Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Lord’s Wonderful Works in Behalf of Israel.
105 (A)Give thanks to the Lord, (B)call upon His name;
(C)Make His deeds known among the peoples.
2 Sing to Him, (D)sing praises to Him;
[a](E)Tell of all His [b]wonders.
3 Boast in His holy name;
May the (F)heart of those who seek the Lord be joyful.
4 Seek the Lord and (G)His strength;
(H)Seek His face continually.
5 Remember His [c](I)wonders which He has done,
His marvels and the (J)judgments [d]spoken by His mouth,
6 You [e]descendants of (K)Abraham, His servant,
You 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 as 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 people in number,
Very few, and (W)strangers in it.
13 And they wandered from nation to nation,
From one kingdom to another people,
14 He (X)allowed no one to oppress them,
And He [g](Y)rebuked kings for their sakes, saying,
15 “(Z)Do not touch My anointed ones,
And do not harm My prophets.”
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 forced his (E)feet into shackles,
[a]He was put in irons;
19 Until the time that his (F)word came to pass,
The word of the Lord (G)refined 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 [b]imprison his high officials [c](J)at will,
That he might teach his elders wisdom.
23 (K)Israel also came into Egypt;
So Jacob (L)lived in the land of Ham.
24 And He (M)made His people very fruitful,
And made them stronger than their enemies.
25 He (N)turned their heart to hate His people,
To (O)deal cunningly with His servants.
26 He (P)sent His servant Moses,
And (Q)Aaron, whom He had chosen.
27 They [d](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 a (X)swarm of flies
And (Y)gnats invaded all their territory.
32 He [e]gave them (Z)hail for rain,
And flaming fire in their land.
33 He also (AA)struck their vines and their fig trees,
And smashed the trees of their territory.
34 He spoke, and (AB)locusts came,
And creeping locusts, beyond number,
35 And they ate all the vegetation in their land,
And ate the fruit of their ground.
36 He also (AC)fatally struck all the firstborn in their land,
The (AD)first fruits of all their vigor.
37 Then He brought [f]the Israelites 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 [g]the Egyptians.
39 He spread out a (AH)cloud as a [h]covering,
And (AI)fire to illumine by night.
40 [i]They (AJ)asked, and He brought (AK)quail,
And satisfied them with the [j](AL)bread of heaven.
41 He opened the [k]rock and (AM)water flowed out;
[l]It ran in the dry places like a river.
42 For He (A)remembered His holy word
With His servant Abraham;
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, from [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 he (D)proclaimed a period of fasting throughout 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 in front of the new courtyard; 6 and he said, “Lord, 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, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land from Your people Israel, and (H)give it to the descendants of (I)Your friend Abraham forever? 8 They have lived in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, 9 ‘(J)If disaster comes upon us, the sword, or judgment, or plague, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for (K)Your name is in this house), and cry out to You in our distress, and You will hear and save us.’ 10 Now behold, (L)the sons of Ammon, Moab, and [d]Mount Seir, (M)whom You did not allow Israel to invade when they came out of the land of Egypt (for 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 Our God, (O)will You not judge them? For we are powerless before this great multitude that is 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 you of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and King Jehoshaphat: This is what the Lord says 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; take your position, (T)stand and watch the salvation of the Lord in your behalf, 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 from 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, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: (W)Put your trust in the Lord your God and you will endure. 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 faithfulness 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 struck down.
Teaching in the Villages
22 And He was passing through one city and village after 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 standing outside and knocking on the door, saying, ‘(D)Lord, open up to us!’ and He then will answer and say to you, ‘(E)I do not know where you are from.’ 26 Then you will (F)begin saying, ‘We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets!’ 27 And yet He will [a]say, ‘(G)I do not know where you are from; (H)leave Me, all you [b]evildoers.’ 28 (I)In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham, Isaac, 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 At that very time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away and leave this place, because (L)Herod wants to kill You.”
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