Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 32
The Joy of Forgiveness
Davidic. A Maskil.
1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!(A)
2 How joyful is the man
the Lord does not charge with sin(B)
and in whose spirit is no deceit!(C)
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.(D)
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;(E)
my strength was drained[a]
as in the summer’s heat.(F)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin.(G)
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.[b](H)
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.(I)
7 You are my hiding place;(J)
You protect me from trouble.(K)
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
Absalom’s Revolt
15 After this, Absalom got himself a chariot, horses, and 50 men to run before him.(A) 2 He would get up early and stand beside the road leading to the city gate.(B) Whenever anyone had a grievance to bring before the king for settlement, Absalom called out to him and asked, “What city are you from?” If he replied, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel,” 3 Absalom said to him, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king does not have anyone to listen to you.” 4 He added, “If only someone would appoint me judge in the land. Then anyone who had a grievance or dispute could come to me, and I would make sure he received justice.” 5 When a person approached to bow down to him, Absalom reached out his hand, took hold of him, and kissed him. 6 Absalom did this to all the Israelites who came to the king for a settlement. So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 When four[a] years had passed, Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go to Hebron to fulfill a vow I made to the Lord. 8 For your servant made a vow when I lived in Geshur of Aram,(C) saying: If the Lord really brings me back to Jerusalem, I will worship the Lord in Hebron.”[b](D)
9 “Go in peace,” the king said to him.(E) So he went to Hebron.
10 Then Absalom sent messengers throughout the tribes of Israel with this message: “When you hear the sound of the ram’s horn, you are to say, ‘Absalom has become king in Hebron!’”(F)
11 Two hundred men from Jerusalem went with Absalom. They had been invited and were going innocently, for they knew nothing about the whole matter. 12 While he was offering the sacrifices, Absalom sent for David’s adviser Ahithophel the Gilonite,(G) from his city of Giloh. So the conspiracy grew strong, and the people supporting Absalom continued to increase.
Israel’s Rejection Not Total
11 I ask, then, has God rejected His people?(A) Absolutely not!(B) For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,(C) from the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.(D) Or don’t you know(E) what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah—how he pleads with God against Israel?
3 Lord, they have killed Your prophets
and torn down Your altars.
I am the only one left,
and they are trying to take my life!(F)[a]
4 But what was God’s reply to him? I have left 7,000 men for Myself who have not bowed down to Baal.(G)[b] 5 In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace.(H) 6 Now if by grace,(I) then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.[c]
7 What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for,(J) but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened,(K) 8 as it is written:
God gave them a spirit of insensitivity,[d]
eyes that cannot see
and ears that cannot hear,
to this day.(L)[e]
9 And David says:
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.