Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
53 Only a fool would say to himself, “There is no God.” And why does he say it?[a] Because of his wicked heart, his dark and evil deeds. His life is corroded with sin.
2 God looks down from heaven, searching among all mankind to see if there is a single one who does right and really seeks for God. 3 But all have turned their backs on him; they are filthy with sin—corrupt and rotten through and through. Not one is good, not one! 4 How can this be? Can’t they understand anything? For they devour my people like bread and refuse to come to God. 5 But soon unheard-of terror will fall on them. God will scatter the bones of these, your enemies. They are doomed, for God has rejected them.
6 Oh, that God would come from Zion now and save Israel! Only when the Lord himself restores them can they ever be really happy again.
23 The mountain pass at Michmash had meanwhile been secured by a contingent of the Philistine army.
14 A day or so later, Prince Jonathan said to his young bodyguard, “Come on, let’s cross the valley to the garrison of the Philistines.” But he didn’t tell his father that he was leaving.
2 Saul and his six hundred men were camped at the edge of Gibeah, around the pomegranate tree at Migron. 3 Among his men was Ahijah the priest (the son of Ahitub, Ichabod’s brother; Ahitub was the son of Phinehas and the grandson of Eli, the priest of the Lord in Shiloh).
No one realized that Jonathan had gone. 4 To reach the Philistine garrison, Jonathan had to go over a narrow pass between two rocky crags which had been named Bozez and Seneh. 5 The crag on the north was in front of Michmash and the southern one was in front of Geba.
6 “Yes, let’s go across to those heathen,” Jonathan had said to his bodyguard. “Perhaps the Lord will do a miracle for us. For it makes no difference to him how many enemy troops there are!”
7 “Fine!” the youth replied. “Do as you think best; I’m with you heart and soul, whatever you decide.”
8 “All right, then this is what we’ll do,” Jonathan told him. 9 “When they see us, if they say, ‘Stay where you are or we’ll kill you!’ then we will stop and wait for them. 10 But if they say, ‘Come on up and fight!’ then we will do just that; for it will be God’s signal that he will help us defeat them!”
11 When the Philistines saw them coming they shouted, “Look! The Israelis are crawling out of their holes!” 12 Then they shouted to Jonathan, “Come on up here and we’ll show you how to fight!”
“Come on, climb right behind me,” Jonathan exclaimed to his bodyguard, “for the Lord will help us defeat them!”
13 So they clambered up on their hands and knees, and the Philistines fell back as Jonathan and the lad killed them right and left, 14 about twenty men in all, and their bodies were scattered over about half an acre of land. 15 Suddenly panic broke out throughout the entire Philistine army, and even among the raiders. And just then there was a great earthquake, increasing the terror.
16 Saul’s lookouts in Gibeah saw a strange sight—the vast army of the Philistines began to melt away in all directions.
17 “Find out who isn’t here,” Saul ordered. And when they had checked, they found that Jonathan and his bodyguard were gone. 18 “Bring the Ark of God,” Saul shouted to Ahijah. (For the Ark was among the people of Israel at that time.) 19 But while Saul was talking to the priest, the shouting and the tumult in the camp of the Philistines grew louder and louder. “Quick! What does God say?” Saul demanded.
20 Then Saul and his six hundred men rushed out to the battle and found the Philistines killing each other, and there was terrible confusion everywhere. 21 And now the Hebrews who had been drafted into the Philistine army revolted and joined with the Israelis. 22 Finally even the men hiding in the hills joined the chase when they saw that the Philistines were running away. 23 So the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle continued out beyond Beth-aven.
11 I will write these closing words in my own handwriting. See how large I have to make the letters! 12 Those teachers of yours who are trying to convince you to be circumcised are doing it for just one reason: so that they can be popular and avoid the persecution they would get if they admitted that the cross of Christ alone can save. 13 And even those teachers who submit to circumcision don’t try to keep the other Jewish laws; but they want you to be circumcised in order that they can boast that you are their disciples.
14 As for me, God forbid that I should boast about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in all the attractive things of the world was killed long ago, and the world’s interest in me is also long dead. 15 It doesn’t make any difference now whether we have been circumcised or not; what counts is whether we really have been changed into new and different people.
16 May God’s mercy and peace be upon all of you who live by this principle and upon those everywhere who are really God’s own.
17 From now on please don’t argue with me about these things, for I carry on my body the scars of the whippings and wounds from Jesus’ enemies that mark me as his slave.
18 Dear brothers, may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Sincerely, Paul
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.