Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
54 Written by David at the time the men of Ziph tried to betray him to Saul.
Come with great power,[a] O God, and save me! Defend me with your might! 2 Oh, listen to my prayer. 3 For violent men have risen against me—ruthless men who care nothing for God are seeking my life.
4 But God is my helper. He is a friend of mine![b] 5 He will cause the evil deeds of my enemies to boomerang upon them. Do as you promised and put an end to these wicked men, O God. 6 Gladly I bring my sacrifices to you; I will praise your name, O Lord, for it is good.
7 God has rescued me from all my trouble, and triumphed over my enemies.
24 Then Zedekiah (son of Chenaanah) walked over and slapped Micaiah on the face.
“When did the Spirit of the Lord leave me and speak to you?” he demanded.
25 And Micaiah replied, “You will have the answer to your question when you find yourself hiding in an inner room.”
26 Then King Ahab ordered Micaiah’s arrest.
“Take him to Amon, the mayor of the city, and to my son Joash. 27 Tell them, ‘The king says to put this fellow in jail and feed him with bread and water—and only enough to keep him alive[a]—until I return in peace.’”
28 “If you return in peace,” Micaiah replied, “it will prove that the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he turned to the people standing nearby and said, “Take note of what I’ve said.”
29 So King Ahab of Israel and King Jehoshaphat of Judah led their armies to Ramoth-gilead.
30 Ahab said to Jehoshaphat, “You wear your royal robes, but I’ll not wear mine!”
So Ahab went into the battle disguised in an ordinary soldier’s uniform. 31 For the king of Syria had commanded his thirty-two chariot captains to fight no one except King Ahab himself. 32-33 When they saw King Jehoshaphat in his royal robes, they thought, “That’s the man we’re after.” So they wheeled around to attack him. But when Jehoshaphat shouted out to identify himself,[b] they turned back! 34 However, someone shot an arrow at random and it struck King Ahab between the joints of his armor.
“Take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded,” he groaned to his chariot driver.
35 The battle became more and more intense as the day wore on, and King Ahab went back in, propped up in his chariot with the blood from his wound running down onto the floorboards. Finally, toward evening, he died. 36-37 Just as the sun was going down the cry ran through his troops. “It’s all over—return home! The king is dead!”
And his body was taken to Samaria and buried there. 38 When his chariot and armor were washed beside the pool of Samaria, where the prostitutes bathed, dogs came and licked the king’s blood just as the Lord had said would happen.
39 The rest of Ahab’s history—including the story of the ivory palace and the cities he built—is written in The Annals of the Kings of Israel. 40 So Ahab was buried among his ancestors, and Ahaziah, his son, became the new king of Israel.
25 I want you to know about this truth from God, dear brothers, so that you will not feel proud and start bragging. Yes, it is true that some of the Jews have set themselves against the Gospel now, but this will last only until all of you Gentiles have come to Christ—those of you who will. 26 And then all Israel will be saved.
Do you remember what the prophets said about this? “There shall come out of Zion a Deliverer, and he shall turn the Jews from all ungodliness. 27 At that time I will take away their sins, just as I promised.”
28 Now many of the Jews are enemies of the Gospel. They hate it. But this has been a benefit to you, for it has resulted in God’s giving his gifts to you Gentiles. Yet the Jews are still beloved of God because of his promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. 29 For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn; he will never go back on his promises. 30 Once you were rebels against God, but when the Jews refused his gifts God was merciful to you instead. 31 And now the Jews are the rebels, but some day they, too, will share in God’s mercy upon you. 32 For God has given them all up to sin[a] so that he could have mercy upon all alike.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.