Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

107 Say thank you to the Lord for being so good, for always being so loving and kind. ² Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has saved you from your enemies.

³ He brought the exiles back from the farthest corners of the earth.

²³ And then there are the sailors sailing the seven seas, plying the trade routes of the world. ²⁴ They, too, observe the power of God in action. ²⁵ He calls to the storm winds; the waves rise high. ²⁶ Their ships are tossed to the heavens and sink again to the depths; the sailors cringe in terror. ²⁷ They reel and stagger like drunkards and are at their wit’s end. ²⁸ Then they cry to the Lord in their trouble, and he saves them. ²⁹ He calms the storm and stills the waves. ³⁰ What a blessing is that stillness as he brings them safely into harbor! ³¹ Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his loving-kindness and for all of his wonderful deeds! ³² Let them praise him publicly before the congregation and before the leaders of the nation.

²¹ Everyone listened to me and valued my advice, and was silent until I spoke. ²² And after I spoke, they spoke no more, for my counsel satisfied them. ²³ They longed for me to speak as those in drought-time long for rain. They waited eagerly with open mouths. ²⁴ When they were discouraged, I smiled and that encouraged them and lightened their spirits. ²⁵ I told them what they should do and corrected them as their chief, or as a king instructs his army, and as one who comforts those who mourn.

30 “But now those younger than I deride me—young men whose fathers are less than my dogs. ² Oh, they have strong backs all right, but they are useless, stupid fools. ³ They are gaunt with famine and have been cast out into deserts and the wastelands, desolate and gloomy. ⁴ They eat roots and leaves, ⁵ having been driven from civilization. Men shouted after them as after thieves. ⁶ So now they live in frightening ravines, and in caves, and among the rocks. ⁷ They sound like animals among the bushes, huddling together for shelter beneath the nettles. ⁸ These sons of theirs have also turned out to be fools, yes, children of no name, outcasts of civilization.

⁹ “And now I have become the subject of their ribald song! I am a joke among them! ¹⁰ They despise me and won’t come near me, and don’t mind spitting in my face. ¹¹ For God has placed my life in jeopardy. These young men, having humbled me, now cast off all restraint before me. ¹² This rabble trips me and lays traps in my path. ¹³ They block my road and do everything they can to hasten my calamity, knowing full well that I have no one to help me. ¹⁴ They come at me from all directions. They rush upon me when I am down.

¹⁵ “I live in terror now. They hold me in contempt, and my prosperity has vanished as a cloud before a strong wind.

21 After parting from the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. ² There we boarded a ship sailing for the Syrian province of Phoenicia. ³ We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship unloaded. ⁴ We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These disciples warned Paul—the Holy Spirit prophesying through them—not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ At the end of the week when we returned to the ship, the entire congregation including wives and children walked down to the beach with us where we prayed and said our farewells. ⁶ Then we went aboard, and they returned home.

⁷ The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the believers but stayed only one day. ⁸ Then we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the first seven deacons.^{[a] 9} He had four unmarried^[b] daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

¹⁰ During our stay of several days, a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea ¹¹ and visited us. He took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and turned over to the Romans.’” ¹² Hearing this, all of us—the local believers and his traveling companions—begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

¹³ But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! For I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ When it was clear that he wouldn’t be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ So shortly afterwards we packed our things and left for Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and on arrival we were guests at the home of Mnason, originally from Cyprus, one of the early believers;