Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
You Forgave the Iniquity of My Sin
Of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man whose iniquity Yahweh (B)will not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]bones wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality was drained away as with the heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not cover up;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh;”
And You (L)forgave the [f]iniquity of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let every holy one pray to You [g](M)at a time when You may be found;
Surely (N)in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)guard me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)give you insight and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose harness are bit and bridle to control them,
Otherwise they will not come near you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in Yahweh, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in Yahweh and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
Absalom’s Conspiracy
15 Now it happened afterwards, that (A)Absalom prepared for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. 2 And Absalom used to rise early and (B)stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a case to come to the king for judgment, Absalom would call to him and say, “From what city are you?” And he would say, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.” 3 Then Absalom would say to him, “See, (C)your words are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” 4 Then Absalom would say, “(D)Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any case or judgment could come to me and I would justify him.” 5 And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would send forth his hand and take hold of him and (E)kiss him. 6 In this manner Absalom dealt with all Israel who came to the king for judgment; (F)so Absalom stole away the hearts of the men of Israel.
7 Now it happened at the end of [a]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to Yahweh, in (G)Hebron. 8 For your servant (H)vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘(I)If Yahweh shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve Yahweh.’” 9 And the king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 Then Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, “As soon as you hear the sound of the trumpet, then you shall say, ‘(J)Absalom is king in Hebron.’” 11 Now two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, (K)who were invited and (L)went [b]innocently, and they did not know anything. 12 And Absalom sent for (M)Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor, from his city (N)Giloh, while he was offering the sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong, for (O)the people increased continually with Absalom.
God Has Not Rejected Israel
11 I say then, has God (A)rejected His people? (B)May it never be! For (C)I too am an Israelite, a seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 [a](D)God has not rejected His people whom He (E)foreknew. (F)Or do you not know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, (G)they have killed Your prophets, they have torn down Your altars, and I alone am left, and they are seeking my life.” 4 But what does the divine response say to him? “(H)I have left for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In this way then, at the present time, (I)a remnant according to God’s [b]gracious choice has also come to be. 6 But (J)if it is by grace, it is no longer of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
7 What then? What (K)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but the chosen obtained it, and the rest were (L)hardened; 8 just as it is written,
“[c](M)God gave them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes to see not and ears to hear not,
Down to this very day.”
9 And David says,
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