Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
130 O Lord, from the depths of despair I cry for your help: 2 “Hear me! Answer! Help me!”
3-4 Lord, if you keep in mind our sins, then who can ever get an answer to his prayers? But you forgive! What an awesome thing this is! 5 That is why I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised. 6 I long for him more than sentinels long for the dawn.
7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; for he is loving and kind and comes to us with armloads of salvation. 8 He himself shall ransom Israel from her slavery to sin.
20 David now fled from Naioth in Ramah and found Jonathan.
“What have I done?” he exclaimed. “Why is your father so determined to kill me?”
2 “That’s not true!” Jonathan protested. “I’m sure he’s not planning any such thing, for he always tells me everything he’s going to do, even little things, and I know he wouldn’t hide something like this from me. It just isn’t so.”
3 “Of course you don’t know about it!” David fumed. “Your father knows perfectly well about our friendship, so he has said to himself, ‘I’ll not tell Jonathan—why should I hurt him?’ But the truth is that I am only a step away from death! I swear it by the Lord and by your own soul!”
4 “Tell me what I can do,” Jonathan begged.
5 And David replied, “Tomorrow is the beginning of the celebration of the new moon. Always before, I’ve been with your father for this occasion, but tomorrow I’ll hide in the field and stay there until the evening of the third day. 6 If your father asks where I am, tell him that I asked permission to go home to Bethlehem for an annual family reunion. 7 If he says, ‘Fine!’ then I’ll know that all is well. But if he is angry, then I’ll know that he is planning to kill me. 8 Do this for me as my sworn brother. Or else kill me yourself if I have sinned against your father, but don’t betray me to him!”
9 “Of course not!” Jonathan exclaimed. “Look, wouldn’t I say so if I knew that my father was planning to kill you?”
10 Then David asked, “How will I know whether or not your father is angry?”
11 “Come out to the field with me,” Jonathan replied. And they went out there together.
12 Then Jonathan told David, “I promise by the Lord God of Israel that about this time tomorrow, or the next day at the latest, I will talk to my father about you and let you know at once how he feels about you. 13 If he is angry and wants you killed, then may the Lord kill me if I don’t tell you, so you can escape and live. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. 14 And remember, you must demonstrate the love and kindness of the Lord not only to me during my own lifetime, 15 but also to my children after the Lord has destroyed all of your enemies.”
16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the family of David, and David swore to it with a terrible curse against himself and his descendants, should he be unfaithful to his promise. 17 But Jonathan made David swear to it again, this time by his love for him, for he loved him as much as he loved himself.
18 Then Jonathan said, “Yes, they will miss you tomorrow when your place at the table is empty. 19 By the day after tomorrow, everyone will be asking about you, so be at the hideout where you were before, over by the stone pile. 20 I will come out and shoot three arrows in front of the pile as though I were shooting at a target. 21 Then I’ll send a lad to bring the arrows back. If you hear me tell him, ‘They’re on this side,’ then you will know that all is well and that there is no trouble. 22 But if I tell him, ‘Go farther—the arrows are still ahead of you,’ then it will mean that you must leave immediately. 23 And may the Lord make us keep our promises to each other, for he has witnessed them.”[a]
24-25 So David hid himself in the field.
When the new moon celebration began, the king sat down to eat at his usual place against the wall. Jonathan sat opposite him and Abner was sitting beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.
8 Now I want to tell you what God in his grace has done for the churches in Macedonia.
2 Though they have been going through much trouble and hard times, they have mixed their wonderful joy with their deep poverty, and the result has been an overflow of giving to others. 3 They gave not only what they could afford but far more; and I can testify that they did it because they wanted to and not because of nagging on my part. 4 They begged us to take the money so they could share in the joy of helping the Christians in Jerusalem. 5 Best of all, they went beyond our highest hopes, for their first action was to dedicate themselves to the Lord and to us, for whatever directions God might give to them through us. 6 They were so enthusiastic about it that we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to visit you and encourage you to complete your share in this ministry of giving. 7 You people there are leaders in so many ways—you have so much faith, so many good preachers, so much learning, so much enthusiasm, so much love for us. Now I want you to be leaders also in the spirit of cheerful giving.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.