Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Prayer for the King
Of Solomon.
72 God, give the king your good judgment
and the king’s son your goodness.
2 Help him judge your people fairly.
Help him decide what is right for the poor.
3 Let there be peace on the mountains
and goodness on the hills.
4 Help him be fair to the poor.
Help him save the needy
and punish those who hurt them.
5 Help him live as long as the sun shines.
Help him rule as long as the moon glows.
Let him be king from now on!
6 Let him be like rain on the grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7 Let goodness be plentiful while he lives.
Let peace continue as long as there is a moon.
8 Let his kingdom go from sea to sea,
and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
9 Let the people of the desert bow down to him.
And make his enemies lick the dust.
10 Let the kings of Tarshish and the faraway lands
bring him gifts.
Let the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring their presents to him.
11 Let all kings bow down to him.
Let all nations serve him.
12 He will help the poor when they cry for help.
He will help the needy when no one else will help them.
13 He will be kind to the weak and poor.
He will save their lives.
14 He will save them from cruel people who try to hurt them.
Their lives are precious to him.
15 Long live the king!
Let him receive gold from Sheba.
Let people always pray for him.
Let them bless him all day long.
16 Let the fields grow plenty of grain.
Let the hills be covered with crops.
Let the land be as fertile as Lebanon.
Let the cities grow like the grass in a field.
17 Let the king be famous forever.
Let him be remembered as long as the sun shines.
Let the nations be blessed because of him.
And may they all bless him.
18 Praise the Lord God, the God of Israel.
Only he does such miracles.
19 Praise his glorious name forever.
Let his glory fill the whole world.
Amen and amen.
20 This ends the prayers of David son of Jesse.
Isaiah Becomes a Prophet
6 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a very high throne. His long robe filled the Temple. 2 Burning heavenly creatures stood above him. Each creature had six wings. They used two wings to cover their faces. They used two wings to cover their feet. And they used two wings for flying. 3 Each creature was calling to the others:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of heaven’s armies.
His glory fills the whole earth.”
4 Their voices caused the frame around the door to shake. The Temple filled with smoke.
5 I said, “Oh, no! I will be destroyed. I am not pure. And I live among people who are not pure. But I have seen the King, the Lord of heaven’s armies.”
44 “The Holy Tent where God spoke to our fathers was with the Jews in the desert. God told Moses how to make this Tent. He made it like the plan God showed him. 45 Later, Joshua led our fathers to capture the lands of the other nations. Our people went in, and God drove the other people out. When our people went into this new land, they took with them this same Tent. They received this Tent from their fathers and kept it until the time of David. 46 God was very pleased with David. He asked God to let him build a house for him, the God of Jacob.[a] 47 But Solomon was the one who built the Temple.
48 “But the Most High does not live in houses that men build with their hands. This is what the prophet says:
49 ‘Heaven is my throne.
The earth is my footstool.
So do you think you can build a house for me? says the Lord.
There is no place where I need to rest.
50 Remember, I made all these things!’” Isaiah 66:1-2
51 Stephen continued speaking: “You stubborn Jewish leaders! You have not given your hearts to God! You won’t listen to him! You are always against what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you. Your ancestors were like this, and you are just like them! 52 Your fathers tried to hurt every prophet who ever lived. Those prophets said long ago that the Righteous One would come. But your fathers killed them. And now you have turned against the Righteous One and killed him. 53 You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels. But you don’t obey it!”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.