Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

Psalm 150

¹⁹ Now Saul, and they, and all Israel’s fighting men were in the Valley of Elah fighting with the Philistines.

²⁰ So David rose up early in the morning and left the flock with a keeper. And he carried away the food and went as Jesse had commanded him. And when he came to the encampment, the army was going out to the battle line, and they shouted a war cry. ²¹ And Israel and the Philistines ordered themselves in battle lines, army against army. ²² David left his things with the keeper of the equipment, and he ran to the battle line. And he went and greeted his brothers. ²³ As he was speaking with them, the champion, Goliath, the Philistine from Gath, was going up from the battle line of the Philistines. And he spoke these same words and David heard them. ²⁴ When all Israel’s fighting men saw the man, they fled from him, and were very afraid.

²⁵ The men of Israel said, “Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel, and it will be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, will give him his daughter, and will make his father’s house exempt from taxes in Israel.”

²⁶ David spoke to the men that stood by him, saying, “What will be done for the man that kills this Philistine and takes away this reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?”

²⁷ And the people answered him in the same way, saying, “So will it be done to the man who kills him.”

²⁸ Eliab his eldest brother heard when he spoke to the men. And Eliab’s anger was kindled against David, and he said, “Why have you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your pride and the evil of your heart. For you have come down that you might see the battle.”

²⁹ David said, “What have I done now? Was it not only a word?” ³⁰ And he turned from him toward another and spoke in the same way. And the people answered him again as at the first. ³¹ When the words which David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul and he sent for him.

³² David said to Saul, “Let no man’s heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.”

Persecution of the Apostles

¹⁷ Then the high priest and all those who were with him (that is, the sect of the Sadducees) rose up and were filled with jealousy. ¹⁸ They seized the apostles and put them in the common prison. ¹⁹ But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and led them out, and said, ²⁰ “Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life.”

²¹ Having heard this, they entered the temple at dawn and taught.

But the high priest and those who were with him came and called together the Sanhedrin and the senate of all the sons of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought out. ²² But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported, ²³ “We found the prison securely shut and the guards standing outside before the doors. But when we opened it, we found no one inside.” ²⁴ Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they were in doubt of what might become of this.

²⁵ Then one came and told them, “Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people.” ²⁶ Then the captain with his escorts went and brought them, without force lest they should be stoned, for they feared the people.