Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 Oh (A)give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make known His deeds among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Speak of all His [b]wonders.
3 [c]Glory in His holy name;
Let the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [d](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [e]uttered by His mouth,
6 O seed of (K)Abraham, His servant,
O sons of (L)Jacob, His (M)chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
His (N)judgments are in all the earth.
8 He has (O)remembered His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded to a (P)thousand generations,
9 The (Q)covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His (R)oath to Isaac.
10 Then He (S)confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, “(T)To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the [f](U)portion of your inheritance,”
12 When they were only a (V)few men in number,
Very few, and (W)strangers in it.
13 And they wandered about from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people.
14 He (X)permitted no man to oppress them,
And He (Y)reproved kings for their sakes:
15 “(Z)Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do My prophets no harm.”
16 And He (A)called for a famine upon the land;
He (B)broke the whole staff of bread.
17 He (C)sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was (D)sold as a slave.
18 They afflicted his (E)feet with fetters,
[a]He himself was laid in irons;
19 Until the time that his (F)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord [b](G)tested him.
20 The (H)king sent and released him,
The ruler of peoples, and set him free.
21 He (I)made him lord of his house
And ruler over all his possessions,
22 To [c]imprison his princes [d](J)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 (K)Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob (L)sojourned in the land of Ham.
24 And He (M)caused His people to be very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their adversaries.
25 He (N)turned their heart to hate His people,
To (O)deal craftily with His servants.
26 He (P)sent Moses His servant,
And (Q)Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They [e](R)performed His wondrous acts among them,
And miracles in the land of Ham.
28 He (S)sent darkness and made it dark;
And they did not (T)rebel against His words.
29 He (U)turned their waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.
30 Their land swarmed with (V)frogs
Even in the (W)chambers of their kings.
31 He spoke, and there came a (X)swarm of flies
And (Y)gnats in all their territory.
32 He [f]gave them (Z)hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He (AA)struck down their vines also and their fig trees,
And shattered the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and (AB)locusts came,
And young locusts, even without number,
35 And ate up all vegetation in their land,
And ate up the fruit of their ground.
36 He also (AC)struck down all the firstborn in their land,
The (AD)first fruits of all their vigor.
37 Then He brought them out with (AE)silver and gold,
And among His tribes there was not one who stumbled.
38 Egypt was (AF)glad when they departed,
For the (AG)dread of them had fallen upon them.
39 He spread a (AH)cloud for a [g]covering,
And (AI)fire to illumine by night.
40 [h]They (AJ)asked, and He brought (AK)quail,
And satisfied them with the [i](AL)bread of heaven.
41 He opened the [j]rock and (AM)water flowed out;
[k]It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He (A)remembered His holy word
With Abraham His servant;
Judah Invaded
20 Now it came about after this that the sons of Moab and the sons of Ammon, together with some of the [a](A)Meunites, came to make war against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and reported to Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, out of [b]Aram and behold, they are in (B)Hazazon-tamar (that is Engedi).” 3 Jehoshaphat was afraid and [c](C)turned his attention to seek the Lord, and (D)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to (E)seek help from the Lord; they even came from all the cities of Judah to seek the Lord.
Jehoshaphat’s Prayer
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord before the new court, 6 and he said, “O Lord, the God of our fathers, (F)are You not God in the heavens? And (G)are You not ruler over all the kingdoms of the nations? Power and might are in Your hand so that no one can stand against You. 7 Did You not, O our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel and (H)give it to the descendants of (I)Abraham Your friend forever? 8 They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary there for Your name, saying, 9 ‘(J)Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for (K)Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’ 10 Now behold, (L)the sons of Ammon and Moab and [d]Mount Seir, (M)whom You did not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (they turned aside from them and did not destroy them), 11 see how they are rewarding us by (N)coming to drive us out from Your possession which You have given us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, (O)will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude who are coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but (P)our eyes are on You.”
13 All Judah was standing before the Lord, with their infants, their wives and their children.
Jahaziel Answers the Prayer
14 Then in the midst of the assembly (Q)the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, the Levite of the sons of Asaph; 15 and he said, “Listen, all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat: thus says the Lord to you, ‘(R)Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for (S)the battle is not yours but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the valley in front of the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You need not fight in this battle; station yourselves, (T)stand and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out to face them, (U)for the Lord is with you.”
18 Jehoshaphat (V)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 The Levites, from the sons of the Kohathites and of the sons of the Korahites, stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel, with a very loud voice.
Enemies Destroy Themselves
20 They rose early in the morning and went out to the wilderness of Tekoa; and when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, O Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, (W)put your trust in the Lord your God and you will be established. Put your trust in His prophets and succeed.” 21 When he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who sang to the Lord and those who (X)praised Him in holy attire, as they went out before the army and said, “(Y)Give thanks to the Lord, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” 22 When they began singing and praising, the Lord (Z)set ambushes against the sons of (AA)Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; so they were [e]routed.
Teaching in the Villages
22 And He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and (A)proceeding on His way to Jerusalem. 23 And someone said to Him, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” And He said to them, 24 “(B)Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 Once the head of the house gets up and (C)shuts the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock on the door, saying, ‘(D)Lord, open up to us!’ then He will answer and say to you, ‘(E)I do not know where you are from.’ 26 Then you will (F)begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets’; 27 and He will say, ‘I tell you, (G)I do not know where you are from; (H)depart from Me, all you evildoers.’ 28 (I)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, but yourselves being thrown out. 29 And they (J)will come from east and west and from north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, (K)some are last who will be first and some are first who will be last.”
31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for (L)Herod wants to kill You.”
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.