Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
17 1 Here he complaineth to God of the cruel pride and arrogance of Saul, and the rest of his enemies, who thus raged without any cause given on his part. 6 Therefore he desireth God to revenge his innocence and deliver him.
The prayer of David.
1 Hear [a]the right, O Lord, consider my cry: hearken unto my prayer of lips unfeigned.
2 Let my [b]sentence come forth from thy presence, and let thine eyes behold equity.
3 Thou hast [c]proved and visited mine heart in the night: thou hast tried me, and foundest nothing: for I was purposed that my [d]mouth should not offend.
4 Concerning the works of men, by the [e]words of thy lips I kept me from the paths of the cruel man.
5 Stay my steps in thy paths, that my feet do not slide.
6 I have called upon thee: [f]surely thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear to me, and hearken unto my words.
7 Show thy marvelous mercies: thou that art the Savior of them that trust in thee, from such as [g]resist thy right hand.
8 Keep me as the apple of the eye: hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9 From the wicked that oppress me, from mine enemies, which compass me round about for [h]my soul.
10 They are enclosed in their own [i]fat, and they have spoken proudly with their mouth.
11 They have compassed us now in our steps: they have set their eyes to bring down to the ground:
12 Like as a lion that is greedy of prey, and as it were a Lion’s whelp lurking in secret places.
13 Up Lord, [j]disappoint him: cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked [k]with thy sword,
14 From men by thine [l]hand, O Lord, from men [m]of the world, who have their [n]portion in this life, whose bellies thou fillest with thine hid treasure: their children have enough, and leave the rest of their substance for their children.
15 But I will behold thy face [o]in righteousness, and when I [p]wake, I shall be satisfied with thine image.
2 And when it was evening-tide, David arose out of his [a]bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s palace: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself: and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
3 And David sent and inquired what woman it was: and one said, Is not this Bathsheba the daughter of Eliam, wife to Uriah the [b]Hittite?
4 Then David sent messengers, and took her away: and she came unto him and he lay with her: (now she was (A)purified from her uncleanness) and she returned unto her house.
5 And the woman conceived: therefore she sent and [c]told David, and said, I am with child.
6 ¶ Then David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite. And Joab sent Uriah to David.
7 And when Uriah came unto him, David demanded him how Joab did, and how the people fared, and how the war prospered.
8 Afterward David said to Uriah, [d]Go down to thine house, and wash thy feet. So Uriah departed out of the king’s palace, and the king sent a present after him.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s palace with all the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10 Then they told David, saying, Uriah went not down to his house: and David said unto Uriah, Comest thou not from thy journey? why didst thou not go down to thine house?
11 Then Uriah answered David, [e]The Ark and Israel, and Judah dwell in tents: and my lord Joab and the servants of my lord abide in the open fields: shall I then go into mine house to eat and drink, and lie with my wife? by thy life, and by the life of thy soul, I will not do this thing.
12 Then David said unto Uriah, Tarry yet this day, and tomorrow I will send thee away. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem that day, and the morrow.
13 Then David called him, and he did eat and drink before him, and he made him [f]drunk: and at even he went out to lie on his couch with the servants of his lord, but went not down to his house.
14 And on the morrow David wrote a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah.
15 And he wrote [g]thus in the letter, [h]Put ye Uriah in the forefront of the strength of the battle, and recule ye back from him, that he may be smitten, and die.
16 ¶ So when Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah unto a place, where he knew that strong men were.
17 And the men of the city came out, and fought with Joab: and there fell of the people of the servants of David, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning the war.
19 ¶ And he charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast made an end of telling all the matters of the war unto the King,
20 [i]And if the king’s anger arise, so that he say unto thee, Wherefore approached ye unto the city to fight? knew ye not that they would hurl from the wall?
21 Who smote Abimelech son of [j]Jerubbesheth? did not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from the wall, and he died in Thebez? why went you nigh the wall? Then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.
22 So the messenger went, and came and showed David all that Joab had sent him for.
23 And the messenger said unto David, Certainly the men prevailed against us, and came out unto us into the field, but we [k]pursued them unto the entering of the gate.
24 But the shooters shot from the wall against thy servants, and some of the king’s servants be dead: and thy servant Uriah the Hittite is also dead.
25 Then David said unto the messenger, [l]Thus shalt thou say unto Joab, Let not this thing trouble thee: for the sword devoureth [m]one as well as another: make thy battle more strong against the city, and destroy it, and encourage thou him.
26 ¶ And when the wife of Uriah heard that her husband Uriah was dead, she mourned for her husband.
3 1 The first Epistle sent to the Pastors of the Church of Sardis, 7 of Philadelphia, 14 And of the Laodiceans, 16 that they be not lukewarm, 20 but endeavor to further God’s glory.
1 [a]And write unto the Angel of the Church which is at [b]Sardis, These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars, [c]I know thy works: for thou hast a [d]name that thou livest, but thou art dead.
2 Be awake, and strengthen the things which remain, that are [e]ready to die: for I have not found thy work perfect before God.
3 Remember therefore, how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast and repent. (A)If therefore thou wilt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.
4 Notwithstanding thou hast a few names yet in Sardis, [f]which have not defiled their garments: and they shall walk with me in [g]white: for they are [h]worthy.
5 He [i]that overcometh, shall be clothed in white array, and I will not put out his Name out of the (B)book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his Angels.
6 Let him that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.