Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 30[a]
A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.[b] Of David.
1 I will exalt(A) you, Lord,
for you lifted me out of the depths(B)
and did not let my enemies gloat over me.(C)
2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,(D)
and you healed me.(E)
3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;(F)
you spared me from going down to the pit.(G)
4 Sing(H) the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;(I)
praise his holy name.(J)
5 For his anger(K) lasts only a moment,(L)
but his favor lasts a lifetime;(M)
weeping(N) may stay for the night,
but rejoicing comes in the morning.(O)
6 When I felt secure, I said,
“I will never be shaken.”(P)
7 Lord, when you favored me,
you made my royal mountain[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,(Q)
I was dismayed.
Absalom Returns to Jerusalem
14 Joab(A) son of Zeruiah knew that the king’s heart longed for Absalom. 2 So Joab sent someone to Tekoa(B) and had a wise woman(C) brought from there. He said to her, “Pretend you are in mourning. Dress in mourning clothes, and don’t use any cosmetic lotions.(D) Act like a woman who has spent many days grieving for the dead. 3 Then go to the king and speak these words to him.” And Joab(E) put the words in her mouth.
4 When the woman from Tekoa went[a] to the king, she fell with her face to the ground to pay him honor, and she said, “Help me, Your Majesty!”
5 The king asked her, “What is troubling you?”
She said, “I am a widow; my husband is dead. 6 I your servant had two sons. They got into a fight with each other in the field, and no one was there to separate them. One struck the other and killed him. 7 Now the whole clan has risen up against your servant; they say, ‘Hand over the one who struck his brother down, so that we may put him to death(F) for the life of his brother whom he killed; then we will get rid of the heir(G) as well.’ They would put out the only burning coal I have left,(H) leaving my husband neither name nor descendant on the face of the earth.”
8 The king said to the woman, “Go home,(I) and I will issue an order in your behalf.”
9 But the woman from Tekoa said to him, “Let my lord the king pardon(J) me and my family,(K) and let the king and his throne be without guilt.(L)”
10 The king replied, “If anyone says anything to you, bring them to me, and they will not bother you again.”
11 She said, “Then let the king invoke the Lord his God to prevent the avenger(M) of blood from adding to the destruction, so that my son will not be destroyed.”
“As surely as the Lord lives,” he said, “not one hair(N) of your son’s head will fall to the ground.(O)”
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me.(A) 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,(B) whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light,(C) but they did not understand the voice(D) of him who was speaking to me.
10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’(E) 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.(F)
12 “A man named Ananias came to see me.(G) He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there.(H) 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors(I) has chosen you to know his will and to see(J) the Righteous One(K) and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness(L) to all people of what you have seen(M) and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized(N) and wash your sins away,(O) calling on his name.’(P)
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem(Q) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance(R) 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison(S) and beat(T) those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’(U)
21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”(V)
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