Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Let All the Earth Praise the Lord

¹⁷ But after Jehoiada had died, officials from Judah came, bowed down to the king, and the king listened to what they had to say. ¹⁸ They abandoned the Lord’s Temple and the God of their fathers, and they served Asherim^[a] and idols. As a result this guilt of theirs resulted in wrath coming upon Judah and Jerusalem. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, God^[b] sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord.

²⁰ Then Jehoiada the priest’s son Zechariah was clothed by the Spirit of God, and he stood above the people and told them, “This is what God has to say: ‘Why are you breaking the Lord’s commandments. You’ll never be successful! Because you have abandoned the Lord, he has abandoned you.’”

²¹ But the people^[c] conspired against him, and at the direct orders of the king they stoned him to death in the courtyard of the Lord’s Temple. ²² This is how King Joash failed to remember the kindness that Zechariah’s father Jehoiada had shown him: he killed his son. As he lay dying, Zechariah cried out, “May the Lord watch this and avenge.”

The Death of Joash^(A)

²³ At the end of that year, the Aramean army attacked Joash. They invaded Judah and Jerusalem, destroyed every senior official among the people, and sent all of their possessions to the king of Damascus. ²⁴ The Aramean army attacked with only a small force, but the Lord delivered a much larger army into their control because Judah^[d] had abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors. And so the Aramean army carried out God’s^[e] judgment on Joash.

Seven Men are Chosen to Help the Apostles

6 In those days, as the number of the disciples was growing larger and larger, a complaint was made by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food. ² So the Twelve called the whole group of disciples together and said, “It is not desirable for us to neglect messages from^[a] God in order to wait on tables. ³ Therefore, brothers, appoint seven men among you who have a good reputation, who are full of the Spirit and wisdom, and we’ll put them in charge of this work. ⁴ Then we’ll devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

⁵ This suggestion pleased the whole group. So they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a gentile convert to Judaism from Antioch. ⁶ They had these men stand before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them.

⁷ So the word of God^[b] continued to spread, and the number of disciples in Jerusalem continued to grow rapidly. Even a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

⁵¹ “You stubborn people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always opposing the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. ⁵² Which of the prophets did your ancestors fail to persecute? They killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One, and now you have become his betrayers and murderers. ⁵³ You received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet you haven’t obeyed it!”

Stephen is Stoned to Death

⁵⁴ While they were listening to these things, they became more and more furious and began to grind their teeth at him. ⁵⁵ But Stephen,^[a] filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. ⁵⁶ He said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”

⁵⁷ But they shouted out loud, stopped listening, and together they all rushed at him, ⁵⁸ ran him outside of the city, and began to stone him to death. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. ⁵⁹ As they continued to stone Stephen, he kept praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” ⁶⁰ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” After he had said this, he died.^[b]