Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
For the director of music. A miktam of David when Saul had sent men to watch David’s house. Saul sent the men to kill David. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.”
59 God, save me from my enemies.
Keep me safe from people who are attacking me.
2 Save me from those who do evil.
Save me from people who want to kill me.
3 See how they hide and wait for me!
Lord, angry people plan to harm me,
even though I haven’t hurt them in any way or sinned against them.
4 I haven’t done anything wrong to them. But they are ready to attack me.
Rise up and help me! Look at what I’m up against!
5 Lord God who rules over all, rise up. God of Israel,
punish all the nations.
Don’t show any mercy to those sinful people
who have turned against me.
6 My enemies are like a pack of barking dogs
that come back to the city in the evening.
They prowl around the city.
7 Listen to what pours out of their mouths.
The words from their lips are like swords.
They think, “Who can hear us?”
8 But you laugh at them, Lord.
You make fun of all those nations.
9 You give me strength. I look to you.
God, you are like a fort to me. 10 You are my God, and I can depend on you.
God will march out in front of me.
He will let me look down on those who tell lies about me.
11 Lord, you are like a shield that keeps us safe.
Don’t kill my enemies all at once.
If you do, my people will forget about it.
Use your power to pull my enemies up by the roots like weeds.
Destroy them.
12 They have sinned with their mouths.
Their lips have spoken evil words.
They have cursed me and lied.
Let them be caught in their pride.
13 Burn them up in your anger.
Burn them up until there isn’t anything left of them.
Then everyone from one end of the earth to the other will know
that God rules over the people of Jacob.
14 My enemies are like a pack of barking dogs
that come back into the city in the evening.
They prowl around the city.
15 They wander around looking for food.
They groan if they don’t find something that will satisfy them.
16 But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will sing about your love.
You are like a fort to me.
You keep me safe in times of trouble.
17 You give me strength. I sing praise to you.
God, you are like a fort to me. You are my God, and I can depend on you.
Jehu Is Anointed as King of Israel
9 Elisha the prophet sent for a man from the group of the prophets. Elisha said to him, “Tuck your coat into your belt. Take this bottle of olive oil with you. Go to Ramoth Gilead. 2 When you get there, look for Jehu. He’s the son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to Jehu. Get him away from his companions. Take him into an inside room. 3 Then get the bottle. Pour the oil on his head. Announce to him, ‘The Lord says, “I anoint you as king over Israel.” ’ After that, open the door and run away. Do it quickly!”
4 So the young prophet went to Ramoth Gilead. 5 When he arrived, he found the army officers sitting together. “Commander, I have a message for you,” he said.
“For which one of us?” asked Jehu.
“For you, commander,” he replied.
6 Jehu got up and went into the house. Then the prophet poured the oil on Jehu’s head. He announced, “The Lord is the God of Israel. He says, ‘I am anointing you as king over the Lord’s people Israel. 7 You must destroy the royal house of your master Ahab. I will pay them back for spilling the blood of my servants the prophets. I will also pay them back for the blood of all the Lord’s servants that Jezebel spilled. 8 The whole house of Ahab will die out. I will destroy every male in Israel who is related to Ahab. It does not matter whether they are slaves or free. 9 I will make Ahab’s royal house like the house of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. I will make it like the house of Baasha, the son of Ahijah. 10 Dogs will eat up Jezebel on a piece of land at Jezreel. No one will bury her.’ ” Then the prophet opened the door and ran away.
11 Jehu went out to where the other officers were. One of them asked him, “Is everything all right? Why did that crazy man come to you?”
“You know the man. You know the kinds of things he says,” Jehu replied.
12 “That’s not true!” they said. “Tell us.”
Jehu said, “Here is what he told me. He announced, ‘The Lord says, “I am anointing you as king over Israel.” ’ ”
13 The officers quickly grabbed their coats. They spread them out under Jehu on the bare steps of the house. Then they blew a trumpet. They shouted, “Jehu is king!”
Christ Is God’s Power and Wisdom
18 The message of the cross seems foolish to those who are lost and dying. But it is God’s power to us who are being saved. 19 It is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of those who are wise.
I will do away with the cleverness of those who think they are so smart.” (Isaiah 29:14)
20 Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where are the great thinkers of our time? Hasn’t God made the wisdom of the world foolish? 21 God wisely planned that the world would not know him through its own wisdom. It pleased God to use the foolish things we preach to save those who believe. 22 Jews require signs. Greeks look for wisdom. 23 But we preach about Christ and his death on the cross. That is very hard for Jews to accept. And everyone else thinks it’s foolish. 24 But there are those God has chosen, both Jews and Greeks. To them Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom. 25 The foolish things of God are wiser than human wisdom. The weakness of God is stronger than human strength.
26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when God chose you. Not many of you were considered wise by human standards. Not many of you were powerful. Not many of you belonged to important families. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the things of this world that are common and looked down on. God chose things considered unimportant to do away with things considered important. 29 So no one can boast to God. 30 Because of what God has done, you belong to Christ Jesus. He has become God’s wisdom for us. He makes us right with God. He makes us holy and sets us free. 31 It is written, “The one who boasts should boast about what the Lord has done.” (Jeremiah 9:24)
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