Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 But You, O Eternal One, remain forever,
and Your name endures to all generations.
13 You will rise up once again and remember Your love for Zion;
it is time to have mercy on Your city;
yes, it is the divinely appointed time.
14 Your faithful servants take pleasure in her every stone;
they even delight in the dust of her streets.
15 Days are coming when nations will tremble at the name of the Eternal;
all the rulers of the earth will bow down to Your glory.
16 For He will return to rebuild His city, Zion;
He will be seen in His splendor.
17 He will listen to the prayer of the impoverished
and welcome their prayers.
18 Let this record be kept for posterity
so that people not yet born may praise the Eternal.
19 Tell them that He looked down from holy heights, His heavenly sanctuary;
the Eternal looked down from heaven and closely watched the earth,
20 Hearing the prisoners’ groans—
releasing those awaiting execution—
21 That the name of the Eternal would resound in Zion,
and His praise would be proclaimed in Jerusalem
22 When the peoples gather
and the nations’ leaders assemble to worship the Eternal.
23 Along my way He has sapped my strength;
He has shortened my days here on earth.
24 I said, “O my True God, don’t take me away
in the middle of my life;
Unlike me, Your years continually unfold
throughout all generations.”
25 In the beginning, You laid the foundation of the earth
and set the skies above us with Your own hands.
26 But while they will someday pass away, You remain forever;
when they wear out like old clothes,
You will roll them up and change them into something new, and they will pass away.
27 But You are the same, You will never change;
Your years will never come to an end.[a]
28 The children of those who serve You will enjoy a good, long life;
their offspring will stand strong before You.
8 Elisha went and warned the mother of the boy whom he had brought back to life.
Elisha: Get up and gather together your family and servants. Travel as far away from here as you can, and live as a resident alien. The Eternal is going to cause a great famine in the land for the next seven years.
2 The woman did exactly as the man of God instructed her to do. She got up, gathered her family and servants together, and then settled in Philistine territory for seven years. 3 After the seven years were over, she departed from Philistia and went back to her own land. When she returned home, she went straight to the king to argue that she be given back her house and her field.
4 The king was speaking with Gehazi, servant of the man of God.
King of Israel: Tell me everything about Elisha. Fill me in on all the wonders he has done.
5 So Gehazi told the king everything. Just when Gehazi got to the part about Elisha bringing the dead boy back to life, the boy’s mother walked in and argued that the king should give her back her house and her field. Gehazi’s excitement was piqued by the visitor’s timing.
Gehazi: My lord and king, this is the woman I was just telling you about. And this is her son, the boy whom Elisha brought back to life!
6 The king asked the woman if this was true, and she confirmed Gehazi’s story. She told the king every detail. The king was delighted by this story, and he gave an assignment to one of his officials, a eunuch, on her behalf: “Give this woman back her house and her field, as well as all the earnings of her field that were harvested from the day that she left until now.”
36 Some days later, Paul proposed another journey to Barnabas.
Paul: Let’s return and visit the believers in each city where we preached the Lord’s message last time to see how they’re doing.
37 Barnabas agreed and wanted to bring John Mark along, 38 but Paul felt that was a mistake since John Mark had abandoned them in Pamphylia and hadn’t finished the previous mission. 39 Their difference of opinion was so heated that they decided not to work together anymore. Barnabas took John Mark and sailed to Cyprus, 40 while Paul chose Silas as his companion. The believers in Antioch commissioned him for this work, entrusting him to the grace of the Lord. 41 They traveled through Syria and Cilicia to strengthen the churches there.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.