Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Praise the Name of the Lord

¹⁷ Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. ¹⁸ And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served ^(A)the Asherim and the idols. And ^(B)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. ^19 (C)Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. ^(D)These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Joash's Treachery

^20 (E)Then the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah ^(F)the son of Jehoiada the priest, and he stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus says God, ^(G)‘Why do you break the commandments of the Lord, so that you cannot prosper? ^(H)Because you have forsaken the Lord, he has forsaken you.’” ²¹ But ^(I)they conspired against him, ^(J)and by command of the king they stoned him with stones in the court of the house of the Lord. ²² Thus Joash the king did not remember the kindness that Jehoiada, Zechariah's father, had shown him, but killed his son. And when he was dying, he said, “May the Lord see ^(K)and avenge!”^[a]

Joash Assassinated

²³ At the end of the year ^(L)the army of the Syrians came up against Joash. They came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ Though the army of the Syrians had come with few men, ^(M)the Lord delivered into their hand a very great army, ^(N)because Judah^[b] had forsaken the Lord, the God of their fathers. Thus they ^(O)executed judgment on Joash.

Seven Chosen to Serve

6 Now in these days ^(A)when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists^[a] arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in ^(B)the daily distribution. ² And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. ^3 (C)Therefore, brothers,^[b] pick out from among you seven men ^(D)of good repute, ^(E)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. ⁴ But ^(F)we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” ⁵ And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, ^(G)a man full of faith and ^(H)of the Holy Spirit, and ^(I)Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, ^(J)a proselyte of Antioch. ⁶ These they set before the apostles, and ^(K)they prayed and ^(L)laid their hands on them.

⁷ And ^(M)the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests ^(N)became obedient to ^(O)the faith.

^51 (A)“You stiff-necked people, ^(B)uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. ^(C)As your fathers did, so do you. ^52 (D)Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of ^(E)the Righteous One, ^(F)whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³ you who received the law ^(G)as delivered by angels and ^(H)did not keep it.”

The Stoning of Stephen

⁵⁴ Now when they heard these things ^(I)they were enraged, and they ^(J)ground their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But he, ^(K)full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw ^(L)the glory of God, and Jesus standing ^(M)at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ And he said, “Behold, I see ^(N)the heavens opened, and ^(O)the Son of Man standing ^(P)at the right hand of God.” ⁵⁷ But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together^[a] at him. ⁵⁸ Then ^(Q)they cast him out of the city and ^(R)stoned him. And ^(S)the witnesses laid down their garments ^(T)at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ And as they were stoning Stephen, ^(U)he called out, “Lord Jesus, ^(V)receive my spirit.” ⁶⁰ And ^(W)falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ^(X)“Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, ^(Y)he fell asleep.