Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

Psalm 5

To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David.

¹ Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation.

² Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

³ My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

⁴ For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

⁵ The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

⁶ Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the Lord will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

⁷ But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

20 And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it.

² And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad,

³ Thy silver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine.

⁴ And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have.

⁵ And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children;

⁶ Yet I will send my servants unto thee to morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away.

⁷ Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not.

⁸ And all the elders and all the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent.

⁹ Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again.

¹⁰ And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me.

¹¹ And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off.

¹² And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city.

¹³ ¶ And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord.

¹⁴ And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the Lord, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou.

¹⁵ Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even all the children of Israel, being seven thousand.

¹⁶ And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him.

¹⁷ And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria.

¹⁸ And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come out for war, take them alive.

¹⁹ So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them.

²⁰ And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen.

²¹ And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter.

²² ¶ And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.

4  From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?

² Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

³ Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.

⁴ Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

⁵ Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The Spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?

⁶ But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

⁷ Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.