Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Blessedness of Answered Prayer
A Psalm. A Song (A)at the dedication of the house of David.
30 I will extol You, O Lord, for You have (B)lifted me up,
And have not let my foes (C)rejoice over me.
2 O Lord my God, I cried out to You,
And You (D)healed me.
3 O Lord, (E)You brought my soul up from the grave;
You have kept me alive, [a]that I should not go down to the pit.
4 (F)Sing praise to the Lord, you saints of His,
And give thanks at the remembrance of [b]His holy name.
5 For (G)His anger is but for a moment,
(H)His favor is for life;
Weeping may endure for a night,
But [c]joy comes in the morning.
6 Now in my prosperity I said,
“I shall never be [d]moved.”
7 Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain stand strong;
(I)You hid Your face, and I was troubled.
8 I cried out to You, O Lord;
And to the Lord I made supplication:
9 “What profit is there in my blood,
When I go down to the pit?
(J)Will the dust praise You?
Will it declare Your truth?
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me;
Lord, be my helper!”
12 Therefore the woman said, “Please, let your maidservant speak another word to my lord the king.”
And he said, “Say on.”
13 So the woman said: “Why then have you schemed such a thing against (A)the people of God? For the king speaks this thing as one who is guilty, in that the king does not bring (B)his banished one home again. 14 For we (C)will surely die and become like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. Yet God does not (D)take away a life; but He (E)devises means, so that His banished ones are not [a]expelled from Him. 15 Now therefore, I have come to speak of this thing to my lord the king because the people have made me afraid. And your maidservant said, ‘I will now speak to the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his maidservant. 16 For the king will hear and deliver his maidservant from the hand of the man who would destroy me and my son together from the (F)inheritance of God.’ 17 Your maidservant said, ‘The word of my lord the king will now be comforting; for (G)as the angel of God, so is my lord the king in (H)discerning good and evil. And may the Lord your God be with you.’ ”
18 Then the king answered and said to the woman, “Please do not hide from me anything that I ask you.”
And the woman said, “Please, let my lord the king speak.”
19 So the king said, “Is the hand of Joab with you in all this?” And the woman answered and said, “As you live, my lord the king, no one can turn to the right hand or to the left from anything that my lord the king has spoken. For your servant Joab commanded me, and (I)he put all these words in the mouth of your maidservant. 20 To bring about this change of affairs your servant Joab has done this thing; but my lord is wise, (J)according to the wisdom of the angel of God, to know everything that is in the earth.”
21 And the king said to Joab, “All right, I have granted this thing. Go therefore, bring back the young man Absalom.”
22 Then Joab fell to the ground on his face and bowed himself, and [b]thanked the king. And Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord, O king, in that the king has fulfilled the request of his servant.” 23 So Joab arose (K)and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem. 24 And the king said, “Let him return to his own house, but (L)do not let him see my face.” So Absalom returned to his own house, but did not see the king’s face.
Paul’s Early Life
26 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You are permitted to speak for yourself.”
So Paul stretched out his hand and answered for himself: 2 “I think myself (A)happy, King Agrippa, because today I shall answer (B)for myself before you concerning all the things of which I am (C)accused by the Jews, 3 especially because you are expert in all customs and questions which have to do with the Jews. Therefore I beg you to hear me patiently.
4 “My manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. 5 They knew me from the first, if they were willing to testify, that according to (D)the strictest sect of our religion I lived a Pharisee. 6 (E)And now I stand and am judged for the hope of (F)the promise made by God to our fathers. 7 To this promise (G)our twelve tribes, earnestly serving God (H)night and day, (I)hope to attain. For this hope’s sake, King Agrippa, I am accused by the Jews. 8 Why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead?
9 (J)“Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things [a]contrary to the name of (K)Jesus of Nazareth. 10 (L)This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority (M)from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 (N)And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.