); Wisdom 4:7-15 (The righteous are rewarded); Acts 7:59—8:8 (Stephen is stoned to death) (New English Translation)
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!
59 They[a] continued to stone Stephen while he prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he fell[b] to his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them!”[c] When[d] he had said this, he died.[e] 8 1 And Saul agreed completely with killing[f] him.
Saul Begins to Persecute the Church
Now on that day a great[g] persecution began[h] against the church in Jerusalem, and all[i] except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions[j] of Judea and Samaria. 2 Some[k] devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation[l] over him.[m] 3 But Saul was trying to destroy[n] the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off[o] both men and women and put them in prison.[p]
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria[q] and began proclaiming[r] the Christ[s] to them. 6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said,[t] as they heard and saw the miraculous signs[u] he was performing. 7 For unclean spirits,[v] crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed,[w] and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8 So there was[x] great joy[y] in that city.
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