Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
David and Goliath
17 The Philistines gathered their army together for war. They came to Sokoh in Judah. They set up camp at Ephes Dammim. It was between Sokoh and Azekah.
4 A mighty hero named Goliath came out of the Philistine camp. He was from Gath. He was more than nine feet tall. 5 He had a bronze helmet on his head. He wore bronze armor that weighed 125 pounds. 6 On his legs he wore bronze guards. He carried a bronze javelin on his back. 7 His spear was as big as a weaver’s rod. Its iron point weighed 15 pounds. The man who carried his shield walked along in front of him.
8 Goliath stood there and shouted to the soldiers of Israel. He said, “Why do you come out and line up for battle? I’m a Philistine. You are servants of Saul. Choose one of your men. Have him come down and face me. 9 If he’s able to fight and kill me, we’ll become your slaves. But if I win and kill him, you will become our slaves and serve us.” 10 Goliath continued, “This day I dare the soldiers of Israel to send a man down to fight against me.” 11 Saul and the whole army of Israel heard what the Philistine said. They were terrified.
19 They are with Saul and all the men of Israel. They are in the Valley of Elah. They are fighting against the Philistines.”
20 Early in the morning David left his father’s flock in the care of a shepherd. David loaded up the food and started out, just as Jesse had directed. David reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions. The soldiers were shouting the war cry. 21 The Israelites and the Philistines were lining up their armies for battle. The armies were facing each other. 22 David left what he had brought with the man who took care of the supplies. He ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. 23 As David was talking with them, Goliath stepped forward from his line. Goliath was a mighty Philistine hero from Gath. He again dared someone to fight him, and David heard it.
32 David said to Saul, “Don’t let anyone lose hope because of that Philistine. I’ll go out and fight him.”
33 Saul replied, “You aren’t able to go out there and fight that Philistine. You are too young. He’s been a warrior ever since he was a boy.”
34 But David said to Saul, “I’ve been taking care of my father’s sheep. Sometimes a lion or a bear would come and carry off a sheep from the flock. 35 Then I would go after it and hit it. I would save the sheep it was carrying in its mouth. If it turned around to attack me, I would grab its hair. I would strike it down and kill it. 36 In fact, I’ve killed both a lion and a bear. I’ll do the same thing to this Philistine. He isn’t even circumcised. He has dared the armies of the living God to fight him. 37 The Lord saved me from the paw of the lion. He saved me from the paw of the bear. And he’ll save me from the powerful hand of this Philistine too.”
Saul said to David, “Go. And may the Lord be with you.”
38 Then Saul dressed David in his own military clothes. He put a coat of armor on him. He put a bronze helmet on his head. 39 David put on Saul’s sword over his clothes. He walked around for a while in all that armor because he wasn’t used to it.
“I can’t go out there in all this armor,” he said to Saul. “I’m not used to it.” So he took it off. 40 Then David picked up his wooden staff. He went down to a stream and chose five smooth stones. He put them in the pocket of his shepherd’s bag. Then he took his sling in his hand and approached Goliath.
41 At that same time, the Philistine kept coming closer to David. The man carrying Goliath’s shield walked along in front of him. 42 Goliath looked David over. He saw how young he was. He also saw how healthy and handsome he was. And he hated him. 43 He said to David, “Why are you coming at me with sticks? Do you think I’m only a dog?” The Philistine cursed David in the name of his gods. 44 “Come over here,” he said. “I’ll feed your body to the birds and wild animals!”
45 David said to Goliath, “You are coming to fight against me with a sword, a spear and a javelin. But I’m coming against you in the name of the Lord who rules over all. He is the God of the armies of Israel. He’s the one you have dared to fight against. 46 This day the Lord will give me the victory over you. I’ll strike you down. I’ll cut your head off. This day I’ll feed the bodies of the Philistine army to the birds and wild animals. Then the whole world will know there is a God in Israel. 47 The Lord doesn’t rescue people by using a sword or a spear. And everyone here will know it. The battle belongs to the Lord. He will hand all of you over to us.”
48 As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet him. 49 He reached into his bag. He took out a stone. He put it in his sling. He slung it at Goliath. The stone hit him on the forehead and sank into it. He fell to the ground on his face.
57 After David killed Goliath, he returned to the camp. Then Abner brought him to Saul. David was still carrying Goliath’s head.
