Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
148 Praise ye the Lord! 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 be above the heavens!
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created.
6 He hath also established them for ever and ever; He hath made a decree which shall not pass.
7 Praise the Lord from the earth, ye dragons and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and vapors, stormy wind fulfilling His word,
9 mountains and all hills, fruitful trees and all cedars,
10 beasts and all cattle, creeping things and flying fowl,
11 kings of the earth and all people, princes and all judges of the earth,
12 both young men and maidens, old men and children.
13 Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is excellent; His glory is above the earth and heaven.
14 He also exalteth the horn of His people, the praise of all His saints, even of the children of Israel, a people near unto Him. Praise ye the Lord!
26 In the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, came this word from the Lord, saying,
2 “Thus saith the Lord: ‘Stand in the court of the Lord’S house, and speak unto all the cities of Judah, which come to worship in the Lord’S house, all the words that I command thee to speak unto them; diminish not a word.
3 It may so be they will hearken and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent Me of the evil which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.’
4 And thou shalt say unto them, ‘Thus saith the Lord: If ye will not hearken to Me, to walk in My law which I have set before you,
5 to hearken to the words of My servants the prophets whom I sent unto you, both rising up early and sending them, but ye have not hearkened—
6 then will I make this house like Shiloh, and will make this city a curse to all the nations of the earth.’”
7 So the priests and the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speaking these words in the house of the Lord.
8 Now it came to pass, when Jeremiah had made an end of speaking all that the Lord had commanded him to speak unto all the people, that the priests and the prophets and all the people took him, saying, “Thou shalt surely die!
9 Why hast thou prophesied in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘This house shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate without an inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered against Jeremiah in the house of the Lord.
12 Then spoke Jeremiah unto all the princes and to all the people, saying, “The Lord sent me to prophesy against this house and against this city all the words that ye have heard.
13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the Lord your God; and the Lord will repent of the evil that He hath pronounced against you.
14 As for me, behold, I am in your hand: do with me as seemeth good and meet unto you.
15 But know ye for certain that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves and upon this city, and upon the inhabitants thereof; for truly the Lord hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears.”
8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.
9 Then there arose certain from the synagogue which is called the Synagogue of the Libertines, and Cyrenians and Alexandrians, and those of Cilicia and of Asia, and they disputed with Stephen.
10 And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke.
11 Then they suborned men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.”
12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and came upon him and caught him, and brought him to the council.
13 And they set up false witnesses who said, “This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place and the law;
14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered to us.”
15 And all who sat on the council, looking steadfastly on him, saw his face as though it were the face of an angel.
51 “Ye stiffnecked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost! As your fathers did, so do ye!
52 Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? And they have slain those who foretold the coming of the Just One. Of Him ye have now been the betrayers and murderers,
53 ye who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.”
54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed with their teeth at him.
55 But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God,
56 and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
58 and cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man whose name was Saul.
59 And they stoned Stephen as he called upon God and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
60 And he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, charge not this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.