Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
10 I said, “I am in the middle of my life.
Do I have to go through the gates of death?
Will I have the rest of my life taken away from me?”
11 I said, “I will not see the Lord
in the land of the living again.
I will not again see the people
who live on the earth.
12 Like a shepherd’s tent,
my home has been pulled down and taken from me.
I am finished
like the cloth a weaver rolls up and cuts from the loom.[a]
In one day you brought me to this end.
13 All night I cried loudly.
Like a lion, he crushed all my bones.
In one day you brought me to this end.
14 I cried like a bird
and moaned like a dove.
My eyes became tired as I looked to the heavens.
Lord, I have troubles. Please help me.”
15 What can I say?
The Lord told me what would happen and then made it happen.
I have had these troubles in my soul,
so now I will be humble all my life.
16 Lord, because of you, people live.
Because of you, my spirit also lives;
you made me well and let me live.
17 It was for my own good
that I had such troubles.
Because you love me very much,
you did not let me die
but threw my sins
far away.
18 People in the place of the dead cannot praise you;
those who have died cannot sing praises to you;
those who die don’t trust you
to help them.
19 The people who are alive are the ones who praise you.
They praise you as I praise you today.
A father should tell his children
that you provide help.
20 The Lord saved me,
so we will play songs on stringed instruments
in the Temple of the Lord
all the days of our lives.
9 The Philistines went up and camped in the land of Judah, near a place named Lehi. 10 The men of Judah asked them, “Why have you come here to fight us?”
They answered, “We have come to make Samson our prisoner, to pay him back for what he did to our people.”
11 Then three thousand men of Judah went to the cave in the rock of Etam and said to Samson, “What have you done to us? Don’t you know that the Philistines rule over us?”
Samson answered, “I only paid them back for what they did to me.”
12 Then they said to him, “We have come to tie you up and to hand you over to the Philistines.”
Samson said to them, “Promise me you will not hurt me yourselves.”
13 The men from Judah said, “We agree. We will just tie you up and give you to the Philistines. We will not kill you.” So they tied Samson with two new ropes and led him up from the cave in the rock. 14 When Samson came to the place named Lehi, the Philistines came to meet him, shouting for joy. Then the Spirit of the Lord entered Samson and gave him great power. The ropes on him weakened like burned strings and fell off his hands! 15 Samson found the jawbone of a dead donkey, took it, and killed a thousand men with it!
16 Then Samson said,
“With a donkey’s jawbone
I made donkeys out of them.
With a donkey’s jawbone
I killed a thousand men!”
17 When he finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone. So that place was named Ramath Lehi.[a]
18 Samson was very thirsty, so he cried out to the Lord, “You gave me, your servant, this great victory. Do I have to die of thirst now? Do I have to be captured by people who are not circumcised?” 19 Then God opened up a hole in the ground at Lehi, and water came out. When Samson drank, he felt better; he felt strong again. So he named that spring Caller’s Spring, which is still in Lehi.
20 Samson judged Israel for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy
14 When Jesus and his followers came back to the crowd, a man came to Jesus and bowed before him. 15 The man said, “Lord, have mercy on my son. He has epilepsy[a] and is suffering very much, because he often falls into the fire or into the water. 16 I brought him to your followers, but they could not cure him.”
17 Jesus answered, “You people have no faith, and your lives are all wrong. How long must I put up with you? How long must I continue to be patient with you? Bring the boy here.” 18 Jesus commanded the demon inside the boy. Then the demon came out, and the boy was healed from that time on.
19 The followers came to Jesus when he was alone and asked, “Why couldn’t we force the demon out?”
20 Jesus answered, “Because your faith is too small. I tell you the truth, if your faith is as big as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. All things will be possible for you. [ 21 That kind of spirit comes out only if you use prayer and fasting.]”[b]
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.