Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Samuel Anoints David as King
16 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him from ruling over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have chosen a king for Myself from among his sons.”
2 Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.”
And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’ 3 Call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do. And you will anoint for Me him whom I tell to you.”
4 Samuel did that which the Lord spoke, and came to Bethlehem. The elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, “Do you come in peace?”
5 And he said, “I have come in peace to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and called them to the sacrifice.
6 When they came, he looked on Eliab, and said, “Surely the anointed of the Lord is before Him.”
7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees. For man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
8 Then Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 9 Then Jesse made Shammah to pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.” 10 So Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.” 11 Samuel said to Jesse, “Are these all your young men?”
And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, and there he is shepherding the flock.”
Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and bring him, for we will not sit down until he comes here.”
12 So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy with beautiful eyes and a good appearance.
And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord came on David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah.
Psalm 23
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
8 For you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light— 9 for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth— 10 proving what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; instead, expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things are exposed when they are revealed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. 14 Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”
The Healing of a Man Born Blind
9 As Jesus passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned. But it happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 I must do the works of Him who sent Me while it is day. Night is coming when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 When He had said this, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva. He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay, 7 and said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means “Sent”). So he went away and washed, and returned seeing.
8 The neighbors and those who had previously seen that he was blind said, “Is this not he who sat and begged?” 9 Some said, “This is he.”
Others said, “He is like him.”
But he said, “I am he.”
10 So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
11 He answered, “A Man called Jesus made clay, anointed my eyes, and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went away and washed, and I received my sight.”
12 They said to him, “Where is He?”
He said, “I do not know.”
The Pharisees Investigate the Healing
13 They brought the man who had been blind to the Pharisees. 14 Now it was a Sabbath day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. 15 Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he received his sight. He said to them, “He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see.”
16 Some of the Pharisees said, “This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath day.”
Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” So there was division among them.
17 Then they said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”
18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of the one who had received his sight. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see?”
20 His parents answered them, “We know that this is our son and that he was born blind. 21 But how he now sees, we do not know, or who opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age. Ask him. He will speak for himself.” 22 His parents said this, because they feared the Jews. For the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed that He was the Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. 23 Therefore his parents said, “He is of age. Ask him.”
24 So again they called the man who was blind and said to him, “Give glory to God. We know that this Man is a sinner.”
25 He said, “I do not know if He is a sinner. I know one thing: I was blind, but now I see.”
26 Then they said to him again, “What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?”
27 He answered them, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
28 Then they insulted him and said, “You are His disciple, but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God has spoken to Moses. As for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.”
30 The man answered, “Well, here is an amazing thing! You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes. 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners. But if anyone is a worshipper of God and does His will, He hears him. 32 Since the world began, it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind. 33 If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing.”
34 They answered him, “You were completely born in sin. Are you teaching us?” And they threw him out.
Spiritual Blindness
35 Jesus heard that they had thrown him out, and when He found him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of God?”
36 He answered, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?”
37 Jesus said to him, “You have seen Him, and it is He who speaks with you.”
38 Then he said, “Lord, I believe.” And he worshipped Him.
39 Jesus said, “I came into this world for judgment, that those who do not see may see, and that those who see may become blind.”
40 Some Pharisees who were with Him heard these words, and said to Him, “Are we also blind?”
41 Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would have no sin. But now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.