Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

30 A Psalm. -- A song of the dedication of the house of David. I exalt Thee, O Jehovah, For Thou hast drawn me up, and hast not let mine enemies rejoice over me.

² Jehovah my God, I have cried to Thee, And Thou dost heal me.

³ Jehovah, Thou hast brought up from Sheol my soul, Thou hast kept me alive, From going down [to] the pit.

⁴ Sing praise to Jehovah, ye His saints, And give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness,

⁵ For -- a moment [is] in His anger, Life [is] in His good-will, At even remaineth weeping, and at morn singing.

⁶ And I -- I have said in mine ease, `I am not moved -- to the age.

⁷ O Jehovah, in Thy good pleasure, Thou hast caused strength to remain for my mountain,' Thou hast hidden Thy face -- I have been troubled.

⁸ Unto Thee, O Jehovah, I call, And unto Jehovah I make supplication.

⁹ `What gain [is] in my blood? In my going down unto corruption? Doth dust thank Thee? doth it declare Thy truth?

¹⁰ Hear, O Jehovah, and favour me, O Jehovah, be a helper to me.'

¹¹ Thou hast turned my mourning to dancing for me, Thou hast loosed my sackcloth, And girdest me [with] joy.

¹² So that honour doth praise Thee, and is not silent, O Jehovah, my God, to the age I thank Thee!

14 And Joab son of Zeruial knoweth that the heart of the king [is] on Absalom,

² and Joab sendeth to Tekoah, and taketh thence a wise woman, and saith unto her, `Feign thyself a mourner, I pray thee, and put on, I pray thee, garments of mourning, and anoint not thyself with oil, and thou hast been as a woman these many days mourning for the dead,

³ and thou hast gone unto the king, and spoken unto him, according to this word;' and Joab putteth the words into her mouth.

⁴ And the woman of Tekoah speaketh unto the king, and falleth on her face to the earth, and doth obeisance, and saith, `Save, O king.'

⁵ And the king saith to her, `What -- to thee?' and she saith, `Truly a widow woman [am] I, and my husband dieth,

⁶ and thy maid-servant hath two sons; and they strive both of them in a field, and there is no deliverer between them, and the one smiteth the other, and putteth him to death;

⁷ and lo, the whole family hath risen against thy maid-servant, and say, Give up him who smiteth his brother, and we put him to death for the life of his brother whom he hath slain, and we destroy also the heir; and they have quenched my coal which is left -- so as not to set to my husband a name and remnant on the face of the ground.'

⁸ And the king saith unto the woman, `Go to thine house, and I give charge concerning thee.'

⁹ And the woman of Tekoah saith unto the king, `On me, my lord, O king, [is] the iniquity, and on the house of my father; and the king and his throne [are] innocent.'

¹⁰ And the king saith, `He who speaketh [aught] unto thee, and thou hast brought him unto me, then he doth not add any more to come against thee.'

¹¹ And she saith, `Let, I pray thee, the king remember by Jehovah thy God, that the redeemer of blood add not to destroy, and they destroy not my son;' and he saith, `Jehovah liveth; if there doth fall of the hair of thy son to the earth.'

⁶ and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me,

⁷ I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?

⁸ `And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute --

⁹ and they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is speaking to me --

¹⁰ and I said, What shall I do, Lord? and the Lord said unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee to do.

¹¹ `And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to Damascus,

¹² and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [there],

¹³ having come unto me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him;

¹⁴ and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth,

¹⁵ because thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard;

¹⁶ and now, why tarriest thou? having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord.

¹⁷ `And it came to pass when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came into a trance,

¹⁸ and I saw him saying to me, Haste and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me;

¹⁹ and I said, Lord, they -- they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee;

²⁰ and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was being poured forth, I also was standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death;

²¹ and he said unto me, Go, because to nations far off I will send thee.'