Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer for Protection
A prayer of David.
17 Lord, hear me begging for fairness;
listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer,
because I speak the truth.
2 You will judge that I am right;
your eyes can see what is true.
3 You have examined my heart;
you have tested me all night.
You questioned me without finding anything wrong;
I have not sinned with my mouth.
4 I have obeyed your commands,
so I have not done what evil people do.
5 I have done what you told me;
I have not failed.
6 I call to you, God,
and you answer me.
Listen to me now,
and hear what I say.
7 Your love is wonderful.
By your power you save those who trust you
from their enemies.
8 Protect me as you would protect your own eye.
Hide me under the shadow of your wings.
9 Keep me from the wicked who attack me,
from my enemies who surround me.
10 They are selfish
and brag about themselves.
11 They have chased me until they have surrounded me.
They plan to throw me to the ground.
12 They are like lions ready to kill;
like lions, they sit in hiding.
13 Lord, rise up, face the enemy, and throw them down.
Save me from the wicked with your sword.
14 Lord, save me by your power
from those whose reward is in this life.
They have plenty of food.
They have many sons
and leave much money to their children.
15 Because I have lived right, I will see your face.
When I wake up, I will see your likeness and be satisfied.
27 After she finished her time of sadness, David sent servants to bring her to his house. She became David’s wife and gave birth to his son, but the Lord did not like what David had done.
David’s Son Dies
12 The Lord sent Nathan to David. When he came to David, he said, “There were two men in a city. One was rich, but the other was poor. 2 The rich man had many sheep and cattle. 3 But the poor man had nothing except one little female lamb he had bought. The poor man fed the lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food and drank from his cup and slept in his arms. The lamb was like a daughter to him.
4 “Then a traveler stopped to visit the rich man. The rich man wanted to feed the traveler, but he didn’t want to take one of his own sheep or cattle. Instead, he took the lamb from the poor man and cooked it for his visitor.”
5 David became very angry at the rich man. He said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this should die! 6 He must pay for the lamb four times for doing such a thing. He had no mercy!”
7 Then Nathan said to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I appointed you king of Israel and saved you from Saul. 8 I gave you his kingdom and his wives. And I made you king of Israel and Judah. And if that had not been enough, I would have given you even more. 9 So why did you ignore the Lord’s command? Why did you do what he says is wrong? You killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword of the Ammonites and took his wife to be your wife! 10 Now there will always be people in your family who will die by a sword, because you did not respect me; you took the wife of Uriah the Hittite for yourself!’
11 “This is what the Lord says: ‘I am bringing trouble to you from your own family. While you watch, I will take your wives from you and give them to someone who is very close to you. He will have sexual relations with your wives, and everyone will know it. 12 You had sexual relations with Bathsheba in secret, but I will do this so all the people of Israel can see it.’”
13 Then David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan answered, “The Lord has taken away your sin. You will not die. 14 But what you did caused the Lord’s enemies to lose all respect for him. For this reason the son who was born to you will die.”
15 Then Nathan went home. And the Lord caused the son of David and Bathsheba, Uriah’s widow, to be very sick.
To the Church in Philadelphia
7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
“This is what the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David, says. When he opens a door, no one can close it. And when he closes it, no one can open it. 8 I know what you do. I have put an open door before you, which no one can close. I know you have little strength, but you have obeyed my teaching and were not afraid to speak my name. 9 Those in the synagogue that belongs to Satan say they are Jews, but they are not true Jews; they are liars. I will make them come before you and bow at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you. 10 You have obeyed my teaching about not giving up your faith. So I will keep you from the time of trouble that will come to the whole world to test those who live on earth.
11 “I am coming soon. Continue strong in your faith so no one will take away your crown. 12 I will make those who win the victory pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never have to leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem,[a] that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my new name. 13 Everyone who has ears should listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.