Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 138
A Thankful Heart
Of David.
1 I will give you thanks with all my heart;(A)
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.[a](B)
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.[b](C)
3 On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.[c](D)
Joshua Commissioned to Succeed Moses
12 Then the Lord said to Moses,(A) “Go up this mountain of the Abarim range[a] and see the land that I have given the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will also be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was.(B) 14 When the community quarreled in the Wilderness of Zin, both of you rebelled against my command to demonstrate my holiness in their sight at the waters.” Those were the Waters of Meribah-kadesh[b] in the Wilderness of Zin.(C)
15 So Moses appealed to the Lord, 16 “May the Lord, the God who gives breath to all,[c](D) appoint a man over the community 17 who will go out before them and come back in before them,(E) and who will bring them out and bring them in, so that the Lord’s community won’t be like sheep without a shepherd.”(F)
18 The Lord replied to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him.(G) 19 Have him stand before the priest Eleazar and the whole community, and commission(H) him in their sight. 20 Confer some of your authority on him so that the entire Israelite community will obey him. 21 He will stand before the priest Eleazar who will consult the Lord for him with the decision of the Urim.(I) He and all the Israelites with him, even the entire community, will go out and come back in at his command.”
22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua, had him stand before the priest Eleazar and the entire community, 23 laid his hands on him, and commissioned him, as the Lord had spoken through Moses.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 When he arrived in Jerusalem,(A) he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple. 27 Barnabas, however, took him and brought him to the apostles and explained to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and that the Lord had talked to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly(B) in the name of Jesus.(C) 28 Saul was coming and going with them in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He conversed and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him.(D) 30 When the brothers found out, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.(E)
The Church’s Growth
31 So the church(F) throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.
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