Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Prayer for Protection against Oppressors.
A Prayer of David.
17 Hear a (A)just cause, O Lord, (B)give heed to my cry;
(C)Give ear to my prayer, which is not from (D)deceitful lips.
2 Let (E)my [a]judgment come forth from Your presence;
Let Your eyes look with (F)equity.
3 You have (G)tried my heart;
You have visited me by night;
You have (H)tested me and (I)You find [b]nothing;
I have (J)purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4 As for the deeds of men, (K)by the word of Your lips
I have kept from the (L)paths of the violent.
5 My (M)steps have held fast to Your [c]paths.
My (N)feet have not slipped.
6 I have (O)called upon You, for You will answer me, O God;
(P)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
7 (Q)Wondrously show Your lovingkindness,
O (R)Savior of those who take refuge [d]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
8 Keep me as [e]the (S)apple of the eye;
Hide me (T)in the shadow of Your wings
9 From the (U)wicked who despoil me,
My (V)deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They have (W)closed their [f]unfeeling heart,
With their mouth they (X)speak proudly.
11 They have now (Y)surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes (Z)to cast us down to the ground.
12 He is (AA)like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion (AB)lurking in hiding places.
13 (AC)Arise, O Lord, confront him, (AD)bring him low;
(AE)Deliver my soul from the wicked with (AF)Your sword,
14 From men with (AG)Your hand, O Lord,
From men [g]of the world, (AH)whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You (AI)fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babes.
15 As for me, I shall (AJ)behold Your face in righteousness;
(AK)I will be satisfied [h]with Your (AL)likeness when I awake.
27 When the time of mourning was over, David sent and [a]brought her to his house and (A)she became his wife; then she bore him a son. But (B)the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the Lord.
Nathan Rebukes David
12 Then the Lord sent (C)Nathan to David. And (D)he came to him and [b]said,
“There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor.
2 “The rich man had a great many flocks and herds.
3 “But the poor man had nothing except (E)one little ewe lamb
Which he bought and nourished;
And it grew up together with him and his children.
It would eat of his [c]bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom,
And was like a daughter to him.
4 “Now a traveler came to the rich man,
And he [d]was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd,
To prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him;
Rather he took the poor man’s ewe lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.”
5 Then David’s anger burned greatly against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, surely the man who has done this [e](F)deserves to die. 6 He must make restitution for the lamb (G)fourfold, because he did this thing and had no compassion.”
7 Nathan then said to David, “(H)You are the man! Thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘(I)It is I who anointed you king over Israel and it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul. 8 I also gave you (J)your master’s house and your master’s wives into your [f]care, and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have added to you many more things like these! 9 Why (K)have you despised the word of the Lord by doing evil in His sight? (L)You have struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword, (M)have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the sons of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, (N)the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord, ‘Behold, I will raise up evil against you from your own household; (O)I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion, and he will lie with your wives in [g]broad daylight. 12 Indeed (P)you did it secretly, but (Q)I will do this thing before all Israel, and [h]under the sun.’” 13 Then David said to Nathan, “(R)I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has [i](S)taken away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have (T)given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” 15 So Nathan went to his house.
Loss of a Child
Then the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s [j]widow bore to David, so that he was very sick.
Message to Philadelphia
7 “And to the angel of the church in (A)Philadelphia write:
(B)He who is holy, (C)who is true, who has (D)the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says this:
8 ‘(E)I know your [a]deeds. Behold, I have put before you (F)an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power, and have kept My word, and (G)have not denied My name. 9 Behold, I [b]will cause those of (H)the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—I will make them (I)come and bow down [c]at your feet, and make them know that (J)I have loved you. 10 Because you have (K)kept the word of (L)My [d]perseverance, (M)I also will keep you from the hour of [e](N)testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole [f](O)world, to [g]test (P)those who dwell on the earth. 11 (Q)I am coming quickly; (R)hold fast what you have, so that no one will take your (S)crown. 12 (T)He who overcomes, I will make him a (U)pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the (V)name of My God, and (W)the name of the city of My God, (X)the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My (Y)new name. 13 (Z)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.