Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Pleading and Trust.
A Prayer of David.
86 (A)Incline Your ear, Lord, and answer me;
For I am (B)afflicted and needy.
2 (C)Protect my [a]soul, for I am (D)godly;
You my God, save Your servant who (E)trusts in You.
3 Be (F)gracious to me, Lord,
For (G)I call upon You all day long.
4 Make the soul of Your servant joyful,
For to You, Lord, (H)I lift up my soul.
5 For You, Lord, are (I)good, and (J)ready to forgive,
And (K)abundant in mercy to all who call upon You.
6 (L)Listen, Lord, to my prayer;
And give Your attention to the sound of my pleading!
7 On (M)the day of my trouble I will call upon You,
For (N)You will answer me.
8 There is (O)no one like You among the gods, Lord,
Nor are there any works (P)like Yours.
9 (Q)All nations whom You have made will come and worship before You, Lord,
And they will glorify Your name.
10 For You are (R)great, and You (S)do [b]wondrous deeds;
You alone (T)are God.
11 (U)Teach me Your way, Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
(V)Unite my heart to fear Your name.
12 I will (W)give thanks to You, Lord my God, with all my heart,
And I will glorify Your name forever.
13 For Your graciousness toward me is great,
And You have (X)saved my soul from the [c]depths of [d]Sheol.
14 God, arrogant men have (Y)risen up against me,
And a gang of violent men have sought my [e]life,
And they have not set You before them.
15 But You, Lord, are a (Z)compassionate and gracious God,
Slow to anger and abundant in mercy and [f]truth.
16 (AA)Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
(AB)Grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the (AC)son of Your maidservant.
17 (AD)Show me a sign of good,
That those who hate me may (AE)see it and be ashamed,
Because You, Lord, (AF)have helped me and comforted me.
Samuel Rebukes Saul
10 Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 “(A)I regret that I have made Saul king, because (B)he has turned back from [a]following Me and has not carried out My commands.” And Samuel was furious and (C)cried out to the Lord all night. 12 Samuel got up early in the morning to meet Saul; and it was reported to Samuel, saying, “Saul came to (D)Carmel, and behold, he set up a monument for himself, then turned and proceeded on [b]down to (E)Gilgal.” 13 So Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said to him, “(F)Blessed are you of the Lord! I have carried out the command of the Lord.” 14 But Samuel said, “(G)What then is this [c]bleating of the sheep in my ears, and the [d]bellowing of the oxen which I hear?” 15 Saul said, “They have brought them from the Amalekites, for (H)the people spared the best of the sheep and oxen to sacrifice to the Lord your God; but the rest we have completely destroyed.” 16 Then Samuel said to Saul, “Stop, and let me inform you of what the Lord said to me last night.” And he said to him, “Speak!”
17 So Samuel said, “[e]Is it not true, (I)though you were [f]insignificant in your own eyes, that you became the head of the tribes of Israel? For the Lord anointed you as king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent you on a [g]mission, and said, ‘(J)Go and completely destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are eliminated.’ 19 Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? (K)Instead, you loudly rushed upon the spoils and did what was evil in the sight of the Lord!”
20 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(L)I did obey the voice of the Lord, for I went on the [h]mission on which the Lord sent me; and I have brought Agag the king of Amalek, and have completely destroyed the Amalekites. 21 But (M)the people took some of the spoils, sheep and oxen, the choicest of the things designated for destruction, to sacrifice to the Lord your God at Gilgal.” 22 Samuel said,
“(N)Does the Lord have as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, (O)to obey is better than a sacrifice,
And to pay attention is better than the fat of rams.
23 For rebellion is as reprehensible as the sin of (P)divination,
And insubordination is as reprehensible as (Q)false religion and idolatry.
Since you have rejected the word of the Lord,
(R)He has also rejected you from being king.”
24 Then Saul said to Samuel, “(S)I have sinned, for (T)I have violated the [i]command of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and listened to their voice. 25 Now then, (U)please pardon my sin and return with me, so that I may worship the Lord.” 26 But Samuel said to Saul, “I will not return with you; for (V)you have rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord has rejected you from being king over Israel.” 27 Then Samuel turned to go, but (W)Saul grasped the edge of his robe, and it tore off. 28 So Samuel said to him, “(X)The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to your neighbor, who is better than you. 29 Also the [j](Y)Glory of Israel (Z)will not lie nor change His mind; for He is not a man, that He would change His mind.” 30 Then Saul said, “I have sinned; (AA)but please honor me now before the elders of my people and before all Israel, and go back with me, (AB)so that I may worship the Lord your God.” 31 So Samuel went back following Saul, and Saul worshiped the Lord.
Fate of Ananias and Sapphira
5 But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, 2 and (A)kept back some of the [a]proceeds for himself, with his wife’s [b]full knowledge, and bringing a portion of it, he (B)laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has (C)Satan filled your heart to lie (D)to the Holy Spirit and to (E)keep back some of the [c]proceeds of the land? 4 While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not [d]under your control? Why is it that you have [e]conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men, but (F)to God.” 5 And as he heard these words, Ananias (G)collapsed and [f]died; and (H)great fear came over all who heard about it. 6 The young men got up and (I)covered him up, and after carrying him out, they buried him.
7 Now an interval of about three hours elapsed, and his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 And Peter responded to her, “Tell me whether you sold the land (J)for [g]this price?” And she said, “Yes, for [h]that price.” 9 Then Peter said to her, “Why is it that you have agreed together to (K)put (L)the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out as well.” 10 And immediately she (M)collapsed at his feet and [i]died; and the young men came in and found her dead, and they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 And (N)great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard about these things.
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