Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.

A Psalm.

³ Now ^(A)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had lamented him and buried him ^(B)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed from the land those who ^(C)were mediums and spiritists. ⁴ So the Philistines gathered together and came and camped ^(D)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together and they camped in ^(E)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (F)When Saul inquired of the Lord, ^(G)the Lord did not answer him, either by ^(H)dreams or by ^(I)Urim or by prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Seek for me a woman who is a medium, that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(J)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(K)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(L)disguised himself by putting on other clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(M)Conjure up for me, please, and ^(N)bring up for me whom I shall ^[a]name to you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(O)what Saul has done, how he has cut off those who are mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ Saul vowed to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul.” ¹³ The king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[b]divine being coming up out of the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “What is his form?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(P)he is wrapped with a robe.” And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(Q)he bowed with his face to the ground and did homage.

¹⁵ Then Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” And Saul answered, “I am greatly distressed; for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(R)God has departed from me and ^(S)no longer answers me, either through prophets or by dreams; therefore I have called you, that you may make known to me what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “Why then do you ask me, since the Lord has departed from you and has become your adversary? ¹⁷ The Lord has done ^[c]accordingly ^(T)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom out of your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ As ^(U)you did not ^[d]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow ^(V)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines!”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

¹⁸ For ^(A)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who ^(B)suppress the truth ^[a]in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because ^(C)that which is known about God is evident ^[b]within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For ^(D)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, ^(E)being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not ^[c]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(F)futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ^22 (G)Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and ^(H)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and ^[d]crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore ^(I)God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be ^(J)dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for ^[e]a ^(K)lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(L)who is blessed ^[f]forever. Amen.