Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 148[a]
148 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord from the sky.
Praise him in the heavens.
2 Praise him, all his angels.[b]
Praise him, all his heavenly assembly.[c]
3 Praise him, O sun and moon.
Praise him, all you shiny stars.[d]
4 Praise him, O highest heaven,
and you waters above the sky.[e]
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for he gave the command and they came into existence.
6 He established them so they would endure;[f]
he issued a decree that will not be revoked.[g]
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you sea creatures and all you ocean depths,
8 O fire and hail, snow and clouds,[h]
O stormy wind that carries out his orders,[i]
9 you mountains and all you hills,
you fruit trees and all you cedars,
10 you animals and all you cattle,
you creeping things and birds,
11 you kings of the earth and all you nations,
you princes and all you leaders[j] on the earth,
12 you young men and young women,
you elderly, along with you children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
for his name alone is exalted;
his majesty extends over the earth and sky.
14 He has made his people victorious,[k]
and given all his loyal followers reason to praise—
the Israelites, the people who are close to him.[l]
Praise the Lord!
17 After Jehoiada died, the officials of Judah visited the king and declared their loyalty to him.[a] The king listened to their advice.[b] 18 They abandoned the temple of the Lord God of their ancestors[c] and worshiped[d] the Asherah poles and idols. Because of this sinful activity, God was angry with Judah and Jerusalem. 19 The Lord sent prophets among them to lead them back to him.[e] They warned[f] the people, but they would not pay attention. 20 God’s Spirit energized[g] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. He stood up before the people and said to them, “This is what God says: ‘Why are you violating the commands of the Lord? You will not be prosperous. Because you have rejected the Lord, he has rejected you!’” 21 They plotted against him and by royal decree stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s temple. 22 King Joash disregarded[h] the loyalty Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him and killed Jehoiada’s[i] son. As Zechariah[j] was dying, he said, “May the Lord take notice and seek vengeance!”[k]
23 At the beginning[l] of the year the Syrian army attacked[m] Joash[n] and invaded Judah and Jerusalem. They wiped out all the leaders of the people and sent all the plunder they gathered to the king of Damascus. 24 Even though the invading Syrian army was relatively weak, the Lord handed over to them Judah’s very large army,[o] for the people of Judah[p] had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. The Syrians[q] gave Joash what he deserved.[r]
The Appointment of the First Seven Deacons
6 Now in those[a] days, when the disciples were growing in number,[b] a complaint arose on the part of the Greek-speaking Jews[c] against the native Hebraic Jews,[d] because their widows[e] were being overlooked[f] in the daily distribution of food.[g] 2 So the twelve[h] called[i] the whole group[j] of the disciples together and said, “It is not right for us to neglect the word of God to wait on tables.[k] 3 But carefully select from among you, brothers,[l] seven[m] men who are well-attested,[n] full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge[o] of this necessary task.[p] 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The[q] proposal pleased the entire group, so[r] they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, with[s] Philip,[t] Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a Gentile convert to Judaism[u] from Antioch. 6 They stood these men before the apostles, who prayed[v] and placed[w] their hands on them. 7 The word of God continued to spread,[x] the number of disciples in Jerusalem increased greatly, and a large group[y] of priests became obedient to the faith.
51 “You stubborn[a] people, with uncircumcised[b] hearts and ears![c] You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors[d] did! 52 Which of the prophets did your ancestors[e] not persecute?[f] They[g] killed those who foretold long ago the coming of the Righteous One,[h] whose betrayers and murderers you have now become![i] 53 You[j] received the law by decrees given by angels,[k] but you did not obey[l] it.”
Stephen is Killed
54 When they heard these things, they became furious[m] and ground their teeth[n] at him. 55 But Stephen,[o] full[p] of the Holy Spirit, looked intently[q] toward heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing[r] at the right hand of God. 56 “Look!” he said.[s] “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!” 57 But they covered their ears,[t] shouting out with a loud voice, and rushed at him with one intent. 58 When[u] they had driven him out of the city, they began to stone him,[v] and the witnesses laid their cloaks[w] at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 They[x] continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he fell[y] to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”[z] When[aa] he had said this, he died.[ab]
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.