Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

138 By David. I confess Thee, with all my heart, Before the gods I do praise Thee.

² I bow myself toward Thy holy temple, And I confess Thy name, For Thy kindness, and for Thy truth, For Thou hast made great Thy saying above all Thy name.

³ In the day I called, when Thou dost answer me, Thou dost strengthen me in my soul [with] strength.

⁴ O Jehovah, all kings of earth confess Thee, When they have heard the sayings of Thy mouth.

⁵ And they sing in the ways of Jehovah, For great [is] the honour of Jehovah.

⁶ For high [is] Jehovah, and the lowly He seeth, And the haughty from afar He knoweth.

⁷ If I walk in the midst of distress Thou quickenest me, Against the anger of mine enemies Thou sendest forth Thy hand, And Thy right hand doth save me.

⁸ Jehovah doth perfect for me, O Jehovah, Thy kindness [is] to the age, The works of Thy hands let not fall!

4 And the word of Samuel is to all Israel, and Israel goeth out to meet the Philistines for battle, and they encamp by Eben-Ezer, and the Philistines have encamped in Aphek,

² and the Philistines set themselves in array to meet Israel, and the battle spreadeth itself, and Israel is smitten before the Philistines, and they smite among the ranks in the field about four thousand men.

³ And the people cometh in unto the camp, and the elders of Israel say, `Why hath Jehovah smitten us to-day before the Philistines? we take unto us from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of Jehovah, and it cometh into our midst, and He doth save us out of the hand of our enemies.'

⁴ And the people sendeth to Shiloh, and they take up thence the ark of the covenant of Jehovah of Hosts, inhabiting the cherubs, and there [are] two sons of Eli, with the ark of the covenant of God, Hophni and Phinehas.

⁵ And it cometh to pass, at the coming in of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah unto the camp, that all Israel shout -- a great shout -- and the earth is moved.

⁶ And the Philistines hear the noise of the shouting, and say, `What [is] the noise of this great shout in the camp of the Hebrews?' and they perceive that the ark of Jehovah hath come in unto the camp.

⁷ And the Philistines are afraid, for they said, `God hath come in unto the camp;' and they say, `Wo to us, for there hath not been like this heretofore.

⁸ Wo to us, who doth deliver us out of the hand of these honourable gods? these [are] the gods who are smiting the Egyptians with every plague in the wilderness.

⁹ Strengthen yourselves, and become men, O Philistines, lest ye do service to Hebrews, as they have done to you -- then ye have become men, and have fought.'

¹⁰ And the Philistines fight, and Israel is smitten, and they flee each to his tents, and the blow is very great, and there fall of Israel thirty thousand footmen;

¹¹ and the ark of God hath been taken, and the two sons of Eli have died, Hophni and Phinehas.

¹² And a man of Benjamin runneth out of the ranks, and cometh into Shiloh, on that day, and his long robes [are] rent, and earth on his head;

¹³ and he cometh in, and lo, Eli is sitting on the throne by the side of the way, watching, for his heart hath been trembling for the ark of God, and the man hath come in to declare [it] in the city, and all the city crieth out.

¹⁴ And Eli heareth the noise of the cry, and saith, `What -- the noise of this tumult!' And the man hasted, and cometh in, and declareth to Eli.

¹⁵ And Eli is a son of ninety and eight years, and his eyes have stood, and he hath not been able to see.

¹⁶ And the man saith unto Eli, `I [am] he who hath come out of the ranks, and I out of the ranks have fled to-day;' and he saith, `What hath been the matter, my son?'

¹⁷ And he who is bearing tidings answereth and saith, `Israel hath fled before the Philistines, and also a great slaughter hath been among the people, and also thy two sons have died -- Hophni and Phinehas -- and the ark of God hath been captured.'

¹⁸ And it cometh to pass, at his mentioning the ark of God, that he falleth from off the throne backward, by the side of the gate, and his neck is broken, and he dieth, for the man [is] old and heavy, and he hath judged Israel forty years.

¹⁹ And his daughter-in-law, wife of Phinehas, [is] pregnant, about to bear, and she heareth the report of the taking of the ark of God, that her father-in-law and her husband have died, and she boweth, and beareth, for her pains have turned upon her.

²⁰ And at the time of her death, when the women who are standing by her say, `Fear not, for a son thou hast borne,' she hath not answered, nor set her heart [to it];

²¹ and she calleth the youth I-Chabod, saying, `Honour hath removed from Israel,' because of the taking of the ark of God, and because of her father-in-law and her husband.

²² And she saith, `Honour hath removed from Israel, for the ark of God hath been taken.'

⁷ And of all things the end hath come nigh; be sober-minded, then, and watch unto the prayers,

⁸ and, before all things, to one another having the earnest love, because the love shall cover a multitude of sins;

⁹ hospitable to one another, without murmuring;

¹⁰ each, according as he received a gift, to one another ministering it, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God;

¹¹ if any one doth speak -- `as oracles of God;' if any one doth minister -- `as of the ability which God doth supply;' that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom is the glory and the power -- to the ages of the ages. Amen.

¹² Beloved, think it not strange at the fiery suffering among you that is coming to try you, as if a strange thing were happening to you,

¹³ but, according as ye have fellowship with the sufferings of the Christ, rejoice ye, that also in the revelation of his glory ye may rejoice -- exulting;

¹⁴ if ye be reproached in the name of Christ -- happy [are ye], because the Spirit of glory and of God upon you doth rest; in regard, indeed, to them, he is evil-spoken of, and in regard to you, he is glorified;

¹⁵ for let none of you suffer as a murderer, or thief, or evil-doer, or as an inspector into other men's matters;

¹⁶ and if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; and let him glorify God in this respect;

¹⁷ because it is the time of the beginning of the judgment from the house of God, and if first from us, what the end of those disobedient to the good news of God?

¹⁸ And if the righteous man is scarcely saved, the ungodly and sinner -- where shall he appear?

¹⁹ so that also those suffering according to the will of god, as to a stedfast Creator, let them commit their own souls in good doing.