Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

⁴ And all the elders of Israel gather themselves together, and come in unto Samuel to Ramath,

⁵ and say unto him, `Lo, thou hast become aged, and thy sons have not walked in thy ways; now, appoint to us a king, to judge us, like all the nations.'

⁶ And the thing is evil in the eyes of Samuel, when they have said, `Give to us a king to judge us;' and Samuel prayeth unto Jehovah.

⁷ And Jehovah saith unto Samuel, `Hearken to the voice of the people, to all that they say unto thee, for thee they have not rejected, but Me they have rejected, from reigning over them.

⁸ According to all the works that they have done from the day of My bringing them up out of Egypt, even unto this day, when they forsake Me, and serve other gods -- so they are doing also to thee.

⁹ And now, hearken to their voice; only, surely thou dost certainly protest to them, and hast declared to them the custom of the king who doth reign over them.'

¹⁰ And Samuel speaketh all the words of Jehovah unto the people who are asking from him a king,

¹¹ and saith, `This is the custom of the king who doth reign over you: Your sons he doth take, and hath appointed for himself among his chariots, and among his horsemen, and they have run before his chariots;

¹² also to appoint for himself heads of thousands, and heads of fifties; also to plow his plowing, and to reap his reaping; and to make instruments of his war, and instruments of his charioteer.

¹³ `And your daughters he doth take for perfumers, and for cooks, and for bakers;

¹⁴ and your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive-yards -- the best -- he doth take, and hath given to his servants.

¹⁵ And your seed and your vineyards he doth tithe, and hath given to his eunuchs, and to his servants.

¹⁶ And your men-servants, and your maid-servants, and your young men -- the best, and your asses, he doth take, and hath prepared for his own work;

¹⁷ your flock he doth tithe, and ye are to him for servants.

¹⁸ And ye have cried out in that day because of the king whom ye have chosen for yourselves, and Jehovah doth not answer you in that day.'

¹⁹ And the people refuse to hearken to the voice of Samuel, and say, `Nay, but a king is over us,

²⁰ and we have been, even we, like all the nations; and our king hath judged us, and gone out before us, and fought our battles.'

¹⁴ And Samuel saith unto the people, `Come and we go to Gilgal, and renew the kingdom there;'

¹⁵ and all the people go to Gilgal, and cause Saul to reign there before Jehovah in Gilgal, and sacrifice there sacrifices of peace-offerings before Jehovah, and there Saul rejoiceth -- and all the men of Israel -- very greatly.

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!

¹³ And having the same spirit of the faith, according to that which hath been written, `I believed, therefore I did speak;' we also do believe, therefore also do we speak;

¹⁴ knowing that He who did raise up the Lord Jesus, us also through Jesus shall raise up, and shall present with you,

¹⁵ for the all things [are] because of you, that the grace having been multiplied, because of the thanksgiving of the more, may abound to the glory of God;

¹⁶ wherefore, we faint not, but if also our outward man doth decay, yet the inward is renewed day by day;

¹⁷ for the momentary light matter of our tribulation, more and more exceedingly an age-during weight of glory doth work out for us --

¹⁸ we not looking to the things seen, but to the things not seen; for the things seen [are] temporary, but the things not seen [are] age-during.

5 For we have known that if our earthly house of the tabernacle may be thrown down, a building from God we have, an house not made with hands -- age-during -- in the heavens,

²⁰ And come together again doth a multitude, so that they are not able even to eat bread;

²¹ and his friends having heard, went forth to lay hold on him, for they said that he was beside himself,

²² and the scribes who [are] from Jerusalem having come down, said -- `He hath Beelzeboul,' and -- `By the ruler of the demons he doth cast out the demons.'

²³ And, having called them near, in similes he said to them, `How is the Adversary able to cast out the Adversary?

²⁴ and if a kingdom against itself be divided, that kingdom cannot be made to stand;

²⁵ and if a house against itself be divided, that house cannot be made to stand;

²⁶ and if the Adversary did rise against himself, and hath been divided, he cannot be made to stand, but hath an end.

²⁷ `No one is able the vessels of the strong man -- having entered into his house -- to spoil, if first he may not bind the strong man, and then his house he will spoil.

²⁸ `Verily I say to you, that all the sins shall be forgiven to the sons of men, and evil speakings with which they might speak evil,

²⁹ but whoever may speak evil in regard to the Holy Spirit hath not forgiveness -- to the age, but is in danger of age-during judgment;'

³⁰ because they said, `He hath an unclean spirit.'

³¹ Then come do his brethren and mother, and standing without, they sent unto him, calling him,

³² and a multitude was sitting about him, and they said to him, `Lo, thy mother and thy brethren without do seek thee.'

³³ And he answered them, saying, `Who is my mother, or my brethren?'

³⁴ And having looked round in a circle to those sitting about him, he saith, `Lo, my mother and my brethren!

³⁵ for whoever may do the will of God, he is my brother, and my sister, and mother.'