Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

29 A psalm of a canticle, at the dedication of David's house.

² I will extol thee, O Lord, for thou hast upheld me: and hast not made my enemies to rejoice over me.

³ O Lord my God, I have cried to thee, and then hast healed me.

⁴ Thou hast brought forth, O Lord, my soul from hell: thou hast saved me from them that go down into the pit.

⁵ Sing to the Lord, O ye his saints: and give praise to the memory of his holiness.

⁶ For wrath is in his indignation; and life in his good will. In the evening weeping shall have place, and in the morning gladness.

⁷ And in my abundance I said: I shall never be moved.

⁸ O Lord, in thy favour, thou gavest strength to my beauty. Thou turnedst away thy face from me, and I became troubled.

⁹ To thee, O Lord, will I cry: and I will make supplication to my God.

¹⁰ What profit is there in my blood, whilst I go down to corruption? Shall dust confess to thee, or declare thy truth?

¹¹ The Lord hath heard, and hath had mercy on me: the Lord became my helper.

¹² Thou hast turned for me my mourning into joy: thou hast cut my sackcloth, and hast compassed me with gladness:

¹³ To the end that my glory may sing to thee, and I may not regret: O Lord my God, I will give praise to thee for ever.

³ And Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying: If you turn to the Lord with all your heart, put away the strange gods from among you, Baalim and Astaroth: and prepare your hearts unto the Lord, and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.

⁴ Then the children of Israel put away Baalim and Astaroth, and served the Lord only.

⁵ And Samuel said: Gather all Israel to Masphath, that I may pray to the Lord for you.

⁶ And they gathered together to Masphath: and they drew water, and poured it out before the Lord, and they fasted on that day, and they said there: We have sinned against the Lord. And Samuel judged the children of Israel in Masphath.

⁷ And the Philistines heard that the children of Israel were gathered together to Masphath, and the lords of the Philistines went up against Israel. And when the children of Israel heard this, they were afraid of the Philistines.

⁸ And they said to Samuel: Cease not to cry to the Lord our God for us, that he may save us out of the hand of the Philistines.

⁹ And Samuel took a sucking lamb, and offered it whole for a holocaust to the Lord: and Samuel cried to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord heard him.

¹⁰ And it came to pass, when Samuel was offering the holocaust, the Philistines began the battle against Israel: but the Lord thundered with a great thunder on that day upon the Philistines, and terrified them, and they were overthrown before the face of Israel.

¹¹ And the men of Israel going out of Masphath pursued after the Philistines, and made slaughter of them till they came under Bethchar.

¹² And Samuel took a stone, and laid it between Masphath and Sen: and he called the place, the Stone of help. And he said: Thus far the Lord hath helped us.

¹³ And the Philistines were humbled, and they did not come any more into the borders of Israel. And the hand of the Lord was against the Philistines, all the days of Samuel.

¹⁴ And the cities, which the Philistines had taken from Israel, were restored to Israel, from Accaron to Geth, and their borders: and he delivered Israel from the hand of the Philistines, and there was peace between Israel and the Amorrhites.

¹⁵ And Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life:

¹⁶ And he went every year about to Bethel and to Galgal and to Masphath, and he judged Israel in the aforesaid places.

¹⁷ And he returned to Ramatha, for there was his house, and there he judged Israel: he built also there an altar to the Lord.

¹⁹ And when he had taken meat, he was strengthened. And he was with the disciples that were at Damascus, for some days.

²⁰ And immediately he preached Jesus in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

²¹ And all that heard him, were astonished, and said: Is not this he who persecuted in Jerusalem those that called upon this name: and came hither for that intent, that he might carry them bound to the chief priests?

²² But Saul increased much more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt at Damascus, affirming that this is the Christ.

²³ And when many days were passed, the Jews consulted together to kill him.

²⁴ But their laying in wait was made known to Saul. And they watched the gates also day and night, that they might kill him.

²⁵ But the disciples taking him in the night, conveyed him away by the wall, letting him down in a basket.

²⁶ And when he was come into Jerusalem, he essayed to join himself to the disciples; and they all were afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

²⁷ But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and told them how he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him; and how in Damascus he had dealt confidently in the name of Jesus.

²⁸ And he was with them coming in and going out in Jerusalem, and dealing confidently in the name of the Lord.

²⁹ He spoke also to the Gentiles, and disputed with the Greeks; but they sought to kill him.

³⁰ Which when the brethren had known, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him away to Tarsus.

³¹ Now the church had peace throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria; and was edified, walking in the fear of the Lord, and was filled with the consolation of the Holy Ghost.