Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

A Call to Praise the Lord for His Righteousness.

A Psalm.

³ Now ^(A)Samuel was dead, and all Israel had mourned him and buried him ^(B)in Ramah, his own city. And Saul had removed the ^(C)mediums and spiritists from the land. ⁴ So the Philistines assembled and came and camped ^(D)in Shunem; and Saul gathered all Israel together, and they camped in ^(E)Gilboa. ⁵ When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was afraid and his heart trembled greatly. ^6 (F)So Saul inquired of the Lord, but ^(G)the Lord did not answer him, either in ^(H)dreams, or by the ^(I)Urim, or by the prophets. ⁷ Then Saul said to his servants, “Find for me a woman who is a medium, so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” And his servants said to him, “Behold, ^(J)there is a woman who is a medium at ^(K)En-dor.”

⁸ Then Saul ^(L)disguised himself by putting on different clothes, and went, he and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night; and he said, “^(M)Consult the spirit for me, please, and ^(N)bring up for me the one whom I shall ^[a]name for you.” ⁹ But the woman said to him, “Behold, you know ^(O)what Saul has done, that he has eliminated the mediums and spiritists from the land. Why are you then setting a trap for my life, to bring about my death?” ¹⁰ So Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, saying, “As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.” ¹¹ Then the woman said, “Whom shall I bring up for you?” And he said, “Bring up Samuel for me.” ¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice; and the woman spoke to Saul, saying, “Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!” ¹³ But the king said to her, “Do not be afraid; but what do you see?” And the woman said to Saul, “I see a ^[b]divine being coming up from the earth.” ¹⁴ He said to her, “^[c]How does he appear?” And she said, “An old man is coming up, and ^(P)he is wrapped in a robe.” Then Saul knew that it was Samuel, and ^(Q)he bowed with his face to the ground and paid ^[d]homage.

¹⁵ And Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am very distressed, for the Philistines are waging war against me, and ^(R)God has abandoned me and ^(S)no longer answers me, either through prophets or in dreams; therefore I have called you, so that you may let me know what I should do.” ¹⁶ Samuel said, “But why ask me, since the Lord has abandoned you and has become your enemy? ¹⁷ And the Lord has done ^[e]just ^(T)as He spoke through me; for the Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and given it to your neighbor, to David. ¹⁸ Just as ^(U)you did not ^[f]obey the Lord and did not execute His fierce wrath on Amalek, so the Lord has done this thing to you this day. ¹⁹ Furthermore, the Lord will also hand Israel along with you over to the Philistines; so tomorrow ^(V)you and your sons will be with me. Indeed, the Lord will hand the army of Israel over to the Philistines!”

Unbelief and Its Consequences

¹⁸ For ^(A)the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who ^(B)suppress the truth ^[a]in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because ^(C)that which is known about God is evident ^[b]within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ For ^(D)since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ^(E)being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not ^[c]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became ^(F)futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened. ^22 (G)Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and they ^(H)exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and ^[d]crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore ^(I)God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be ^(J)dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for ^[e](K)falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ^(L)who is blessed ^[f]forever. Amen.