Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Psalm 5
For the Music Director. With the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
consider my meditation.
2 Listen to the voice of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to You will I pray.
3 O Lord, in the morning You will hear my voice;
in the morning I will direct my prayer to You,
and I will watch expectantly.
4 For You are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness,
nor will evil dwell with You.
5 Those who boast will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You will destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors
the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
7 But as for me, in the abundance of Your mercy
I will enter Your house;
in fear of You I will worship
at Your holy temple.
8 Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make Your way straight before me.
Ben-Hadad Attacks Samaria
20 Now Ben-Hadad the king of Aram gathered his army together. Thirty-two kings were with him, with horses and chariots, and he went up and besieged Samaria and fought against it. 2 He sent messengers into the city to Ahab king of Israel and said to him, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: 3 Your silver and gold is mine, as are your most attractive wives and children.”
4 The king of Israel answered, “My lord, O king, just as you have said, I and all that I own are yours.”
5 The messengers came again and said, “Thus says Ben-Hadad: Although I have said that you must give me your silver and gold, your wives and your children, 6 instead I will send my servants tomorrow about this time, and they will search your house and the houses of your servants, and whatever is precious to you, they will put it in their hands and take it away.”
7 Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land and said, “Please notice how this man is looking for trouble, for he has demanded I give him my wives and children and my silver and gold, and I have not denied his request.”
8 All the elders and all the people said to him, “Do not listen to him or consent to his demands.”
9 Therefore he said to the messengers of Ben-Hadad, “Tell my lord the king: I will comply with the first request of your servant, but this thing I will not do.” And the messengers departed and brought him word again.
10 Then Ben-Hadad sent messengers to him and said, “The gods do to me and then some if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people who follow me.”
11 The king of Israel answered, “Tell him: Let not he who puts on his armor boast himself as he who takes it off.”
12 When Ben-Hadad heard this message as he was drinking with the kings in the pavilions, he said to his servants, “Station yourselves!” And they stationed themselves against the city.
Ahab Defeats Ben-Hadad
13 Then a prophet came to Ahab king of Israel, saying, “Thus says the Lord: Have you seen this great multitude? See, I will deliver it into your hand this day, and you shall know that I am the Lord.”
14 Ahab asked, “By whom?”
And he said, “Thus says the Lord: By the young leaders of the provinces.”
Then he said, “Who shall order the battle?”
And he answered, “You.”
15 Then he counted the young leaders of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty-two, and after them he counted all the people, all the children of Israel, and had seven thousand. 16 They went out at noon. But Ben-Hadad and the thirty-two kings who helped him were getting drunk in the pavilions. 17 The young leaders of the provinces went out first.
Ben-Hadad sent out scouts, and they told him, “Men from Samaria have come out.”
18 He said, “If they have come out peacefully, take them alive, and if they have come out for battle, take them alive.”
19 So these young leaders of the provinces came out of the city, followed by the army. 20 Each one killed his man, and the Arameans fled with Israel pursuing them, but Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, escaped on a horse with the horsemen. 21 The king of Israel went out and attacked the horses and chariots and killed a great number of Arameans.
22 The prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Go, strengthen yourself and prepare, and see what you do, for next year the king of Aram will come up against you.”
Friendship With the World
4 Where do wars and fights among you come from? Do they not come from your lusts that war in your body? 2 You lust and do not have, so you kill. You desire to have and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask, and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your passions.
4 You adulterers and adulteresses, do you not know that the friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “He yearns jealously for the spirit that lives in us”[a]? 6 But He gives more grace. For this reason it says:
“God resists the proud,
but gives grace to the humble.”[b]
7 Therefore submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.