Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

This is a psalm to say ‘thank you’.

Thank you, God!^[a]

David becomes king over all Israel

5 All Israel's tribes came to David at Hebron. They said, ‘We all belong to the same family as you do. ² In the past, when Saul ruled over us as king, you were the leader of Israel's army in the wars. The Lord said to you, “You will take care of my people as a shepherd takes care of his sheep. You will rule over Israel.” ’

³ So King David made an agreement with the leaders of Israel when they came to him at Hebron. They made promises in the Lord's name. Then they anointed David to be king over Israel.

⁴ David was 30 years old when he became king. He ruled Israel as king for 40 years. ⁵ He ruled over Judah in Hebron for seven years and six months. And in Jerusalem he ruled over all Israel and Judah for 33 years.

David wins Jerusalem from the Jebusites

⁶ King David and his soldiers marched to Jerusalem. They went to attack the Jebusites who lived there. The Jebusites said to David, ‘You will never get into our city. Even blind men and those who are lame could keep you out.’

They thought, ‘David will never get in here.’

⁷ But David did get in and he took Zion, the city's strong place. It is now called ‘The City of David’.

⁸ On that day, David said to his men, ‘We must attack my enemies, the Jebusites. To do that, we must go into the city through the water tunnel.^[a] Then we will see if their blind and lame people can stop us! I hate them all.’

That is why people still say, ‘Anybody who is blind or lame must not go into the palace.’^[b]

David comes to live in Jerusalem

⁹ Then David went to live in the strong place of the city. He called it ‘The City of David’. He built more houses all around it, from the edge of the hill into the city. ¹⁰ David became more and more powerful because the Lord God Almighty was with him.

¹¹ Then Hiram, king of Tyre, sent some of his men to David. They brought wood from Lebanon's cedar trees. Men who could work with wood and stone also came. They built a palace for David. ¹² David knew that the Lord had made him strong as king over Israel. He knew that God had given honour to his kingdom, to help his people, the Israelites.^[c]

15 One day, many bad people and men who took taxes from people were coming round Jesus. They all wanted to hear what Jesus was saying. ² The Pharisees and teachers of God's Law did not like this. ‘This man is friendly with people that do not obey God,’ they said. ‘He even eats with them in their homes.’

A story about a sheep that a man has lost^[a]

³ So Jesus told them this story: ⁴ ‘Think about a man who has 100 sheep.^[b] He may lose one of them. What does he do then? He leaves all his other sheep in the fields. Then he goes. He looks for the sheep that he has lost. He looks until he finds it. ⁵ When he finds the sheep, he is very happy. He lifts it up and he puts it across his shoulders. ⁶ Then he carries it back home. He speaks to all his friends and to the people that live near him. He says, “I have found the sheep that I lost. So come to my house and we can all be happy together.” ⁷ When one person stops doing wrong things, it is like that. It makes those that live with God in heaven very happy. They will be happier about that one person, than about 99 people who already obey God.’