Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.
A Song of Ascents, of David.
133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For (A)brothers to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious (B)oil upon the head,
Coming down upon the beard,
Even Aaron’s beard,
Coming down upon the (C)edge of his robes.
3 It is like the (D)dew of (E)Hermon
Coming down upon the (F)mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord (G)commanded the blessing—(H)life forever.
David and Jonathan Covenant
20 Then David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and (A)said [a]to Jonathan, “What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before your father, that he is seeking my life?” 2 He said to him, “Far from it, you shall not die. Behold, my father does nothing either great or small [b]without disclosing it to me. So why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so!” 3 Yet David (B)vowed again, [c]saying, “Your father knows well that I have found favor in your sight, and he has said, ‘Do not let Jonathan know this, or he will be grieved.’ But truly (C)as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is [d]hardly a step between me and death.” 4 Then Jonathan said to David, “Whatever [e]you say, I will do for you.” 5 So David said to Jonathan, “Behold, tomorrow is (D)the new moon, and I ought (E)to sit down to eat with the king. But let me go, (F)that I may hide myself in the field until the third evening. 6 If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to (G)Bethlehem his city, because it is (H)the yearly sacrifice there for the whole family.’ 7 If he [f]says, ‘It is good,’ your servant will be safe; but if he is very angry, (I)know that he has decided on evil. 8 Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for (J)you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But (K)if there is iniquity in me, put me to death yourself; for why then should you bring me to your father?” 9 Jonathan said, “Far be it from you! For if I should indeed learn that evil has been decided by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you about it?” 10 Then David said to Jonathan, “Who will tell me [g]if your father answers you harshly?” 11 Jonathan said to David, “Come, and let us go out into the field.” So both of them went out to the field.
12 Then Jonathan said to David, “The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if there is good feeling toward David, shall I not then send to you and [h]make it known to you? 13 If it please my father to do you harm, (L)may the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also, if I do not [i]make it known to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And (M)may the Lord be with you as He has been with my father. 14 If I am still alive, will you not show me the lovingkindness of the Lord, that I may not die? 15 (N)You shall not cut off your lovingkindness from my house forever, not even when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.” 16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “(O)May the Lord require it at the hands of David’s enemies.” 17 Jonathan made David vow again because of his love for him, because (P)he loved him as he loved his own life.
18 Then Jonathan said to him, “(Q)Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed because your seat will be empty. 19 When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel. 20 I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. 21 And behold, I will send the lad, saying, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ If I specifically say to the lad, ‘Behold, the arrows are on this side of you, get them,’ then come; for there is safety for you and [j]no harm, as the Lord lives. 22 But if I [k]say to the youth, ‘(R)Behold, the arrows are beyond you,’ go, for the Lord has sent you away. 23 (S)As for the [l]agreement of which you and I have spoken, behold, (T)the Lord is between you and me forever.”
35 Now it came about in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field for the appointment with David, and a little lad was with him. 36 He said to his lad, “(A)Run, find now the arrows which I am about to shoot.” As the lad was running, he shot [a]an arrow past him. 37 When the lad reached the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan called after the lad and said, “(B)Is not the arrow beyond you?” 38 And Jonathan called after the lad, “Hurry, be quick, do not stay!” And Jonathan’s lad picked up the arrow and came to his master. 39 But the lad was not aware of anything; only Jonathan and David knew about the matter. 40 Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, “Go, bring them to the city.” 41 When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and (C)bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but (D)David wept the more. 42 Jonathan said to David, “(E)Go in safety, inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, ‘(F)The Lord will be between me and you, and between my [b]descendants and your [c]descendants forever.’” [d]Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city.
The Church at Antioch
19 (A)So then those who were scattered because of the [a]persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way [b]to (B)Phoenicia and (C)Cyprus and (D)Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. 20 But there were some of them, men of (E)Cyprus and (F)Cyrene, who came to (G)Antioch and began speaking to the [c](H)Greeks also, [d](I)preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And (J)the hand of the Lord was with them, and (K)a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The [e]news about them [f]reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent (L)Barnabas off [g]to (M)Antioch. 23 Then when he arrived and [h]witnessed (N)the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with [i]resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and (O)full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And (P)considerable [j]numbers were [k]brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for (Q)Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to (R)Antioch. And for an entire year they [l]met with the church and taught considerable [m]numbers; and (S)the disciples were first called (T)Christians in (U)Antioch.
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