Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song to sing as we climb.

A happy family

Jericho city falls

6 The people of Jericho had shut the gates of their city to make it safe. No one could go in or out of the city. ² The Lord said to Joshua, ‘I will soon give Jericho to you. I will put its king and all its brave soldiers under your power. ³ You and all your soldiers must march round the city once each day, for six days. ⁴ Seven priests will walk in front of the Covenant Box. They will carry trumpets as they walk. On the seventh day, you and your soldiers must march round the city seven times. At the same time, the priests will blow into their trumpets. ⁵ Then they will make one long loud noise with their trumpets. As soon as you hear this, all the soldiers must give a loud shout. Then the city walls will fall down. The whole army will go straight into the city.’

⁶ Joshua called the priests to come to him. He told them, ‘Pick up the Lord's Covenant Box. Seven priests must march in front of it. They must hold seven trumpets, one each.’

⁷ Then Joshua told the people to start marching round the city. A group of soldiers should march in front of the Lord's Covenant Box.

⁸ Joshua finished speaking to the people. Then the seven priests carrying their trumpets marched in front of the Covenant Box. They made a noise on their trumpets as the Covenant Box followed them. ⁹ While the priests made a noise on the trumpets, some soldiers marched in front of them. Another group of soldiers followed behind the Covenant Box. The trumpets were making a noise all this time. ¹⁰ But Joshua had said to the people, ‘Do not shout or speak aloud. Do not say anything until I tell you. When the right day comes, I will tell you, “Now shout aloud to attack!” When I tell you that, then shout!’

¹¹ Joshua made them march round the city once with the Lord's Covenant Box. Then they returned to their tents, and slept there that night.

¹² Joshua got up early the next morning, and the priests picked up the Lord's Covenant Box again. ¹³ The seven priests who carried the trumpets marched in front of the Covenant Box. They were making a noise with their trumpets. One group of soldiers marched in front of the priests. Another group of soldiers marched behind the Covenant Box. The trumpets made a noise all the time. ¹⁴ That is how they marched round the city on the second day. They marched round once and then they returned to their tents. They did the same thing for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at dawn again. They marched round the city as they had done before. But this time they did it seven times. ¹⁶ The seventh time, the priests made a long, loud noise on their trumpets. Joshua told the people, ‘Shout aloud to attack! The Lord has given the city to you!

²⁰ When the trumpets made a noise, all the people gave a loud shout to attack the city. When they did this, the walls of the city fell down. All the soldiers went up into the city. They went straight in and they took the city for themselves.

The believers in Antioch send Saul and Barnabas to Cyprus

13 There were some prophets among the group of believers in Antioch. They taught the other believers more about Jesus. Barnabas and Simeon were two of these men. (People also called Simeon ‘Niger’.)^[a] There was Lucius who had lived in Cyrene. There was also Manaen who had lived together with the ruler Herod when they were children. And there was Saul.

² One day, the believers were meeting together. They were praising the Lord God and they were praying. They also fasted for a time. During that time, the Holy Spirit said to them, ‘I have chosen Barnabas and Saul to do a special work for me. Let them go now and do it.’

³ The believers continued to pray and to fast. Then the leaders put their hands on Barnabas and Saul and they prayed for them. They sent them away to start this new work.

What happened in Cyprus

⁴ The Holy Spirit sent Barnabas and Saul away from Antioch. They travelled to the town of Seleucia, which is near the coast. From there they travelled on a ship to an island called Cyprus. ⁵ They arrived at a town called Salamis. There they went into the Jewish meeting places and they told the people God's message about Jesus. John Mark went with Barnabas and Saul to help them with their work.

⁶ They travelled across the whole island and they arrived at a town called Paphos. There they met a man called Bar-Jesus.^[b] He was a Jew. He used magic to do surprising things. He said that he was a prophet from God. But his messages were not true.

⁷ The ruler of Cyprus was called Sergius Paulus. Bar-Jesus was his friend. Sergius Paulus understood things well. So he asked Barnabas and Saul to come to him. He wanted them to tell him God's message. ⁸ Bar-Jesus was also called Elymas. That was his name in the Greek language. He did not like what Barnabas and Saul were saying. He did not want Sergius Paulus to believe in Jesus. So he tried to stop him. ⁹ Then God filled Saul with the power of his Holy Spirit. (Saul was also now called Paul.^[c] ) Paul looked straight at Elymas and he said, ¹⁰ ‘You are a servant of the Devil! You are against everything that is right. Your mind is full of lies and other bad things. You try to change the true message of the Lord and make it into lies. You must stop doing that! ¹¹ The Lord will now punish you. You will become blind for a time. You will not even see the light of the sun.’

When Paul said that, immediately something like a dark cloud covered Elymas's eyes. He could not find his own way. He needed someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² Sergius Paulus saw what had happened to Elymas. He was very surprised about the things that Barnabas and Paul taught him about the Lord Jesus. And so he believed in Jesus.