Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
A Song of Victory
For the director of music. By the Lord’s servant, David. David sang this song to the Lord. He sang it when the Lord had saved him from Saul and all his other enemies.
18 I love you, Lord. You are my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my protection, my Savior.
My God is my rock.
I can run to him for safety.
He is my shield and my saving strength, my high tower.
3 I will call to the Lord.
He is worthy of praise.
And I will be saved from my enemies.
4 The ropes of death bound me.
The deadly rivers overwhelmed me.
5 The ropes of death wrapped around me.
The traps of death were before me.
6 In my trouble I called to the Lord.
I cried out to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice.
My call for help reached his ears.
43 You saved me when the people attacked me.
You made me the leader of nations.
People I never knew serve me.
44 As soon as they hear me, they obey me.
Foreigners obey me.
45 They all become afraid.
They tremble in their hiding places.
46 The Lord lives!
May my Rock be praised.
Praise the God who saves me!
47 God gives me victory over my enemies.
He brings people under my rule.
48 He saves me from my enemies.
You set me over those who hate me.
You saved me from cruel men.
49 So I will praise you, Lord, among the nations.
I will sing praises to your name.
50 The Lord gives great victories to his king.
He is loyal to his appointed king,
to David and his descendants forever.
The Death of King Saul
10 The Philistine people fought against the people of Israel. The Israelites ran away from them. And many Israelites were killed on Mount Gilboa. 2 The Philistines continued chasing Saul and his sons. And they killed Saul’s sons Jonathan, Abinadab and Malki-Shua. 3 The fighting became heavy around Saul. The archers shot him with their arrows and wounded him.
4 Then Saul said to the officer who carried his armor, “Pull out your sword and kill me. If you don’t, these men who are not circumcised will come and hurt me.” But the officer was afraid. So he refused to kill Saul. Then Saul took his own sword and fell on it. 5 The officer saw that Saul was dead. So he fell on his own sword and died. 6 So Saul and three of his sons died. All his family died together.
7 The Israelites living in the valley saw that their army had run away. And they saw that Saul and his sons were dead. So they left their towns and ran away. Then the Philistines came and lived in those towns.
8 The next day the Philistines came to take valuable things from the dead bodies. On Mount Gilboa they found the bodies of Saul and his sons. 9 The Philistines stripped Saul’s body. And they took his head and his armor. They sent messengers through all their country to tell the news to their idols and their people. 10 The Philistines put Saul’s armor in the temple of their idols. And they hung his head in the temple of Dagon.
11 All the people living in Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul. 12 So all the brave men from Jabesh Gilead went and got the bodies of Saul and his sons. They brought them to Jabesh Gilead. Then they buried the bones of Saul and his sons under the large tree in Jabesh. And they gave up eating for seven days.
13 Saul died because he was not faithful to the Lord. He did not obey the Lord. He even went to a medium and asked her for advice. 14 He did this instead of asking the Lord for help. This is why the Lord put Saul to death and gave the kingdom to Jesse’s son David.
Jesus Heals a Sick Boy
14 Then Jesus, Peter, James, and John went to the other followers. They saw a great crowd around them. The teachers of the law were arguing with them. 15 But when the crowd saw Jesus, they were surprised and ran to welcome him.
16 Jesus asked, “What are you arguing about with the teachers of the law?”
17 A man answered, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit from the devil in him. This spirit stops him from talking. 18 The spirit attacks him and throws him on the ground. My son foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes very stiff. I asked your followers to force the evil spirit out, but they couldn’t.”
19 Jesus answered, “You people don’t believe! How long must I stay with you? How long must I go on being patient with you? Bring the boy to me!”
20 So the followers brought him to Jesus. As soon as the evil spirit saw Jesus, it attacked the boy. He fell down and rolled on the ground, foaming from his mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has this been happening?”
The father answered, “Since he was very young. 22 The spirit often throws him into a fire or into water to kill him. If you can do anything for him, please have pity on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to the father, “You said, ‘If you can!’ All things are possible for him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father cried out, “I do believe! Help me to believe more!”
25 Jesus saw that a crowd was running there to see what was happening. So he spoke to the evil spirit, saying, “You deaf and dumb spirit—I command you to come out of this boy and never enter him again!”
26 The evil spirit screamed and caused the boy to fall on the ground again. Then the spirit came out. The boy looked as if he were dead. And many people said, “He is dead!” 27 But Jesus took hold of the boy’s hand and helped him to stand up.
28 Jesus went into the house. His followers were alone with him there. They said, “Why couldn’t we force that evil spirit out?”
29 Jesus answered, “That kind of spirit can only be forced out by prayer.”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.