Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 71[a]
Prayer of the Righteous in Old Age
1 In you, O Lord, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
2 In your righteousness rescue me and deliver me;
hear my plea and save me.
3 Be to me a rock of refuge
to which I can always go;
proclaim the order to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4 O my God, rescue me from the hands of the impious,
from the grasp of cruel and ruthless foes.
5 You, O Lord, are my hope,
my confidence, O God, from my youth.
6 I have relied upon you since birth,
and you have been my strength from my mother’s womb;
my praise rises unceasingly to you.[b]
Chapter 34
The Reforms of Josiah. 1 Josiah was eight years old when he ascended the throne, and he reigned in Jerusalem for thirty-one years. 2 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and he followed in the ways of his ancestor David, not deviating either to the right or to the left.
3 In the eighth year of his reign, while he was still a youth, Josiah began to seek the God of his ancestor David, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the sacred poles, and the carved and the cast images.[a] 4 Then, in his presence and following his instructions, he oversaw the destruction of the altars of the Baals, and the incense stands erected above them were torn down. The sacred poles and the carved and molten images were shattered and beaten into dust, which was then scattered over the tombs of those who had sacrificed to them. 5 Finally, the bones of the priests he burned upon their altars. Thus he purified Judah and Jerusalem.
6 In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim, and Simeon, and in the ruined villages as far as Naphtali, 7 Josiah destroyed the altars, crushed the sacred poles and the images into powder, and demolished all the incense altars throughout all the land of Israel. Then he returned to Jerusalem.
44 The Baptism of Cornelius. While Peter was still speaking, the Holy Spirit descended upon all who were listening to his message. 45 The circumcised believers who had accompanied Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit should have been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speaking in tongues and proclaiming the greatness of God.
Peter said further, 47 “Can anyone withhold the water of baptism from these people who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?” 48 Then he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
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