Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Eternal Faithfulness of the Lord(A)
105 Oh, (B)give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name;
(C)Make known His deeds among the peoples!
2 Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
(D)Talk of all His wondrous works!
3 Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
4 Seek the Lord and His strength;
(E)Seek His face evermore!
5 (F)Remember His marvelous works which He has done,
His wonders, and the judgments of His mouth,
6 O seed of Abraham His servant,
You children of Jacob, His chosen ones!
7 He is the Lord our God;
(G)His judgments are in all the earth.
8 He (H)remembers His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
9 (I)The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
10 And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11 Saying, (J)“To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance,”
12 (K)When they were few in number,
Indeed very few, (L)and strangers in it.
16 Moreover (A)He called for a famine in the land;
He destroyed all the (B)provision of bread.
17 (C)He sent a man before them—
Joseph—who (D)was sold as a slave.
18 (E)They hurt his feet with fetters,
[a]He was laid in irons.
19 Until the time that his word came to pass,
(F)The word of the Lord tested him.
20 (G)The king sent and released him,
The ruler of the people let him go free.
21 (H)He made him lord of his house,
And ruler of all his possessions,
22 To [b]bind his princes at his pleasure,
And teach his elders wisdom.
23 (I)Israel also came into Egypt,
And Jacob dwelt (J)in the land of Ham.
24 (K)He increased His people greatly,
And made them stronger than their enemies.
25 (L)He turned their heart to hate His people,
To deal craftily with His servants.
26 (M)He sent Moses His servant,
And Aaron whom He had chosen.
27 They (N)performed His signs among them,
And wonders in the land of Ham.
28 He sent darkness, and made it dark;
And they did not rebel against His word.
29 (O)He turned their waters into blood,
And killed their fish.
30 (P)Their land abounded with frogs,
Even in the chambers of their kings.
31 (Q)He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
And lice in all their territory.
32 (R)He gave them hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 (S)He struck their vines also, and their fig trees,
And splintered the trees of their territory.
34 (T)He spoke, and locusts came,
Young locusts without number,
35 And ate up all the vegetation in their land,
And devoured the fruit of their ground.
36 (U)He also [c]destroyed all the firstborn in their land,
(V)The first of all their strength.
37 (W)He also brought them out with silver and gold,
And there was none feeble among His tribes.
38 (X)Egypt was glad when they departed,
For the fear of them had fallen upon them.
39 (Y)He spread a cloud for a covering,
And fire to give light in the night.
40 (Z)The people asked, and He brought quail,
And (AA)satisfied them with the bread of heaven.
41 (AB)He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He remembered (A)His holy promise,
And Abraham His servant.
Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir Defeated
20 It happened after this that the people of (A)Moab with the people of (B)Ammon, and others with them besides the (C)Ammonites,[a] came to battle against Jehoshaphat. 2 Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from [b]Syria; and they are (D)in Hazazon Tamar” (which is (E)En Gedi). 3 And Jehoshaphat feared, and set [c]himself to (F)seek the Lord, and (G)proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 So Judah gathered together to ask (H)help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.
5 Then Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, 6 and said: “O Lord God of our fathers, are You not (I)God in heaven, and (J)do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and (K)in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? 7 Are You not (L)our God, who (M)drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham (N)Your friend forever? 8 And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 (O)‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your (P)name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ 10 And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You (Q)would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but (R)they turned from them and did not destroy them— 11 here they are, rewarding us (S)by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will You not (T)judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but (U)our eyes are upon You.”
13 Now all Judah, with their little ones, their wives, and their children, stood before the Lord.
14 Then (V)the Spirit of the Lord came 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, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, “Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the Lord to you: (W)‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, (X)for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the [d]brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 (Y)You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, (Z)for the Lord is with you.”
18 And Jehoshaphat (AA)bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem bowed before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the children of the Kohathites and of the children of the Korahites stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with voices loud and high.
20 So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: (AB)Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” 21 And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, (AC)and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:
22 Now when they began to sing and to praise, (AF)the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated.
The Narrow Way(A)
22 (B)And He went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem. 23 Then one said to Him, “Lord, are there (C)few who are saved?”
And He said to them, 24 (D)“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for (E)many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able. 25 (F)When once the Master of the house has risen up and (G)shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, (H)‘Lord, Lord, open for us,’ and He will answer and say to you, (I)‘I do not know you, where you are from,’ 26 then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.’ 27 (J)But He will say, ‘I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. (K)Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.’ 28 (L)There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, (M)when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust out. 29 They will come from the east and the west, from the north and the south, and sit down in the kingdom of God. 30 (N)And indeed there are last who will be first, and there are first who will be last.”
31 [a]On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, “Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.