Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Elijah and the Widow

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to ^(A)Zarephath, which belongs to ^(B)Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”

¹² So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a ^[a]jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and ^(C)die.”

¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.’ ”

¹⁵ So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

Elijah Revives the Widow’s Son

¹⁷ Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so ^[a]serious that ^[b]there was no breath left in him. ¹⁸ So she said to Elijah, ^(A)“What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”

¹⁹ And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. ²⁰ Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” ^21 (B)And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” ²² Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he ^(C)revived.

²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”

²⁴ Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this ^(D)I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.”

The Happiness of Those Whose Help Is the Lord

Call to Apostleship^(A)

^11 (B)But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. ¹² For ^(C)I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came ^(D)through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how ^(E)I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and ^(F)tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, ^(G)being more exceedingly zealous ^(H)for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵ But when it pleased God, ^(I)who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, ^16 (J)to reveal His Son in me, that ^(K)I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with ^(L)flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

Contacts at Jerusalem^(M)

¹⁸ Then after three years ^(N)I went up to Jerusalem to see ^[a]Peter, and remained with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But ^(O)I saw none of the other apostles except ^(P)James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (Now concerning the things which I write to you, indeed, before God, I do not lie.)

^21 (Q)Afterward I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² And I was unknown by face to the churches of Judea which ^(R)were in Christ. ²³ But they were ^(S)hearing only, “He who formerly ^(T)persecuted us now preaches the faith which he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they ^(U)glorified God in me.

Jesus Raises the Son of the Widow of Nain

¹¹ Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. ¹² And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. ¹³ When the Lord saw her, He had ^(A)compassion on her and said to her, ^(B)“Do not weep.” ¹⁴ Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, ^(C)arise.” ¹⁵ So he who was dead ^(D)sat up and began to speak. And He ^(E)presented him to his mother.

^16 (F)Then fear ^[a]came upon all, and they ^(G)glorified God, saying, ^(H)“A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, ^(I)“God has visited His people.” ¹⁷ And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.