Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Prayer for Lifelong Protection and Help
71 In thee, O Lord, do I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame!
2 In thy righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline thy ear to me, and save me!
3 Be thou to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress,[a] to save me,
for thou art my rock and my fortress.
4 Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
5 For thou, O Lord, art my hope,
my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
6 Upon thee I have leaned from my birth;
thou art he who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of thee.
Reign of Josiah
34 Josi′ah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. 3 For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father; and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Ashe′rim, and the graven and the molten images. 4 And they broke down the altars of the Ba′als in his presence; and he hewed down the incense altars which stood above them; and he broke in pieces the Ashe′rim and the graven and the molten images, and he made dust of them and strewed it over the graves of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 He also burned the bones of the priests on their altars, and purged Judah and Jerusalem. 6 And in the cities of Manas′seh, E′phraim, and Simeon, and as far as Naph′tali, in their ruins[a] round about, 7 he broke down the altars, and beat the Ashe′rim and the images into powder, and hewed down all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
Gentiles Receive the Holy Spirit
44 While Peter was still saying this, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. 45 And the believers from among the circumcised who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on the Gentiles. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and extolling God. Then Peter declared, 47 “Can any one forbid water for baptizing these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to remain for some days.
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.