Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
138 1 David with great courage praiseth the goodness of God toward him, the which is so great, 4 That it is known to foreign princes, who shall praise the Lord together with him. 6 And he is assured to have the like comfort of God in the time following, as he had heretofore.
A Psalm of David.
1 I will praise thee with my whole heart: even before the [a]gods will I praise thee.
2 I will worship toward thine holy [b]Temple and praise thy Name, because of thy loving-kindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy Name above all things by thy word.
3 When I called, then thou heardest me, and hast [c]increased strength in my soul.
4 All the [d]kings of the earth shall praise thee, O Lord: for they have heard the words of thy mouth.
5 And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord is great.
6 For the Lord is high, yet he beholdeth the lowly, but the proud he knoweth [e]afar off.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, yet wilt thou revive me: thou wilt stretch forth thine hand upon the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me.
8 The Lord will [f]perform his work toward me: O Lord, thy mercy endureth forever: forsake not the works of thine hands.
4 1 Israel is overcome by the Philistines. 4 They do set the Ark, wherefore the Philistines do fear. 10 The Ark of the Lord is taken. 11 Eli and his children die. 19 The death of the wife of Phinehas the son of Eli.
1 And Samuel spake unto all Israel: [a]and Israel went out against the Philistines to battle, and pitched beside [b]Ebenezer: and the Philistines pitched in Aphek.
2 And the Philistines put themselves in array against Israel: and when they joined the battle, Israel was smitten down before the Philistines: who slew of the army in the field about four thousand men.
3 So when the people were come into the camp, the Elders of Israel said, [c]Wherefore hath the Lord smitten us this day before the Philistines? let us bring the Ark of the covenant of the Lord out of Shiloh unto us, that when it cometh among us, it may save us out of the hand of our enemies.
4 Then the people sent to Shiloh, and brought from thence the Ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who [d]dwelleth between the Cherubims: and there were the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, with the Ark of the covenant of God.
5 And when the Ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the host, all Israel shouted a mighty shout, so that the earth rang again.
6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shout, they said, What meaneth the sound of this mighty shout in the host of the Hebrews? and they understood, that the Ark of the Lord was come into the host.
7 And the Philistines were afraid, and said, God is come in the host: therefore said they, [e]Woe unto us: for it hath not been so heretofore.
8 Woe unto us, who shall deliver us out of the hand of these mighty Gods? these are the Gods that smote the Egyptians with all the plagues in the [f]wilderness.
9 Be strong and play the men, O Philistines, that ye be not servants unto the Hebrews, (A)as they have served you: be valiant therefore, and fight.
10 And the Philistines fought, and Israel was smitten down, and fled every man into his tent: and there was an exceeding great slaughter, for there fell of Israel [g]thirty thousand footmen.
11 And the Ark of God was taken, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas died.
12 And there ran a man of Benjamin out of the army, and came to Shiloh the same day with his clothes [h]rent, and earth upon his head.
13 And when he came, lo, Eli sat upon a seat by the wayside, waiting: for his heart [i]feared for the Ark of God: and when the man came into the city to tell it, all the city cried out.
14 And when Eli heard the noise of the crying, he said, What meaneth this noise of the tumult? and the man came in hastily, and told Eli.
15 (Now Eli was fourscore and eighteen years old, and (B)his eyes were dim that he could not see.)
16 And the man said unto Eli, I came from the army, and I fled this day out of the host: and he said, What thing is done, my son?
17 Then the messenger answered, and said, Israel is fled before the Philistines, and there hath been also a great slaughter among the people: and moreover thy two sons, Hophni and Phinehas [j]are dead, and the Ark of God is taken.
18 ¶ And when he had made mention of the Ark of God, Eli fell from his seat backward by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken, and he died: for he was an old man and heavy: and he had [k]judged Israel forty years.
19 And his daughter-in-law, Phinehas’ wife, was with child, near [l]her travail: and when she heard the report that the Ark of God was taken, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she [m]bowed herself, and travailed: for her pains came upon her.
20 And about the time of her death, the women that stood about her, said unto her, Fear not: for thou hast borne a son: but she answered not, nor regarded it.
21 And she named the child [n]Ichabod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel, because the Ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.
22 She said again, [o]The glory is departed from Israel: for the Ark of God is taken.
7 [a]Now the end of all things is at hand. Be ye therefore sober, and watching in prayer.
8 [b]But above all things have fervent love among you: (A)for love shall cover the multitude of sins.
9 [c]Be ye (B)harberous one to another, without grudging.
10 [d](C)Let every man as he hath received the gift, minister the same one to another, [e]as good disposers of the manifold grace of God.
11 [f]If any man speak, let him speak as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God ministereth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is praise and dominion forever, and ever, Amen.
12 [g]Dearly beloved, think it not [h]strange [i]concerning the fiery trial, which is among you to prove you as though some strange thing were come unto you.
13 [j]But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, that when his glory shall appear, ye may be glad and rejoice.
14 (D)[k]If ye be railed upon for the Name of Christ, blessed are ye: for the [l]spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: which on their part is evil spoken of, but on your part is glorified.
15 [m]But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or an evil doer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.
16 But if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed: but let him glorify God in this behalf.
17 [n]For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. [o]If it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them which obey not the Gospel of God?
18 (E)And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
19 [p]Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
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