Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)
Psalm 86[a]
A prayer of David.
86 Listen,[b] O Lord. Answer me.
For I am oppressed and needy.
2 Protect me,[c] for I am loyal.
You are my God; deliver your servant who trusts in you.
3 Have mercy on me,[d] O Lord,
for I cry out to you all day long.
4 Make your servant[e] glad,
for to you, O Lord, I pray.[f]
5 Certainly,[g] O Lord, you are kind[h] and forgiving,
and show great faithfulness to all who cry out to you.
6 O Lord, hear my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea for mercy.
7 In my time of trouble I cry out to you,
for you will answer me.
8 None can compare to you among the gods, O Lord.
Your exploits are incomparable.[i]
9 All the nations, whom you created,
will come and worship you,[j] O Lord.
They will honor your name.
10 For you are great and do amazing things.
You alone are God.
11 O Lord, teach me how you want me to live.[k]
Then I will obey your commands.[l]
Make me wholeheartedly committed to you.[m]
12 O Lord, my God, I will give you thanks with my whole heart.
I will honor your name continually.[n]
13 For you will extend your great loyal love to me,[o]
and will deliver my life[p] from the depths of Sheol.[q]
14 O God, arrogant men attack me;[r]
a gang[s] of ruthless men, who do not respect you, seek my life.[t]
15 But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and merciful God.
You are patient[u] and demonstrate great loyal love and faithfulness.[v]
16 Turn toward me and have mercy on me.
Give your servant your strength.
Deliver this son of your female servant.[w]
17 Show me evidence of your favor.[x]
Then those who hate me will see it and be ashamed,[y]
for you, O Lord, will help me and comfort me.[z]
10 Then the Lord’s message came to Samuel: 11 “I regret that I have made Saul king, for he has turned away from me and has not done what I told him to do.” Samuel became angry and he cried out to the Lord all that night.
12 Then Samuel got up early to meet Saul the next morning. But Samuel was informed, “Saul has gone to Carmel where[a] he is setting up a monument for himself.” Then Samuel left[b] and went down to Gilgal.[c] 13 When Samuel came to Saul, Saul said to him, “May the Lord bless you! I have fulfilled the Lord’s orders.”[d]
14 Samuel replied, “If that is the case,[e] then what is this sound of sheep in my ears and the sound of cattle that I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They were brought[f] from the Amalekites; the army spared the best of the flocks and cattle to sacrifice to the Lord our God. But everything else we slaughtered.”
16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Wait a minute![g] Let me tell you what the Lord said to me last night.” Saul[h] said to him, “Tell me.” 17 Samuel said, “Is it not true that when you were insignificant in your own eyes, you became head of the tribes of Israel? The Lord chose[i] you as king over Israel. 18 The Lord sent you on a campaign[j] saying, ‘Go and exterminate those sinful Amalekites! Fight against them until you[k] have destroyed them.’ 19 Why haven’t you obeyed[l] the Lord? Instead you have greedily rushed upon the plunder! You have done what is wrong in the Lord’s estimation.”[m]
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “But I have obeyed[n] the Lord! I went on the campaign[o] the Lord sent me on. I brought back King Agag of the Amalekites after exterminating the Amalekites. 21 But the army took from the plunder some of the sheep and cattle—the best of what was to be slaughtered—to sacrifice to the Lord your God in Gilgal.”
22 Then Samuel said,
“Does the Lord take pleasure in burnt offerings and sacrifices
as much as he does in obedience?[p]
Certainly,[q] obedience[r] is better than sacrifice;
paying attention is better than[s] the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is like the sin of divination,
and presumption is like the evil of idolatry.
Because you have rejected the Lord’s orders,[t]
he has rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have disobeyed what the Lord commanded[u] and your words as well. For I was afraid of the army,[v] and I obeyed their voice. 25 Now please forgive my sin. Go back with me so I can worship the Lord.”
26 Samuel said to Saul, “I will not go back with you, for you have rejected the Lord’s orders,[w] and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel!”
27 When Samuel turned to leave, Saul[x] grabbed the edge of his robe and it tore. 28 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you this day and has given it to one of your colleagues who is better than you! 29 The Preeminent One[y] of Israel does not go back on his word[z] or change his mind, for he is not a human being who changes his mind.”[aa] 30 Saul[ab] again replied, “I have sinned. But please honor me before the elders of my people and before Israel. Go back with me so I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel followed Saul back, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
The Judgment on Ananias and Sapphira
5 Now a man named Ananias, together with Sapphira his wife, sold a piece of property. 2 He[a] kept back for himself part of the proceeds with his wife’s knowledge; he brought[b] only part of it and placed it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled[c] your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back for yourself part of the proceeds from the sale of[d] the land? 4 Before it was sold,[e] did it not[f] belong to you? And when it was sold, was the money[g] not at your disposal? How have you thought up this deed in your heart?[h] You have not lied to people[i] but to God!”
5 When Ananias heard these words he collapsed and died, and great fear gripped[j] all who heard about it. 6 So the young men came,[k] wrapped him up,[l] carried him out, and buried[m] him. 7 After an interval of about three hours,[n] his wife came in, but she did not know[o] what had happened. 8 Peter said to her, “Tell me, were the two of you[p] paid this amount[q] for the land?” Sapphira[r] said, “Yes, that much.” 9 Peter then told her, “Why have you agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out!” 10 At once[s] she collapsed at his feet and died. So when the young men came in, they found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great[t] fear gripped[u] the whole church[v] and all who heard about these things.
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