Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)
God Thunders Throughout Creation
Psalm 29
1 A psalm of David.
Ascribe to Adonai, O sons of God,
ascribe to Adonai glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to Adonai the glory of His Name.
Bow down to Adonai in the beauty of holiness.
3 The voice of Adonai is over the waters.
The God of glory thunders—
Adonai is over mighty waters.
4 The voice of Adonai is powerful.
The voice of Adonai is full of majesty.
5 The voice of Adonai breaks the cedars.
Yes, Adonai shatters cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of Adonai hews out flames of fire.
8 The voice of Adonai shakes the desert.
Adonai shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of Adonai makes the deer writhe in birth
and strips forests bare,
and in His Temple all are saying, “Glory!”
10 Adonai sits enthroned over the flood.
Yes, Adonai sits as King forever.
11 Adonai gives strength to His people.
Adonai blesses His people with shalom.
3 Then Samuel spoke to the whole house of Israel saying, “If you are returning to Adonai with all your heart, then remove the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you, direct your hearts to Adonai and serve Him only. Then He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So Bnei-Yisrael removed the Baalim[a] and the Ashtaroth, and served Adonai alone.
5 Then Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah and I will pray to Adonai for you.” 6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water and poured it out before Adonai. They fasted on that day and said there, “We have sinned against Adonai.” Then Samuel was judging Bnei-Yisrael at Mizpah.
7 Now when the Philistines heard that Bnei-Yisrael had assembled at Mizpah, the lords of the Philistines marched against Israel. When Bnei-Yisrael heard it, they were afraid of the Philistines. 8 So Bnei-Yisrael said to Samuel, “Don’t stop crying out to Adonai our God for us, so He may save us from the hand of the Philistines!”
9 Samuel took a nursing lamb and offered it as a whole burnt offering to Adonai. Then Samuel cried out to Adonai for Israel and Adonai answered him. 10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to battle against Israel. But Adonai thundered with loud thunder on that day against the Philistines and confused them so that they were defeated before Israel. 11 Then the men of Israel went out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, and struck them down all the way to below Beth-car.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and named Eben-ezer[b] saying, “Thus far Adonai has helped us.” 13 So the Philistines were subdued and they did not invade the border of Israel anymore. The hand of Adonai was against the Philistines all the days of Samuel. 14 The towns that the Philistines had taken from Israel, from Ekron to Gath, were restored to Israel, and Israel recovered its territory from the hand of the Philistines. There was also peace between Israel and the Amorites.
15 Now Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. 16 He used to go annually on a circuit to Beth-el and Gilgal and Mizpah, and would judge over Israel in all those places. 17 Then his return was to Ramah, because his home was there, and from there he would judge Israel. So he built an altar to Adonai there.
19 and when he had taken food, he was strengthened. Now for several days, he was with the disciples in Damascus. 20 Immediately he began proclaiming Yeshua in the synagogues, saying, “He is Ben-Elohim.”
21 All those hearing him were amazed. They were saying, “Isn’t this the one who made havoc in Jerusalem for all those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to bring them as prisoners before the ruling kohanim?” 22 But Saul kept growing stronger, and he was confounding the Jewish people living in Damascus by proving that Yeshua is the Messiah. 23 When many days had passed, these Jewish people plotted to kill him— 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 But the disciples took Saul by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.
26 When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he made attempts to join up with the disciples—but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him in and brought him to the emissaries. He described to them how Saul had seen the Lord on the road and the Lord had spoken to him, and how he had spoken boldly in the name of Yeshua.
28 So Saul was with them, going in and out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He was speaking and arguing with the Hellenists, but they were trying to kill him. 30 When the brothers found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 So Messiah’s community throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had shalom and was built up. Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Ruach ha-Kodesh, it kept multiplying.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.