Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (A)brothers to live together in unity!
2 It is like the precious (B)oil on the head,
Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron’s beard,
The oil which ran down upon the (C)edge of his robes.
3 It is like the (D)dew of (E)Hermon
Coming down upon the (F)mountains of Zion;
For the Lord (G)commanded the blessing there—(H)life forever.
David and Jonathan’s Covenant
20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and he came and (A)said [a]to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my guilt? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” 2 He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die! Behold, my father does nothing either great or small [b]without informing me. So why would my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” 3 Yet David (B)vowed again, [c]saying, “Your father is well aware that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Jonathan is not to know this, otherwise he will be worried.’ But indeed (C)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is [d]just a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever [e]you say, I will do for you.” 5 So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is (D)the new moon, and I am obligated (E)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go (F)so that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly requested leave of me to run to (G)Bethlehem, his city, because it is (H)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ 7 If he [f]says, ‘That is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, (I)be aware that he has decided on evil. 8 So deal kindly with your servant, for (J)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But (K)if [g]I am guilty of wrongdoing, kill me yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” 9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I in fact learn that my father has decided [h]to inflict harm on you, would I not inform you?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will inform me [i]if your father answers you harshly?” 11 Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let’s go out to the field.” So both of them went out to the field.
12 Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, is my witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow or the third day, behold, if he has a good feeling toward [j]you, shall I not then send word to you and [k]inform you? 13 If it pleases my father to do you harm, (L)may the Lord do so to [l]me and more so, if I fail to [m]inform you and send you away, so that you may go in safety. And (M)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. 14 And if I am still alive, will you not show me the faithfulness of the Lord, so that I do not die? 15 And (N)you shall never cut off your loyalty to my house, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “(O)May the Lord demand it from the hands of David’s enemies.” 17 And Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because (P)he loved him as he loved his own life.
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “(Q)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed since your seat will be empty. 19 When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain beside the stone Ezel. 20 And I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. 21 Then behold, I will send the boy, telling him, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the boy, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come, because it is safe for you and there is nothing to harm you, as the Lord lives. 22 But if I [n]say to the youth, ‘(R)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, because the Lord has sent you away. 23 (S)As for the [o]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, (T)the Lord is between you and me forever.”
35 Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out to the field at the time agreed upon with David, and a little boy was with him. 36 He said to his boy, “(A)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” The boy ran, and he shot [a]an arrow past him. 37 When the boy reached the location of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the boy and said, “(B)Is the arrow not beyond you?” 38 Then Jonathan called after the boy, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s boy picked up the arrow and came to his master. 39 But the boy was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. 40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his boy and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” 41 When the boy was gone, David got up from the south side, then he fell on his face to the ground and (C)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, until (D)David wept immeasurably. 42 Then Jonathan said to David, “(E)Go [b]in safety, since we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘(F)The Lord will be between me and you, and between my [c]descendants and your [d]descendants forever.’” [e]So David set out and went on his way, while Jonathan went into the city.
The Church in Antioch
19 (A)So then those who were scattered because of the [a]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [b]to (B)Phoenicia, (C)Cyprus, and (D)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (E)Cyprus and (F)Cyrene, who came to (G)Antioch and began speaking to the [c](H)Greeks as well, (I)preaching the good news of the Lord Jesus. 21 And (J)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (K)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The [d]news about them [e]reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent (L)Barnabas off [f]to (M)Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and [g]witnessed (N)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [h]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (O)full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And [i](P)considerable numbers were added to the Lord. 25 And he left for (Q)Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to (R)Antioch. And for an entire year they [j]met with the church and taught [k]considerable numbers of people; and (S)the disciples were first called (T)Christians in (U)Antioch.
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