Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
12 But you, Lord, rule for ever as king.
People will always remember you.
13 You will soon be kind to Zion again.
Now it is time to forgive her.
Yes, the time is now right for you to do that.
14 Her buildings have become broken stones and dust.
But your servants still love your city.
We are sad to see that it is broken down.
15 The nations will respect the Lord's name.
All the kings of the world
will praise your glory.
16 That will happen when the Lord builds Zion again
and he appears there in his glory.
17 He will answer the prayers
of poor people who have nothing.
He will not refuse to help them.
18 Write these things down
for people who live in future times to read.
Then they too will praise the Lord.
19 Tell them that the Lord looked down
from his home in heaven.
He saw what was happening on the earth.
20 He heard the prisoners call out in pain.
He saved the lives of prisoners
so they could go free before their enemies could kill them.
21 As a result, people will shout the Lord's name in Zion.
Yes, they will praise him in Jerusalem!
22 At that time, people from all nations
will meet together.
The kingdoms of the world
will come to serve the Lord.
23 But God has made me weak
before I have reached old age.
He has made my life short.
24 So I pray, ‘My God, please do not let me die now,
in the middle of my life.
The years of your life continue for ever!
25 Long ago, you built the world on a strong foundation.
You created the heavens with your own hands.
26 They will all disappear one day,
but you will remain.
They will become spoiled,
like old clothes.
Like clothes, you will remove them,
so that they disappear.
27 But you remain the same, Lord.
The years of your life will never finish.
28 As your servants,
our children will live here safely.
Their children too will be safe,
as they live near to you.’
Elisha helps the woman from Shunem
8 Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had made alive again, ‘Go away from here.[a] The Lord says that there will be a famine in this country for seven years. So you and your family should go to live somewhere else during that time.’ 2 The woman had done what the man of God had told her to do. She and her family went to live in the country of the Philistines for seven years. 3 After seven years, she came back from there. She went to the king to ask for her house and her land.[b]
4 The king was talking to Gehazi, the servant of the man of God. The king said to Gehazi, ‘Tell me about all the great things that Elisha has done.’ 5 So Gehazi was telling the king that Elisha had made dead people alive again. While Gehazi was saying this, the woman from Shunem came in to ask the king for her house and her fields. It was her son that Elisha had made alive again. Gehazi said, ‘My master the king, this is the woman! And this is her son that Elisha made alive again!’
6 The king asked the woman about it. She told him what had happened. Then the king commanded one of his officers to take care of her. The king said to him, ‘This woman must receive back everything that belongs to her. She must also receive the value of all the crops that have grown in her fields since the day that she went away.’
36 After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, ‘We should go back to the towns where we already spoke the message about the Lord Jesus. Then we can visit the believers in all those places. We can see if they are doing well.’
37 Barnabas agreed and he wanted to take John Mark with them. 38 But Paul did not think that this was right. He said to Barnabas, ‘John Mark did not remain with us until we had finished our work. He left us when we were in Pamphylia.’
39 Paul and Barnabas argued strongly about this. They could not agree, so they went in different directions. Barnabas took John Mark with him and they sailed to Cyprus. 40 Paul chose Silas to go with him. The believers in Antioch asked the Lord God to take care of Paul and Silas. 41 They travelled through Syria and Cilicia. Paul taught the believers in those regions. He helped them to be strong and to trust Jesus.
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