Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This is a song that David wrote.

The storm^[a]

God chooses Samuel

3 The boy Samuel continued to serve the Lord. Eli the priest taught him what to do. In those days, the Lord did not often give his messages to people. He did not often show things to them in visions.

² Eli's eyes had become weak. He could not see very well. One night, he was sleeping in his usual place. ³ The lamp of God was still burning.^[a] Samuel was lying down to sleep near the Covenant Box in the Lord's house. ⁴ Then the Lord called out to Samuel. Samuel answered, ‘Here I am.’ ⁵ Samuel ran to Eli and he said, ‘You called my name. Here I am.’

But Eli said, ‘I did not call your name. Go back and lie down again.’ So Samuel went and he lay down again.

⁶ Again the Lord called out, ‘Samuel’. So Samuel went to Eli and he said, ‘You called my name. Here I am.’

Eli answered, ‘My son, I did not call your name. Go back and lie down again.’

⁷ Samuel did not know the Lord yet. The Lord had not spoken to him before. ⁸ Then the Lord called Samuel's name for the third time. Samuel got up again. He went to Eli and he said, ‘You called my name. Here I am.’

Then Eli realized that it was the Lord who was calling the boy's name. ⁹ So Eli said to Samuel, ‘Go back and lie down again. If he calls your name again, you must say, “Speak, Lord. I am your servant and I am listening.” ’ So Samuel went back and he lay down in his place.

Jesus meets with Saul

9 All this time, Saul was still speaking strongly against the disciples of the Lord Jesus. He wanted to kill all the believers. So he went to see the most important priest in Jerusalem. ² Saul asked him, ‘Please will you write some letters for me?^[a] Then I can give one of these letters to the leader of each Jewish group in Damascus.^[b] That will give me authority to take hold of any believers that I find there.’

Saul wanted to find anyone who agreed with the Way of the Lord Jesus.^[c] Then he would tie them and bring them back to Jerusalem, whether they were men or they were women. ³ He travelled towards Damascus. He was very near the city when a bright light suddenly appeared. The light came from the sky, and it shone all around him. ⁴ Saul fell down onto the ground. He heard a voice which said to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you fight against me?’

⁵ Saul asked, ‘Lord, who are you?’ He said, ‘I am Jesus. And you are fighting against me. ⁶ Now you must get up and go into the city. Someone there will tell you what you must do.’

⁷ The men who were travelling with Saul stood still. They could not say anything. They could hear that someone was speaking. But they could not see anyone. ⁸ Saul stood up. He opened his eyes, but he could not see anything. So the men who were with Saul held his hand. They led him into Damascus. ⁹ For three days, Saul could not see anything. During that time, he did not eat any food or drink anything.