Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

David's Song of Victory^{[a] (A)}

The Death of King Saul^(A)

10 The Philistines fought a battle against the Israelites on Mount Gilboa. Many Israelites were killed there, and the rest of them, including King Saul and his sons, fled. ² But the Philistines caught up with them and killed three of Saul's sons, Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchishua. ³ The fighting was heavy around Saul, and he was hit by enemy arrows and badly wounded. ⁴ He said to the young man carrying his weapons, “Draw your sword and kill me, to keep these godless Philistines from gloating over me.” But the young man was too terrified to do it. So Saul took his own sword and threw himself on it. ⁵ The young man saw that Saul was dead, so he too threw himself on his sword and died. ⁶ So Saul and his three sons all died together, and none of his descendants ever ruled. ⁷ When the Israelites who lived in Jezreel Valley heard that the army had fled and that Saul and his sons had died, they abandoned their towns and ran off. Then the Philistines came and occupied them.

⁸ The day after the battle the Philistines went to plunder the corpses, and they found the bodies of Saul and his sons lying on Mount Gilboa. ⁹ They cut off Saul's head, stripped off his armor, and sent messengers with them throughout Philistia to tell the good news to their idols and to their people. ¹⁰ They put his weapons in one of their temples and hung his head in the temple of their god Dagon. ¹¹ When the people of Jabesh in Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, ¹² the bravest men went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons and took them to Jabesh. They buried them there under an oak and fasted for seven days.

^13 (B)Saul died because he was unfaithful to the Lord. He disobeyed the Lord's commands; he tried to find guidance by consulting the spirits of the dead ¹⁴ instead of consulting the Lord. So the Lord killed him and gave control of the kingdom to David son of Jesse.

Jesus Heals a Boy with an Evil Spirit^(A)

¹⁴ When they joined the rest of the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some teachers of the Law arguing with them. ¹⁵ When the people saw Jesus, they were greatly surprised, and ran to him and greeted him. ¹⁶ Jesus asked his disciples, “What are you arguing with them about?”

¹⁷ A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you, because he has an evil spirit in him and cannot talk. ¹⁸ Whenever the spirit attacks him, it throws him to the ground, and he foams at the mouth, grits his teeth, and becomes stiff all over. I asked your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not.”

¹⁹ Jesus said to them, “How unbelieving you people are! How long must I stay with you? How long do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy to me!” ²⁰ They brought him to Jesus.

As soon as the spirit saw Jesus, it threw the boy into a fit, so that he fell on the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. ²¹ “How long has he been like this?” Jesus asked the father.

“Ever since he was a child,” he replied. ²² “Many times the evil spirit has tried to kill him by throwing him in the fire and into water. Have pity on us and help us, if you possibly can!”

²³ “Yes,” said Jesus, “if you yourself can! Everything is possible for the person who has faith.”

²⁴ The father at once cried out, “I do have faith, but not enough. Help me have more!”

²⁵ Jesus noticed that the crowd was closing in on them, so he gave a command to the evil spirit. “Deaf and dumb spirit,” he said, “I order you to come out of the boy and never go into him again!”

²⁶ The spirit screamed, threw the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, and everyone said, “He is dead!” ²⁷ But Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him rise, and he stood up.

²⁸ After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn't we drive the spirit out?”

²⁹ “Only prayer can drive this kind out,” answered Jesus; “nothing else can.”