Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
25 You are the reason I offer praise[a] in the great assembly;
I will fulfill my promises before the Lord’s loyal followers.[b]
26 Let the oppressed eat and be filled.[c]
Let those who seek his help praise the Lord.
May you[d] live forever!
27 Let all the people of the earth acknowledge the Lord and turn to him.[e]
Let all the nations[f] worship you.[g]
28 For the Lord is king[h]
and rules over the nations.
29 All the thriving people[i] of the earth will join the celebration and worship;[j]
all those who are descending into the grave[k] will bow before him,
including those who cannot preserve their lives.[l]
30 A whole generation[m] will serve him;
they will tell the next generation about the Lord.[n]
31 They will come and tell about his saving deeds;[o]
they will tell a future generation what he has accomplished.[p]
More Visions and Messages of Judgment
8 The Sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw[a] a basket of summer fruit.[b] 2 He said, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end[c] has come for my people Israel! I will no longer overlook their sins.[d]
3 The women singing in the temple[e] will wail in that day.”
The Sovereign Lord is speaking.
“There will be many corpses littered everywhere![f] Be quiet!”
4 Listen to this, you who trample[g] the needy
and do away with[h] the destitute in the land.
5 You say,
“When will the new moon festival[i] be over,[j] so we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath end,[k] so we can open up the grain bins?[l]
We’re eager[m] to sell less for a higher price,[n]
and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales![o]
6 We’re eager to trade silver for the poor,[p]
a pair of sandals[q] for the needy.
We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!”[r]
7 The Lord confirms this oath[s] by the arrogance of Jacob:[t]
8 1 And Saul agreed completely with killing[a] him.
Saul Begins to Persecute the Church
Now on that day a great[b] persecution began[c] against the church in Jerusalem, and all[d] except the apostles were forced to scatter throughout the regions[e] of Judea and Samaria. 2 Some[f] devout men buried Stephen and made loud lamentation[g] over him.[h] 3 But Saul was trying to destroy[i] the church; entering one house after another, he dragged off[j] both men and women and put them in prison.[k]
Philip Preaches in Samaria
4 Now those who had been forced to scatter went around proclaiming the good news of the word. 5 Philip went down to the main city of Samaria[l] and began proclaiming[m] the Christ[n] to them. 6 The crowds were paying attention with one mind to what Philip said,[o] as they heard and saw the miraculous signs[p] he was performing. 7 For unclean spirits,[q] crying with loud shrieks, were coming out of many who were possessed,[r] and many paralyzed and lame people were healed. 8 So there was[s] great joy[t] in that city.
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