Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The World Should Praise the Lord
148 Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord from the ·skies [heavens].
Praise him ·high above the earth [in the heights].
2 Praise him, all you ·angels [messengers].
Praise him, all ·you armies of heaven [his hosts; C the angelic army].
3 Praise him, sun and moon.
Praise him, all you ·shining stars [L stars of light].
4 Praise him, ·highest heavens [L heaven of heavens]
and you waters above the ·sky [heavens].
5 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
because ·they were created by his command [L he commands and they were created; Gen. 1].
6 He ·put them in place [L made them stand] forever and ever;
he made a ·law [statute; requirement; ordinance] that will never ·change [pass].
7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
you large sea ·animals [monsters; C like Leviathan; 74:12–17; 104:26; Gen. 1:21; Job 3:8; 41; Is. 27:1] and all the ·oceans [deeps],
8 ·lightning [L fire] and hail, snow and ·mist [cloud; or smoke],
and stormy winds that ·obey him [L do his word],
9 mountains and all hills,
fruit trees and all cedars,
10 wild animals and all cattle,
crawling animals and birds,
11 kings of the earth and all ·nations [peoples],
princes and all ·rulers [judges] of the earth,
12 young men and women,
old people and ·children [youth].
13 Praise the name of the Lord,
because ·he [L his name] alone is ·great [exalted].
·He is more wonderful than [L His splendor is over] heaven and earth.
14 God has ·given his people a king [exalted/raised a horn over his people; C an animal’s horn symbolizes power].
He should be praised by all ·who belong to him [his saints/loyal ones];
he should be praised by the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], the people ·closest to his heart [L nearest to him].
Praise the Lord!
Joash Does Evil
17 After Jehoiada died, the ·officers [officials] of Judah came and bowed down to King Joash, and he listened to ·them [their advice]. 18 The king and these leaders ·stopped worshiping in [abandoned] the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. Instead, they began to ·worship [serve] the Asherah ·idols [poles; 14:3] and other idols. Because ·they did wrong [of their sin/guilt], ·God was angry with [L wrath came upon] the people of Judah and Jerusalem. 19 Even though the Lord sent prophets to the people to turn them back to him and even though the prophets ·warned [testified against] them, they refused to listen.
20 Then the Spirit of God ·entered [came upon] Zechariah son of Jehoiada the priest. Zechariah stood before the people and said, “·This is what God says [T Thus says God]: ‘Why do you ·disobey [violate; transgress] the Lord’s commands? You will not ·be successful [prosper; succeed]. Because you have ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, he has also ·left [abandoned; forsaken] you.’”
21 But ·the king and his officers made plans [they conspired; plotted] against Zechariah. At the king’s command they ·threw stones at [stoned] him in the courtyard of the ·Temple [L house] of the Lord until he died. 22 King Joash did not remember Jehoiada’s ·kindness [loyalty; devotion] to him, so Joash ·killed [murdered] Zechariah, Jehoiada’s son. ·Before [As] Zechariah died, he said, “May the Lord ·see what you are doing and punish you [see and avenge].”
Aramea Attacks Judah(A)
23 At the ·end [L turning; C spring] of the year, the Aramean army came against Joash. They attacked Judah and Jerusalem, killed all the ·leaders [officials] of the people, and sent all the ·valuable things [plunder; spoil; booty] to their king in Damascus. 24 The Aramean army came with only a small group of men, but the Lord handed over to them a very large army from Judah, because the people of Judah had ·left [abandoned; forsaken] the Lord, the God of their ·ancestors [fathers]. So Joash was ·punished [judged].
Seven Leaders Are Chosen
6 The number of ·followers [disciples] was ·growing [multiplying]. But during ·this same time [those days], the ·Greek-speaking followers [L Hellenists; C Jewish Christians who spoke primarily Greek and had returned to Israel after living abroad] ·had an argument with [began grumbling/complaining against] the ·other followers [L Hebrews; C Aramaic speaking Jewish Christians born in Israel]. The Greek-speaking widows were ·not getting their share [being neglected/overlooked in the distribution] of the food that was given out every day. 2 The ·twelve apostles [Twelve] called the whole group of ·followers [L disciples] together and said, “It is not right for us to ·stop our work of teaching God’s word [L leave/abandon the word of God] in order to serve tables. 3 So, ·brothers and sisters [or brothers; C uncertain whether women would have been included in that culture], choose seven of your own men who ·are good [have a good reputation], full of the Spirit and full of wisdom. We will ·put [appoint] them in charge of this ·work [responsibility; L need]. 4 Then we [apostles] can ·continue [devote ourselves] to pray and to ·teach [L the ministry/service of] the word of God.”
5 The whole group ·liked [was pleased with] the idea, so they chose these seven men: Stephen (a man ·with great [L full of] faith and full of the Holy Spirit), Philip [C not the apostle of the same name], Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas (a man from Antioch [C a major city in Syria] who ·had become a follower of the Jewish religion [L was a prosylete; C a Gentile convert to Judaism]. 6 Then they ·put [presented] these men before the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands [C a ritual of blessing and/or conferring of authority] on them.
7 The word of God was continuing to spread. The ·group [number] of ·followers [disciples] in Jerusalem [quickly; or greatly] ·increased [multiplied], and a great number of the Jewish priests ·believed and obeyed [L become obedient to the faith].
51 Stephen continued speaking: “You ·stubborn [L stiff-necked] people! You have ·not given your hearts to God, nor will you listen to him [L uncircumcised hearts and ears]! You are always ·against [resisting] what the Holy Spirit is trying to tell you, just as your ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] were. 52 Was there ever a prophet your ·ancestors [forefathers; fathers] did not ·try to hurt [persecute]? They even killed ·the prophets [L those] who ·predicted [foretold; announced beforehand] the coming of the ·One who is good [Righteous One; C Jesus the Messiah]. And now you have ·turned against [betrayed] and ·killed [murdered] the ·One who is good [Righteous One]. 53 You received the law of Moses, which God gave you through his angels [Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2], but you haven’t obeyed it.”
Stephen Is Killed
54 When the leaders heard this, they became furious [L in their hearts]. They were so mad they were ·grinding [gnashing] their teeth at Stephen. 55 But Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at God’s right ·side [or hand; C the place of highest honor beside a king]. 56 He said, “Look! I see heaven open and the Son of Man [C a title for the Messiah; Dan. 7:13–14] standing at God’s right ·side [or hand].” [C Normally portrayed as “sitting” at God’s right side (Ps. 110:1), Jesus is standing either to give testimony to Stephen’s faithfulness, or to welcome him into God’s presence.]
57 Then they shouted loudly and covered their ears and all ·ran [rushed together; or rushed with one intent] at Stephen. 58 They ·took [dragged] him out of the city and began to ·throw stones at him to kill [stone] him [C the customary way to execute a criminal]. And ·those who told lies against Stephen [or his accusers; those who provided testimony; L the witnesses] left their coats ·with [L at the feet of] a young man named Saul [C later known as Paul]. 59 While they were ·throwing stones [stoning him], Stephen ·prayed [L called out], “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 He fell on his knees and cried in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” After Stephen said this, he ·died [L fell asleep; C for believers death is temporary, like sleep].
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