Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
1 ¶ O give thanks unto the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him; speak of all his wondrous works.
3 Glory in his holy name; let the heart of those that seek the LORD rejoice.
4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his face continually.
5 Remember his marvellous works that he has done, his wonders and the judgments of his mouth,
6 O ye seed of Abraham his slave, ye sons of Jacob his chosen.
7 He is the LORD our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
8 ¶ He has remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded for a thousand generations,
9 which covenant he made with Abraham and his oath unto Isaac
10 and confirmed the same unto Jacob by decree, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:
11 Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance,
12 when they were but a few men in number; yea, very few, and strangers in it.
13 When they went from nation to nation from one kingdom to another people,
14 he suffered no man to do them wrong; yea, he chastened kings for their sakes:
15 Saying, Touch not mine anointed and do my prophets no harm.
16 Moreover he called for a famine upon the land; he broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He sent a man before them, even Joseph, who was sold for a slave,
18 whose feet they hurt with fetters; his soul was laid in iron.
19 Until the time that his word came, the spoken word of the LORD purified him.
20 The king sent and loosed him, the ruler of the people let him go free.
21 He made him lord of his house and ruler of all his substance:
22 To bind his princes at his pleasure and teach his elders wisdom.
23 Afterwards Israel entered into Egypt, and Jacob was a stranger in the land of Ham.
24 And he increased his people greatly and made them stronger than their enemies.
25 ¶ He turned their heart to hate his people to think evil against his slaves.
26 He sent Moses his slave and Aaron whom he had chosen.
27 He put the words of his signs in them and his wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness and made it dark, and they did not rebel against his word.
29 He turned their waters into blood and slew their fish.
30 Their land brought forth frogs in abundance in the chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and swarms of flies and lice came within all their borders.
32 He turned their rain into hail, into flaming fire in their land.
33 He smote their vines also and their fig trees and broke the trees within their borders.
34 He spoke, and the locusts came and caterpillars without number,
35 and ate up all the grass in their land and devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 He smote also all the firstborn in their land, the chief of all their strength.
37 And he brought them forth with silver and gold, and there was not one sick person among their tribes.
38 Egypt was glad when they departed, for the fear of them fell upon them.
39 He spread a cloud for a covering and fire to give light in the night.
40 The people asked, and he brought quails and satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 He opened the rock, and the waters gushed out; they ran in the dry places and became a river.
42 For he remembered his holy word with Abraham his slave.
20 ¶ It came to pass after this also that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon and with them others besides the Ammonites came against Jehoshaphat to battle.
2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, There comes a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea, and from Syria; and, behold, they are in Hazazontamar, which is Engedi.
3 Then Jehoshaphat feared and set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
4 And Judah gathered themselves together, to consult the LORD; and out of all the cities of Judah they came to consult the LORD.
5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court,
6 and said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in the heavens and dost thou not rule in all the kingdoms of the Gentiles? Is there not power and might in thy hand so that no one is able to withstand thee?
7 Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel and didst give it to the seed of Abraham, thy friend, for ever?
8 And they have dwelt in it and have built thee a sanctuary in it for thy name, saying,
9 If evil comes upon us or the sword of judgment or pestilence or famine, we shall stand before this house and in thy presence (for thy name is in this house) and cry unto thee out of our tribulations, and thou wilt hear us and save us.
10 And now, behold, the sons of Ammon and of Moab and those of Mount Seir, whose land thou would not let Israel enter when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them;
11 behold they reward us by coming to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit.
12 O our God, wilt thou not judge them? For we have no might against this great company that comes against us; we do not know what to do; but our eyes are fixed upon thee.
13 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children.
14 ¶ Then upon Jahaziel, the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation;
15 and he said, Hearken, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou King Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Do not be afraid nor dismayed before this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.
16 Tomorrow ye shall go down against them; behold, they shall come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them next to the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel.
17 Ye shall not need to fight in this battle; set yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you. O Judah and Jerusalem; fear not, neither be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD shall be with you.
18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and likewise all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD.
19 And the Levites, of the sons of the Kohath and of the sons of the Korah, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high.
20 ¶ And when they arose early in the morning and while they were going forth into the wilderness of Tekoa, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe the LORD your God, and ye shall be secure; believe his prophets, and ye shall be prospered.
21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed some to sing unto the LORD and to praise in the beauty of holiness, while the army went out and to say, Praise the LORD, for his mercy endures for ever.
22 And when they began to sing and to praise, the LORD set the sons of Moab and those of Mount Seir to ambush the sons of Ammon, who were coming against Judah; and they smote one another.
22 And he went through the cities and villages, teaching and journeying toward Jerusalem.
23 ¶ Then someone said unto him, Lord, are there few that are saved? And he said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the narrow gate; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in and shall not be able.
25 When once the husband of the house is risen up and shall have shut the door, and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not from where ye are,
26 then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.
27 But he shall say unto you, I know you not from where ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.
28 In that place shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when ye shall see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
29 And others shall come from the east and from the west and from the north and from the south and shall sit at the table in the kingdom of God.
30 And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
31 ¶ The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Go out and depart from here, for Herod will kill thee.
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