Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 98[a]
A psalm.
98 Sing to the Lord a new song,[b]
for he performs[c] amazing deeds.
His right hand and his mighty arm
accomplish deliverance.[d]
2 The Lord demonstrates his power to deliver;[e]
in the sight of the nations he reveals his justice.
3 He remains loyal and faithful to the family of Israel.[f]
All the ends of the earth see our God deliver us.[g]
4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth.
Break out in a joyful shout and sing!
5 Sing to the Lord accompanied by a harp,
accompanied by a harp and the sound of music.
6 With trumpets and the blaring of the ram’s horn,
shout out praises before the king, the Lord.
7 Let the sea and everything in it shout,
along with the world and those who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands!
Let the mountains sing in unison
9 before the Lord.
For he comes to judge the earth.
He judges the world fairly,[h]
and the nations in a just manner.
3 Now Samuel had died, and all Israel had lamented over him and had buried him in Ramah, his hometown.[a] In the meantime Saul had removed the mediums[b] and magicians[c] from the land. 4 The Philistines assembled; they came and camped at Shunem. Saul mustered all Israel and camped at Gilboa. 5 When Saul saw the camp of the Philistines, he was absolutely terrified.[d] 6 So Saul inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him—not by dreams nor by Urim[e] nor by the prophets. 7 So Saul instructed his servants, “Find me a woman who is a medium,[f] so that I may go to her and inquire of her.” His servants replied to him, “There is a woman who is a medium in Endor.”
8 So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothing and left, accompanied by two of his men. They came to the woman at night and said, “Use your ritual pit to conjure up for me the one I tell you.”[g]
9 But the woman said to him, “Look, you are aware of what Saul has done; he has removed[h] the mediums and magicians[i] from the land! Why are you trapping me[j] so you can put me to death?” 10 But Saul swore an oath to her by the Lord, “As surely as the Lord lives, you will not incur guilt in this matter!” 11 The woman replied, “Who is it that I should bring up for you?” He said, “Bring up for me Samuel.”
12 When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out loudly.[k] The woman said to Saul, “Why have you deceived me? You are Saul!” 13 The king said to her, “Don’t be afraid! But what have you seen?” The woman replied to Saul, “I have seen a divine being[l] coming up from the ground!” 14 He said to her, “What about his appearance?” She said, “An old man is coming up! He is wrapped in a robe!”
Then Saul realized it was Samuel, and he bowed his face toward the ground and kneeled down. 15 Samuel said to Saul, “Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?” Saul replied, “I am terribly troubled! The Philistines are fighting against me and God has turned away from me. He does not answer me anymore—not by the prophets nor by dreams. So I have called on you to tell me what I should do.”
16 Samuel said, “Why are you asking me, now that the Lord has turned away from you and has become your enemy? 17 The Lord has done exactly as I prophesied![m] The Lord has torn the kingdom from your hand and has given it to your neighbor David! 18 Since you did not obey the Lord[n] and did not carry out his fierce anger against the Amalekites, the Lord has done this thing to you today. 19 The Lord will hand you and Israel over to the Philistines![o] Tomorrow both you and your sons will be with me.[p] The Lord will also hand the army[q] of Israel over to the Philistines!”
The Condemnation of the Unrighteous
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people[a] who suppress the truth by their[b] unrighteousness,[c] 19 because what can be known about God is plain to them,[d] because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people[e] are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts[f] were darkened. 22 Although they claimed[g] to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings[h] or birds or four-footed animals[i] or reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over[j] in the desires of their hearts to impurity,[k] to dishonor[l] their bodies among themselves.[m] 25 They[n] exchanged the truth of God for a lie[o] and worshiped and served the creation[p] rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
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