Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
20 he is my servant David! I have anointed him with my holy oil. 21 I will steady him and make him strong. 22 His enemies shall not outwit him, nor shall the wicked overpower him. 23 I will beat down his adversaries before him and destroy those who hate him. 24 I will protect and bless him constantly and surround him with my love; he will be great because of me. 25 He will hold sway from the Euphrates River to the Mediterranean Sea. 26 And he will cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and my Rock of Salvation.’
27 “I will treat him as my firstborn son and make him the mightiest king in all the earth. 28 I will love him forever and be kind to him always; my covenant with him will never end. 29 He will always have an heir; his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven. 30-32 If his children forsake my laws and don’t obey them, then I will punish them, 33 but I will never completely take away my loving-kindness from them, nor let my promise fail. 34 No, I will not break my covenant; I will not take back one word of what I said. 35-36 For I have sworn to David (and a holy God can never lie) that his dynasty will go on forever, and his throne will continue to the end of time.[a] 37 It shall be eternal as the moon, my faithful witness in the sky!”
15 David now built several palaces for himself in Jerusalem, and he also built a new Tabernacle to house the Ark of God, 2 and issued these instructions: “When we transfer the Ark to its new home,[a] no one except the Levites may carry it, for God has chosen them for this purpose; they are to minister to him forever.”
4 He appointed certain of the Levites to minister before the Ark by giving constant praise and thanks to the Lord God of Israel and by asking for his blessings upon his people. These are the names of those given this assignment: 5 Asaph, the leader of this detail, sounded the cymbals. His associates were Zechariah, Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-edom, and Jeiel; they played the harps and zithers. 6 The priests Benaiah and Jahaziel played their trumpets regularly before the Ark.
7 At that time David began the custom of using choirs in the Tabernacle to sing thanksgiving to the Lord. Asaph was the director of this choral group of priests.
8 “Oh, give thanks to the Lord and pray to him,” they sang.
“Tell the peoples of the world
About his mighty doings.
9 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises
And tell of his marvelous works.
10 Glory in his holy name;
Let all rejoice who seek the Lord.
11 Seek the Lord; yes, seek his strength
And seek his face untiringly.
12-13 O descendants of his servant Abraham,
O chosen sons of Jacob,
Remember his mighty miracles
And his marvelous miracles
And his authority:
35 As they approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting beside the road, begging from travelers. 36 When he heard the noise of a crowd going past, he asked what was happening. 37 He was told that Jesus from Nazareth was going by, 38 so he began shouting, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
39 The crowds ahead of Jesus tried to hush the man, but he only yelled the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
40 When Jesus arrived at the spot, he stopped. “Bring the blind man over here,” he said. 41 Then Jesus asked the man, “What do you want?”
“Lord,” he pleaded, “I want to see!”
42 And Jesus said, “All right, begin seeing! Your faith has healed you.”
43 And instantly the man could see and followed Jesus, praising God. And all who saw it happen praised God too.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.