Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
28 1 Being in great fear and heaviness of heart to see God dishonored by the wicked, he desireth to be rid of them. 4 And crieth for vengeance against them: and at length assureth himself, that God hath heard his prayer, 9 Unto whose tuition he commendeth all the faithful.
A Psalm of David.
1 Unto thee, O Lord, do I cry: O my strength, be not deaf toward me, lest if thou answer me not, I be like [a]them that go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry unto thee, when I hold up my hands toward thine [b]holy Oracle.
3 [c]Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity: which speak friendly to their neighbors, when malice is in their hearts.
4 [d]Reward them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their inventions: recompense them after the work of their hands: render them their reward.
5 For they reward not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands: therefore [e]break them down, and build them not up.
6 [f]Praised be the Lord, for he hath heard the voice of my petitions.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield: mine heart trusted in him, and I was helped: therefore mine heart shall rejoice, and with my song will I praise him.
8 The Lord is [g]their strength, and he is the strength of the deliverances of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and exalt them forever.
16 3 Samson carrieth away the gates of Gaza. 18 He was deceived by Delilah. 30 He pulleth down the house upon the Philistines, and dieth with them.
1 Then went Samson to [a]Gaza, and saw there [b]an harlot, [c]and went in unto her.
2 And it was told to the Gazites, Samson is come hither. And they went about, and laid wait for him all night in the gate of the city, and were quiet all the night, saying, Abide [d]till the morning early, and we shall kill him.
3 And Samson slept till midnight, and arose at midnight, and took the doors of the gates of the city and the two posts, and lifted them away with the bars, and put them upon his shoulders, and carried them up to the top of the mountain that is before Hebron.
4 And after this he loved a woman by the [e]river of Sorek, whose name was Delilah:
5 Unto whom came the princes of the Philistines, and said unto her, Entice him, and see wherein his great strength lieth, and by what means we may overcome him, that we may bind him, and punish him, and every one of us shall give thee eleven hundred [f]shekels of silver.
6 ¶ And Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightest be bound, to do thee hurt.
7 Samson then answered unto her, If they bind me with seven [g]green cords, that were never dried, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
8 And the princes of the Philistines brought her seven green cords that were not dry, and she bound him therewith.
9 (And she had [h]men lying in wait with her in the chamber) Then she said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he brake the cords, as a thread of tow is broken, when [i]it feeleth fire: so his strength was not known.
10 ¶ After Delilah said unto Samson, See, thou hast mocked me, and told me lies. I pray thee now, [j]tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound.
11 Then he answered her, If they bind me with new ropes that never were occupied, then shall I be weak, and be as another man.
12 Delilah therefore took new ropes, and bound him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson: (and men lay in wait in the chamber) and he brake them from his arms, as a thread.
13 ¶ Afterward Delilah said to Samson, Hitherto thou hast beguiled me, and told me lies: tell me how thou mightest be bound. [k]And he said unto her, If thou plattedst seven locks of mine head with the threads of the woof.
14 And she fastened it with a pin, and said unto him, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and went away with the [l]pin of the web, and the woof.
15 Again she said unto him, How canst thou say, [m]I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.
16 And because she was importunate upon him with her words continually, and vexed him, his soul was pained unto the death.
17 Therefore he told her all his [n]heart, and said unto her, There never came razor upon mine head: for I am a Nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb: therefore if I be shaven, my strength will go from me, and I shall be weak and be like all other men.
18 And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent, and called for the Princes of the Philistines, saying, Come up once again: for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the Princes of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought the money in their hands.
19 And she made him sleep upon her knees, and she called a man, and made him to shave off the seven locks of his head, and she began to vex him, and his strength was gone [o]from him.
20 Then she said, The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and thought, I will go out now as at other times, and shake myself, but he knew not that the Lord was departed from him.
21 Therefore the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters: and he did grind in the prison house.
22 And the hair of his head began to [p]grow again after that it was shaven.
15 Some preach Christ even through envy and strife, and some also of good will.
16 The one part preacheth Christ of contention, and not [a]purely, supposing to add more affliction to my bands.
17 But the others of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the Gospel.
18 [b]What then: yet Christ is preached all manner ways, whether it be under a [c]pretence, or sincerely: and I therein joy: yea, and will joy.
19 For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and by the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ,
20 [d]As I fervently look for, and hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all confidence, as always, so now Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life or by death.
21 For Christ is to me both in life and in death advantage.
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