Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 29^[a]

A Psalm of David.

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, O sons of the mighty, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

² Give to the Lord the glory due to His name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness or in holy array.

³ The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; the God of glory thunders; the Lord is upon many (great) waters.

⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶ He makes them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion (Mount Hermon) like a young, wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord splits and flashes forth forked lightning.

⁸ The voice of the Lord makes the wilderness tremble; the Lord shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the hinds bring forth their young, and His voice strips bare the forests, while in His temple everyone is saying, Glory!

¹⁰ The Lord sat as King over the deluge; the Lord [still] sits as King [and] forever!

¹¹ The Lord will give [unyielding and impenetrable] strength to His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace.

3 Now the boy Samuel ministered to the Lord before Eli. The word of the Lord was rare and precious in those days; there was no frequent or widely spread vision.

² At that time Eli, whose eyesight had dimmed so that he could not see, was lying down in his own place.

³ The lamp of God had not yet gone out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was lying down

⁴ When the Lord called, Samuel! And he answered, Here I am.

⁵ He ran to Eli and said, Here I am, for you called me. Eli said, I did not call you; lie down again. So he went and lay down.

⁶ And the Lord called again, Samuel! And Samuel arose and went to Eli and said, Here am I; you did call me. Eli answered, I did not call, my son; lie down again.

⁷ Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, and the word of the Lord was not yet revealed to him.

⁸ And the Lord called Samuel the third time. And he went to Eli and said, Here I am, for you did call me. Then Eli perceived that the Lord was calling the boy.

⁹ So Eli said to Samuel, Go, lie down. And if He calls you, you shall say, Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.

9 Meanwhile Saul, ^[a]still drawing his breath hard from threatening and murderous desire against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

² And requested of him letters to the synagogues at Damascus [authorizing him], so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way [of life as determined by faith in Jesus Christ], he might bring them bound [with chains] to Jerusalem.

³ Now as he traveled on, he came near to Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him,

⁴ And he fell to the ground. Then he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me [harassing, troubling, and molesting Me]?

⁵ And Saul said, Who are You, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting. ^[b]It is dangerous and it will turn out badly for you to keep kicking against the goad [to offer vain and perilous resistance].

⁶ Trembling and astonished he asked, Lord, what do You desire me to do? The Lord said to him, But arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.

⁷ The men who were accompanying him were unable to speak [for terror], hearing the voice but seeing no one.

⁸ Then Saul got up from the ground, but though his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.

⁹ And he was unable to see for three days, and he neither ate nor drank [anything].