Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Endless Years
12 But you, Lord, sit on your throne forever,
and you will be remembered through all generations.
13 You will rise and have compassion on Zion.
Yes, it is time to be gracious to her,
because the appointed time has come.
14 Yes, your servants will show favor to her stones,
and they will have compassion on her dust.
15 Then the nations will fear the name of the Lord,
and all the kings of the earth will fear your glory.
16 For the Lord will rebuild Zion.
He will appear in his glory.
17 He will respond to the prayer of the naked.
He will not despise their prayer.
18 Let this be written till the last generation,
so that a people not yet created may praise the Lord.[a]
19 For the Lord looked down from his high, holy place.
From heaven he viewed the earth
20 to hear the groans of the prisoner,
to release those condemned to death.
21 So the name of the Lord will be recorded in Zion
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22 when the peoples and the kingdoms are gathered together
to serve the Lord.
The Plea Repeated
23 He took away my strength during my lifetime.
He cut short my days.
24 I said, “My God, do not take me away in the middle of my days.”
The Eternal King
Your years go on through all generations.
25 Long ago you laid a foundation for the earth,
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
26 They will perish, but you remain.
All of them wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them,
and they will be changed.
27 But you are the same,
and your years will never end.
28 The children of your servants will dwell with you,
and their descendants will be established before you.
Elisha and the Woman of Shunem
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. A wealthy woman lived there, and she urged him to eat a meal with her. So whenever he passed by, he would stop there for a meal.
9 Then she said to her husband, “Listen. I know that the man who passes by here all the time is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small upper room on the roof, and let’s put a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp there for him. Then whenever he comes to us, he can stay there.”
11 One day when Elisha came there, he went into the room and lay down. 12 Then he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call the woman of Shunem.” He called her, and she stood in front of him.
13 Then Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘You have been very concerned about us. What can we do for you? Is there something we can request for you from the king or from the commander of the army?’”
She said, “I am living among my own people.”
14 Then he said, “What can be done for her?”
Then Gehazi said, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.”
15 He said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood at the doorway.
16 Then he said to her, “At this time next year, you will be holding a son.”
But she said, “No, my lord, you man of God. Do not deceive your servant.”
17 But the woman conceived, and she gave birth to a son at that same time of year, just as Elisha said to her.
32 When Elisha came to the house, there the boy was—dead, lying on his bed. 33 So he went in and he shut the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the Lord. 34 He got up and lay down on top of the boy. He put his mouth to the boy’s mouth, his eyes to the boy’s eyes, his palms to the boy’s palms. Then he bent down over him, and the boy’s flesh became warm. 35 He went back into the house and paced back and forth. Then he went up and bent down over him, and the boy sneezed seven times. Then the boy opened his eyes.
36 Then Elisha called Gehazi and said, “Call the woman of Shunem!” So he called her, and she came in. He said, “Pick up your son.” 37 So she came in and fell at Elisha’s feet and bowed down to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.
In Iconium
14 The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
3 Paul and Barnabas stayed there a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by granting them the ability to perform miraculous signs and wonders. 4 But the people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
5 When there was a plot by both Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, to mistreat and stone them, 6 they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding countryside. 7 There they kept on preaching the good news.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.