Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 ¶ Halelu-JAH. Praise ye the LORD from the heavens; praise him in the heights.
2 Praise ye him, all his angels; praise ye him, all his hosts.
3 Praise ye him, sun and moon; praise him, all ye stars of light.
4 Praise him, ye heavens of heavens and ye waters that are above the heavens.
5 Let them praise the name of the LORD; for he commanded, and they were created.
6 He has established them for ever and ever: he has made a law which shall not be broken.
7 ¶ Praise the LORD from the earth, ye dragons and all deeps,
8 fire and hail; snow and vapour; stormy wind fulfilling his word,
9 mountains and all hills; fruitful trees and all cedars,
10 beasts and all animals; creeping things and flying fowl,
11 kings of the earth and all the peoples, princes and all judges of the earth,
12 both young men and maidens, the old with the children,
13 Let them praise the name of the LORD; for his name alone is excellent; his glory is above earth and heavens.
He
14 has exalted the horn of his people; let all his merciful ones praise him; even of the sons of Israel, the people near unto him. Halelu-JAH.
17 Now after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and worshipped the king. Then the king hearkened unto them.
18 And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers and served groves and idols, and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for their guilt.
19 Yet he sent prophets to them to bring them again unto the LORD, and they testified against them, but they would not give ear.
20 And the Spirit of God clothed himself in Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, the priest, who being over the people, said unto them, Thus hath God said, Why do ye transgress the commandments of the LORD? Ye shall not prosper in this; for because ye have forsaken the LORD, he shall also forsake you.
21 And they conspired against him and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD.
22 Thus Joash, the king, did not remember the mercy which Jehoiada, his father, had done to him but slew his son; who said when he died, The LORD look upon it and require it.
23 And at the end of the year, the host of Syria came up against him, and they came to Judah and Jerusalem and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus.
24 For even though the army of the Syrians had come with a small company of men, the LORD delivered a very great host into their hand because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgments against Joash.
6 ¶ And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, that their widows were neglected in the daily ministry.
2 Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them and said, It is not right that we should leave the word of God and serve tables;
3 therefore, brethren, seek out among you seven men of whom you bear witness, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business.
4 And we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word.
5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch:
6 these they set before the apostles, and when they had prayed, they laid their hands on them.
7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly, and also a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
51 ¶ Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do ye.
52 Who of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? and they have slain those who announced before the coming of the Just One, of whom ye have now been the betrayers and murderers,
53 who have received the law by the disposition of angels and have not kept it.
54 ¶ When they heard these things, they were divided in their hearts and gnashed on him with their teeth.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, looked up steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God
56 and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
57 And crying out with a loud voice, they stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord;
58 and casting him out of the city, they stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.
60 And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, impute not this sin to their charge. And having said this, he fell asleep in the Lord.
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