Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: For flutes. A Davidic Psalm
A Prayer for God’s Help
5 Lord, listen to my words,
consider my groaning.
2 Pay attention to my cry for help,[a]
my king and my God,
for unto you will I pray.
3 Lord, in the morning you will hear my voice;
in the morning I will pray[b] to you,
and I will watch for your answer.[c]
4 Indeed, you aren’t a God who delights in wickedness;
evil will never dwell with you.
5 Boastful ones will not stand before you;
you hate all those who practice wickedness.
6 You will destroy those who speak lies.
The Lord abhors the person of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But I, because of the abundance of your gracious love,
may come into your house.
In awe of you, I will worship in your holy Temple.
8 Lord, lead me in your righteousness because of my enemies.
Make your path straight before me.
Ahab Attacks the Arameans
20 A little while later, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered an army of cavalry and chariots in a military confederacy with 32 kings, invaded Samaria, and set up siege encampments there. 2 Then he sent envoys to visit King Ahab of Israel and told him, “This is what Ben-hadad says: 3 ‘Your silver and gold belong to me. So do the most beautiful of your wives and children.’”
4 “Whatever you want, your majesty,” the king of Israel answered. “I belong to you, as does everything I own.”
5 After delivering Ahab’s answer,[a] the envoys returned with this message: “This is what Ben-hadad says: ‘I’ve sent my envoys to you to tell you that your silver, gold, wives, and children are to be given to me. 6 About this time tomorrow, I’ll send my servants to you, and they’ll search through your palace and your servants’ houses. Whatever is important to you will be seized[b] and taken away.’”
7 Then the king of Israel called together all of the elders of the land and told them, “Please note that this man is here looking for trouble. He sent a message to me, demanding my wives, my children, and my silver and gold, and I haven’t refused him.”
8 “Don’t listen to him,” all the elders and the people replied. “And don’t agree to his terms.”[c]
9 So he told Ben-hadad’s envoys, “Tell his majesty the king, ‘Everything that you asked for the first time I will do, but this thing I cannot do.’” So the envoys left to deliver Ahab’s response. They[d] returned a little while later.
10 Beh-hadad sent this message back: “May the gods do so to me, and more than that also, if the dust that remains of Samaria is enough to fill up a few handfuls for all of the armies at my disposal.”
11 But the king of Israel replied, “Tell him, ‘The one who is starting to strap on his battle armor should never brag like the one who is taking it off.’”
12 Ben-hadad received Ahab’s response[e] while he was celebrating with his kings in the battle pavilions. “Sound ‘Battle Stations!’” he ordered, and the army began to prepare their attack.
God’s Prophets Rebuke Ahab
13 Right about then, a prophet approached King Ahab of Israel and told him, “This is what the Lord says: ‘You see all of this great big army, do you? Well now, I’m going to deliver them all right into your hand, and you will learn that I am the Lord!’”
14 “By whom?” Ahab asked.
“This is what the Lord says,” the prophet replied. “‘By the young men who serve as officials within the provinces.’”
“Who is to begin the battle?” Ahab asked.
“You,” the prophet answered.
15 So Ahab[f] gathered together 232 young men who served as officials within the provinces and then mustered 7,000 soldiers from among the Israelis. 16 They attacked at noon, just as Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the battle pavilions, along with the 32 kings who had joined him. 17 The young men who served as officials within the provinces led the charge, and somebody informed Ben-hadad, “Some men have come out from Samaria.”
18 “Take them alive, whether they’ve come in peace or not,” he ordered.
19 Meanwhile, as the young men who served as officials within the provinces left the city, their army followed after them. 20 Each man struck down his opponent, and the Arameans ran away with Israel in pursuit. King Ben-hadad of Aram escaped on horseback with the help of[g] his cavalry. 21 The king of Israel went out and attacked the cavalry and chariots and killed the Arameans in a massive victory.[h]
22 The prophet approached the king of Israel and told him, “Go replenish your forces and prepare for the future, because early this next year the king of Aram will attack you again.”
Stop Fighting with Each Other
4 Where do those fights and quarrels among you come from? They come from your selfish desires that are at war in your bodies, don’t they? 2 You want something but do not get it, so you commit murder. You covet something but cannot obtain it, so you quarrel and fight. You do not get things because you do not ask for them! 3 You ask for something but do not get it because you ask for it for the wrong reason—for your own pleasure.
4 You adulterers! Don’t you know that friendship with the world means hostility with God? So whoever wants to be a friend of this world is an enemy of God. 5 Or do you think the Scripture means nothing when it says that the Spirit that God[a] caused to live in us jealously yearns for us?[b] 6 But he gives all the more grace. And so he says,
“God opposes the arrogant
but gives grace to the humble.”[c]
7 Therefore, submit yourselves to God. Resist the Devil, and he will run away from you.
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