Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A song of David.
138 Lord, I praise you with all my heart.
I sing songs of praise to you before the gods.
2 I bow down toward your holy Temple,
and I praise your name for your love and loyalty.
You are famous,
and doing what you promised will make you even more famous!
3 When I called to you for help,
you answered me and gave me strength.
4 Lord, all the kings on earth will praise you
when they hear what you say.
5 They will sing about what the Lord has done,
because the glory of the Lord is very great.
6 The Lord has the highest place above all others,
but he still cares for the humble.
Even from there, so high above,
he knows what the proud do.
7 If I am in trouble, you keep me alive.
If my enemies are angry, you save me from them.
8 Lord, I know you will do what you have promised.
Lord, your faithful love will last forever.
You are the one who made us, so don’t leave us!
Joshua Is the New Leader
12 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go up on one of mountains in the desert east of the Jordan River. There you will see the land that I am giving to the Israelites. 13 After you have seen this land, you will die like your brother Aaron. 14 Remember when the people became angry at the water in the desert of Zin. Both you and Aaron refused to obey my command. You did not honor me and show the people that I am holy.” (This was at the water of Meribah[a] near Kadesh in the desert of Zin.)
15 Moses said to the Lord, 16 “Lord, you are the God who knows what people are thinking. I pray that you will choose a leader for these people.[b] 17 I pray that you will choose a leader who will lead them out of this land and bring them into the new land. Then your people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Joshua son of Nun is very wise.[c] You will place your hand on him and make him the new leader. 19 Tell him to stand before Eleazar the priest and all the people. Then make him the new leader.
20 “Show the people that you are making him leader,[d] then all the people will obey him. 21 If Joshua needs to make a decision, he will go to Eleazar the priest. Eleazar will use the Urim to learn the Lord’s answer. Then Joshua and all the Israelites will do the things God says. If he says, ‘go to war,’ they will go to war. And if he says, ‘go home,’ they will go home.”
22 Moses obeyed the Lord. Moses told Joshua to stand before Eleazar the priest and all the Israelites. 23 Then Moses put his hands on him to show that he was the new leader. He did this just as the Lord told him to.
Saul in Jerusalem
26 Then Saul went to Jerusalem. He tried to join the group of followers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe that he was really a follower of Jesus. 27 But Barnabas accepted Saul and took him to the apostles. He told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. Then he told them how boldly Saul had spoken for the Lord in Damascus.
28 And so Saul stayed with the followers and went all around Jerusalem speaking boldly for the Lord. 29 He often had arguments with the Greek-speaking Jews, who began making plans to kill him. 30 When the believers learned about this, they took Saul to Caesarea, and from there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.
31 The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had a time of peace. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, these groups of believers became stronger in faith and showed their respect for the Lord by the way they lived. So the church everywhere grew in numbers.
Copyright © 2006 by Bible League International