Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 96(A)
King of the Earth
1 Sing a new song to the Lord;
let the whole earth sing to the Lord.(B)
2 Sing to the Lord, bless his name;
proclaim his salvation from day to day.(C)
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
his wondrous works among all peoples.(D)
4 For the Lord is great and is highly praised;
he is feared above all gods.(E)
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
but the Lord made the heavens.(F)
6 Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.(G)
7 Ascribe to the Lord, you families of the peoples,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.(H)
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;(I)
bring an offering and enter his courts.(J)
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness;(K)
let the whole earth tremble before him.(L)
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns.(M)
The world is firmly established; it cannot be shaken.(N)
He judges the peoples fairly.”(O)
11 Let the heavens be glad and the earth rejoice;
let the sea and all that fills it resound.(P)
12 Let the fields and everything in them celebrate.
Then all the trees of the forest will shout for joy(Q)
13 before the Lord, for he is coming—
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness
and the peoples with his faithfulness.(R)
Elijah’s Message to Ahab
18 After a long time, the word of the Lord(A) came to Elijah in the third year:(B) “Go and present yourself to Ahab.(C) I will send rain on the surface of the land.” 2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.
The famine was severe in Samaria.(D) 3 Ahab called for Obadiah, who was in charge of the palace.(E) Obadiah was a man who greatly feared the Lord(F) 4 and took a hundred prophets and hid them, fifty men to a cave, and provided them with food and water when Jezebel(G) slaughtered the Lord’s prophets.(H) 5 Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.”(I) 6 They divided the land between them in order to cover it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went the other way by himself.
7 While Obadiah was walking along the road, Elijah suddenly met him.(J) When Obadiah recognized him, he fell facedown and said, “Is it you, my lord Elijah?”
8 “It is I,” he replied. “Go tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here!’” [a]
9 But Obadiah said, “What sin have I committed,(K) that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to put me to death? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not sent someone to search for you. When they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made that kingdom or nation swear they had not found you.
11 “Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!”’ 12 But when I leave you, the Spirit of the Lord may carry you off(L) to some place I don’t know. Then when I go report to Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord from my youth. 13 Wasn’t it reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel slaughtered the Lord’s prophets? I hid a hundred of the prophets of the Lord, fifty men to a cave, and I provided them with food and water. 14 Now you say, ‘Go tell your lord, “Elijah is here!”’ He will kill me!”
15 Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of Armies lives,(M) in whose presence I stand, today I will present myself to Ahab.”
16 Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. Then Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Is that you, the one ruining Israel?” (N)
18 He replied, “I have not ruined Israel, but you and your father’s family have, because you have abandoned the Lord’s commands(O) and followed the Baals.(P) 19 Now summon all Israel to meet me at Mount Carmel,(Q) along with the 450 prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah(R) who eat at Jezebel’s table.”
Driving Out an Unclean Spirit
31 Then he went down to Capernaum,(A) a town in Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbath. 32 They were astonished at his teaching because his message had authority.(B) 33 In the synagogue there was a man with an unclean demonic spirit who cried out with a loud voice,(C) 34 “Leave us alone! What do you have to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” (D)
35 But Jesus rebuked him(E) and said, “Be silent and come out of him!”(F) And throwing him down before them, the demon came out of him without hurting him at all.
36 Amazement came over them all, and they were saying to one another, “What is this message? For he commands the unclean spirits with authority and power, and they come out!” 37 And news about him began to go out to every place in the vicinity.
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