Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing upon the Sanctuary.
A Song of Ascents.
132 Remember, Lord, in David’s behalf,
All (A)his affliction;
2 How he swore to the Lord
And vowed to (B)the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 “I certainly will not [a]enter (C)my house,
Nor [b]lie on my bed;
4 I will not (D)give sleep to my eyes
Or slumber to my eyelids,
5 Until I find a (E)place for the Lord,
[c]A dwelling place for (F)the Mighty One of Jacob.”
6 Behold, we heard about it in (G)Ephrathah,
We found it in the (H)field of [d]Jaar.
7 Let’s go into His [e](I)dwelling place;
Let’s (J)worship at His (K)footstool.
8 (L)Arise, Lord, to Your (M)resting place,
You and the ark of Your (N)strength.
9 May Your priests be (O)clothed with righteousness,
And may Your (P)godly ones sing for joy.
10 For the sake of Your servant David,
Do not turn away the face of Your (Q)anointed.
11 The Lord has (R)sworn to David
A truth from which He will not turn back:
“I will set upon your throne one (S)from the fruit of your body.
12 If your sons will keep My covenant
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also will (T)sit upon your throne forever.”
13 For the Lord has (A)chosen Zion;
He has (B)desired it as His dwelling place.
14 “This is My (C)resting place forever;
Here I will (D)dwell, for I have desired it.
15 I will abundantly (E)bless her food;
I will (F)satisfy her needy with bread.
16 I will also clothe her (G)priests with salvation,
And her (H)godly ones will sing aloud for joy.
17 I will make the (I)horn of David spring forth there;
I have prepared a (J)lamp for My anointed.
18 I will (K)clothe his enemies with shame,
But upon himself his (L)crown will gleam.”
Josiah Succeeds Amon
22 (A)Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned for thirty-one years in Jerusalem; and his mother’s name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of (B)Bozkath. 2 He did what was right in the sight of the Lord and walked [a]entirely in the way of his father David, and did not (C)turn aside to the right or to the left.
3 Now (D)in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam the scribe, to the house of the Lord, saying, 4 “(E)Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, and have him [b]count all the money brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have collected from the people. 5 (F)And have them hand it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord, and have them give it to the workmen who are in the house of the Lord to repair the [c]damage to the house: 6 to the carpenters, the builders, the masons, and for buying timber and cut stone to repair the house. 7 However, (G)no accounting shall be made with them for the money handed over to them, because they deal honestly.”
The Lost Book
8 Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, “(H)I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the Lord.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, who read it. 9 Then Shaphan the scribe came to the king and brought back word to the king and said, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have handed it over to the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the Lord.” 10 Moreover, Shaphan the scribe informed the king, saying, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it in the presence of the king.
Stephen Put to Death
54 Now when they heard this, they were (A)infuriated, and they began gnashing their teeth at him. 55 But he, being (B)full of the Holy Spirit, (C)looked intently into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing (D)at the right hand of God; 56 and he said, “Behold, I see the (E)heavens opened and (F)the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they shouted with loud voices, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one [a]mind. 58 When they had (G)driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and (H)the witnesses (I)laid aside their cloaks at the feet of (J)a young man named Saul. 59 They went on stoning Stephen as he (K)called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” 60 Then he (L)fell on his knees and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, (M)do not hold this sin against them!” Having said this, he [b](N)fell asleep.
Saul Persecutes the Church
8 (O)Now Saul approved of putting [c]Stephen to death.
And on that day a great persecution [d]began against (P)the church in Jerusalem, and they were all (Q)scattered throughout the regions of Judea and (R)Samaria, except for the apostles.
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