Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
23 A man’s steps are established by the Lord,
and the Lord[a] delights in his way.
24 Though he stumbles,
he will not fall down flat,
for the Lord will hold up his hand.
25 I once was young and now I am old,
but I have not seen a righteous person forsaken
or his descendants begging for bread.
26 Every day he is generous, lending freely,
and his descendants are blessed.
27 Depart from evil, and do good,
and you will live in the land[b] forever.
28 Indeed, the Lord loves justice,
and he will not abandon his godly ones.
They are kept safe forever,
but the lawless will be chased away,[c]
and the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
29 The righteous will inherit the land,
and they will dwell in it forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous one produces wisdom;
his tongue speaks justice.
31 The instruction[d] of his God is in his heart;
his steps will not slip.
32 The wicked stalks the righteous person, seeking to kill him,
33 but the Lord will not let him fall into his hands.
He will not be condemned when he is put on trial.
34 Wait on the Lord,
Keep faithful to his way,
and he will exalt you to possess the land.
You will see the wicked cut off.
35 I once observed a wicked and oppressive person,
flourishing like a green tree in native soil.
36 But then he[e] passed away;[f]
in fact, he simply was not there.
When I looked for him,
he could not be found.
37 Observe the blameless!
Take note of the upright!
Indeed, the future of that man is peace.
38 Sinners will be destroyed together;
the future of the wicked will be cut off.
39 But deliverance for the righteous one comes from the Lord;
he is their strength in times of distress.
40 The Lord helps and delivers them;
he will deliver them from the wicked,
and he will save them because they have sought refuge in him.
Saul is Proclaimed King
17 Samuel summoned the people to the Lord at Mizpah. 18 He told the Israelis, “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: ‘I brought Israel up out of Egypt, and I rescued you from the power[a] of Egypt and from the power[b] of all the kingdoms that were oppressing you.’ 19 But today you have rejected your God who delivers you from all your troubles and difficulties. You have said, ‘No![c] Instead, appoint a king over us.’ Now present yourselves in the Lord’s presence by your tribes and families.”
20 Samuel brought forward all the tribes of Israel, and the tribe of Benjamin was chosen. 21 Then he brought forward the tribe of Benjamin according to its families, and the family of Matri was chosen. Finally, Kish’s son Saul was chosen, but when they looked for him, they couldn’t find him. 22 So they inquired further of the Lord, “Has the man come here yet?”
The Lord said, “He is here, hiding among the baggage.”
23 They ran and brought him from there. When he stood among the people, he was taller than any of the others by a head.[d] 24 Then Samuel told all the people, “Do you see the man whom the Lord has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people.”
Then all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”
25 Samuel explained to the people the regulations[e] concerning kingship. He wrote them in a scroll and placed it in the Lord’s presence. Then Samuel sent all the people to their own houses.
God’s Promise is Reliable
13 For when God made his promise to Abraham, he swore an oath by himself, since he had no one greater to swear by. 14 He said, “I will certainly bless you and give you many descendants.”[a] 15 And so he obtained what he had been promised, because he patiently waited for it. 16 For people swear by someone greater than themselves, and an oath given as confirmation puts an end to all argument. 17 In the same way, when God wanted to make the unchangeable character of his purpose perfectly clear to the heirs of his promise, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by these two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge in him might be encouraged to seize the hope set before us. 19 That hope,[b] firm and secure like an anchor for our souls, reaches behind the curtain 20 where Jesus, our forerunner, has gone on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.