Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Praise Yahweh!
148 [a]Praise Yah!
Praise Yahweh (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His hosts!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, (E)heavens of heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of Yahweh,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He caused them to (H)stand forever and ever;
He gave a (I)statute and it will never pass away.
7 Praise Yahweh from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters and all (K)deeps;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)doing His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Beasts and all cattle;
(T)Creeping things and winged bird;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Princes and all [b]judges of the earth;
12 Both choice men as well as virgins;
The old with the young.
17 But after the death of Jehoiada the officials of Judah came and bowed down to the king, and the king listened to them. 18 And they forsook (A)the house of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, and (B)served the [a]Asherim and the idols; so (C)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their guilt. 19 Yet (D)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to Yahweh; though they testified against them, they did not give ear.
People Conspire Against Zechariah
20 (E)Now the Spirit of God clothed Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus says God, ‘(F)Why do you trespass against the commandments of Yahweh and do not succeed? (G)Because you have forsaken Yahweh, He has also forsaken you.’” 21 So (H)they conspired against him and at the command of the king they stoned him [b]to death in the court of the house of Yahweh. 22 Thus Joash the king did not remember the lovingkindness which his father Jehoiada had shown him, but he killed his son. And as he died he said, “May (I)Yahweh see and [c]avenge!”
Aram Comes Up Against Judah
23 Now it happened at the turn of the year that (J)the military force of the Arameans came up against him; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoil to the king of Damascus. 24 Indeed the military force of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet (K)Yahweh gave a very great military force into their hands, (L)because they had forsaken Yahweh, the God of their fathers. Thus they executed judgment on Joash.
Selection of the Seven
6 Now in those days, while the (A)disciples were (B)multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the [a](C)Hellenists against the (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [b]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Therefore, (G)brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, (H)full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5 And this word pleased the whole [c]congregation, and they chose (J)Stephen, a man (K)full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and (L)Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a [d](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)And the word of God kept on spreading, and (R)the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great [e]many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
51 “You men—(A)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears—are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 (B)And which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (C)the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers (D)you have now become; 53 you who received the Law as (E)ordained by angels, and yet did not observe it.”
Stephen Is Stoned to Death
54 Now when they heard this, they became (F)furious in their hearts, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But being (G)full of the Holy Spirit, he (H)gazed intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (I)at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the (J)heavens opened up and (K)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But crying out with a loud voice, they covered their ears and rushed at him with one accord. 58 And when they had (L)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and (M)the witnesses (N)laid aside their garments at the feet of (O)a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (P)was calling out and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then (Q)falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (R)do not hold this sin against them!” And having said this, he [a](S)fell asleep.
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