Psalm 88

For the Music Director. A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the melody of “Suffering of Affliction.” A Contemplative Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

Psalm 91

Psalm 92

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath day.

Abimelek

9 Abimelek son of Jerub-Baal went to Shechem, to his mother’s brothers. He spoke to them and to the house of his mother’s father saying, ² “Please say in the hearing of all of the leaders of Shechem, ‘Which is better for you, to have all seventy sons of Jerub-Baal rule over you, or for one man to rule over you? Remember that I am your own flesh and bone.’ ”

³ So his mother’s brothers spoke all these things about him in the hearing of all the leaders of Shechem, and their hearts inclined toward Abimelek, for they said, “He is our brother.” ⁴ They gave him seventy silver coins^[a] from the temple of Baal-Berith. Abimelek hired unprincipled and undisciplined men, and they followed him. ⁵ He went to his father’s house at Ophrah and killed his brothers, the seventy sons of Jerub-Baal, on a single stone. Yet Jotham, the youngest son of Jerub-Baal, survived because he hid himself. ⁶ All the leaders of Shechem and everyone from Beth Millo gathered together by the oak near the pillar in Shechem to make Abimelek king.

⁷ When Jotham heard this, he went and stood on the top of Mount Gerizim. He raised his voice and called out, saying to them, “Listen to me, leaders of Shechem, so that God may listen to you! ⁸ The trees once went out to anoint a king over them. They said to the olive tree, ‘Rule over us!’

⁹ “Yet the olive tree said to them, ‘Should I stop making oil, by which God and men are honored, to go and sway over the trees?’

¹⁰ “So the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and rule over us.’

¹¹ “Yet the fig tree said to them, ‘Should I stop making my sweet aroma and my fruit, to go and sway over the trees?’

¹² “So the trees said to the grapevine, ‘You come and rule over us.’

¹³ “Yet the grapevine said to them, ‘Should I stop making my fresh wine, which cheers God and men, to go and sway over the trees?’

¹⁴ “So the trees said to the thorn bush, ‘You come and rule over us.’

¹⁵ “The thorn bush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade. If not, let fire come out from the thorn bush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’

¹⁶ “Now then, did you show good faith and integrity when you made Abimelek king? Did you deal well with Jerub-Baal and his family? Did you do to him as his actions deserved,

¹⁹ So if you did show good faith and integrity in what you did with Jerub-Baal and his family today, then rejoice in Abimelek, and may he also rejoice in you. ²⁰ If not, let fire come out from Abimelek and consume the leaders of Shechem and Beth Millo, and let fire come out from the leaders of Shechem and from Beth Millo and consume Abimelek!”

²¹ Then Jotham ran away and fled. He went to Beer and lived there because of Abimelek his brother.

¹³ When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were illiterate and uneducated men, they marveled. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus. ¹⁴ But seeing the man who was healed standing with them, they had nothing to say against it. ¹⁵ So when they had commanded them to go outside of the Sanhedrin, they conferred among themselves, ¹⁶ saying, “What shall we do to these men? For, indeed, that an acknowledged miracle has been done through them is revealed to all who dwell in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it. ¹⁷ But lest it spread further among the people, let us threaten them that they no longer speak to anyone in this name.”

¹⁸ Then they called them and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. ¹⁹ But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. ²⁰ For we cannot help but declare what we have seen and heard.”

²¹ When they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding no way to punish them, because of the people. For all glorified God for what was done, ²² for the man on whom this miracle of healing was performed was over forty years old.

The Believers Pray for Boldness

²³ On being released, they went to their own people and reported what the chief priests and elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they lifted their voices in unity to God and prayed, “Lord, You are God, who has made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, ²⁵ and who by the mouth of Your servant David said:

²⁷ Indeed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were assembled together against Your holy Son Jesus whom You have anointed, ²⁸ to do what Your hand and Your counsel had foreordained to be done. ²⁹ Now, Lord, look on their threats and grant that Your servants may speak Your word with great boldness, ³⁰ by stretching out Your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be performed in the name of Your holy Son Jesus.”

³¹ When they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God with boldness.

² Both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. ³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.”

⁴ Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.”

⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

⁶ Six water pots made of stone were sitting there, used for ceremonial cleansing by the Jews, containing twenty to thirty gallons^[a] each.

⁷ Jesus said to them, “Fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.

⁸ Then He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the master of the feast.”

And they took it. ⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water that had been turned into wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who drew the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom, ¹⁰ and he said to him, “Every man serves the good wine first, and after men have drunk freely, then the poor wine is served. But you have kept the good wine until now.”

¹¹ This, the first of His signs, Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and He revealed His glory, and His disciples believed in Him.

¹² After this He, and His mother, and His brothers, and His disciples went down to Capernaum. They remained there a few days.