Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Whole Creation Invoked to Praise the Lord.
148 [a]Praise [b]the Lord!
Praise the Lord (A)from the heavens;
Praise Him (B)in the heights!
2 Praise Him, (C)all His angels;
Praise Him, (D)all His heavenly armies!
3 Praise Him, sun and moon;
Praise Him, all stars of light!
4 Praise Him, [c](E)highest heavens,
And the (F)waters that are above the heavens!
5 They are to praise the name of the Lord,
For (G)He commanded and they were created.
6 He has also (H)established them forever and ever;
He has made a (I)decree, and it will not pass away.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
(J)Sea monsters, and all the ocean (K)depths;
8 (L)Fire and hail, (M)snow and (N)clouds;
(O)Stormy wind, (P)fulfilling His word;
9 (Q)Mountains and all hills;
Fruit (R)trees and all cedars;
10 (S)Animals and all cattle;
(T)Crawling things and winged fowl;
11 (U)Kings of the earth and all peoples;
Rulers and all judges of the earth;
12 Both young men and virgins;
Old men and children.
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 abandoned (A)the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and (B)served the [a]Asherim and the idols; so (C)wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 Yet (D)He sent prophets to them to bring them back to the Lord; and they testified against them, but they would not listen.
Joash Murders Son of Jehoiada
20 (E)Then the Spirit of God [b]covered Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada the priest like clothing; and he stood above the people and said to them, “This is what God has said, ‘(F)Why do you break the commandments of the Lord and do not prosper? (G)Because you have abandoned the Lord, He has also abandoned you.’” 21 So (H)they conspired against him, and at the command of the king they stoned him [c]to death in the courtyard of the house of the Lord. 22 So Joash the king did not remember the kindness which Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him, but he murdered his son. And as Zechariah died he said, “May (I)the Lord see and [d]avenge!”
Aram Invades and Defeats Judah
23 Now it happened at the turn of the year that (J)the army of the Arameans came up against Joash; and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed all the officials of the people from among the people, and sent all their spoils to the king of Damascus. 24 Indeed, the army of the Arameans came with a small number of men; yet (K)the Lord handed a very great army over to them, (L)because [e]Judah and Joash had abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers. So they executed judgment on Joash.
Choosing of the Seven
6 Now [a]at this time, as the (A)disciples were (B)increasing in number, a complaint developed on the part of the [b](C)Hellenistic Jews against the native (D)Hebrews, because their (E)widows were being overlooked in (F)the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the [c]congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 Instead, (G)brothers and sisters, 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 task. 4 But we will (I)devote ourselves to prayer and to the [d]ministry of the word.” 5 The [e]announcement found approval with the whole [f]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 [g]Nicolas, a [h](M)proselyte from (N)Antioch. 6 And they brought these men before the apostles; and after (O)praying, they (P)laid their hands on them.
7 (Q)The word of God kept spreading; and (R)the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to (S)the faith.
51 “You men who are (A)stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. 52 (B)Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of (C)the Righteous One, and (D)you have now become betrayers and murderers of Him; 53 you who received the Law as (E)ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it.”
Stephen Put to Death
54 Now when they heard this, they were (F)infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But he, being (G)full of the Holy Spirit, (H)looked 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 and (K)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one [a]mind. 58 When they had (L)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and (M)the witnesses (N)laid aside their cloaks at the feet of (O)a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (P)called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he (Q)fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (R)do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he [b](S)fell asleep.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.