God’s Perfect Knowledge of Man

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

Samuel’s First Prophecy

3 Now ^(A)the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. And ^(B)the word of the Lord was rare in those days; there was no widespread revelation. ² And it came to pass at that time, while Eli was lying down in his place, and when his eyes had begun to grow ^(C)so dim that he could not see, ³ and before ^(D)the lamp of God went out in the ^[a]tabernacle of the Lord where the ark of God was, and while Samuel was lying down, ⁴ that the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, “Here I am!” ⁵ So he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, for you called me.”

And he said, “I did not call; lie down again.” And he went and lay down.

⁶ Then the Lord called yet again, “Samuel!”

So Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you called me.” He answered, “I did not call, my son; lie down again.” ⁷ (Now Samuel ^(E)did not yet know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord yet revealed to him.)

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. So he arose and went to Eli, and said, “Here I am, for you did call me.”

Then Eli perceived that the Lord had called the boy. ⁹ Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down; and it shall be, if He calls you, that you must say, ^(F)‘Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.’ ” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

¹⁰ Now the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, “Samuel! Samuel!”

And Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears.”

¹¹ Then the Lord said to Samuel: “Behold, I will do something in Israel ^(A)at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle. ¹² In that day I will perform against Eli ^(B)all that I have spoken concerning his house, from beginning to end. ^13 (C)For I have told him that I will ^(D)judge his house forever for the iniquity which he knows, because ^(E)his sons made themselves vile, and he ^(F)did not ^[a]restrain them. ¹⁴ And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli that the iniquity of Eli’s house ^(G)shall not be atoned for by sacrifice or offering forever.”

¹⁵ So Samuel lay down until ^[b]morning, and opened the doors of the house of the Lord. And Samuel was afraid to tell Eli the vision. ¹⁶ Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!”

He answered, “Here I am.”

¹⁷ And he said, “What is the word that the Lord spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. ^(H)God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” ¹⁸ Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, ^(I)“It is the Lord. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”

¹⁹ So Samuel ^(J)grew, and ^(K)the Lord was with him ^(L)and let none of his words ^[c]fall to the ground. ²⁰ And all Israel ^(M)from Dan to Beersheba knew that Samuel had been ^[d]established as a prophet of the Lord.

^5 (A)For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ^(B)ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For it is the God ^(C)who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has ^(D)shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Cast Down but Unconquered

⁷ But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, ^(E)that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. ⁸ We are ^(F)hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; ⁹ persecuted, but not ^(G)forsaken; ^(H)struck down, but not destroyed— ^10 (I)always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, ^(J)that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. ¹¹ For we who live ^(K)are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. ¹² So then death is working in us, but life in you.

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)

^23 (B)Now it happened that He went through the grainfields on the Sabbath; and as they went His disciples began ^(C)to pluck the heads of grain. ²⁴ And the Pharisees said to Him, “Look, why do they do what is ^(D)not lawful on the Sabbath?”

²⁵ But He said to them, “Have you never read ^(E)what David did when he was in need and hungry, he and those with him: ²⁶ how he went into the house of God in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the showbread, ^(F)which is not lawful to eat except for the priests, and also gave some to those who were with him?”

²⁷ And He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the ^(G)Sabbath. ²⁸ Therefore ^(H)the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath^(I)

3 And ^(J)He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. ² So they ^(K)watched Him closely, whether He would ^(L)heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might ^[a]accuse Him. ³ And He said to the man who had the withered hand, ^[b]“Step forward.” ⁴ Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent. ⁵ And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the ^(M)hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored ^[c]as whole as the other. ^6 (N)Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with ^(O)the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him.