Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 30
A psalm by David sung at the dedication of the temple.
1 I will honor you highly, O Yahweh,
because you have pulled me out of the pit
and have not let my enemies rejoice over me.
2 O Yahweh my Elohim,
I cried out to you for help,
and you healed me.
3 O Yahweh, you brought me up from the grave.
You called me back to life
from among those who had gone into the pit.
4 Make music to praise Yahweh, you faithful people who belong to him.
Remember his holiness by giving thanks.
5 His anger lasts only a moment.
His favor lasts a lifetime.
Weeping may last for the night,
but there is a song of joy in the morning.
6 When all was well with me, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O Yahweh, by your favor you have made my mountain stand firm.
When you hid your face, I was terrified.
8 I will cry out to you, O Yahweh.
I will plead to Adonay for mercy:
9 “How will you profit if my blood is shed,
if I go into the pit?
Will the dust of my body give thanks to you?
Will it tell about your truth?”
10 Hear, O Yahweh, and have pity on me!
O Yahweh, be my helper!
11 You have changed my sobbing into dancing.
You have removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy
12 so that my soul[a] may praise you with music and not be silent.
O Yahweh my Elohim, I will give thanks to you forever.
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
14 Joab, Zeruiah’s son, knew the king was still thinking about Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa to get a clever woman from there. He told her, “Please act like a mourner, and dress in mourning clothes. Don’t rub olive oil on yourself,[a] but act like a woman who has been mourning for the dead for a long time. 3 Go to the king, and tell him this. . . .” Then Joab told her exactly what to say.
4 The woman from Tekoa came[b] to the king and immediately bowed down with her face touching the ground. “Help me, Your Majesty,” she said.
5 The king asked her, “What can I do for you?”
She answered, “I’m a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I had two sons who quarreled in the field, and there was no one to separate them. One killed the other. 7 Then the entire family turned against me. They said, ‘Give us the man who killed his brother so that we can kill him because he took his brother’s life. We’re going to destroy the one who now would be the heir.’ In this way they wish to extinguish the one burning coal that is left for me. They will not let my husband’s name or descendants remain on the face of the earth.”
8 “Go home,” the king told the woman. “I will order someone to take care of this matter.”
9 The woman from Tekoa said to the king, “Let me be held responsible for the sin, Your Majesty. Let my father’s family be held responsible. Your Majesty and your throne are innocent.”
10 The king said, “If anyone says anything against you, bring him to me. He’ll never harm you again.”
11 She said, “Your Majesty, please pray to Yahweh your Elohim in order to keep an avenger from doing more harm by destroying my son.”
“I solemnly swear, as Yahweh lives,” he said, “not a hair on your son’s head will fall to the ground.”
6 “But as I was on my way and approaching the city of Damascus about noon, a bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice asking me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’
8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, sir?’
“The person told me, ‘I’m Yeshua from Nazareth, the one you’re persecuting.’
9 “The men who were with me saw the light but didn’t understand what the person who was speaking to me said.
10 “Then I asked, ‘What do you want me to do, Lord?’
“The Lord told me, ‘Get up! Go into the city of Damascus, and you’ll be told everything I’ve arranged for you to do.’
11 “I was blind because the light had been so bright. So the men who were with me led me into the city of Damascus.
12 “A man named Ananias lived in Damascus. He was a devout person who followed Moses’ Teachings. All the Jews living in Damascus spoke highly of him. 13 He came to me, stood beside me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment my sight came back and I could see Ananias.
14 “Ananias said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the one who has God’s approval, and to hear him speak to you. 15 You will be his witness and will tell everyone what you have seen and heard. 16 What are you waiting for now? Get up! Be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his name.’
17 “After that, I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the temple courtyard, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord. He told me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem immediately. The people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “I said, ‘Lord, people here know that I went from synagogue to synagogue to imprison and whip those who believe in you. 20 When Stephen, who witnessed about you, was being killed, I was standing there. I approved of his death and guarded the coats of those who were murdering him.’
21 “But the Lord told me, ‘Go! I’ll send you on a mission. You’ll go far away to people who aren’t Jewish.’”
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.