, the priests, the commander of the temple police, and the Sadducees confronted them,(J) 2 because they were provoked that they were teaching the people and proclaiming the resurrection from the dead, using Jesus as the example.[g](K) 3 So they seized them and put them in custody until the next day, since it was already evening. 4 But many of those who heard the message believed, and the number of the men came to about 5,000.
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