Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Yahweh or Baal on Mount Carmel
20 So Ahab sent a message among all the sons of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “(A)How long will you be limping between two opinions? (B)If Yahweh is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word.
22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I (A)alone am left a prophet of Yahweh, but Baal’s prophets are (B)450 men. 23 Now let them give us two oxen; and let them choose one ox for themselves and cut it up, and place it on the wood, but place no fire under it; and I will prepare the other ox and put it on the wood, and I will not place fire under it. 24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of Yahweh, and (C)the God who answers by fire, He is God.” And all the people answered and said, “[a]That is a good word.”
25 So Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one ox for yourselves and prepare it first for you are many, and call on the name of your god, but place no fire under it.” 26 Then they took the ox which [b]was given them and they prepared it and called on the name of Baal from morning until noon saying, “O Baal, answer us.” But there was (D)no voice and no one answered. And they [c]limped about the altar which [d]they had made. 27 Now it happened at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or relieving himself, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.” 28 So they cried with a loud voice and (E)gashed themselves according to their custom with swords and lances until the blood gushed out on them. 29 Now it happened when noon had passed, that they prophesied (F)until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice; but there was no voice, no one answered, and no [e]one paid attention.
30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And (A)he repaired the altar of Yahweh which had been pulled down. 31 Then Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of Yahweh had come, saying, “(B)Israel shall be your name.” 32 And with the stones he built an altar in (C)the name of Yahweh, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two [a]seahs of seed. 33 (D)Then he arranged the wood and cut the ox in pieces and placed it on the wood. 34 And he said, “Fill four pitchers with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” And he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35 And the water flowed around the altar and he also filled the trench with water.
Yahweh Answers, He Is God
36 (E)Now it happened at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “(F)O Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that (G)You are God in Israel and that I am Your slave and (H)I have done all these things at Your word. 37 Answer me, O Yahweh, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Yahweh, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” 38 Then the (I)fire of Yahweh fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 And all the people saw it and fell on their faces and said, “(J)Yahweh, He is God; Yahweh, He is God.”
Ascribe to Yahweh Glory and Strength
96 (A)Sing to Yahweh a (B)new song;
Sing to Yahweh, all the earth.
2 Sing to Yahweh, bless His name;
(C)Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.
3 Recount (D)His glory among the nations,
His wondrous deeds among all the peoples.
4 For (E)great is Yahweh and (F)greatly to be praised;
He is [a]more [b](G)fearsome (H)than all gods.
5 For (I)all the gods of the peoples are [c]idols,
But (J)Yahweh made the heavens.
6 (K)Splendor and majesty are before Him,
Strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 [d]Ascribe to Yahweh, O (L)families of the peoples,
[e](M)Ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.
8 Ascribe to Yahweh the (N)glory of His name;
Lift up [f]an (O)offering and come into His courts.
9 (P)Worship Yahweh in the splendor of holiness;
(Q)Tremble before Him, all the earth.
10 Say among the nations, “(R)Yahweh [g]reigns;
Indeed, the (S)world is established, it will not be shaken;
He will (T)render justice to the peoples with [h]equity.”
11 Let the (U)heavens be glad, and let the (V)earth rejoice;
Let (W)the sea [i]roar, as well as its fullness;
12 Let the (X)field exult, and all that is in it.
Then all the (Y)trees of the forest will sing for joy
13 Before Yahweh, (Z)for He is coming,
For He is coming to judge the earth.
(AA)He will judge the world in righteousness
And the peoples in His faithfulness.
Greetings and Grace
1 Paul, (A)an apostle—(B)not sent from men nor through man, but (C)through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who (D)raised Him from the dead— 2 and all (E)the brothers who are with me,
To (F)the churches of Galatia:
3 (G)Grace to you and peace from [a]God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who (H)gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from (I)this present evil [b]age, according to the will of (J)our God and Father, 5 (K)to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Distorting the Gospel
6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting (L)Him who called you [c]by the grace of Christ for a (M)different gospel, 7 which is really not another, only there are some who are (N)disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or (O)an angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel [d]contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be [e](P)accursed! 9 As we (Q)have said before, so I say again now, (R)if any man is proclaiming to you a gospel [f]contrary to what you received, let him be [g](S)accursed!
10 For am I now (T)seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a (U)slave of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11 For (V)I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is (W)not according to man. 12 For (X)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a (Y)revelation of Jesus Christ.
The Centurion’s Faith
7 (A)When He had completed all His words in the hearing of the people, (B)He went to Capernaum.
2 And a centurion’s slave, [a]who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. 3 Now when he heard about Jesus, (C)he sent some [b]Jewish elders asking Him to come and [c]save the life of his slave. 4 And when they came to Jesus, they were earnestly pleading with Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; 5 for he loves our nation and it was he who built us our synagogue.” 6 Now Jesus was going on His way with them; and when He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “[d]Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not good enough for You to come under my roof. 7 For this reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You, but just [e]say the word, and my [f]servant will be healed. 8 For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under me; and I say to this one, ‘Go!’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come!’ and he comes, and to my slave, ‘Do this!’ and he does it.” 9 Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled at him. And He turned to the crowd that was following Him and said, “I say to you, (D)not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.
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