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.
6 1 The time that the Ark was with the Philistines, which they sent again with a gift. 12 It cometh to Beth Shemesh. 17 The Philistines offer golden emerods. 19 The men of Beth Shemesh are stricken for looking into the Ark.
1 So the Ark of the Lord was in the country of the Philistines [a]seven months.
2 And the Philistines called the Priests and the Soothsayers, saying, What shall we do with the Ark of the Lord? tell us wherewith we shall send it home again.
3 And they said, If you send away the Ark of the God of Israel, send it not away empty, but give unto it [b]a sin offering: then shall ye be healed, and it shall be known to you, why his hand departeth not from you.
4 Then said they, What shall be the sin offering, which we shall give unto it? And they answered, Five golden emerods, and five golden mice, according to the number of the princes of the Philistines: for one plague was on you all, and on your princes.
5 Wherefore ye shall make the similitudes of your emerods, and the similitudes of your mice that destroy the land: so ye shall give glory unto the God of Israel, that he may take his hand from you, and from your [c]gods, and from your land.
6 Wherefore then should ye harden your hearts, as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened their hearts, when he wrought wonderfully among them, (A)did they not let them go, and they departed?
7 Now therefore make a new cart, and take two milch kine, on whom there hath come no yoke: and tie the kine to the cart, and bring the calves home from them.
8 Then take the Ark of the Lord, and set it upon the cart, and put the [d]jewels of gold which ye give it for a sin offering in a coffer by the side thereof, and send it away, that it may go.
9 And take heed, if it go up by the way of his own coast to Beth Shemesh, it is [e]he that did us this great evil: but if not, we shall know then, that it is not his hand that smote us, but it was a [f]chance that happened us.
10 And the men did so: for they took two kine that gave milk, and tied them to the cart, and shut the calves at home.
11 So they set the Ark of the Lord upon the cart, and the coffer with the mice of gold, and with the similitudes of their emerods.
12 And the kine went the straight way to Beth Shemesh, and kept one path, and lowed as they went, and turned neither to the right hand nor to the left: also the princes of the Philistines went after [g]them unto the borders of Beth Shemesh.
13 Now they of Beth Shemesh were reaping their wheat harvest in the valley, and they lift up their eyes, and spied the Ark, and rejoiced when they saw it.
14 ¶ And the cart came into the field of Joshua a Beth Shemite, and stood still there. There was also a great stone, and [h]they clave the wood of the cart, and offered the kine for a burnt offering unto the Lord.
15 And the Levites took down the Ark of the Lord, and the coffer that was with it, wherein the jewels of gold were, and put them on the great stone, and the men of Beth Shemesh offered burnt offering, and sacrificed sacrifices that same day unto the Lord.
16 And when the five princes of the Philistines had seen it, they returned to Ekron the same day.
17 ¶ So these are the golden emerods, which the Philistines gave for a sin offering to the Lord: for [i]Ashdod one, for Gaza one, for Askelon one, for Gath one, and for Ekron one,
18 And golden mice, according to the number of all the cities of the Philistines, belonging to the five princes, both of walled towns, and of towns unwalled unto the great stone of [j]Abel, whereon they set the Ark of the Lord: which stone remaineth unto this day in the field of Joshua the Beth Shemite.
4 (A)[a]Now when much people were gathered together, and were come unto him out of all cities, he spake by a parable.
5 A sower went out to sow his seed, and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trodden under feet, and the fowls of heaven devoured it up.
6 And some fell on the stones, and when it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moistness.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
8 And some fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit, an hundredfold. And as he said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
9 Then his disciples asked him, demanding what parable that was.
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the [b]secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others in parables, that when (B)they see, they should not see, and when they hear, they should not understand.
11 (C)The parable is this, The seed is the word of God.
12 And they that are beside the way, are they that hear: afterward cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe, and be saved.
13 But they that are on the stones, are they which when they have heard, receive the word with joy: but they have no roots: which for a while believe, but in the time of temptation go away.
14 And that which fell among thorns, are they which have heard, and after [c]their departure are choked with cares and with riches, and voluptuous living, and [d]bring forth no fruit.
15 But that which fell in good ground, are they which with an [e]honest and good heart hear the word, [f]and keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.