Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 But you, Lord, will rule as king forever!
Your name will continue forever and ever!
13 You will rise up and comfort Zion.
The time has come for you to be kind to Zion.
14 Your servants love her stones.
They love even the dust of that city!
15 The nations will worship the Lord’s name.
All the kings on earth will honor you.
16 The Lord will rebuild Zion,
and people will again see her glory.
17 He will listen to the prayers of those in poverty.
He will not ignore them.
18 Write these things for future generations,
so that they will praise the Lord.
19 The Lord will look down from his Holy Place above.
He will look down at the earth from heaven.
20 And he will hear the prisoner’s prayers.
He will free those who were condemned to die.
21 Then people in Zion will tell about the Lord.
They will praise his name in Jerusalem
22 when nations gather together
and kingdoms come to serve the Lord.
23 My strength failed me.
My life is cut short.
24 So I said, “Don’t let me die while I am still young.
God, you will live forever and ever!
25 Long ago, you made the world.
You made the sky with your own hands!
26 The earth and sky will end,
but you will live forever!
They will wear out like clothes,
and like clothes, you will change them.
27 But you never change.
You will live forever!
28 We are your servants today.
Our children will live here,
and their descendants will come here to worship you.”
The King and the Shunammite Woman
8 Elisha talked to the woman whose son he had brought back to life. He said, “You and your family should move to another country, because the Lord has decided that there will be a famine here. It will last for seven years.”
2 So the woman did what the man of God said. She went with her family to stay in the land of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years she returned from the land of the Philistines.
She went to speak with the king to ask him to help her get back her house and land.
4 The king was talking with Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king said to Gehazi, “Please tell me all the great things Elisha has done.”
5 Gehazi was telling the king about Elisha bringing a dead person back to life. At that same time the woman whose son Elisha brought back to life went to the king. She wanted to ask him to help her get back her house and land. Gehazi said, “My lord and king, this is the woman, and this is the son who Elisha brought back to life.”
6 The king asked the woman what she wanted, and she told him.
Then the king chose an officer to help her. The king said, “Give to the woman all that belongs to her. And give her all the harvest of her land from the day she left the country until now.”
Paul and Barnabas Separate
36 A few days later, Paul said to Barnabas, “We should go back to all the towns where we told people the message of the Lord. We should visit the believers to see how they are doing.”
37 Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark with them too. 38 But on their first trip John Mark did not continue with them in the work. He had left them at Pamphylia. So Paul did not think it was a good idea to take him this time. 39 Paul and Barnabas had a big argument about this. It was so bad that they separated and went different ways. Barnabas sailed to Cyprus and took Mark with him.
40 Paul chose Silas to go with him. The believers in Antioch put Paul into the Lord’s care and sent him out. 41 Paul and Silas went through the countries of Syria and Cilicia, helping the churches grow stronger.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International