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Psalm 87

1  His foundation is on the holy mountains. ♦︎
   The Lord loves the gates of Zion
      more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
2  Glorious things are spoken of you, ♦︎
   Zion, city of our God.
3  I record Egypt and Babylon as those who know me; ♦︎
   behold Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia:
      in Zion were they born.
4  And of Zion it shall be said, ‘Each one was born in her, ♦︎
   and the Most High himself has established her.’
5  The Lord will record as he writes up the peoples, ♦︎
   ‘This one also was born there.’
6  And as they dance they shall sing, ♦︎
   ‘All my fresh springs are in you.’

The Servant’s Mission

49Listen to me, O coastlands,
   pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
   while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
² He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
   in his quiver he hid me away.
³ And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’
⁴ But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain,
   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
   and my reward with my God.’

⁵ And now the Lord says,
   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
   and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
⁶ he says,
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
   to raise up the tribes of Jacob
   and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’

Philip Preaches in Samaria

4 Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word. ⁵Philip went down to the city^* of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah^* to them. ⁶The crowds with one accord listened eagerly to what was said by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs that he did, ⁷for unclean spirits, crying with loud shrieks, came out of many who were possessed; and many others who were paralysed or lame were cured. ⁸So there was great joy in that city.

9 Now a certain man named Simon had previously practised magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he was someone great. ¹⁰All of them, from the least to the greatest, listened to him eagerly, saying, ‘This man is the power of God that is called Great.’ ¹¹And they listened eagerly to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. ¹²But when they believed Philip, who was proclaiming the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. ¹³Even Simon himself believed. After being baptized, he stayed constantly with Philip and was amazed when he saw the signs and great miracles that took place.