Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

¹ ¶ O sing unto the LORD a new song; sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

² Sing unto the LORD, bless his name; show forth his saving health from day to day.

³ Declare his glory among the Gentiles, his wonders among all peoples.

⁴ For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods.

⁵ For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.

⁶ Honour and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷ Give unto the LORD, O ye kindreds of the peoples, give unto the LORD the glory and the strength.

⁸ Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; bring offerings, and come into his courts.

⁹ O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness; fear before him, all the earth.

¹⁰ ¶ Say among the Gentiles that the LORD reigns; he also has established the world, it shall not be moved; he shall judge the peoples righteously.

¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar and the fullness thereof.

¹² Let the field be joyful and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood rejoice

¹³ before the LORD; for he has come, for he has come to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness and the peoples with his truth.

²⁰ And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation and made him king over all Israel; there were none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only.

²¹ And when Rehoboam came to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men of war, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam, the son of Solomon.

²² But the word of God came unto Shemaiah, the man of God, saying,

²³ Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the remnant of the people, saying,

²⁴ Thus hath the LORD said, Ye shall not go up nor fight against your brethren, the sons of Israel; return each one to his house, for this thing is from me. They hearkened, therefore, to the word of the LORD and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.

²⁵ ¶ And Jeroboam rebuilt Shechem in Mount Ephraim and dwelt therein, and going out from there, rebuilt Penuel.

²⁶ And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David

²⁷ if this people go up to sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem; for the heart of this people shall turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam, king of Judah, and they shall kill me and go again to Rehoboam, king of Judah.

²⁸ And having taken counsel, the king made two calves of gold and said unto the people, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem; behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.

²⁹ And he set the one in Bethel and the other he put in Dan.

³⁰ And this became an occasion for sin, for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan.

³¹ And he made a house of high places and made priests of the lowest of the people, who were not of the sons of Levi.

³² Then Jeroboam ordained a solemnity in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the solemnity that was celebrated in Judah; and he sacrificed upon the altar. So did he in Bethel, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made. He also ordered in Bethel the priests of the high places which he had made.

³³ So he sacrificed upon the altar which he had made in Bethel on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, the month which he had devised of his own heart, and made a feast unto the sons of Israel; and he climbed up on the altar to burn incense.

¹¹ Therefore being certain of that terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God, and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

¹² ¶ For we do not commend ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf that ye may have something to answer those who glory in appearance, and not in heart.

¹³ For whether we are fools, it is unto God; or whether we are sane, it is for your cause.

¹⁴ For the charity of the Christ constrains us because we judge thus: that if one died for all, then all are dead:

¹⁵ And that he died for all that those who live should not live from now on unto themselves, but unto him who died and rose again for them.

¹⁶ ¶ Therefore from now on we know no one according to the flesh: and even if we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know him no longer.

¹⁷ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are made new.