Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

54 (For the director. With stringed instruments. A maskil. For Dovid, when the Ziphim came and said to Sha’ul, Dovid is in hiding among us.) Hoshieini (save me), O Elohim, by Shimecha, and vindicate me by Thy gevurah (might, power).

^2 (4) Hear my tefillah, O Elohim; give ear to the words of my mouth.

^3 (5) For zarim (strangers) are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my nefesh; they have not set Elohim before them. Selah.

^4 (6) Hinei, Elohim is mine Ozer (helper); Adonoi is with them that uphold my nefesh.

^5 (7) He shall recompense the rah (evil) unto mine enemies; in Thy emes cut them off.

^6 (8) I will sacrifice a nedavah (freewill offering) unto Thee; I will praise Shimecha, Hashem; for it is tov (good).

^7 (9) For He hath delivered me out of all my tzoros; and mine eye hath looked in triumph upon mine oyevim (enemies.)

²⁴ But Tzidkiyah ben Kena’anah went near, and struck Mikhay’hu on the cheek, and said, Which way did the Ruach Hashem go when he went from me to speak to you?

²⁵ And Mikhay’hu said, Hinei, thou shalt see in that yom, when thou shalt go into a cheder b’cheder (inner room) to hide thyself.

²⁶ And the Melech Yisroel said, Take Mikhay’hu, and carry him back unto Amon Sar HaIr, and to Yoash ben HaMelech;

²⁷ And say, Thus saith HaMelech, Put this fellow in the bais hakeleh, and feed him with lechem lachatz (bread of affliction) and with mayim lachatz (water of affliction), until I come in shalom.

²⁸ And Mikhay’hu said, If thou return at all in shalom, Hashem hath not spoken by me. And he said, Pay heed, O people, every one of you.

²⁹ So the Melech Yisroel and Yehoshaphat Melech Yehudah went up to Ramot-Gil`ad.

³⁰ And the Melech Yisroel said unto Yehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the milchamah; but put thou on thy robes. And the Melech Yisroel disguised himself, and went into the milchamah.

³¹ But HaMelech Aram commanded his 32 captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with katan nor gadol, save only with the Melech Yisroel.

³² And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Yehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the Melech Yisroel. And they turned aside to fight against him. Yehoshaphat cried out.

³³ And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not Melech Yisroel, they turned from pursuing him.

³⁴ And a certain man drew a keshet (bow) at random, and struck Melech Yisroel between the joints of his armor; wherefore he said unto the driver of his merkavah, Turn around thine hand, and carry me out of the battle; for I am wounded.

³⁵ And the milchamah increased that yom; and HaMelech was propped up in his merkavah against the Syrians, and died at erev; and the dahm ran out of the wound onto the floor of the merkavah.

³⁶ And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the shemesh, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country.

³⁷ So Melech [Ahab] died, and was brought to Shomron; and they buried HaMelech in Shomron.

³⁸ And one washed the merkavah in the pool of Shomron; and the kelavim licked up his dahm while the zonot bathed; according unto the Devar Hashem which he spoke.

³⁹ Now the rest of the acts of Ach’av (Ahab), and all that he did, and the Bais HaShen (House of Ivory) which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the Sefer Divrei HaYamim l’Malkhei Yisroel?

⁴⁰ So Ach’av slept with his avot; and Achazyahu beno (his son) reigned in his place.

²⁵ For I do not want you to be unaware, Achim b’Moshiach, of this raz (mystery), lest you be wise in your own estimation, that a hardening in part has come over Yisroel, until the full number of the Goyim has come in;

²⁶ And so Klal Yisroel shall be delivered, as it is written: "Out of Tziyon shall come the Go’el (Deliverer, Redeemer); He will turn away, remove peysha from Ya’akov (Jacob),

²⁷ "And this will be My Berit (covenant) with them, when I take away their sins" YESHAYAH 59:20-21; 27:9.

²⁸ With regard to the Besuras HaGeulah they are oyevim (enemies) for your [you Goyim] sake, whereas with regard to the bechirah (election) they are beloved for the sake of the Avot (Fathers).

²⁹ For the matnat Hashem and the kri’at Hashem are irrevocable.

³⁰ For just as you Goyim were once without mishma’at to Hashem, but now have received chaninah (mercy, pardon) by their lack of mishma’at,

³¹ So also they have now been without mishma’at for your chaninah (mercy, pardon) in order that they also might receive chaninah (mercy) (Ro 9:15-16).

³² For G-d has confined all in disobedience in order that He might have chaninah (mercy) on all;