Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
(A)A Prayer for Help[a]
57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
because I come to you for safety.
In the shadow of your wings I find protection
until the raging storms are over.
2 I call to God, the Most High,
to God, who supplies my every need.
3 He will answer from heaven and save me;
he will defeat my oppressors.
God will show me his constant love and faithfulness.
4 I am surrounded by enemies,
who are like lions hungry for human flesh.
Their teeth are like spears and arrows;
their tongues are like sharp swords.
5 Show your greatness in the sky, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.
6 My enemies have spread a net to catch me;
I am overcome with distress.
They dug a pit in my path,
but fell into it themselves.
7 I have complete confidence, O God;
I will sing and praise you!
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, my harp and lyre!
I will wake up the sun.
9 I will thank you, O Lord, among the nations.
I will praise you among the peoples.
10 Your constant love reaches the heavens;
your faithfulness touches the skies.
11 Show your greatness in the sky, O God,
and your glory over all the earth.
Joab Reprimands David
19 Joab was told that King David was weeping and mourning for Absalom. 2 And so the joy of victory was turned into sadness for all of David's troops that day, because they heard that the king was mourning for his son. 3 They went back into the city quietly, like soldiers who are ashamed because they are running away from battle. 4 The king covered his face and cried loudly, “O my son! My son Absalom! Absalom, my son!”
5 Joab went to the king's house and said to him, “Today you have humiliated your men—the men who saved your life and the lives of your sons and daughters and of your wives and concubines. 6 You oppose those who love you and support those who hate you! You have made it clear that your officers and men mean nothing to you. I can see that you would be quite happy if Absalom were alive today and all of us were dead. 7 Now go and reassure your men. I swear by the Lord's name that if you don't, not one of them will be with you by tomorrow morning. That would be the worst disaster you have suffered in all your life.” 8 Then the king got up, and went and sat near the city gate. His men heard that he was there, and they all gathered around him.
David Starts Back to Jerusalem
Meanwhile all the Israelites had fled to their own hometowns. 9 All over the country they started quarreling among themselves. “King David saved us from our enemies,” they said to one another. “He rescued us from the Philistines, but now he has fled from Absalom and left the country. 10 We anointed Absalom as our king, but he has been killed in battle. So why doesn't somebody try to bring King David back?”
11 The news of what the Israelites were saying reached King David.[a] So he sent the priests Zadok and Abiathar to ask the leaders of Judah, “Why should you be the last to help bring the king back to his palace? 12 You are my relatives, my own flesh and blood; why should you be the last to bring me back?” 13 David also told them to say to Amasa, “You are my relative. From now on I am putting you in charge of the army in place of Joab. May God strike me dead if I don't!” 14 David's words won the complete loyalty of all the men of Judah, and they sent him word to return with all his officials.
15 On his way back the king was met at the Jordan River by the men of Judah, who had come to Gilgal to escort him across the river. 16 (A)At the same time the Benjaminite Shimei son of Gera from Bahurim hurried to the Jordan to meet King David. 17 He had with him a thousand men from the tribe of Benjamin. And Ziba, the servant of Saul's family, also came with his fifteen sons and twenty servants, and they arrived at the Jordan before the king. 18 They crossed[b] the river to escort the royal party across and to do whatever the king wanted.
David Shows Kindness to Shimei
As the king was getting ready to cross, Shimei threw himself down in front of him
35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty. 36 Now, I told you that you have seen me but will not believe. 37 Everyone whom my Father gives me will come to me. I will never turn away anyone who comes to me, 38 because I have come down from heaven to do not my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And it is the will of him who sent me that I should not lose any of all those he has given me, but that I should raise them all to life on the last day. 40 For what my Father wants is that all who see the Son and believe in him should have eternal life. And I will raise them to life on the last day.”
Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. For more information about GNT, visit www.bibles.com and www.gnt.bible.