Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
A Prayer in Troubled Times
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A miktam [C perhaps “inscription”] of David when he ·escaped [fled] from Saul in the cave [C likely a reference to 1 Sam. 22:1–5, but possibly 1 Sam. 24].
57 Be ·merciful [gracious] to me, God; be ·merciful [gracious] to me
because I ·come to you for protection [L seek refuge].
Let me ·hide [be protected; L seek refuge] under the shadow of your wings [Ruth 2:12; Matt. 23:37]
until the ·trouble [destruction] has passed.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to the God who ·does everything for [fulfills his purpose for; or avenges] me.
3 He sends help from heaven and ·saves me [gives me victory].
He ·punishes [reproaches; scorns] those who ·chase [trample on; hound; snap at] me. ·
God sends me his ·love [loyalty] and ·truth [faithfulness].
4 I lie down among lions [C his enemies];
who are aflame for human prey.
Their teeth are like spears and arrows,
their tongues as sharp as swords.
5 God is ·supreme [exalted] over the ·skies [heavens];
his ·majesty [glory; C his manifest presence] ·covers [L is over] the earth.
6 They set a ·trap [net] for ·me [L my feet].
I am ·very worried [bowed down].
They dug a pit ·in my path [L before me],
but they fell into it themselves. ·
7 My heart is ·steady [steadfast; ready], God; my heart is ·steady [steadfast; ready].
I will sing and ·praise [play a psalm for] you.
8 Wake up, my ·soul [or glory].
Wake up, harp and lyre!
I will wake up the dawn.
9 Lord, I will ·praise [thank] you among the ·nations [peoples];
I will ·sing songs of praise about [play a psalm for] you to all the nations.
10 Your ·love [loyalty] ·reaches to [is greater than] the ·skies [heavens],
your ·truth [faithfulness] to the clouds.
11 God, you are ·supreme [exalted] above the ·skies [heavens].
Let your glory [C manifest presence] be over all the earth.
2 A man in Maon who had ·land [business] at Carmel was very rich. He had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. He was ·cutting the wool off his sheep [having his sheep shorn] at Carmel. 3 His name was Nabal [C meaning “Fool” in Hebrew], and he was a descendant of Caleb [Num. 13:6, 30; 14:6, 24, 30; Josh. 14:6; 15:14; Judg. 1:12–20]. His wife was named Abigail. She was ·wise [intelligent; clever; sensible] and beautiful, but Nabal was ·cruel [harsh; crude; surly] and mean. He was a Calebite.
4 While David was in the ·desert [wilderness], he heard that Nabal was ·cutting the wool from [shearing] his sheep. 5 So he sent ten young men and told them, “Go to Nabal at Carmel, and greet him ·for me [L in my name]. 6 Say to Nabal, ‘May you and your ·family [L house] and all who belong to you have ·good health [long life; peace; prosperity]! 7 I have heard that you are ·cutting the wool from [shearing] your sheep. When your shepherds were with us, we did not ·harm [mistreat] them. All the time your shepherds were at Carmel, ·we stole nothing from them [they missed/lost nothing]. 8 Ask your ·servants [L young men], and they will tell you. We come at a ·happy time [feast day; festive time], so ·be kind [show favor] to my young men. Please give anything [C provisions] you ·can find [have at hand] for them and for your son David.’”
9 When David’s men arrived, they gave the message to Nabal [L in David’s name], ·but Nabal insulted them [L and then waited]. 10 He answered them, “Who is David? Who is this son of Jesse? Many ·slaves [servants] are running away from their masters ·today [these days]! 11 I have bread and water, and I have meat that I ·killed [slaughtered] for my ·servants who cut the wool [shearers]. ·But I won’t give it to men I don’t know [L Why should I give it to men from who knows where?].”
12 David’s men went back and told him all Nabal had said. 13 Then David said to them, “·Put [Strap; Buckle; T Gird] on your swords!” So they ·put [strapped; buckled; T girded] on their swords, and David put [strapped; buckled; T girded] on his also. About four hundred men went with David, but two hundred men stayed with the ·supplies [equipment; baggage].
14 One of Nabal’s ·servants [young men] said to Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the ·desert [wilderness] to greet our master, but Nabal ·insulted [scorned] them. 15 These men were very good to us. They did not ·harm [mistreat] us. ·They stole nothing from us [Nothing was missing] during all the time we were out in the field with them. 16 Night and day they ·protected us. They were […were] like a wall around us while we were with them ·caring for [tending; minding] the sheep. 17 Now ·think about it [make up your mind], and ·decide [consider] what you ·can [should] do. ·Terrible trouble is coming to [Disaster is certain for; Evil is fated for] our master and all his ·family [household]. Nabal is such a ·wicked [ill-tempered; quarrelsome] man that no one can even talk to him.”
18 Abigail hurried. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two ·leather bags [wineskins] full of wine, five ·cooked [prepared; slaughtered] sheep, ·a bushel [five measures/L seahs] of ·cooked [roasted] grain, a hundred ·cakes [clusters] of raisins, and two hundred cakes of pressed figs and ·put [loaded] all these on donkeys. 19 Then she told her ·servants [L young men], “Go on [L ahead]. I’ll follow you.” But she did not tell her husband Nabal.
20 Abigail rode her donkey and came down toward ·the [a] mountain ·hideout [ravine]. There she met David and his men coming down toward her.
21 David had just said, “·It’s been useless! [In vain have ] I ·watched over [guarded; protected] Nabal’s property in the ·desert [wilderness]. I made sure ·none of his sheep was missing [nothing was stolen]. I did good to him, but he has paid me back with evil. 22 May God punish ·me [L David][a] even more than my enemies if I leave even one of Nabal’s ·men [L one who urinates against a wall] alive until morning.
Judging Problems Among Christians
6 When you have ·something against [a legal dispute with; a grievance against] another Christian, how can you ·bring yourself [dare] to go before ·judges who are not right with God [or the pagan courts; L the unrighteous] instead of before ·God’s people [T the saints]? 2 ·Surely [L Don’t…?] you know that ·God’s people [T the saints] will judge the world. So if you are to judge the world, are you not able to judge ·small [trivial; the smallest of] cases as well? 3 ·You [L Don’t you…?] know that we will judge angels, so surely we can judge the ·ordinary things of [or matters pertaining to] this life. 4 If you have ·ordinary cases [cases/legal disputes of this life] that must be judged, ·are you going to appoint people as judges who mean nothing to the church? [will you appoint judges with no standing in/whose lifestyle is rejected by the church?; or go ahead and appoint the least members of the church to judge them! C in the latter interpretation, Paul speaks sarcastically.] 5 I say this to shame you. ·Surely there is someone [L Is there no one…?] among you wise enough to judge a ·complaint [dispute; conflict] between ·believers [L a brother]. 6 But now one ·believer [brother] goes to court against another ·believer [L brother]—and you do this in front of unbelievers!
7 The fact that you have lawsuits against each other shows that you are already defeated. Why not ·let yourselves be wronged [suffer the injustice]? Why not let yourselves be cheated? 8 But you yourselves ·do wrong [act unjustly] and cheat, and you do this to ·other believers [L brothers]!
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