Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 30[a]
A psalm, a song used at the dedication of the temple;[b] by David.
30 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,[c]
and did not allow my enemies to gloat[d] over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.[e]
3 O Lord, you pulled me[f] up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.[g]
4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers[h] of his;
give thanks to his holy name.[i]
5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.[j]
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.[k]
6 In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be shaken.”[l]
7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.[m]
Then you rejected me[n] and I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:[o]
9 “What[p] profit is there in taking my life,[q]
in my descending into the Pit?[r]
Can the dust of the grave[s] praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?[t]
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
O Lord, deliver me.”[u]
11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.[v]
12 So now[w] my heart[x] will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always[y] give thanks to you.
12 Then the woman said, “Please permit your servant to speak to my lord the king about another matter.” He replied, “Tell me.” 13 The woman said, “Why have you devised something like this against God’s people? When the king speaks in this fashion, he makes himself guilty, for the king has not brought back the one he has banished. 14 Certainly we must die, and are like water spilled on the ground that cannot be gathered up again. But God does not take away life; instead he devises ways for the banished to be restored.[a] 15 I have now come to speak with my lord the king about this matter, because the people have made me fearful.[b] But your servant said, ‘I will speak to the king! Perhaps the king will do what his female servant[c] asks. 16 Yes![d] The king may[e] listen and deliver his female servant[f] from the hand of the man who seeks to remove[g] both me and my son from the inheritance God has given us!’[h] 17 So your servant said, ‘May the word of my lord the king be my security, for my lord the king is like the angel of God when it comes to deciding between right and wrong! May the Lord your God be with you!’”
18 Then the king replied to the woman, “Don’t hide any information from me when I question you.” The woman said, “Let my lord the king speak.” 19 The king said, “Did Joab put you up to all of this?”[i] The woman answered, “As surely as you live, my lord the king, there is no deviation to the right or to the left from all that my lord the king has said. For your servant Joab gave me instructions. He has put all these words in your servant’s mouth. 20 Your servant Joab did this so as to change this situation. But my lord has wisdom like that of the angel of God, and knows everything that is happening in the land.”[j]
21 Then the king said to Joab, “All right! I[k] will do this thing. Go and bring back the young man Absalom!” 22 Then Joab bowed down with his face toward the ground and thanked[l] the king. Joab said, “Today your servant knows that I have found favor in your sight, my lord the king, because the king has granted the request of your[m] servant!”
23 So Joab got up and went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem. 24 But the king said, “Let him go over[n] to his own house. He may not see my face.” So Absalom went over[o] to his own house; he did not see the king’s face.
Paul Offers His Defense
26 So Agrippa[a] said to Paul, “You have permission[b] to speak for yourself.” Then Paul held out his hand[c] and began his defense:[d]
2 “Regarding all the things I have been accused of by the Jews, King Agrippa,[e] I consider myself fortunate that I am about to make my defense before you today, 3 because you are especially[f] familiar with all the customs and controversial issues[g] of the Jews. Therefore I ask[h] you to listen to me patiently. 4 Now all the Jews know the way I lived[i] from my youth, spending my life from the beginning among my own people[j] and in Jerusalem. 5 They know,[k] because they have known[l] me from time past,[m] if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party[n] of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.[o] 6 And now I stand here on trial[p] because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors,[q] 7 a promise[r] that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God[s] night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me,[t] Your Majesty![u] 8 Why do you people[v] think[w] it is unbelievable[x] that[y] God raises the dead? 9 Of course,[z] I myself was convinced[aa] that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus the Nazarene. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: Not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received[ab] from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote[ac] against them when they were sentenced to death.[ad] 11 I punished[ae] them often in all the synagogues[af] and tried to force[ag] them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged[ah] at them, I went to persecute[ai] them even in foreign cities.
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