Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 But you, Lord, rule forever!
Your fame lasts from one generation to the next!
13 You will stand up—
you’ll have compassion on Zion
because it is time to have mercy on her—
the time set for that has now come!
14 Your servants cherish Zion’s stones;
they show mercy even to her dirt.
15 The nations will honor the Lord’s name;
all the earth’s rulers will honor your glory
16 because the Lord will rebuild Zion;
he will be seen there in his glory.
17 God will turn to the prayer of the impoverished;
he won’t despise their prayers.
18 Let this be written down for the next generation
so that people not yet created will praise the Lord:
19 The Lord looked down from his holy summit,
surveyed the earth from heaven,
20 to hear the prisoners’ groans,
to set free those condemned to death,
21 that the Lord’s name may be declared in Zion
and his praise declared in Jerusalem,
22 when all people are gathered together—
all kingdoms—to serve the Lord.
23 God broke my strength in midstride,
cutting my days short.
24 I said, “My God, don’t take me away in the prime of life—
your years go on from one generation to the next!
25 You laid the earth’s foundations long ago;
the skies are your handiwork.
26 These things will pass away, but you will last.
All of these things will wear out like clothing;
you change them like clothes, and they pass on.
27 But you are the one!
Your years never end!
28 Let your servants’ children live safe;
let your servants’ descendants live secure in your presence.”
A rich woman
8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. A rich woman lived there. She urged him to eat something, so whenever he passed by, he would stop in to eat some food. 9 She said to her husband, “Look, I know that he is a holy man of God and he passes by regularly. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof. We’ll set up a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp for him there. Then when he comes to us, he can stay there.”
11 So one day Elisha came there, headed to the room on the roof, and lay down. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha then said to Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘Look, you’ve gone to all this trouble for us. What can I do for you? Is there anything I can say on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’”
She said, “I’m content to live at home with my own people.”
14 Elisha asked, “So what can be done for her?”
Gehazi said, “Well, she doesn’t have a son, and her husband is old.”
15 Elisha said, “Call her.” So Gehazi called her, and she stood at the door. 16 Elisha said, “About this time next year, you will be holding a son in your arms.”
But she said, “No, man of God, sir; don’t lie to your servant.”
17 But the woman conceived and gave birth to a son at about the same time the next year. This was what Elisha had promised her.
32 Elisha came into the house and saw the boy lying dead on his bed. 33 He went in and closed the door behind the two of them. Then he prayed to the Lord. 34 He got up on the bed and lay down on top of the child, putting his mouth on the boy’s mouth, his eyes on the boy’s eyes, his hands on the boy’s hands. And as he bent over him, the child’s skin grew warm. 35 Then Elisha got down and paced back and forth in the house. Once again he got up on the bed and bent over the boy, at which point the boy sneezed[a] seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha called for Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” Gehazi called her, and she came to Elisha. He told her, “Pick up your son.” 37 She came and fell at his feet, facedown on the ground. Then she picked up her son and left.
Paul and Barnabas in Iconium
14 The same thing happened in Iconium. Paul and Barnabas entered the Jewish synagogue and spoke as they had before. As a result, a huge number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 However, the Jews who rejected the faith stirred up the Gentiles, poisoning their minds against the brothers. 3 Nevertheless, Paul and Barnabas stayed there for quite some time, confidently speaking about the Lord. And the Lord confirmed the word about his grace by the signs and wonders he enabled them to perform. 4 The people of the city were divided—some siding with the Jews, others with the Lord’s messengers. 5 Then some Gentiles and Jews, including their leaders, hatched a plot to mistreat and stone Paul and Barnabas. 6 When they learned of it, these two messengers fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding area, 7 where they continued to proclaim the good news.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible