Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
139 O Lord, You have (A)searched me and known me.
2 You (B)know [a]when I sit down and [b]when I rise up;
You (C)understand my thought from afar.
3 You [c](D)scrutinize my [d]path and my lying down,
And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.
4 [e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, O Lord, You (E)know it all.
5 You have (F)enclosed me behind and before,
And (G)laid Your hand upon me.
6 Such (H)knowledge is (I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot attain to it.
13 For You (A)formed my [a]inward parts;
You (B)wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to You, for [b]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
(C)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
15 My [c](D)frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the (E)depths of the earth;
16 Your (F)eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in (G)Your book were all written
The (H)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.
Elkanah and His Wives
1 Now there was a certain man from (A)Ramathaim-zophim from the (B)hill country of Ephraim, and his name was (C)Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 He had (D)two wives: the name of one was (E)Hannah and the name of the other Peninnah; and Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.
3 Now this man would go up from his city (F)yearly (G)to worship and to sacrifice to the Lord of hosts in (H)Shiloh. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the Lord there. 4 When the day came that Elkanah sacrificed, he (I)would give portions to Peninnah his wife and to all her sons and her daughters; 5 but to Hannah he would give a double portion, for he loved Hannah, (J)but the Lord had closed her womb. 6 Her rival, however, (K)would provoke her bitterly to irritate her, because the Lord had closed her womb. 7 It happened year after year, as often as she went up to the house of the Lord, she would provoke her; so she wept and would not eat. 8 Then Elkanah her husband said to her, “Hannah, why do you weep and why do you not eat and why is your heart sad? (L)Am I not better to you than ten sons?”
9 Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of (M)the temple of the Lord. 10 She, [a]greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept bitterly. 11 She (N)made a vow and said, “O Lord of hosts, if You will indeed (O)look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a [b]son, then I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life, and (P)a razor shall never come on his head.”
12 Now it came about, as she [c]continued praying before the Lord, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13 As for Hannah, (Q)she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14 Then Eli said to her, “(R)How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” 15 But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman [d]oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I (S)have poured out my soul before the Lord. 16 Do not [e]consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and [f]provocation.” 17 Then Eli answered and said, “(T)Go in peace; and may the God of Israel (U)grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” 18 She said, “(V)Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and (W)her face was no longer sad.
Paul before Festus
25 Festus then, having arrived in (A)the province, three days later went up to Jerusalem from (B)Caesarea. 2 And the chief priests and the leading men of the Jews (C)brought charges against Paul, and they were urging him, 3 requesting a [a]concession against [b]Paul, that he might [c]have him brought to Jerusalem (at the same time, (D)setting an ambush to kill him on the way). 4 Festus then (E)answered that Paul (F)was being kept in custody at (G)Caesarea and that he himself was about to leave shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he *said, “let the influential men among you [d]go there with me, and if there is anything wrong [e]about the man, let them [f]prosecute him.”
6 After he had spent not more than eight or ten days among them, he went down to (H)Caesarea, and on the next day he took his seat on (I)the tribunal and ordered Paul to be brought. 7 After Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing (J)many and serious charges against him (K)which they could not prove, 8 while Paul said in his own defense, “(L)I have committed no offense either against the Law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.” 9 But Festus, (M)wishing to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “(N)Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and [g]stand trial before me on these charges?” 10 But Paul said, “I am standing before Caesar’s (O)tribunal, where I ought to be tried. I have done no wrong to the Jews, as you also very well know. 11 If, then, I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything worthy of death, I do not refuse to die; but if none of those things is true of which these men accuse me, no one can hand me over to them. I (P)appeal to Caesar.” 12 Then when Festus had conferred with [h]his council, he answered, “You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you shall go.”
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