Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Davidic Prayer.
A Cry for Justice
17 Lord, hear my just plea!
Pay attention to my cry!
Listen to my prayer,
since it does not come from lying lips.
2 Justice for me will come from your presence;
your eyes see what is right.
3 When you probe my heart,
and examine me at night;
when you refine me,
you will find nothing wrong,[a]
for I have determined that I will not transgress with my mouth.
4 As for the ways of mankind,
I have, according to the words of your lips,
avoided the ways of the violent.
5 Because my steps have held fast to your paths,
my footsteps have not faltered.
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, God.
Listen closely to me
and hear my prayer.
7 Show forth your gracious love,
save those who take refuge in you
from those who rebel against your sovereign power.[b]
8 Protect me as the most precious part of the eye;[c]
hide me under the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked[d] who have afflicted me,
from my enemies who have surrounded me.
10 They are imprisoned by their own prosperity,[e]
they have boasted proudly with their mouth.
11 Now they have encircled our paths[f]
and are determined[g] to cast us down to the ground.
12 Like a lion they desire to rip us to pieces,
like a young lion waiting in ambush.
13 Arise, Lord,
confront them,
bring them to their knees!
Deliver me from the wicked by your sword—
14 from men, Lord, by your hand—
from men who belong to this world,
whose reward is only[h] in this[i] life.
But as for your treasured ones,
may their stomachs be full,
may their children have an abundance,
and may they leave wealth to their offspring.
15 But as for me, justified, I will behold your face;
when I awake, your presence[j] will satisfy me.
27 When her mourning period was completed, David sent for her, brought her to his palace, and she became his wife. Later on, she bore him a son.
Meanwhile, what David had done grieved the Lord,[a] 12 1 so the Lord sent Nathan to David.
Nathan’s Rebuke
Nathan[b] approached David[c] and said, “There are two men in the city. One is rich and one is poor. 2 The rich man has many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing except for one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It used to share his food and drink from his own cup. It even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him. 4 A traveler arrived to visit the rich man. Because he was unwilling to take an animal from one of his own flocks or herds to prepare for the guest who had come to visit him, he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to visit him.”
5 David flew into a rage at the man and told Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He will restore the lamb four times its value, because he did this thing, and because he did it without compassion.”
7 But Nathan replied to David, “You are the man! This is what the Lord God of Israel says:
“‘I anointed you king—and you became king over Israel.
“‘I delivered you from Saul’s control.
8 “‘I gave you your former[d] master’s household.
“‘I placed your former[e] master’s wives right in your arms.
“‘I gave you[f] Israel and Judah.
“‘And if this had been too little, I would have added much more than that to you!
9 “‘Why did you despise what the Lord has promised by doing what is detestable in his sight?
“‘You struck down Uriah the Hittite with a battle sword.
“‘You took his wife to be your own.[g]
“‘You killed him with the sword of the Ammonite army.
10 “‘Therefore the sword will never leave your household, because you have despised me by taking the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own.’[h]
11 “This is what the Lord says:
“‘Listen very carefully!
“‘I’m raising up evil against you right out of your own household.
“‘I’m going to take your wives away from you right before your eyes.
“‘Then I’ll give them to your neighbor.
“‘And then he’s going to have sex with your wives in broad daylight!
12 “‘What you did in secret I’m going to do right in front of all Israel and in broad daylight as well!’”
13 At this point, David told Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
Nathan responded to David, “There’s one other thing: the Lord has forgiven your sin.[i] You won’t die. 14 Nevertheless, because you have despised the Lord’s enemies with utter contempt,[j] the son born to you will most certainly die.” 15 Then Nathan went home.
David’s Infant Son Dies
After this, the Lord afflicted the child that Uriah’s wife had born to David, and the child[k] became very ill.
The Letter to the Church in Philadelphia
7 “To the messenger[a] of the church in Philadelphia, write:
‘The one who is holy, who is true,
who has the key of David,
who opens a door that[b] no one can shut,
and who shuts a door that[c] no one can open,
‘says this:
8 ‘I know what you’ve been doing. Look! I have put in front of you an open door that no one can shut. You have only a little strength, but you have obeyed my word and have not denied my name. 9 I will make those who belong to the synagogue of Satan—those who claim to be Jews and aren’t, but are lying—come and bow down at your feet. Then they will realize that I have loved you. 10 Because you have obeyed my command to endure,[d] I will keep you from the hour of testing that is coming to the whole world to test those living on the earth. 11 I am coming soon! Hold on to what you have so that no one takes your victor’s crown. 12 I will make the one who overcomes[e] to become a pillar in the sanctuary of my God, and he will never go out of it again. I will write on him the name of my God, the name of the city of my God (the new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God), and my own new name.
13 ‘Let everyone[f] listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.