Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁹ All who are oppressed may come to him. He is a refuge for them in their times of trouble. ¹⁰ All those who know your mercy, Lord, will count on you for help. For you have never yet forsaken those who trust in you.

¹¹ Oh, sing out your praises to the God who lives in Jerusalem.^[a] Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds. ¹² He who avenges murder has an open ear to those who cry to him for justice. He does not ignore the prayers of men in trouble when they call to him for help.

¹³ And now, O Lord, have mercy on me; see how I suffer at the hands of those who hate me. Lord, snatch me back from the jaws of death. ¹⁴ Save me, so that I can praise you publicly before all the people at Jerusalem’s gates^[b] and rejoice that you have rescued me.

¹⁵ The nations fall into the pitfalls they have dug for others; the trap they set has snapped on them. ¹⁶ The Lord is famous for the way he punishes the wicked in their own snares!^[c]

¹⁷ The wicked shall be sent away to hell; this is the fate of all the nations forgetting the Lord. ¹⁸ For the needs of the needy shall not be ignored forever; the hopes of the poor shall not always be crushed.

¹⁹ O Lord, arise and judge and punish the nations; don’t let them defy you! ²⁰ Make them tremble in fear; put the nations in their place until at last they know they are but puny men.

⁵⁵ As Saul was watching David go out to fight Goliath, he asked Abner, the general of his army, “Abner, what sort of family does this young fellow come from?”^[a]

“I really don’t know,” Abner said.

⁵⁶ “Well, find out!” the king told him.

⁵⁷ After David had killed Goliath, Abner brought him to Saul with the Philistine’s head still in his hand.

⁵⁸ “Tell me about your father, my boy,” Saul said.

And David replied, “His name is Jesse and we live in Bethlehem.”

18 ^1-3 After King Saul had finished his conversation with David, David met Jonathan, the king’s son, and there was an immediate bond of love between them. Jonathan swore to be his blood brother, ⁴ and sealed the pact by giving him his robe, sword, bow, and belt.

King Saul now kept David with him and wouldn’t let him return home anymore. ⁵ He was Saul’s special assistant, and he always carried out his assignments successfully. So Saul made him commander of his troops, an appointment that was applauded by the army and general public alike.

21 After parting from the Ephesian elders, we sailed straight to Cos. The next day we reached Rhodes and then went to Patara. ² There we boarded a ship sailing for the Syrian province of Phoenicia. ³ We sighted the island of Cyprus, passed it on our left, and landed at the harbor of Tyre, in Syria, where the ship unloaded. ⁴ We went ashore, found the local believers, and stayed with them a week. These disciples warned Paul—the Holy Spirit prophesying through them—not to go on to Jerusalem. ⁵ At the end of the week when we returned to the ship, the entire congregation including wives and children walked down to the beach with us where we prayed and said our farewells. ⁶ Then we went aboard, and they returned home.

⁷ The next stop after leaving Tyre was Ptolemais, where we greeted the believers but stayed only one day. ⁸ Then we went on to Caesarea and stayed at the home of Philip the Evangelist, one of the first seven deacons.^{[a] 9} He had four unmarried^[b] daughters who had the gift of prophecy.

¹⁰ During our stay of several days, a man named Agabus, who also had the gift of prophecy, arrived from Judea ¹¹ and visited us. He took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, “The Holy Spirit declares, ‘So shall the owner of this belt be bound by the Jews in Jerusalem and turned over to the Romans.’” ¹² Hearing this, all of us—the local believers and his traveling companions—begged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.

¹³ But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are breaking my heart! For I am ready not only to be jailed at Jerusalem but also to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus.” ¹⁴ When it was clear that he wouldn’t be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The will of the Lord be done.”

¹⁵ So shortly afterwards we packed our things and left for Jerusalem. ¹⁶ Some disciples from Caesarea accompanied us, and on arrival we were guests at the home of Mnason, originally from Cyprus, one of the early believers;