Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.

6 The gates of Jericho were shut tight and guarded closely because of the Israelites. No one went out. No one came in.

² Then the Lord said to Joshua, “I have handed Jericho over to you. I have also handed over to you its king and its fighting men. ³ March around the city once with all your fighting men. In fact, do it for six days. ⁴ Have seven priests get trumpets made out of rams’ horns. They must carry them in front of the ark. On the seventh day, march around the city seven times. Tell the priests to blow the trumpets as you march. ⁵ You will hear them blow a long blast on the trumpets. When you do, tell the whole army to give a loud shout. The wall of the city will fall down. Then the whole army will march up to the city. Everyone will go straight in.”

⁶ So Joshua, the son of Nun, called for the priests. He said to them, “Go and get the ark of the covenant of the Lord. I want seven of you to carry trumpets in front of it.” ⁷ He gave an order to the army. He said, “Move out! March around the city. Some of the fighting men must march in front of the ark of the Lord.”

⁸ When Joshua had spoken to the men, the seven priests went forward. They were carrying the seven trumpets as they marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They were blowing the trumpets. The ark of the Lord’s covenant was carried behind the priests. ⁹ Some of the fighting men marched ahead of the priests who were blowing the trumpets. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all the priests. That whole time the priests were blowing the trumpets. ¹⁰ But Joshua had given an order to the army. He had said, “Don’t give a war cry. Don’t raise your voices. Don’t say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!” ¹¹ So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city once. Then the army returned to camp. They spent the night there.

¹² Joshua got up early the next morning. The priests went and got the ark of the Lord. ¹³ The seven priests carrying the seven trumpets started out. They marched in front of the ark of the Lord. They blew the trumpets. Some of the fighting men marched ahead of them. The others followed behind the ark and guarded all of them. The priests kept blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ On the second day they marched around the city once. Then the army returned to camp. They did all those things for six days.

¹⁵ On the seventh day, they got up at sunrise. They marched around the city, just as they had done before. But on that day they went around it seven times. ¹⁶ On the seventh time around, the priests blew a long blast on the trumpets. Then Joshua gave a command to the army. He said, “Shout! The Lord has given you the city!

²⁰ The priests blew the trumpets. As soon as the army heard the sound, they gave a loud shout. Then the wall fell down. Everyone charged straight in. So they took the city.

13 ¹ In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. Among them were Barnabas, Simeon, and Lucius from Cyrene. Simeon was also called Niger. Another was Manaen. He had been brought up with Herod, the ruler of Galilee. Saul was among them too. ² While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit spoke. “Set apart Barnabas and Saul for me,” he said. “I have appointed them to do special work.” ³ The prophets and teachers fasted and prayed. They placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul. Then they sent them off.

Events on Cyprus

⁴ Barnabas and Saul were sent on their way by the Holy Spirit. They went down to Seleucia. From there they sailed to Cyprus. ⁵ They arrived at Salamis. There they preached God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

⁶ They traveled all across the island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was an evil magician and a false prophet. ⁷ He was an attendant of Sergius Paulus, the governor. Paulus was a man of understanding. He sent for Barnabas and Saul. He wanted to hear God’s word. ⁸ But the evil magician named Elymas opposed them. The name Elymas means Magician. He tried to keep the governor from becoming a believer. ⁹ Saul was also known as Paul. He was filled with the Holy Spirit. He looked straight at Elymas. He said to him, ¹⁰ “You are a child of the devil! You are an enemy of everything that is right! You cheat people. You use all kinds of tricks. Won’t you ever stop twisting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹ Now the Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to go blind. For a while you won’t even be able to see the light of the sun.”

Right away mist and darkness came over him. He tried to feel his way around. He wanted to find someone to lead him by the hand. ¹² When the governor saw what had happened, he believed. He was amazed at what Paul was teaching about the Lord.