Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Sing a new song![a]
96 Sing a new song to praise the Lord!
All the world,
sing to praise the Lord!
2 Sing to praise the Lord's great name!
Every day, tell people the message
that he has rescued us.
3 Tell the other nations that he is very great.
Tell all of them
about the great things that he has done.
4 Yes, the Lord is great!
Everyone should praise him as he deserves.
People should respect him with fear,
more than all other gods.
5 All the other nations' gods are useless idols.
But the Lord made the heavens.
6 We see that he is a very great king.
His holy home is full of his power and his beauty.
7 You people of other nations,
recognize that the Lord is great and powerful.
8 Agree that the Lord's name is great.
Bring a gift to offer to him in his temple.
9 Worship the Lord,
who is beautiful and holy.
Everyone on earth must shake with fear in front of him.
10 Tell all the nations,
‘The Lord rules as King!’
He has fixed the world in its place,
so that nothing can shake it.
He will judge all the people of the world fairly.
11 The earth and the sky
should be happy!
The sea and everything in it
should shout aloud!
12 The fields and all their crops should shout with joy!
Then all the trees in the forests will also sing
because they are so happy!
13 They will sing to praise the Lord,
for he will come to judge the earth.
He is a fair judge.
He will judge all the people of the world with his truth.
Elijah and Obadiah
18 When there had been no rain for three years, the Lord told Elijah, ‘Go and meet King Ahab. After that, I will send rain to make the ground wet again.’ 2 So Elijah went to meet Ahab.
At that time, the famine in Samaria was very bad. 3 King Ahab told his officer Obadiah to come and meet him. Obadiah had authority over the king's palace.
Obadiah obeyed the Lord very faithfully.[a] 4 At one time, Ahab's wife Jezebel was killing many of the Lord's prophets. While she was doing this, Obadiah had kept 100 prophets safe. He had hidden them in two caves, with 50 prophets in each cave. He had also given them food and water.
5 Now Ahab said to Obadiah, ‘Go through all the land to where there are valleys and springs of water. See if we can find some grass to feed the horses and mules. Then we will not have to kill our animals.’ 6 So Ahab and Obadiah went to different parts of the country. Ahab went in one direction and Obadiah went in another direction.
7 While Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized Elijah. He bent his body down towards the ground in front of Elijah. Obadiah said, ‘Is it really you, my master, Elijah?’ 8 Elijah replied. ‘Yes! Now go and tell your master that Elijah is here again.’ 9 Obadiah said, ‘Why are you sending me to my death? What have I done to hurt you? Ahab will certainly kill me if I tell him you are here! 10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, my master, King Ahab, has sent people everywhere to look for you. He has looked in every nation and every kingdom. When they say, “Elijah is not here!” he makes them promise that they are speaking the truth. 11 But now you are telling me to go to my master. You want me to say, “Elijah is here!” 12 When I leave you, I do not know where the Lord's Spirit will take you. I may not be able to find you again. Then if I tell Ahab that I have seen you, he still will not find you. So he will kill me.
But I have served the Lord faithfully since I was a young man. 13 You know, sir, about what I did when Jezebel was killing the Lord's prophets. I hid 100 prophets in two caves. I put 50 prophets in each cave. I gave them food and water. 14 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, “Elijah is here!” I know that he will kill me!’
15 Elijah said, ‘I serve the Lord Almighty. As surely as he lives, I promise that I will meet with King Ahab today.’
Elijah and Baal's prophets
16 So Obadiah went to Ahab. He told Ahab where Elijah was. So King Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, he said to him, ‘Is that really you, the man who brings trouble to Israel?’ 18 Elijah replied, ‘I have not brought trouble to Israel. But you and your father's family have done that. You have refused to obey the Lord's commands. Instead, you have worshipped the false gods of Baal. 19 Now, tell people from all over Israel to come and meet me. They must meet me on Mount Carmel. Also, bring the 450 prophets who serve Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah that Jezebel provides with food.’
Jesus causes a bad spirit to leave a man
31 Jesus went to a town in Galilee called Capernaum. On the Jewish day of rest, he taught the people there. 32 The people were very surprised at the things that Jesus taught them. He spoke with authority. 33 There was a sick man in the meeting place. He had a spirit of a bad demon that was living inside him. The spirit caused the man to shout loudly. 34 He said, ‘Jesus from Nazareth, leave us alone! Do not destroy us! I know who you are. You are God's Holy One!’
35 Jesus said to the spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ Then the bad spirit caused the man to fall to the ground in front of the people. It came out of the man but it did not hurt him.
36 All the people were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘Listen to what this man says! He has power and authority. He tells bad spirits to come out of people, and they come out.’ 37 So they began to tell everyone about Jesus. Because of this, people in all the places near Capernaum heard the news about Jesus.
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