Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

To the director: With stringed instruments. A song of David.

David Wins Many Wars

8 Later David defeated the Philistines and took control of a large area of land around Gath.^{[a] 2} He also defeated the Moabites. He forced them to lie on the ground in a long row. Using a rope to measure, those within two lengths of the rope were killed and those within every third length were allowed to live. So the Moabites became servants of David and paid tribute to him.

³ David went to an area near the Euphrates to set up a monument for himself.^[b] At that time he defeated the king of Zobah, Hadadezer son of Rehob. ⁴ David took 1000 chariots, 7000 horse soldiers,^[c] and 20,000 foot soldiers from Hadadezer. He crippled all but 100 of the chariot horses.^[d]

⁵ Arameans from Damascus came to help King Hadadezer of Zobah, but David defeated those 22,000 Arameans. ⁶ Then David put his soldiers in Damascus, Aram. The Arameans became David’s servants and brought tribute. The Lord gave victory to David wherever he went.

⁷ David took the gold shields^[e] that had belonged to Hadadezer’s servants and brought them to Jerusalem. ⁸ David also took many things made of bronze from Tebah^[f] and Berothai. (Tebah and Berothai were cities that had belonged to Hadadezer.)

⁹ King Toi of Hamath heard that David had defeated Hadadezer’s whole army. ¹⁰ Hadadezer had fought against Toi in the past, so Toi sent his son Joram to King David. Joram greeted him and blessed him because David had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. Joram brought gifts of silver, gold, and bronze. ¹¹ David took these things and dedicated them to the Lord, as he had done with all the other things he had taken from the nations he had defeated: ¹² Aram, Moab, Ammon, Philistia, and Amalek. He had also defeated Hadadezer son of Rehob, king of Zobah. ¹³ David had defeated 18,000 Edomites^[g] in Salt Valley. He was famous when he came home. ¹⁴ He put teams of soldiers throughout Edom, and the whole nation became his servants. The Lord gave victory to him wherever he went.

David’s Rule

¹⁵ David ruled over all Israel, and he made good and fair decisions for all of his people. ¹⁶ Joab son of Zeruiah was the captain over the army. Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the historian. ¹⁷ Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests. Seraiah was secretary. ¹⁸ Benaiah son of Jehoiada was in charge of the Kerethites and Pelethites,^[h] and David’s sons were priests.^[i]

Paul Speaks to the Elders From Ephesus

¹⁷ In Miletus Paul sent a message back to Ephesus, telling the elders of the church in Ephesus to come to him.

¹⁸ When they came, Paul said to them, “You know about my life from the first day I came to Asia. You know the way I lived all the time I was with you. ¹⁹ The Jews planned things against me, and this gave me much trouble. But you know that I always served the Lord, sometimes with tears. I never thought about myself first. ²⁰ I always did what was best for you. I told you the Good News about Jesus in public before the people and also taught in your homes. ²¹ I told everyone—Jewish and non-Jewish people—to change and turn to God. I told them all to believe in our Lord Jesus.

²² “But now I must obey the Spirit and go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what will happen to me there. ²³ I know only that in every city the Holy Spirit tells me that troubles and even jail wait for me. ²⁴ I don’t care about my own life. The most important thing is that I finish my work. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me to do—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.

²⁵ “And now listen to me. I know that none of you will ever see me again. All the time I was with you, I told you the Good News about God’s kingdom. ²⁶ So today I can tell you one thing that I am sure of: God will not blame me if some of you are not saved. ²⁷ I can say this because I know that I told you everything that God wants you to know. ²⁸ Be careful for yourselves and for all the people God has given you. The Holy Spirit gave you the work of caring for^[a] this flock.^[b] You must be shepherds to the church of God,^[c] the people he bought with his own blood.^{[d] 29} I know that after I leave, some men will come into your group. They will be like wild wolves and will try to destroy the flock. ³⁰ Also, men from your own group will begin to teach things that are wrong. They will lead some of the Lord’s followers away from the truth to follow them. ³¹ So be careful! And always remember what I did during the three years I was with you. I never stopped reminding each one of you how you should live, counseling you day and night and crying over you.

³² “Now I am putting you in God’s care. I am depending on the message about his grace to make you strong. That message is able to give you the blessings that God gives to all his holy people. ³³ When I was with you, I never wanted anyone’s money or fine clothes. ³⁴ You know that I always worked to take care of my own needs and the needs of the people who were with me. ³⁵ I always showed you that you should work just as I did and help people who are weak. I taught you to remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘You will have a greater blessing when you give than when you receive.’”

³⁶ When Paul finished speaking, he knelt down, and they all prayed together. ^37-38 They cried and cried. They were especially sad because Paul had said they would never see him again. They hugged him and kissed him. Then they went with him to the ship to say goodbye.