Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
105 Thank the Lord for all the glorious things he does; proclaim them to the nations. 2 Sing his praises and tell everyone about his miracles. 3 Glory in the Lord; O worshipers of God, rejoice.
4 Search for him and for his strength, and keep on searching!
5-6 Think of the mighty deeds he did for us, his chosen ones—descendants of God’s servant Abraham, and of Jacob. Remember how he destroyed our enemies. 7 He is the Lord our God. His goodness[a] is seen everywhere throughout the land. 8-9 Though a thousand generations pass he never forgets his promise, his covenant with Abraham and Isaac 10-11 and confirmed with Jacob. This is his never-ending treaty with the people of Israel: “I will give you the land of Canaan as your inheritance.” 12 He said this when they were but few in number, very few, and were only visitors in Canaan. 13 Later they were dispersed among the nations and were driven from one kingdom to another; 14 but through it all he would not let one thing be done to them apart from his decision.[b] He destroyed many a king who tried! 15 “Touch not these chosen ones of mine,” he warned, “and do not hurt my prophets.”
16 He called for a famine on the land of Canaan, cutting off its food supply. 17 Then he sent Joseph as a slave to Egypt to save his people from starvation. 18 There in prison they hurt his feet with fetters and placed his neck in an iron collar 19 until God’s time finally came—how God tested his patience! 20 Then the king sent for him and set him free. 21 He was put in charge of all the king’s possessions. 22 At his pleasure he could imprison the king’s aides and teach the king’s advisors.
23 Then Jacob (Israel) arrived in Egypt and lived there with his sons. 24 In the years that followed, the people of Israel multiplied explosively until they were a greater nation than their rulers. 25 At that point God turned the Egyptians against the Israelis; they hated and enslaved them.
26 But God sent Moses as his representative, and Aaron with him, 27 to call down miracles of terror upon the land of Egypt. 28 They[a] followed his instructions. He sent thick darkness through the land 29 and turned the nation’s water into blood, poisoning the fish. 30 Then frogs invaded in enormous numbers; they were found even in the king’s private rooms. 31 When Moses spoke, the flies and other insects swarmed in vast clouds from one end of Egypt to the other. 32 Instead of rain he sent down murderous hail, and lightning flashes overwhelmed the nation. 33 Their grapevines and fig trees were ruined; all the trees lay broken on the ground. 34 He spoke, and hordes of locusts came 35 and ate up everything green, destroying all the crops. 36 Then he killed the oldest child in each Egyptian home, their pride and joy— 37 and brought his people safely out from Egypt, loaded with silver and gold; there were no sick and feeble folk among them then. 38 Egypt was glad when they were gone, for the dread of them was great.
39 He spread out a cloud above them to shield them from the burning sun and gave them a pillar of flame at night to give them light. 40 They asked for meat, and he sent them quail and gave them manna—bread from heaven. 41 He opened up a rock, and water gushed out to form a river through the dry and barren land;
42 for he remembered his sacred promises to Abraham his servant.
20 Later on the armies of the kings of Moab, Ammon, and of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah. 2 Word reached Jehoshaphat that “a vast army is marching against you from beyond the Dead Sea from Syria. It is already at Hazazon-tamar” (also called Engedi). 3 Jehoshaphat was badly shaken by this news and determined to beg for help from the Lord; so he announced that all the people of Judah should go without food for a time, in penitence and intercession before God. 4 People from all across the nation came to Jerusalem to plead unitedly with him. 5 Jehoshaphat stood among them as they gathered at the new court of the Temple and prayed this prayer:
6 “O Lord God of our fathers—the only God in all the heavens, the ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth—you are so powerful, so mighty. Who can stand against you? 7 O our God, didn’t you drive out the heathen who lived in this land when your people arrived? And didn’t you give this land forever to the descendants of your friend Abraham? 8 Your people settled here and built this Temple for you, 9 truly believing that in a time like this—whenever we are faced with any calamity such as war, disease, or famine—we can stand here before this Temple and before you—for you are here in this Temple—and cry out to you to save us; and that you will hear us and rescue us.
10 “And now see what the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir are doing. You wouldn’t let our ancestors invade those nations when Israel left Egypt, so we went around and didn’t destroy them. 11 Now see how they reward us! For they have come to throw us out of your land which you have given us. 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We have no way to protect ourselves against this mighty army. We don’t know what to do, but we are looking to you.”
13 As the people from every part of Judah stood before the Lord with their little ones, wives, and children, 14 the Spirit of the Lord came upon one of the men standing there—Jahaziel (son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of Mattaniah the Levite, who was one of the sons of Asaph).
15 “Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem, and you, O king Jehoshaphat!” he exclaimed. “The Lord says, ‘Don’t be afraid! Don’t be paralyzed by this mighty army! For the battle is not yours, but God’s! 16 Tomorrow, go down and attack them! You will find them coming up the slopes of Ziz at the end of the valley that opens into the wilderness of Jeruel. 17 But you will not need to fight! Take your places; stand quietly and see the incredible rescue operation God will perform for you, O people of Judah and Jerusalem! Don’t be afraid or discouraged! Go out there tomorrow, for the Lord is with you!’”
18 Then King Jehoshaphat fell to the ground with his face to the earth, and all the people of Judah and the people of Jerusalem did the same, worshiping the Lord. 19 Then the Levites of the Kohath clan and the Korah clan stood to praise the Lord God of Israel with songs of praise that rang out strong and clear.
20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and called them to attention. “Listen to me, O people of Judah and Jerusalem,” he said. “Believe in the Lord your God and you shall have success! Believe his prophets and everything will be all right!”
21 After consultation with the leaders of the people, he determined that there should be a choir leading the march, clothed in sanctified garments and singing the song “His Loving-Kindness Is Forever” as they walked along praising and thanking the Lord! 22 And at the moment they began to sing and to praise, the Lord caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to begin fighting among themselves, and they destroyed each other!
22 He went from city to city and village to village, teaching as he went, always pressing onward toward Jerusalem.
23 Someone asked him, “Will only a few be saved?”
And he replied, 24-25 “The door to heaven is narrow. Work hard to get in, for the truth is that many will try to enter but when the head of the house has locked the door, it will be too late. Then if you stand outside knocking, and pleading, ‘Lord, open the door for us,’ he will reply, ‘I do not know you.’
26 “‘But we ate with you, and you taught in our streets,’ you will say.
27 “And he will reply, ‘I tell you, I don’t know you. You can’t come in here, guilty as you are. Go away.’
28 “And there will be great weeping and gnashing of teeth as you stand outside and see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets within the Kingdom of God— 29 for people will come from all over the world to take their places there. 30 And note this: some who are despised now will be greatly honored then; and some who are highly thought of now will be least important then.”
31 A few minutes later some Pharisees said to him, “Get out of here if you want to live, for King Herod is after you!”
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.