Psalm 20[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;(A)
    may the name of the God of Jacob(B) protect you.(C)
May he send you help(D) from the sanctuary(E)
    and grant you support(F) from Zion.(G)
May he remember(H) all your sacrifices
    and accept your burnt offerings.[b](I)
May he give you the desire of your heart(J)
    and make all your plans succeed.(K)
May we shout for joy(L) over your victory
    and lift up our banners(M) in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.(N)

Now this I know:
    The Lord gives victory to his anointed.(O)
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
    with the victorious power of his right hand.(P)
Some trust in chariots(Q) and some in horses,(R)
    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.(S)
They are brought to their knees and fall,(T)
    but we rise up(U) and stand firm.(V)
Lord, give victory to the king!
    Answer us(W) when we call!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 20:1 In Hebrew texts 20:1-9 is numbered 20:2-10.
  2. Psalm 20:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Samuel Rebukes Saul

13 Saul was thirty[a] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-[b] two years.

Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand(A) were with him at Mikmash(B) and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah(C) in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

Jonathan attacked the Philistine outpost(D) at Geba,(E) and the Philistines heard about it. Then Saul had the trumpet(F) blown throughout the land and said, “Let the Hebrews hear!” So all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become obnoxious(G) to the Philistines.” And the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.

The Philistines assembled(H) to fight Israel, with three thousand[c] chariots, six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand(I) on the seashore. They went up and camped at Mikmash,(J) east of Beth Aven.(K) When the Israelites saw that their situation was critical and that their army was hard pressed, they hid(L) in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and cisterns.(M) Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad(N) and Gilead.

Saul remained at Gilgal, and all the troops with him were quaking(O) with fear. He waited seven(P) days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and Saul’s men began to scatter. So he said, “Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” And Saul offered(Q) up the burnt offering. 10 Just as he finished making the offering, Samuel(R) arrived, and Saul went out to greet(S) him.

11 “What have you done?” asked Samuel.

Saul replied, “When I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time, and that the Philistines were assembling at Mikmash,(T) 12 I thought, ‘Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal,(U) and I have not sought the Lord’s favor.(V)’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering.”

13 “You have done a foolish thing,(W)” Samuel said. “You have not kept(X) the command the Lord your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time.(Y) 14 But now your kingdom(Z) will not endure; the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart(AA) and appointed(AB) him ruler(AC) of his people, because you have not kept(AD) the Lord’s command.”

15 Then Samuel left Gilgal[d] and went up to Gibeah(AE) in Benjamin, and Saul counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.(AF)

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Footnotes

  1. 1 Samuel 13:1 A few late manuscripts of the Septuagint; Hebrew does not have thirty.
  2. 1 Samuel 13:1 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text (see Acts 13:21); Masoretic Text does not have forty-.
  3. 1 Samuel 13:5 Some Septuagint manuscripts and Syriac; Hebrew thirty thousand
  4. 1 Samuel 13:15 Hebrew; Septuagint Gilgal and went his way; the rest of the people went after Saul to meet the army, and they went out of Gilgal

The Parable of the Sower(A)(B)

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake.(C) The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables,(D) and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.(E) As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”(F)

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”(G)

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God(H) has been given to you. But to those on the outside(I) everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a](J)

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.(K) 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan(L) comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth(M) and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

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Footnotes

  1. Mark 4:12 Isaiah 6:9,10

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