58 “Young man, whose son are you?” Saul asked him.
David said, “I’m the son of Jesse from Bethlehem.”
Saul’s Growing Fear of David
18 David finished talking with Saul. After that, Jonathan and David became close friends. Jonathan loved David just as he loved himself. 2 From that time on, Saul kept David with him. He didn’t let him return home to his family. 3 Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him just as he loved himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David. He also gave him his military clothes. He even gave him his sword, his bow and his belt.
5 David did everything Saul sent him to do. He did it so well that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. That pleased Saul’s whole army, including his officers.
10 The next day an evil spirit sent by God came powerfully on Saul. Saul began to prophesy in his house. At that same time David began to play the harp, just as he usually did. Saul was holding a spear. 11 He threw it at David. As he did, he said to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David got away from him twice.
12 The Lord had left Saul and was with David. So Saul was afraid of David. 13 He sent David away. He put him in command of 1,000 men. David led the troops in battle. 14 In everything he did, he was very successful. That’s because the Lord was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful David was, he became afraid of him. 16 But all the troops of Israel and Judah loved David. That’s because he led them in battle.
9 The Lord is a place of safety for those who have been treated badly.
He keeps them safe in times of trouble.
10 Lord, those who know you will trust in you.
You have never deserted those who look to you.
11 Sing the praises of the Lord. He rules from his throne in Zion.
Tell among the nations what he has done.
12 The God who pays back murderers remembers.
He doesn’t forget the cries of those who are hurting.
13 Lord, see how badly my enemies treat me!
Help me! Don’t let me go down to the gates of death!
14 Then I can give praise to you
at the gates of the city of Zion.
There I will be full of joy
because you have saved me.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug.
Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.
16 The Lord is known to be fair by the things he does.
Evil people are trapped by what they have done.
17 Sinful people go down to the place of the dead.
So do all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget needy people.
The hope of those who are hurting will never die.
19 Lord, rise up. Don’t let people win the battle.
Let the nations come to you and be judged.
20 Lord, strike them with terror.
Let the nations know they are only human beings.
A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. A psalm of David.
133 How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in peace!
2 It’s like the special olive oil
that was poured on Aaron’s head.
It ran down on his beard
and on the collar of his robe.
3 It’s as if the dew of Mount Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
There the Lord gives his blessing.
He gives life that never ends.
6 We work together with God. So we are asking you not to receive God’s grace and then do nothing with it. 2 He says,
“When I had mercy on you, I heard you.
On the day I saved you, I helped you.” (Isaiah 49:8)
I tell you, now is the time God has mercy. Now is the day he saves.
Paul’s Sufferings
3 We don’t put anything in anyone’s way. So no one can find fault with our work for God. 4 Instead, we make it clear that we serve God in every way. We serve him by standing firm in troubles, hard times and suffering. 5 We don’t give up when we are beaten or put in prison. When people stir up trouble in the streets, we continue to serve God. We work hard for him. We go without sleep and food. 6 We remain pure. We understand completely what it means to serve God. We are patient and kind. We serve him in the power of the Holy Spirit. We serve him with true love. 7 We speak the truth. We serve in the power of God. We hold the weapons of godliness in the right hand and in the left. 8 We serve God in times of glory and shame. We serve him whether the news about us is bad or good. We are true to our calling. But people treat us as if we were pretenders. 9 We are known, but people treat us as if we were unknown. We are dying, but we continue to live. We are beaten, but we are not killed. 10 We are sad, but we are always full of joy. We are poor, but we make many people rich. We have nothing, but we own everything.
11 Believers at Corinth, we have spoken freely to you. We have opened our hearts wide to you. 12 We are not holding back our love from you. But you are holding back your love from us. 13 I speak to you as if you were my children. It is only fair that you open your hearts wide to us also.
Jesus Calms the Storm
35 When evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.” 36 They left the crowd behind. And they took him along in a boat, just as he was. There were also other boats with him. 37 A wild storm came up. Waves crashed over the boat. It was about to sink. 38 Jesus was in the back, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him up. They said, “Teacher! Don’t you care if we drown?”
39 He got up and ordered the wind to stop. He said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down. And it was completely calm.
40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Don’t you have any faith at all yet?”
41 They were terrified. They asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
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