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Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Daily Bible readings that follow the church liturgical year, with thematically matched Old and New Testament readings.
Duration: 1245 days
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Version
Psalm 102:12-28

12 Our Lord, you are King forever
    and will always be famous.
13 You will show pity to Zion
    because the time has come.
14 We, your servants,
    love each stone in the city,
and we are sad to see them
    lying in the dirt.

15 Our Lord, the nations
    will honor you,
and all kings on earth
    will praise your glory.
16 You will rebuild
    the city of Zion.
Your glory will be seen,
17 and the prayers of the homeless
    will be answered.

18 Future generations must also
praise the Lord,
    so write this for them:
19 “From his holy temple,
the Lord looked down
    at the earth.
20 He listened to the groans
    of prisoners,
and he rescued everyone
    who was doomed to die.”

21 All Jerusalem should praise
    you, our Lord,
22 when people from every nation
    meet to worship you.

23 I should still be strong,
but you, Lord, have made
    an old person of me.
24 You will live forever!
Years mean nothing to you.
    Don't cut my life in half!

25 (A) In the beginning, Lord,
you laid the earth's foundation
    and created the heavens.
26 They will all disappear
    and wear out like clothes.
You change them,
as you would a coat,
    but you last forever.
27 You are always the same.
    You are God for all time.
28 Every generation of those
who serve you
    will live in your presence.

2 Kings 4:8-17

Elisha Brings a Rich Woman's Son Back to Life

Once, while Elisha was in the town of Shunem,[a] he met a rich woman who invited him to her home for dinner. After that, whenever he was in Shunem, he would have a meal there with her and her husband.

Some time later the woman said to her husband, “I'm sure the man who comes here so often is a prophet of God. 10 Why don't we build him a small room on the flat roof of our house? We can put a bed, a table and chair, and an oil lamp in it. Then whenever he comes, he can stay with us.”

11 The next time Elisha was in Shunem, he stopped at their house and went up to his room to rest. 12-13 He said to his servant Gehazi, “This woman has been very helpful. Have her come up here to the roof for a moment.” She came, and Elisha told Gehazi to say to her, “You've gone to a lot of trouble for us, and we want to help you. Is there something we can request the king or army commander to do?”[b]

The woman answered, “With my relatives nearby, I have everything I need.”

14 “Then what can we do for her?” Elisha asked Gehazi.

Gehazi replied, “I do know that her husband is old, and that she doesn't have a son.”

15 “Ask her to come here again,” Elisha told his servant. He called for her, and she came and stood in the doorway of Elisha's room.

16 (A) Elisha said to her, “Next year at this time, you'll be holding your own baby son in your arms.”

“You're a man of God,” the woman replied. “Please don't lie to me.”

17 But a few months later, the woman got pregnant. She gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had promised.

2 Kings 4:32-37

32 Elisha arrived at the woman's house and went straight to his room, where he saw the boy's body on his bed. 33 He walked in, shut the door, and prayed to the Lord. 34 (A) Then he got on the bed and stretched out over the dead body, with his mouth on the boy's mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hand on his hands. As he lay there, the boy's body became warm. 35 Elisha got up and walked back and forth in the room, then he went back and leaned over the boy's body. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

36 Elisha called out to Gehazi, “Ask the boy's mother to come here.” Gehazi did, and when she was at the door, Elisha said, “You can take your son.”

37 She came in and bowed down at Elisha's feet. Then she picked up her son and left.

Acts 14:1-7

Paul and Barnabas in Iconium

14 Paul and Barnabas spoke in the synagogue in Iconium, just as they had done at Antioch, and many Jews and Gentiles[a] put their faith in the Lord. But the Jews who did not have faith in him made the other Gentiles angry and turned them against the Lord's followers.

Paul and Barnabas stayed there for a while, having faith in the Lord and bravely speaking his message. The Lord gave them the power to work miracles and wonders, and he showed that their message about his gift of undeserved grace was true.

The people of Iconium did not know what to think. Some of them believed the Jewish group, and others believed the apostles. Finally, some Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, decided to make trouble for Paul and Barnabas and to stone them to death.

6-7 But when the two apostles found out what was happening, they escaped to the region of Lycaonia. They preached the good news there in the towns of Lystra and Derbe and in the nearby countryside.

Contemporary English Version (CEV)

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