Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Prayer of Thanks

30 I will lift You up, O Lord, for You have lifted me up. You have not let those who hate me stand over me in joy. ² O Lord my God, I cried to You for help and You healed me. ³ O Lord, You have brought me up from the grave. You have kept me alive, so that I will not go down into the deep. ⁴ Sing praise to the Lord, all you who belong to Him. Give thanks to His holy name. ⁵ For His anger lasts only a short time. But His favor is for life. Crying may last for a night, but joy comes with the new day.

⁶ As for me, when all was going well, I said, “I will never be moved.” ⁷ O Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong. But when You hid Your face, I was troubled. ⁸ I cried to You, O Lord. I begged the Lord for loving-kindness. ⁹ What good will come from my blood, if I go down to the grave? Will the dust thank You? Will it tell how You are faithful?

¹⁰ Hear, O Lord. And show me loving-kindness. O Lord, be my Helper. ¹¹ You have turned my crying into dancing.You have taken off my clothes made from hair, and dressed me with joy. ¹² So my soul may sing praise to You, and not be quiet. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

14 Now Joab the son of Zeruiah saw that the king missed Absalom very much. ² So Joab sent for a wise woman from Tekoa, and said to her, “Pretend to be filled with sorrow. Dress as if you were filled with sorrow, and do not pour oil on yourself. Dress like a woman who has been filled with sorrow for the dead many days. ³ Then go to the king and speak to him in this way.” And Joab told her what to say.

⁴ When the woman of Tekoa spoke to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, showing honor, and said, “Help, O king.” ⁵ The king said to her, “What is your trouble?” And she answered, “I am a woman whose husband has died. ⁶ Your woman servant had two sons. But they fought together in the field and there was no one to pull them apart. So one hit the other and killed him. ⁷ Now the whole family has come against your woman servant. They say, ‘Give us the one who killed his brother. We must put him to death for the life of his brother whom he killed.’ So I would be without a son to receive what belonged to his parents when I die. They would put out the last of the fire which is left to me. My husband would be left without a name and with no children on the earth.”

⁸ Then the king said to the woman, “Go to your house. I will say what should be done about your trouble.” ⁹ The woman of Tekoa said to the king, “O my lord the king, the sin is on me and my father’s family. But the king and his throne are without guilt.” ¹⁰ The king said, “If anyone says anything to you, bring him to me. And he will not touch you again.” ¹¹ Then she said, “I beg the king to remember the Lord your God, that the one who punishes for blood will stop destroying. Or my son might be destroyed.” And the king said, “As the Lord lives, not one hair of your son will fall to the ground.”

The Change in Paul’s Life on the Damascus Road

⁶ “I was near Damascus. All at once, about noon, I saw a bright light from heaven shining around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground. A voice said to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you work so hard against Me?’ ⁸ I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the One you are working against.’ ⁹ Those who were with me saw the light. But they did not hear Him speaking to me. ¹⁰ I asked, ‘Lord, what should I do?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Get up! Go to Damascus. You will be told what to do there.’

¹¹ “I could not see because of the bright light. Those who were with me had to lead me by the hand until we came to Damascus. ¹² Ananias lived there. He obeyed the Law and was respected by all the Jews. ¹³ He came and stood near me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ At once I was able to see him. ¹⁴ Then Ananias said, ‘The God of our fathers chose you to know what He wants done. He chose you to see Jesus Christ, the One Right with God, and to hear His voice. ¹⁵ You are to tell all men what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ What are you waiting for? Get up! Be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on His name.’

Paul Is Called to Work with the People Who Are Not Jews

¹⁷ “I came back to Jerusalem. When I was praying in the house of God, I had a dream. ¹⁸ I saw Him as He said to me, ‘Get out of Jerusalem! They will not listen to you when you tell them about Me!’ ¹⁹ I said, ‘Lord, they know I took Christians out of every Jewish place of worship. I had them beaten and put in prison. ²⁰ Also when Stephen was killed, I stood there and watched them throw stones at him. Those who threw the stones had me watch their coats.’ ²¹ The Lord said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the people who are not Jews.’ ”