Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Troubled Times
Of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you for help.
Do not be deaf to me.
If you are silent,
I will be like those in the grave.
2 Hear the sound of my prayer,
when I cry out to you for help.
I raise my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.
3 Don’t drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil.
They say, “Peace” to their neighbors.
But evil is in their hearts.
4 Pay them back for what they have done.
They have done evil.
Pay them back for what they have done.
Give them their reward.
5 They don’t understand what the Lord has done
or what he has made.
So he will knock them down
and not lift them up.
6 Praise the Lord.
He heard my prayer for help.
7 The Lord is my strength and shield.
I trust him, and he helps me.
I am very happy.
And I praise him with my song.
8 The Lord is powerful.
He gives power and victory to his chosen one.
9 Save your people.
Bless those who are your own.
Be their shepherd and carry them forever.
Samson’s Marriage
14 Samson went down to the city of Timnah. There he saw a young Philistine woman. 2 When he returned home, he said to his father and mother, “I saw a Philistine woman in Timnah. I want you to get her for me. I want to marry her.”
3 His father and mother answered, “Surely there is a woman from Israel you can marry. Do you have to marry a woman from the Philistines? The Philistines are not even circumcised.”
But Samson said, “Get that woman for me! She is the one I want!” 4 (Samson’s parents did not know that the Lord wanted this to happen. He was looking for a way to start a fight with the Philistines. They were ruling over Israel at this time.) 5 Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah. They went as far as the vineyard near there. Suddenly, a young lion came roaring toward Samson! 6 The Spirit of the Lord entered Samson with great power. Samson tore the lion apart with his bare hands. For him it was as easy as tearing apart a young goat. But Samson did not tell his father or mother what he had done. 7 Then he went down to the city. There he talked to the Philistine woman, and he liked her.
8 Several days later Samson went back to marry her. On his way he went over to look at the body of the dead lion. He found a swarm of bees in it. They had made some honey. 9 Samson got some of the honey with his hands. He walked along eating it. When he came to his parents, he gave some to them. They ate it, too. But Samson did not tell them he had taken the honey from the body of the dead lion.
10 Samson’s father went down to see the Philistine woman. The custom was for the bridegroom to give a feast. So Samson gave a feast. 11 When the people saw him, they sent 30 men to be with him.
Samson’s Riddle
12 Then Samson said to the 30 men, “Let me tell you a riddle. This feast will last for seven days. Try to find the answer during that time. If you can, I will give you 30 linen shirts. I will also give you 30 changes of clothes. 13 But if you can’t tell me the answer, you must pay me. You must give me 30 linen shirts and 30 changes of clothes.”
So they said, “Tell us your riddle. We want to hear it.”
14 Samson said,
“Out of the eater comes something to eat.
Out of the strong comes something sweet.”
The 30 men tried for three days to figure it out. But they could not find the answer.
15 On the fourth[a] day, they came to Samson’s wife. They said, “Did you invite us here to make us poor? Trick your husband into telling us the answer to the riddle. If you don’t, we will burn you and everyone in your father’s house!”
16 So Samson’s wife went to him and began crying. She said, “You hate me! You don’t really love me! You told my people a riddle, but you won’t tell me the answer.”
Samson said, “I haven’t even told my father or mother. Why should I tell you?”
17 Samson’s wife cried for the rest of the seven days of the feast. So he finally gave her the answer on the seventh day. He told her because she kept bothering him. Then she told her people the answer to the riddle.
18 Before sunset on the seventh day of the feast, the Philistine men had the answer. They came to Samson and said,
“What is sweeter than honey?
What is stronger than a lion?”
Then Samson said to them,
“If you had not plowed with my little cow,
you would not have solved my riddle!”
19 The Spirit of the Lord entered Samson and gave him great power. Samson went down to the city of Ashkelon. He killed 30 of their men and took all their clothes and property. He gave those clothes to the men who had answered his riddle. Then he went to his father’s house very angry. 20 And Samson’s wife was given to his best man at the wedding.
Paul’s Prayer
3 I thank God every time I remember you. 4 And I always pray for all of you with joy. 5 I thank God for the help you gave me while I preached the Good News. You helped from the first day you believed until now. 6 God began doing a good work in you. And he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again. I am sure of that.
7 And I know that I am right to think like this about all of you. I am sure because I have you in my heart. All of you share in God’s grace with me. You share in God’s grace with me while I am in prison, while I am defending the Good News, and while I am proving the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows that I want to see you very much. I love all of you with the love of Christ Jesus.
9 This is my prayer for you: that your love will grow more and more; that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love; 10 that you will see the difference between good and bad and choose the good; that you will be pure and without wrong for the coming of Christ; 11 that you will be filled with the good things produced in your life by Christ to bring glory and praise to God.
Paul’s Troubles Help the Work
12 Brothers, I want you to know that what has happened to me has helped to spread the Good News. 13 I am in prison because I am a believer in Christ. All the palace guards and everyone else knows this. 14 I am still in prison, but most of the believers feel better about it now. And so they are much braver about telling the Good News about Christ.
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.