Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹ ¶ God stands in the congregation of the mighty; he judges among the gods.

² How long will ye judge unjustly and accept the persons of the wicked? Selah.

³ Do right concerning the poor and fatherless; do justice to the poor and destitute.

⁴ Deliver the poor and destitute; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.

⁵ They do not know, neither do they understand; they walk in darkness; they move all the foundations of the earth.

⁶ ¶ I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are sons of the most High.

⁷ But ye shall die like men and fall like one of the tyrants.

⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth, for thou shalt inherit all the Gentiles.

5 ¶ And the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it from Ebenezer unto Ashdod.

² When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon.

³ And when those of Ashdod arose early in the morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. And they took Dagon and set him in his place again.

⁴ And when they arose early on the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.

⁵ Therefore, neither the priests of Dagon nor any that come into Dagon’s temple tread on the threshold of Dagon in Ashdod unto this day.

⁶ ¶ But the hand of the LORD was heavy upon those of Ashdod, and he destroyed them and smote them with hemorrhoids in Ashdod and within all their borders.

⁷ And when they saw this, those of Ashdod said, The ark of the God of Israel shall not abide with us, for his hand is sore upon us and upon Dagon our god.

⁸ They sent, therefore, and gathered all the cardinals of the Philistines unto themselves and said, What shall we do with the ark of the God of Israel? And they answered, Let the ark of the God of Israel be removed unto Gath. And they removed the ark of the God of Israel there.

⁹ And it came to pass that after they had removed it, the hand of the LORD was against the city with a very great destruction. And he smote the men of that city from the smallest to the greatest, and they broke out with hemorrhoids.

¹⁰ Therefore, they sent the ark of God to Ekron. And when the ark of God came to Ekron, the Ekronites cried out, saying, They have removed the ark of the God of Israel unto us to kill me and my people.

¹¹ So they sent and gathered together all the cardinals of the Philistines and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to his own place, that it not kill me and my people, for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city, and the hand of God had become very heavy there.

¹² And those that did not die were smitten with the hemorrhoids, and the cry of the city went up to heaven.

³² But bring to memory the former days, in which, after ye received the light, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;

³³ on the one hand ye were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and on the other ye became companions of those that were so used.

³⁴ For ye had compassion of me in my bonds and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing that in yourselves ye have a better substance in the heavens, and that abides.

³⁵ Do not lose, therefore, this your confidence, which has great recompense of reward;

³⁶ for patience is necessary, so that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

³⁷ For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come and will not tarry.

³⁸ Now the just shall live by faith, but if any man draws back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

³⁹ But we are not of those who draw back unto perdition, but faithful unto the saving of the soul.