Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.
Praise for the Lord’s Deliverance
21 The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.
How greatly he rejoices in your deliverance.
2 You have granted him the desire of his heart,
and have not withheld what his lips requested.
3 You go before him with wonderful blessings,
and put a crown of fine gold on his head.
4 He asked life from you, and you gave it to him—
a long life for ever and ever.
5 His glory is great because of your deliverance,
you have given him honor and majesty.
6 Indeed, you have given him eternal blessings;
you will make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7 The king trusts in the Lord;
because of the gracious love of the Most High,
he will stand firm.[a]
8 Your hand will find all your enemies,
your right hand will find those who hate you.
9 When you appear,
you will set them ablaze like a fire furnace.
In his wrath, the Lord will consume them,
and the fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their descendants[b] from the earth,
even their offspring from the ranks[c] of mankind.
11 Though they plot evil against you and devise schemes,
they will not succeed.
12 Indeed, you will make them retreat,[d]
when you aim your bow[e] at their faces.
13 Rise up, Lord, because you are strong;
we will sing and praise your power.
David Battles the Philistines(A)
17 When the Philistines eventually learned that Israel[a] had anointed David to be king over Israel, they marched out in search of him.[b] But David heard about it and retreated to his stronghold. 18 Meanwhile, the Philistines arrived and encamped in the Rephaim Valley, 19 so David asked the Lord, “Am I to go attack the Philistines? Will you give me victory over them?”[c]
“Go get them,” the Lord replied to David, “because I’m going to put the Philistines right into your hand!”
20 So David went to Baal-perazim and defeated them there. He called the place Baal-perazim,[d] because he said, “Like a bursting flood, the Lord has jumped out in front of me to fight my enemies.” 21 The Philistines abandoned their idols there, and David and his army carried them off.
22 Later, the Philistines once again marched out and encamped in the Rephaim Valley. 23 When David asked the Lord about it, he said, “Don’t attack them directly. Instead, go around to the rear and attack them opposite those balsam trees. 24 When you hear the sound of marching coming from the tops of the balsam trees, then be sure to act quickly, since the Lord will have gone out ahead of you to cut down the Philistine army.” 25 So David did exactly what the Lord ordered him to do, and he struck down the Philistines from Geba to Gezer.
The Unbelief of Jesus’ Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled[a] throughout Galilee, because he didn’t want to travel[b] in Judea, since the Jewish leaders[c] there were trying to kill him. 2 Now the Jewish Festival of Tents[d] was approaching. 3 So his brothers told him, “You should leave this place and go to Judea, so that your disciples can see the actions that you’re doing, 4 since no one acts in secret if he wants to be known publicly. If you’re going to do these things, you should reveal yourself to the world!” 5 Not even his brothers believed in him.
6 Jesus told them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here.[e] 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its actions are evil. 8 Go up to the festival yourselves. I am not going to this festival yet,[f] because my time hasn’t fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
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