Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 29^[a]

God’s Majesty in the Storm

¹ A psalm of David.

¹⁰ Then the Lord came and stood and called out as he had the other times, “Samuel, Samuel.” Samuel said, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.” ¹¹ The Lord said to Samuel, “Behold, I am going to do something in Israel that will cause the ears of everyone who hears it to ring. ¹² On that day I will bring against Eli all of the things that I have proclaimed against his house, from beginning to end. ¹³ I have told him that I would judge his household forever because of the sin about which he knew, because his sons brought a curse upon themselves and he did not restrain them. ¹⁴ Therefore, I have sworn to the house of Eli that the guilt will never be atoned from Eli’s house by either sacrifice or offering.”

¹⁵ Samuel lay down until the morning, and then he opened the doors to the house of the Lord. However, he was afraid to reveal the vision to Eli, ¹⁶ but Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son,” and he answered, “Here I am.” ¹⁷ He said, “What is it that the Lord said to you? Please, do not hide it from me. May the Lord do it to you^[a] and even more if you hide anything from me of all those things that he said to you.” ¹⁸ So Samuel told him everything, hiding nothing from him. He then said, “He is the Lord, let him do what seems best to him.”

¹⁹ Samuel the Prophet. Samuel grew up, and the Lord was with him and did not let any of his words fall to the ground. ²⁰ All of Israel, from Dan to Beer-sheba,^[b] knew that Samuel had been confirmed as a prophet of the Lord. ²¹ The Lord continued to appear in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh through the word of the Lord.

Chapter 4^[c]

The Defeat of the Israelites.^{[d] 1} Samuel’s word came to all of Israel. Now the Israelites went out to fight against the Philistines. They were camped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines were encamped in Aphek.

¹⁰ Saul’s Baptism. There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. In a vision, the Lord said to him, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” ¹¹ The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the Street called Straight,^[a] to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul. He is praying, ¹² and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

¹³ Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many people about this man and how much harm he has done to your saints^[b] in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ Now he has come here with authority from the chief priests to imprison all who invoke your name.”

¹⁵ However, the Lord said to him, “Go, for this is the man I have chosen as a vessel to bring my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. ¹⁶ I myself will show him how much he will have to suffer for the sake of my name.”

¹⁷ And so Ananias went forth and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on your way has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”^{[c] 18} Immediately, something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. He got up and was baptized; ¹⁹ then, after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul Preaches in Damascus. For several days, Saul stayed with the disciples in Damascus,