Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: By the servant of the Lord, David, who spoke the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hands of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul.
Gratitude for Victory
18 He said:
“I love you, Lord, my strength.
2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God,
my stronghold[a] in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory[b]
of my salvation, and my high tower.”
3 I cried out to the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
and I was delivered from my enemies.
43 You rescued me from conflict with the people;
you made me head of the nations.
People who did not know me will serve me.
44 When they hear of me,[a] they will obey me;
foreigners will submit to me.
45 Foreigners will wilt away;
they will come trembling out of their stronghold.
46 The Lord lives!
Blessed be my Rock!
May the God of my deliverance be exalted!
47 He is the God who executes vengeance on my behalf;
who destroys peoples under me;
48 who delivers me from my enemies.
Truly you will exalt me above those who oppose me;
you will deliver me from the violent person.
49 Therefore, I will give thanks to you among the nations, Lord;
I will sing praises to your name.
50 He is the one who gives victories to his king;
who shows gracious love to his anointed,
to David and his seed forever.
The Death of Saul and His Sons(A)
10 The Philistines were fighting against Israel, and each[a] soldier[b] of Israel fled before the Philistines. They fell slain on the mountain of Gilboa. 2 The Philistines followed after Saul and after his sons, and the Philistines struck down Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malchi-shua, Saul’s sons. 3 The heaviest fighting was against Saul,[c] and when the archers who were shooting located Saul, he was gravely wounded by them.[d]
4 Saul ordered his armor bearer, “Draw your sword and run me through with it, or these uncircumcised people will come and abuse me.”
But his armor bearer did not want to do it[e] because he was very frightened, so Saul took the sword and fell on it. 5 When his armor bearer saw that Saul was dead, he also fell on his[f] sword and died. 6 Therefore Saul, his three sons, and all his entire household died together. 7 When that part of the army[g] of Israel that was in the valley saw that the rest of the[h] army of Israel had fled and that Saul and his sons were dead, they abandoned their cities and fled, and the Philistines came and occupied them.
The Philistines Desecrate Saul’s Body(B)
8 The Philistines came to strip the dead the next day, and they found Saul dead on Gilboa mountain, along with his sons. 9 They stripped him, took his head and armor, and sent messengers throughout the territory of the Philistines to report the news to their idols and to the people. 10 Then they put Saul’s[i] armor in the temple of their gods and fastened his skull to the wall of[j] the temple of Dagon.
The People of Jabesh-gilead Give Saul a Proper Burial(C)
11 When all the residents of[k] Jabesh-gilead heard everything that the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 every valiant soldier[l] got up, removed the bodies of Saul and his sons, took them to Jabesh, and buried their bones under the tamarisk[m] tree in Jabesh. Then they fasted for seven days. 13 So Saul died for his transgressions; that is, he acted unfaithfully to the Lord by transgressing the message from the Lord (which he did not keep), by consulting a medium for advice, 14 and by not seeking counsel[n] from the Lord, who therefore put him to death and turned the kingdom over to Jesse’s son David.
Jesus Heals a Boy with a Demon(A)
14 As they approached the other[a] disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and some scribes arguing with them. 15 The whole crowd was very surprised to see Jesus[b] and ran to welcome him.
16 He asked the scribes,[c] “What are you arguing about with them?”
17 A man in the crowd answered him, “Teacher, I brought my son to you. He has a spirit that won’t let him talk. 18 Whenever it brings on a seizure, it throws him to the ground. Then he foams at the mouth, grinds his teeth, and becomes stiff. So I asked your disciples to drive the spirit[d] out, but they didn’t have the power.”
19 Jesus[e] told them, “You unbelieving generation! How long must I be with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring him to me!”
20 So they brought the boy[f] to him. When the spirit saw Jesus,[g] it immediately threw the boy[h] into convulsions. He fell on the ground and kept rolling around and foaming at the mouth. 21 Then Jesus[i] asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?” He said, “Since he was a child. 22 The spirit[j] has often thrown him into fire and into water to destroy him. But if you are able to do anything, have pity on us and help us!”
23 Jesus told him, “‘If you are able?’ Everything is possible for the person who believes!”
24 With tears flowing,[k] the child’s father at once cried out, “I do believe! Help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You spirit that won’t let him talk or hear—I command you to come out of him and never enter him again!” 26 The spirit[l] screamed, shook the child[m] violently, and came out. The boy was like a corpse, and many said that he was dead. 27 But Jesus took his hand and helped him up, and he stood up.
28 When Jesus[n] came home, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive the spirit[o] out?”
29 He told them, “This kind can come out only by prayer and fasting.”[p]
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