Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 128[a]
Happy Home of the Righteous
1 [b]A song of ascents.
Blessed[c] are all those who fear the Lord
and walk in his ways.
2 You will eat the fruit of your labors;
you will enjoy both blessings and prosperity.[d]
3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine[e]
within your house;
your sons will be like shoots of an olive tree
around your table.
4 Such are the blessings that will be bestowed
on the man who fears the Lord.
5 [f]May the Lord bless you from Zion[g]
all the days of your life.
May you rejoice in the prosperity of Jerusalem
6 and live to see your children’s children.[h]
Peace be upon Israel.
Chapter 6[a]
Jericho Overtaken. 1 Now Jericho was shut up tight on account of the people of Israel, none went out and none came in. 2 The Lord said to Joshua, “Behold, I have given Jericho, its king, and its mighty warriors into your hands. 3 Your soldiers are to march all around the city once, doing that for six days. 4 Seven priests will carry seven trumpets made from ram’s horns in front of the Ark. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times while the priests blow their trumpets.[b] 5 Then they will make a long blast on the ram’s horns. As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, have all of the people give a great shout. The walls will fall down, and the people will go on up, every man in a straight line.”
6 So Joshua, the son of Nun, summoned the priests and said to them, “Take up the Ark of the Covenant. Have seven priests holding trumpets made from rams’ horns precede the Ark of the Lord.” 7 He gave the command to the people, “Advance! March around the city with the armed soldiers walking in front of the Ark of the Lord.” 8 When Joshua finished speaking to the people, the seven priests carrying trumpets made from rams’ horns walked in front of the Lord and moved forward, blowing their trumpets, and the Ark of the Lord followed them. 9 The armed soldiers marched in front of the priests who were blowing their trumpets, and a rear guard followed the Ark. The whole time the trumpets were being blown. 10 But Joshua commanded the people, “Do not shout or raise your voices. Do not say a thing until the day I tell you to shout. Then you are to shout.”
11 So he had the Ark of the Lord carried around the city once. They then went back into the camp where they spent the night. 12 Joshua rose early the next morning, and the priests took the Ark of the Lord. 13 The seven priests carrying the trumpets made from rams’ horns went ahead of the Ark of the Lord, blowing on their trumpets as they went. The armed soldiers marched in front of them, and a rear guard followed the Ark of the Lord, with the trumpets being blown the whole time. 14 Thus they went around the city once on the second day, and then they returned to the camp. They did this for six days in a row.
15 On the seventh day they rose at daybreak and went around the city seven times just as they had before, but that day they went around the city seven times. 16 On the seventh time around when the priests blew their trumpets, Joshua commanded the people, “Shout out, for the Lord has given you the city.
20 The people shouted and the priests blew their trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpets and the people let out a great shout, the wall collapsed, and each man went up in a straight line and they took the city.
Antioch[a]
Paul’s First Missionary Journey[b]
Chapter 13
Barnabas and Paul Sent Out on Mission.[c] 1 In the Church at Antioch, there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. 2 On one occasion, while they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me to do the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then, after completing their fasting and prayer, they laid their hands on them and sent them off.
4 Having been sent on their mission by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia,[d] and from there they set sail for Cyprus. 5 When they arrived in Salamis,[e] they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues, while John served as their assistant.
At Cyprus Facing a Proconsul and a Magician.[f] 6 When they had traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos,[g] they encountered a magician named Bar-Jesus, who was a Jewish false prophet. 7 He was an attendant of the proconsul Sergius Paulus, a learned man who had summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 However, the magician Elymas (for that is the translation of his name) opposed them in an attempt to prevent the proconsul’s conversion to the faith.
9 Then Saul, also known as Paul,[h] filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at Elymas 10 and said, “You offspring of the devil, you enemy of righteousness, filled with every kind of deceit and fraud, will you never cease to pervert the straight paths of the Lord? 11 Now take note of how the hand of the Lord will strike you. You will be blind, and for a period of time you will not be able to see the sun.” Immediately, he was enveloped in a dark mist, and he groped about for someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he became a believer, having been deeply impressed by the teaching of the Lord.
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