Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Blessings of Those Who Fear the Lord

A Song of Ascents.

The Destruction of Jericho

6 Now ^(A)Jericho was securely shut up because of the children of Israel; none went out, and none came in. ² And the Lord said to Joshua: “See! ^(B)I have given Jericho into your hand, its ^(C)king, and the mighty men of valor. ³ You shall march around the city, all you men of war; you shall go all around the city once. This you shall do six days. ⁴ And seven priests shall bear seven ^(D)trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark. But the seventh day you shall march around the city ^(E)seven times, and ^(F)the priests shall blow the trumpets. ⁵ It shall come to pass, when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when you hear the sound of the trumpet, that all the people shall shout with a great shout; then the wall of the city will fall down flat. And the people shall go up every man straight before him.”

⁶ Then Joshua the son of Nun called the priests and said to them, “Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord.” ⁷ And he said to the people, “Proceed, and march around the city, and let him who is armed advance before the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ So it was, when Joshua had spoken to the people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the Lord advanced and blew the trumpets, and the ark of the covenant of the Lord followed them. ⁹ The armed men went before the priests who blew the trumpets, ^(G)and the rear guard came after the ark, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout.” ¹¹ So he had ^(H)the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and ^[a]lodged in the camp.

¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, ^(I)and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So they did six days.

¹⁵ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city!

²⁰ So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that ^(A)the wall fell down flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.

Paul and Barnabas Are Sent to the Gentiles

13 Now ^(A)in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: ^(B)Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, ^(C)Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ² As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, ^(D)“Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work ^(E)to which I have called them.” ³ Then, ^(F)having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.

Preaching in Cyprus

⁴ So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to ^(G)Cyprus. ⁵ And when they arrived in Salamis, ^(H)they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had ^(I)John as their assistant.

⁶ Now when they had gone through ^[a]the island to Paphos, they found ^(J)a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, ⁷ who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. ⁸ But ^(K)Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) ^[b]withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. ⁹ Then Saul, who also is called Paul, ^(L)filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him ¹⁰ and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, ^(M)you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? ¹¹ And now, indeed, ^(N)the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”

And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.