Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Let Your Glory Be Above All the Earth

For the choir director. ^[a]Al-tashheth. Of David. A ^[b]Mikhtam. ^[c]When he fled from Saul in the cave.

²³ Then Abigail saw David; so she hurried and dismounted from her donkey and fell on her face ^[a]before David ^(A)and bowed herself to the ground. ²⁴ And she fell at his feet and said, “On me ^[b]alone, my lord, be the blame. And please let your maidservant speak in your ears, and listen to the words of your maidservant. ²⁵ Please do not let my lord ^[c]pay attention to this ^[d]vile man, Nabal, for as his name is, so is he. ^[e]Nabal is his name, and wicked foolishness is with him; but I your maidservant did not see the young men of my lord whom you sent.

²⁶ “So now, my lord, as Yahweh lives and as your soul lives, since Yahweh has restrained you from ^[f]shedding blood, and ^(B)from saving yourself by your own hand, so now, ^(C)let your enemies and those who seek evil against my lord, be as Nabal. ²⁷ So now let ^(D)this ^[g]gift which your servant-woman has brought to my lord be given to the young men who ^[h]went about with my lord. ²⁸ Please forgive ^(E)the transgression of your maidservant; for ^(F)Yahweh will certainly make for my lord an enduring house because my lord is ^(G)fighting the battles of Yahweh, and ^(H)evil will not be found in you all your days. ²⁹ And should anyone rise up to pursue you and to seek your ^[i]life, then the ^[j]life of my lord shall be bound in the bundle of the living with Yahweh your God; but the ^[k]lives of your enemies ^(I)He will sling out ^[l]as from the hollow of a sling. ³⁰ And it will be that when Yahweh does for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and ^(J)appoints you ruler over Israel, ³¹ then this will not ^[m]cause stumbling or a troubled heart to my lord, both by having shed blood without cause and by my lord having saved himself. ^(K)When Yahweh deals well with my lord, then remember your maidservant.”

³² Then David said to Abigail, “^(L)Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you this day to meet me, ³³ and blessed be your discernment, and blessed be you, ^(M)who have kept me this day from ^[n]bloodshed and from saving myself by my own hand. ³⁴ Nevertheless, as Yahweh, the God of Israel, lives, ^(N)who has restrained me from harming you, unless you had hurried and come to meet me, surely there would not have been left to Nabal until the morning light as much as one ^[o]male.” ³⁵ So David received from her hand what she had brought him and said to her, “^(O)Go up to your house in peace. See, I have listened to your voice and ^[p](P)granted your request.”

Patience and Perseverance

⁷ Therefore be patient, ^(A)brothers, ^(B)until the coming of the Lord. Behold, ^(C)the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until ^[a]it receives ^(D)the early and late rains. ^8 (E)You too be patient; ^(F)strengthen your hearts, for ^(G)the coming of the Lord is ^(H)at hand. ^9 (I)Do not groan, ^(J)brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, ^(K)the Judge is standing ^[b](L)right at the ^[c]door. ¹⁰ As an example, ^(M)brothers, of suffering and patience, take ^(N)the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹ Behold, we count those ^(O)blessed who persevere. You have heard of ^(P)the ^[d]perseverance of Job and have seen ^(Q)the ^[e]outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that ^(R)the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.

¹² But above all, ^(S)my brothers, ^(T)do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let ^[f]your yes be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.