Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Happy Home
A song ·for going up to worship [of ascents; C perhaps sung while traveling to Jerusalem to celebrate an annual religious festival like Passover].
128 ·Happy [Blessed] are those who ·respect [fear] the Lord [Prov. 1:7] and ·obey him [L walk in his ways].
2 You will ·enjoy what you work for [L eat the labor of your hands],
and you will be ·blessed [happy] with ·good things [prosperity].
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine [C produce many children] in your house [Prov. 31:10–31].
Your children will be like olive branches [C bringing much good] around your table [Mic. 4:4; Zech. 3:10].
4 This is how the man who ·respects [fears] the Lord [Prov. 1:7]
will be blessed.
5 May the Lord bless you from Mount Zion [C the location of the Temple];
may you ·enjoy [experience; L see] the ·good things [prosperity] of Jerusalem all the days of your life.
6 May you see your grandchildren.
Let there be peace in Israel.
The Fall of Jericho
6 The people of Jericho were afraid because the Israelites were near. They closed the city gates and guarded them [L Now Jericho was tightly shut because of the sons/T children of Israel]. No one went into the city, and no one came out.
2 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Look, I have given ·you Jericho [L Jericho into your hands], its king, and all its fighting men. 3 March around the city with your ·army [L fighting men] once a day for six days. 4 Have seven priests carry trumpets made from ·horns of male sheep [rams’ horns] and have them march in front of the Ark. On the seventh day march around the city seven times and have the priests blow the trumpets as they march. 5 They will make one long blast on the trumpets. When you hear that sound, have all the people give a loud shout. Then the walls of the city will ·fall [collapse] so the people can ·go [charge] straight into the city.”
6 So Joshua son of Nun called the priests together and said to them, “Carry the Ark of the ·Agreement [Covenant; Treaty]. Tell seven priests to carry trumpets and march in front of it.” 7 Then Joshua ordered the ·people [or army], “Now go! March around the city. The ·soldiers with weapons [armed troops; or royal guard] should march in front of the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord.”
8 When Joshua finished speaking to the ·people [or army], the seven priests began marching before the Lord. They carried the seven trumpets and blew them as they marched. The priests carrying the Ark of the ·Agreement with [Covenant/Treaty of] the Lord followed them. 9 ·Soldiers with weapons [Armed troops; or The royal guard] marched in front of the priests, and ·armed men [the rear guard] walked behind the Ark. The priests were blowing their trumpets. 10 But Joshua had ·told [commanded] the people not to give ·a war cry [the shout]. He said, “Don’t shout. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you. Then shout.” 11 So Joshua had the Ark of the Lord carried around the city one time. Then they went back to camp for the night.
12 Early the next morning Joshua got up, and the priests carried the Ark of the Lord again. 13 The seven priests carried the seven trumpets and marched in front of the Ark of the Lord, blowing their trumpets. ·Soldiers with weapons [Armed troops or The royal guard] marched in front of them, and ·other soldiers [the rear guard] walked behind the Ark of the Lord. ·All this time the priests were blowing their trumpets […while the trumpets kept blowing]. 14 So on the second day they marched around the city one time and then went back to camp. They did this every day for six days.
15 On the seventh day they got up at dawn and marched around the city, just as they had on the days before. But on that day they marched around the city seven times. 16 The seventh time around the priests blew their trumpets. Then Joshua gave the command: “Now, ·shout [give the battle cry]! The Lord has given you this city!
20 When the priests blew the trumpets, the ·people [army] shouted. At the sound of the trumpets and the ·people’s [army’s] shout, the walls fell, and everyone ·ran [charged] straight into the city. So the Israelites ·defeated [captured; took] that city.
Barnabas and Saul Are Chosen
13 In the church at Antioch there were these prophets and teachers: Barnabas [4:36], Simeon (also called Niger [C meaning “Black”; Luke 23:26]), Lucius (from the city of Cyrene [C a city in North Africa]), Manaen (who ·had grown up with Herod [or was a close friend of Herod; or was a member of Herod’s court], the ·ruler [L tetrarch; C a Roman political title; see Luke 3:1]), and Saul. 2 They were all ·worshiping [or serving] the Lord and fasting [C giving up eating for spiritual purposes]. During this time the Holy Spirit said to them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul to do ·a special [L the] work for which I have ·chosen [called] them.”
3 So after they fasted and prayed, they laid their hands on [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority] Barnabas and Saul and sent them out.
Barnabas and Saul in Cyprus
4 Barnabas and Saul, sent out by the Holy Spirit, went to the city of Seleucia [C a Syrian city 15 miles from Antioch]. From there they sailed to the island of Cyprus [C an island off the coast of Syria, and Barnabas’ homeland; 4:36]. 5 When they came to Salamis [C the main city of Cyprus], they preached the ·Good News [Gospel; L word] of God in the synagogues [L of the Jews]. John Mark was ·with them to help [their assistant].
6 They went across the whole island to Paphos [C the capital city of Cyprus, on the southwest coast] where they met a ·magician [sorcerer] named Bar-Jesus [C meaning “son of Jesus/Joshua”]. He was a Jewish false prophet 7 who ·always stayed close to [L was with; C perhaps an assistant or advisor] Sergius Paulus, the ·governor [proconsul] and a ·smart [intelligent; discerning] man. He asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him, because he wanted to hear the ·message [L word] of God. 8 But Elymas, the magician (that is what his name means), was against them [C Elymas probably comes either from an Arabic word meaning “wise man” or an Aramaic word meaning “interpreter of dreams”—hence a “magician”]. He tried to ·stop [turn away] the ·governor [proconsul] from ·believing in Jesus [L the faith]. 9 But Saul, who was also called Paul [C Saul was his Jewish name; Paul his Roman name (both probably given at birth)], was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked ·straight [intently] at Elymas 10 and said, “You son of the devil! You are an enemy of ·everything that is right [all righteousness]! You are full of ·lies [deceit] and ·evil tricks [fraud; evil schemes], ·always trying to change the Lord’s truths into lies [L will you never stop making crooked/perverting the straight paths of the Lord?]. 11 Now [L look; T behold] the [L hand of the] Lord will touch you, and you will be blind. For a time you will not be able to see anything—not even the light from the sun.”
Then ·everything became dark for [L mist and darkness fell upon] Elymas, and he walked around, trying to find someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the ·governor [proconsul] saw this, he believed because he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.
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