Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
4 Then all the elders of Israel gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel at Ramah
5 and said unto him, “Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways. Now make us a king to judge us, like all the nations.”
6 But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed unto the Lord.
7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, “Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee; for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected Me, that I should not reign over them.
8 According to all the works which they have done since the day that I brought them up out of Egypt even unto this day, wherewith they have forsaken Me and served other gods, so do they also unto thee.
9 Now therefore hearken unto their voice. However, yet protest solemnly unto them and show them the ways of the king that shall reign over them.”
10 And Samuel told all the words of the Lord unto the people who asked of him a king.
11 And he said, “This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for himself, for his chariots and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands and captains over fifties, and will set them to till his ground and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war and instruments of his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be confectioners and to be cooks and to be bakers.
14 And he will take your fields and your vineyards and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
15 And he will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards, and give to his officers and to his servants.
16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
17 He will take a tenth of your sheep; and ye shall be his servants.
18 And ye shall cry out on that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the Lord will not hear you in that day.”
19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel, and they said, “Nay; but we will have a king over us,
20 that we also may be like all the nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.”
14 Then said Samuel to the people, “Come, and let us go to Gilgal and renew the kingdom there.”
15 And all the people went to Gilgal, and there they made Saul king before the Lord in Gilgal. And there they sacrificed sacrifices of peace offerings before the Lord; and there Saul and all the men of Israel rejoiced greatly.
138 I will praise Thee with my whole heart; before the gods will I sing praise unto Thee.
2 I will worship toward Thy holy temple, and praise Thy name for Thy lovingkindness and for Thy truth, for Thou hast magnified Thy word above all Thy name.
3 In the day when I cried, Thou answered me, and strengthened me with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth shall praise Thee, O Lord, when they hear the words of Thy mouth.
5 Yea, they shall sing of the ways of the Lord, for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 Though the Lord be high, yet hath He respect unto the lowly, but the proud He knoweth afar off.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, Thou wilt revive me; Thou shalt stretch forth Thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and Thy right hand shall save me.
8 The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me; Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever; forsake not the works of Thine own hands.
13 We, having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written: “I believed and therefore have I spoken” — we also believe and therefore speak,
14 knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that, through the thanksgiving of many, the abundant grace might redound to the glory of God.
16 For this cause we faint not, but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
5 For we know that if our earthly house, this tabernacle, were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
20 and the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
21 And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him; for they said, “He is beside himself.”
22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of devils he casteth out devils.”
23 And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.
25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
26 And if Satan rise up against himself and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end.
27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house and despoil his goods, unless he will first bind the strong man; and then he will despoil his house.
28 “Verily I say unto you, all sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men and blasphemies, however they shall blaspheme;
29 but he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation”;
30 because they said, “He hath an unclean spirit.”
31 There came then His brethren and His mother, and standing outside they sent unto Him, calling Him.
32 And the multitude sat about Him, and they said unto Him, “Behold, thy mother and thy brethren outside seek for thee.”
33 And He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brethren?”
34 And He looked round about on those who sat about Him and said, “Behold, My mother and My brethren.
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.”
Copyright © 1994 by Deuel Enterprises, Inc.