Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm 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 to whom the Lord (B)does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body 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 fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not hide;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g](M)in 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)preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)instruct you 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 trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
Absalom’s Conspiracy
15 Now it came about after this that (A)Absalom provided for himself a chariot and horses and fifty men as runners before him. 2 Absalom used to rise early and (B)stand beside the way to the gate; and when any man had a suit 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 [a]claims are good and right, but no man listens to you on the part of the king.” 4 Moreover, Absalom would say, “(D)Oh that one would appoint me judge in the land, then every man who has any suit or cause could come to me and I would give him justice.” 5 And when a man came near to prostrate himself before him, he would put out 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 came about at the end of [b]forty years that Absalom said to the king, “Please let me go and pay my vow which I have vowed to the Lord, in (G)Hebron. 8 For your servant (H)vowed a vow while I was living at Geshur in Aram, saying, ‘(I)If the Lord shall indeed bring me back to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.’” 9 The king said to him, “Go in peace.” So he arose and went to Hebron. 10 But 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 Then two hundred men went with Absalom from Jerusalem, (K)who were invited and (L)went [c]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.
Israel Is Not Cast Away
11 I say then, God has not (A)rejected His people, has He? (B)May it never be! For (C)I too am an Israelite, [a]a descendant of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God (D)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 pleads with 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 [b]is the divine response to him? “(H)I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 In the same way then, there has also come to be at the present time (I)a remnant according to God’s [c]gracious choice. 6 But (J)if it is by grace, it is no longer [d]on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.
7 What then? What (K)Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but [e]those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were (L)hardened; 8 just as it is written,
“(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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