Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 17
A prayer of David.
17 Listen to what’s right, Lord;
pay attention to my cry!
Listen closely to my prayer;
it’s spoken by lips that don’t lie!
2 My justice comes from you;
let your eyes see what is right!
3 You have examined my heart,
testing me at night.
You’ve looked me over closely,
but haven’t found anything wrong.
My mouth doesn’t sin.
4 But these other people’s deeds?
I have avoided such violent ways
by the command from your lips.
5 My steps are set firmly on your paths;
my feet haven’t slipped.
6 I cry out to you because you answer me.
So tilt your ears toward me now—
listen to what I’m saying!
7 Manifest your faithful love in amazing ways
because you are the one
who saves those who take refuge in you,
saving them from their attackers
by your strong hand.
8 Watch me with the very pupil of your eye!
Hide me in the protection of your wings,
9 away from the wicked
who are out to get me,
away from my deadly enemies
who are all around me!
10 They have no pity;[a]
their mouths speak arrogantly.
11 They track me down—
suddenly, they surround me!
They make their plans to put me in the dirt.
12 They are like a lion eager to rip its prey;
they are like a strong young lion lying in wait.
13 Get up, Lord!
Confront them!
Bring them down!
Rescue my life from the wicked—
use your sword!
14 Rescue me from these people—
use your own hands, Lord!
Rescue me from these people
whose only possession is their fleeting life.[b]
But fill the stomachs of your cherished ones;
let their children be filled full
so that they have leftovers enough for their babies.
15 But me? I will see your face in righteousness;
when I awake, I will be filled full by seeing your image.
27 After the time of mourning was over, David sent for her and brought her back to his house. She became his wife and bore him a son.
But what David had done was evil in the Lord’s eyes.
Nathan pronounces God’s judgment
12 So the Lord sent Nathan to David. When Nathan arrived he said, “There were two men in the same city, one rich, one poor. 2 The rich man had a lot of sheep and cattle, 3 but the poor man had nothing—just one small ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised that lamb, and it grew up with him and his children. It would eat from his food and drink from his cup—even sleep in his arms! It was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to visit the rich man, but he wasn’t willing to take anything from his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had arrived. Instead, he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the visitor.”
5 David got very angry at the man, and he said to Nathan, “As surely as the Lord lives, the one who did this is demonic![a] 6 He must restore the ewe lamb seven times over[b] because he did this and because he had no compassion.”
7 “You are that man!” Nathan told David. “This is what the Lord God of Israel says: I anointed you king over Israel and delivered you from Saul’s power. 8 I gave your master’s house[c] to you, and gave his wives into your embrace. I gave you the house[d] of Israel and Judah. If that was too little, I would have given even more. 9 Why have you despised the Lord’s word by doing what is evil in his eyes? You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and taken his wife as your own. You used the Ammonites to kill him. 10 Because of that, because you despised me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite as your own, the sword will never leave your own house.
11 “This is what the Lord says: I am making trouble come against you from inside your own family. Before your very eyes I will take your wives away and give them to your friend, and he will have sex with your wives in broad daylight. 12 You did what you did secretly, but I will do what I am doing before all Israel in the light of day.”
13 “I’ve sinned against the Lord!” David said to Nathan.
“The Lord has removed your sin,” Nathan replied to David. “You won’t die. 14 However, because you have utterly disrespected the Lord[e] by doing this, the son born to you will definitely die.” 15 Then Nathan went home.
Bathsheba’s child dies
The Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife had borne for David, and he became very sick.
Message to Philadelphia
7 “Write this to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:
These are the words of the one who is holy and true, who has the key of David. Whatever he opens, no one will shut; and whatever he shuts, no one opens. 8 I know your works. Look! I have set in front of you an open door that no one can shut. You have so little power, and yet you have kept my word and haven’t denied my name. 9 Because of this I will make the people from Satan’s synagogue (who say they are Jews and really aren’t, but are lying)—I will make them come and bow down at your feet and realize that I have loved you. 10 Because you kept my command to endure, I will keep you safe through the time of testing that is about to come over the whole world, to test those who live on earth. 11 I’m coming soon. Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your crown. 12 As for those who emerge victorious, I will make them pillars in the temple of my God, and they will never leave it. I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from my God. I will also write on them my own new name. 13 If you can hear, listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible