Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
93 The Lord is King.
The Lord wears majesty and strength like clothes.
He is ready, so the whole world is safe.
It will not be shaken.
2 Your kingdom has continued forever.
You have lived forever!
3 Lord, the ocean roars.
The mighty ocean sounds like thunder
as the waves crash on the shore.
4 The crashing waves of the sea are loud and powerful,
but the Lord above is even more powerful.
5 Lord, your laws will continue forever.[a]
Your holy Temple will stand for a long time.
Tyre Thinks It Is Like a God
28 The word of the Lord came to me. He said, 2 “Son of man,[a] say to the ruler of Tyre, ‘This is what the Lord God says:
“‘You are very proud!
And you say, “I am a god!
I sit on the seat of gods
in the middle of the seas.”
“‘But you are a man and not God!
You only think you are a god.
3 You think you are wiser than Daniel[b]
and no secret is hidden from you.
4 Through your wisdom and understanding
you have gotten riches for yourself.
And you put gold and silver
in your treasuries.
5 Through your great wisdom and trade,
you have made your riches grow.
And now you are proud
because of those riches.
6 “‘So this is what the Lord God says:
Tyre, you thought you were like a god.
7 I will bring strangers to fight against you.
They are most terrible among the nations!
They will pull out their swords
and use them against the beautiful things your wisdom brought you.
They will ruin your glory.
8 They will bring you down to the grave.
You will be like a sailor who died at sea.
9 That person will kill you.
Will you still say, “I am a god”?
No, he will have you in his power!
You will see that you are a man, not God!
10 Strangers will treat you like a foreigner[c] and kill you,
because I gave the command!’”
This is what the Lord God said.
Stephen Is Killed
54 When those in the council meeting heard this, they became very angry. They were so mad they were grinding their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up into heaven and saw the glory of God. And he saw Jesus standing at God’s right side. 56 Stephen said, “Look! I see heaven open. And I see the Son of Man standing at God’s right side.”
57 Everyone there started shouting loudly, covering their ears with their hands. Together they all ran at Stephen. 58 They took him out of the city and began throwing stones at him. The men who told lies against Stephen gave their coats to a young man named Saul. 59 As they were throwing the stones at him, Stephen was praying. He said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 He fell on his knees and shouted, “Lord, don’t blame them for this sin!” These were his last words before he died.
8 Saul agreed that the killing of Stephen was a good thing. Some godly men buried Stephen and cried loudly for him.
Trouble for the Believers
On that day the Jews began to persecute the church in Jerusalem, making them suffer very much. Saul was also trying to destroy the group. He went into their houses, dragged out men and women, and put them in jail. All the believers left Jerusalem. Only the apostles stayed. The believers went to different places in Judea and Samaria.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International