Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
Samuel’s First Encounter with Yahweh
3 Now the boy Samuel was serving Yahweh in the presence[a] of Eli. The word of Yahweh was rare in those days; visions were not widespread. 2 And then[b] one day when Eli was lying in his place (now his eyes had begun to grow weak so that he was not able to see) 3 and the lamp of God had not yet gone out, Samuel was lying in the temple[c] of Yahweh where the ark of God was. 4 Then Yahweh called out to Samuel and he said, “Here I am!” 5 And he ran to Eli and said, “Here I am, because you called me.” But he said, “I did not call you. Go back and lie down.” So he went and lay down. 6 And Yahweh called Samuel again, so Samuel got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, because you called me.” And he said, “I did not call you, my son. Go back and lie down.” 7 Now Samuel did not yet know Yahweh, and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him. 8 Again Yahweh called Samuel a third time, so he got up and went to Eli and said, “Here I am, because you called me.” Then Eli realized that Yahweh was calling the boy. 9 So Eli said to Samuel “Go lie down. If he calls[d] to you, then you must say, ‘Speak Yahweh, because your servant is listening.’” So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
10 Then Yahweh came and stood there and called out as before,[e] “Samuel! Samuel!” And Samuel said, “Speak, because your servant is listening.”
11 So Yahweh said to Samuel, “Look, I am doing something in Israel which will cause[a] the two ears of everyone who hears it to tingle. 12 On that day I will fulfill against Eli all that I have spoken against his household, from beginning to end.[b] 13 I will make him know that I am about to judge his household forever because of the iniquity that he knew, for his sons were bringing curses on themselves,[c] but he did not rebuke them. 14 Therefore I swore to the house of Eli that the iniquity of the house of Eli would not be atoned for[d] by sacrifice or by offering forever.”
15 So Samuel lay down until morning; then he opened the doors of the house of Yahweh, but Samuel was afraid of telling the vision to Eli. 16 Then Eli called Samuel and said, “Samuel, my son!” And he said, “Here I am.” 17 And he said, “What is the message[e] that he spoke to you? Please do not conceal it from me. May God punish you severely[f] if you conceal anything from me of all the words that he told you.” 18 So Samuel told him all the words and did not conceal anything from him. And he[g] said, “He is Yahweh, he will do what is[h] good in his sight.”[i]
19 And Samuel grew up, and Yahweh was with him. He did not allow any of his prophecies to go unfulfilled.[j] 20 All Israel from Dan to Beersheba realized that Samuel was faithful[k] as a prophet to Yahweh.
The Knowledge of God
For the music director. Of David. A psalm.[a]
139 O Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up.
You understand my thought from afar.
3 You search out[b] my wandering and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word yet on my tongue,
but behold, O Yahweh, you know it completely.
5 You barricade me behind and in front,
and set your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me.
It is set high; I cannot prevail against it.
13 Indeed you created my inward parts;[a]
you wove me in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, because I am fearfully
and wonderfully made.[b]
Wonderful are your works,
and my soul knows it well.
15 My frame[c] was not hidden from you,
when I was created secretly,[d]
and intricately woven
in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my embryo,[e]
and in your book they all were written—
days fashioned for me when there was not one of them.
17 And to me, how precious[f] are your thoughts, O God;
how vast is their sum.
18 If I should count them,
they would outnumber the sand.
I awaken, and I am still with you.
5 For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Christ Jesus[a] as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for the sake of Jesus. 6 For God who said, “Light will shine out of darkness,”[b] is the one who has shined in our hearts for the enlightenment of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.[c]
Treasure in Earthenware Jars
7 But we have this treasure in earthenware jars, in order that the extraordinary degree of the power may be from God and not from us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying around the death of Jesus in our body, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are continually being handed over to death because of Jesus, in order that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal flesh. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life in you.
Plucking Grain on the Sabbath
23 And it happened that he was going through the grain fields on the Sabbath, and his disciples began to make their way while[a] plucking off the heads of grain. 24 And the Pharisees began to say[b] to him, “Behold, why are they doing what is not permitted on the Sabbath?” 25 And he said to them, “Have you never read what David did when he had need and he and those who were with him were hungry— 26 how he entered into the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest and ate the bread of the presentation, which it is not permitted to eat (except the priests) and also gave it[c] to those who were with him?” 27 And he said to them, “The Sabbath was established for people, and not people for the Sabbath. 28 So then, the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”
A Man with a Withered Hand Healed
3 And he entered into the synagogue again, and a man who had a withered hand was there. 2 And they were watching him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they could accuse him. 3 And he said to the man who had the withered hand, “Come into the middle.” 4 And he said to them, “Is it permitted on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5 And looking around at them with anger, grieved at the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, “Stretch out your[d] hand.” And he stretched it[e] out, and his hand was restored. 6 And the Pharisees went out immediately with the Herodians and began to conspire[f] against him with regard to how they could destroy him.
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