Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 But, Lord, you rule forever.
Your fame continues from now on.
13 You will come and have mercy on Jerusalem.
The time has now come to be kind to her.
14 Your servants love even her stones.
They even care about her dust.
15 Nations will fear the name of the Lord.
All the kings on earth will honor him.
16 The Lord will rebuild Jerusalem.
There his glory will be seen.
17 He will answer the prayers of the needy.
He will not reject their prayers.
18 Write these things for the future.
Then people who are not yet born will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord looked down from his holy place above.
From heaven he looked down at the earth.
20 He heard the moans of the prisoners.
And he freed those sentenced to die.
21 The name of the Lord will be heard in Jerusalem.
His praise will be heard in Jerusalem.
22 People will come together.
Kingdoms will serve the Lord.
23 God has made me tired of living.
He has cut short my life.
24 So I said, “My God, do not take me in the middle of my life.
Your years go on and on.
25 In the beginning you made the earth.
And your hands made the skies.
26 They will be destroyed, but you will remain.
They will all wear out like clothes.
And, like clothes, you will change them.
And they will be thrown away.
27 But you never change.
And your life will never end.
28 Our children will live in your presence.
And their children will remain with you.”
The Shunammite Regains Her Land
8 Elisha talked to the woman whose son he had brought back to life. He said, “Get up and go with your family. Stay any place you can. This is because the Lord has called for a time of hunger. It will last seven years.” 2 So the woman got up and did as the man of God said. She left with her family. And they stayed in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years she came back from the land of the Philistines. She went to beg the king for her house and land back. 4 The king was talking with Gehazi. He was the servant of the man of God. The king had said to Gehazi, “Please tell me all the great things Elisha has done.” 5 Now Gehazi was telling the king how Elisha had brought a dead person back to life. Just then the woman whose son Elisha had brought back to life came and begged the king for her house and land.
Gehazi said, “My master and king, this is the woman. And this is the son Elisha brought back to life.”
6 The king asked the woman, and she told him about it. Then the king chose an officer to help her. The king said, “Give the woman everything that is hers. Give her all the money made from her land from the day she left until now.”
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, “We preached the message of the Lord in many towns. We should go back to all those towns to visit the believers and see how they are doing.”
37 Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them too. 38 But John Mark had left them at Pamphylia; he did not continue with them in the work. So Paul did not think it was a good idea to take him. 39 Paul and Barnabas had a serious argument about this. They separated and went different ways. Barnabas sailed to Cyprus and took Mark with him. 40 But Paul chose Silas and left. The believers in Antioch put Paul into the Lord’s care. 41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, giving strength to the churches.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.