Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 125
A Song of Ascents.
1 Those who trust in the Lord shall be as Mount Zion,
which cannot be removed, but abides forever.
2 As the mountains are around Jerusalem,
so the Lord surrounds His people,
from now and forever.
3 For the scepter of the wicked shall not rest
upon the land allotted to the righteous,
lest the righteous put forth
their hands to do iniquity.
4 Do good, O Lord, for those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5 As for those who turn aside to their twisted ways,
the Lord shall lead them away with the other workers of iniquity.
Peace be upon Israel!
Elijah Confronts Ahab
18 After many days, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah, saying, “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain upon the earth.” 2 Elijah went to show himself to Ahab.
And there was a great famine in Samaria. 3 Ahab called Obadiah, who was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. 4 When Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, Obadiah took a hundred prophets and hid them in groups of fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water.) 5 And Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go into the land, to all the springs of water and to all the brooks. Perhaps we will find grass to save the horses and mules, so that we do not lose all the beasts.” 6 So they divided the land between them to search throughout it. Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.
7 As Obadiah was going along, he met Elijah, and he recognized him and fell on his face and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”
8 And he answered him, “I am. Go, tell your lord, ‘Elijah is here.’ ”
9 He said, “What evil have I done that you would hand your servant into the hand of Ahab to put me to death? 10 As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my lord has not looked for you, and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he made the kingdom and nation swear that they could not find you, 11 and now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here!” ’ 12 As soon as I am gone from you, the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know, and so when I come and tell Ahab and he cannot find you, he will execute me. But I, your servant, have feared the Lord since my youth. 13 Were you not told what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid a hundred men of the Lord’s prophets in groups of fifty in a cave and fed them with bread and water? 14 And now you say, ‘Go, tell your lord, “Elijah is here,” ’ and he will execute me.”
15 Elijah said, “As the Lord of Hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely show myself to him today.”
Elijah and the Prophets of Baal
16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him. And Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17 When Ahab saw Elijah, Ahab said to him, “Are you he that troubles Israel?”
18 And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and you have followed the Baals.
The Battle Against Evil
10 Finally, my brothers, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our fight is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having your waist girded with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 having your feet fitted with the readiness of the gospel of peace, 16 and above all, taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the fiery arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.