Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

18 I will love You dearly, O LORD, my strength.

² The LORD is my rock and my fortress; and He Who delivers me, my God and my strength. In Him will I trust. My shield. The horn, also, of my salvation. My refuge.

³ I will call upon the LORD, Who is worthy to be praised. So shall I be safe from my enemies.

⁴ The sorrows of death surrounded me. And the floods of wickedness made me afraid.

⁵ The sorrows of the grave have surrounded me. The snares of death overtook me.

⁶ But in my trouble, I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God. He heard my voice out of His Temple. And my cry came before Him, into His ears.

⁴³ You have delivered me from the contentions of the people. You have made me the head of the heathen. A people I have not known shall serve me.

⁴⁴ As soon as they hear, they shall obey me. The strangers shall be in subjection to me.

⁴⁵ Strangers shall shrink away, and fear in their borders.

⁴⁶ Let the LORD live and blessed be my strength. And the God of my salvation be exalted.

⁴⁷ It is God Who avenges me and subdues the people under me.

⁴⁸ O, my Deliverer from my enemies, You have lifted me up from those who rose against me! You have delivered me from the cruel man.

⁴⁹ Therefore, I will praise You among the nations, O LORD, and will sing to Your Name.

⁵⁰ He gives great deliverances to His king and shows mercy to His anointed; to David, and to his seed, forever. To him who excels: A Psalm of David.

31 Now the Philistines fought against Israel. And the men of Israel fled away from the Philistines. And they fell down, wounded, on Mount Gilboa.

² And the Philistines pressed hard upon Saul and his sons, and killed Jonathan and Abinadab and Malchishua, Saul’s sons.

³ And when the battle went fiercely against Saul, the archers and bowmen hit him. And he was badly wounded by the archers.

⁴ Then Saul said to his armor bearer, “Draw out your sword and thrust me through with it, lest the uncircumcised come and thrust me through and mock me.” But his armor bearer would not, for he was very afraid. Therefore, Saul took a sword and fell upon it.

⁵ And when his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell upon his sword, and died with him.

⁶ So Saul died, and his three sons, and his armor bearer, and all his men, that same day, together.

⁷ And when the men of Israel who were on the other side of the valley, and they of the other side of Jordan, saw that the men of Israel had been put to flight, and that Saul and his sons were dead, then they left the cities and ran away. And the Philistines came and dwelt in them.

⁸ And the next day, when the Philistines had come to plunder those who had been killed, they found Saul and his three sons lying on Mount Gilboa.

⁹ And they cut off his head and stripped him out of his armor and sent into the land of the Philistines, on every side, so that they could proclaim it in the temple of their idols, and among the people.

¹⁰ And they laid up his armor in the house of Ashtoreth, but they hung up his body on the wall of Beth Shan.

¹¹ When the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul,

¹² then they arose (as many as were strong men) and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan, and came to Jabesh and burnt them there,

¹³ and took their bones and buried them under a tree at Jabesh and fasted for seven days.

9 Now, as far as the ministry to the Saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you.

² For I know your readiness of mind, of which I boast to the Macedonians myself, saying that Achaia was prepared a year ago. And your zeal has incited many.

³ Now, I have sent the brothers (lest our boasting over you should be in vain in this matter), that you (as I have said) be ready.

⁴ Or else perhaps the Macedonians might come with me and find you unprepared, so that we (and not you) should be ashamed by my constant boasting.

⁵ Therefore, I thought it necessary to exhort the brothers to come to you beforehand, and to finish your previously-promised blessing, that it might be ready and be received as a blessing (not with greed).