Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 14

To the Chief Musician. [A Psalm] of David.

¹ The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable deeds; there is none that does good or right.^(A)

² The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men to see if there were any who understood, dealt wisely, and sought after God, inquiring for and of Him and requiring Him [of vital necessity].

³ They are all gone aside, they have all together become filthy; there is none that does good or right, no, not one.^(B)

⁴ Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread and who do not call on the Lord?

⁵ There they shall be in great fear [literally—dreading a dread], for God is with the generation of the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright and in right standing with Him).

⁶ You [evildoers] would put to shame and confound the plans of the poor and patient, but the Lord is his safe refuge.

⁷ Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord shall restore the fortunes of His people, then Jacob shall rejoice and Israel shall be glad.^(C)

10 Later, the king of the Ammonites died, and Hanun his son reigned in his stead.

² David said, I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, as his father did to me. So David sent his servants to console him for his father’s death; and they came into the land of the Ammonites,

³ But the princes of the Ammonites said to Hanun their lord, Do you think that it is because David honors your father that he has sent comforters to you? Has he not rather sent his servants to you to search the city, spy it out, and overthrow it?

⁴ So Hanun took David’s servants and shaved off half their beards and cut off their garments in the middle at their hips and sent them away.

⁵ When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, Tarry at Jericho until your beards are grown, and then return.

⁹ For this reason we also, from the day we heard of it, have not ceased to pray and make [^[a]special] request for you, [asking] that you may be filled with the ^[b]full (deep and clear) knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom [^[c]in comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God] and in understanding and discernment of spiritual things—

¹⁰ That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and ^[d]desiring to please Him in all things, bearing fruit in every good work and steadily growing and increasing in and by the knowledge of God [with fuller, deeper, and clearer insight, ^[e]acquaintance, and recognition].

¹¹ [We pray] that you may be invigorated and strengthened with all power according to the might of His glory, [to exercise] every kind of endurance and patience (perseverance and forbearance) with joy,

¹² Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the ^[f]portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God’s holy people) in the Light.

¹³ [The Father] has delivered and ^[g]drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son ^[h]of His love,

¹⁴ In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.