Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 93[a]
93 The Lord reigns.
He is robed in majesty.
The Lord is robed;
he wears strength around his waist.[b]
Indeed, the world is established; it cannot be moved.
2 Your throne has been secure from ancient times;
you have always been king.[c]
3 The waves[d] roar, O Lord,
the waves roar,
the waves roar and crash.[e]
4 Above the sound of the surging water,[f]
and the mighty waves of the sea,
the Lord sits enthroned in majesty.[g]
5 The rules you set down[h] are completely reliable.[i]
Holiness[j] aptly adorns your house, O Lord, forever.[k]
15 God’s Spirit came upon Azariah son of Oded. 2 He met[a] Asa and told him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin! The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him.[b] If you seek him, he will respond to you,[c] but if you reject him, he will reject you. 3 For a long time[d] Israel had not sought the one true God, or a priest to instruct them, or the law. 4 Because of their distress, they turned back to the Lord God of Israel. They sought him and he responded to them.[e] 5 In those days[f] no one could travel safely,[g] for total chaos had overtaken all the people of the surrounding lands.[h] 6 One nation was crushed by another, and one city by another, for God caused them to be in great turmoil.[i] 7 But as for you, be strong and don’t get discouraged,[j] for your work will be rewarded.”[k]
8 When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he was encouraged.[l] He removed the detestable idols from the entire land of Judah and Benjamin and from the cities he had seized in the Ephraimite hill country. He repaired the altar of the Lord in front of the porch of the Lord’s temple.[m]
9 He assembled all Judah and Benjamin, as well as the settlers[n] from Ephraim, Manasseh, and Simeon who had come to live with them. Many people from Israel had come there to live[o] when they saw that the Lord his God was with him. 10 They assembled in Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. 11 At that time[p] they sacrificed to the Lord some of the plunder they had brought back, including 700 head of cattle and 7,000 sheep.[q] 12 They solemnly agreed[r] to seek the Lord God of their ancestors[s] with their whole heart and being. 13 Anyone who would not seek the Lord God of Israel would be executed, whether they were young or old,[t] male or female. 14 They swore their allegiance to the Lord, shouting their approval loudly and sounding trumpets and horns.[u] 15 All Judah was happy about the oath, because they made the vow with their whole heart. They willingly sought the Lord and he responded to them.[v] He made them secure on every side.[w]
15 The angel[a] who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 16 Now[b] the city is laid out as a square,[c] its length and width the same. He[d] measured the city with the measuring rod[e] at 1,400 miles[f] (its length and width and height are equal). 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits[g] according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s.[h] 18 The city’s[i] wall is made[j] of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.[k] 19 The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated[l] with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate,[m] the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx,[n] the sixth carnelian,[o] the seventh chrysolite,[p] the eighth beryl,[q] the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase,[r] the eleventh jacinth,[s] and the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls—each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The[t] main street[u] of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 Now[v] I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God—the All-Powerful[w]—and the Lamb are its temple.
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